Mac Mini M1 Refurb as a Stopgap?

[laurieballard]

Hi

So I have a 2020 13" MBP 10th Gen i5 16GB 512GB etc etc.

I use it with a 27" 4K LG screen 90% of the time, 10% of the time downstairs in the lounge. When plugged into the external monitor, the fans go full blast a lot, especially when watching videos in Safari such as youtube or disney+ etc.

To that end, I am thinking of trading it in with Apple (just over £1000 gift card apparently) and taking a punt on a base spec Mac Mini on the refurb store until the new 14" M1x MBA/MBP models come out this year or next.

My wife has the M1 MBA base spec and its noticeably quicker than my MBP and plugging it into an external monitor doesn't cause the fans to go mental....because it doesn't have them

Seems like a good time to trade in now as the value of my MBP is going to plummet even more once the new M1X stuff comes out and I can keep the £1000 gift card towards those and either sell (or keep) the refurb M1 Mac Mini in future without losing much.

Crazy idea or not?

The fan noise is driving me up the wall and I can get by with my iPad for now in terms of using the Macbook in the lounge.

Cheers

 

[satchmo]

Yeah, fan noise screws up my productivity and concentration. I’m in a similar situation with an even older 2010 MBP.

The only caveat would be the rumoured M1X Mac Mini happening in November. I’d hate to buy the M1 Mac mini now in August only to have a new model appear 3 months later.

Then again, that’s coming after the 14” MBP in October, so you should be fine.
And as you say, you could just keep the mini.

 

[laurieballard]

Yeah, fan noise screws up my productivity and concentration. I’m in a similar situation with an even older 2010 MBP.

The only caveat would be the rumoured M1X Mac Mini happening in November. I’d hate to buy the M1 Mac mini now in August only to have a new model appear 3 months later.

Then again, that’s coming after the 14” MBP in October, so you should be fine.
And as you say, you could just keep the mini.

Personally I don't see the M1X coming to the Mac Mini in 2021, I think it will be more like 2022 so I think that is a risk I am willing to take considering the £589 price point. If I were dropping £2k on the M1 MBP with the M1 potentially a few months away, I would definitely wait.

In all likelyhood, I might end up keeping the Mini anyway if I find myself getting on with it and the 27" screen. Could use the Gift card for the latest iPad and just use that when away from the desk

I am not a heavy user anyway, its a home computer and other than a few basic edits in FCPX for home videos of my Son, I am convinced the base Mac Mini with a 500GB External SSD for extra storage would be ample for my needs.

 

[familychoice]

If it’s a temporary fix a 512/8 would do the job and it’s dirt cheap via refurb. I went for a new 16gb, which ramped the cost up a bit (via Apple), but I intend keeping it for a few years, and the extra RAM will future proof it for a bit longer.

 

[laurieballard]

Took a punt and ordered the base spec M1 Mini for £589 from the Refurb Store.

 

[familychoice]

Took a punt and ordered the base spec M1 Mini for £589 from the Refurb Store.

Absolutely love mine. If the hardware holds up this will keep me going for years.

 

[laurieballard]

Few days using the base spec Mini and I am sold.

MBP will be getting boxed up for trade in now, think I am going to use the difference to put towards upgrading muy 2017 iPad Pro for the latest one.

Using FCPX, the M1 Mini is quicker to export than the MBP I have and there is no fan noise like the MBP. Big improvement for me.

8GB RAM doesn't seem to have slowed things down at all, seems quicker but I don't do virtual machines etc so likely never needed 16GB in the first place.

 

[satchmo]

Few days using the base spec Mini and I am sold.

MBP will be getting boxed up for trade in now, think I am going to use the difference to put towards upgrading muy 2017 iPad Pro for the latest one.

Using FCPX, the M1 Mini is quicker to export than the MBP I have and there is no fan noise like the MBP. Big improvement for me.

8GB RAM doesn't seem to have slowed things down at all, seems quicker but I don't do virtual machines etc so likely never needed 16GB in the first place.

Great to hear that the low end model is so capable.

I pulled the trigger on a 8gb M1 Mac mini myself this weekend. It should arrive this week.
I was back and forth on the 8gb vs 16gb but went base since I still have my eye on the upcoming 14" MBP.