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Mac mini M4 (2024): docks, stands and other accessories
- Thread starter MiniApple
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My personal experience is the DAC in the M4 mini provides better sound to headphones (Sennheiser HD 650 open backs, in my case) than Apple's USB-C to 3.5mm adapter. But it may not be relevant for external speakers.
Has anybody made a dock with a 2.5 ssd enclosure instead of nvme for the m4 ?
The m2 Mac mini had one
The m2 Mac mini had one
Not that I know of. I think along with the M4 down-sizing its footprint, the peripheral makers also conveniently phase out SATA bays as well. Products with the 2.5" form factor is also stagnate, 8TB QLC SSDs are as expensive if not more when they were new. HDDs pretty much stopped at 5TB. The remaining momentum with SATA is on 3.5" with multi-bay NAS / DAS, and of course enterprise use.
I can't see any future for SATA 2.5" with the reduced form factor. The size of these docks doesn't leave a lot of room for a 2.5" drive, the requisite ports, circuitry and cooling. The worst thing is that 2.5" SSD drives are now generally more expensive than the faster NVMe drives. They are very much legacy hardware and on the way out, especially as there has been no progress since SATA III in 2009.
A couple of years ago they were dirt cheap ,now the price is up
You could get a 1tb for $30-5
I took advantage and replace everything that could use one
With it
Gaming consoles to computers
Most of the docks being released now seem to be fast. Even 10gbps could be fast for a SATA drive and I can’t really think of any upsides for the drive or interface.
I mean I’ve been following 2.5” SATA drives quite a lot since I have a 4-bay NAS with that format. The selection is slim and there is really no savings. So you get something big & slow with less drive options and likely end up paying more for the drives.
I just got the new Satechi NVME ”hub” which is slow by modern standards at 3500MB both ways. That’s still many times faster then SATA. A year a go this would have cost loads, not any more.
I uses a vertical stand for my M4, and have been keeping track of temps and not noticed any problems. But I do have concerns because the power supply unit is located on the top and the top of the case acts like a heat sink. I have been inside mine (upgraded the storage to 1tb) and explored. it has a great design and I have a small usb fan that blows air across my setup to help keep temps down, my two 32" monitors put out a lot of heat.
A question that might clarify what you're after and help others help you; are you looking for IPS or OLED? What are you after the high refresh rate to accomplish?
I ask because having read that gamers like OLED because it looks good, as one reviewer put it like you could reach through the screen into the game world, yesterday I ventured into a Best Buy (to kill time while my wife took our daughter to the mall) and looked at a range of products, including some OLED display.
Best Buy seems like the zoo for tech. nerds. Much better than Hot Topic at the mall.
Gotta say, OLED is visually impressive with a colorful game running, but you do pay for that.
What about these?
Dell 27 Plus 4K USB-C Monitor - S2725QC - 27-inch 4K (3840 x 2160) 120Hz 16:9 Display, AMD FreeSync Premium, sRGB 99%, Integrated Speakers, 1500:1 Contrast Ratio, Comfortview Plus - Ash White (Roughly $330 - USB-C display).
Dell 27 Plus 4K Monitor - S2725QS - 27-inch 4K (3840 x 2160) 120Hz 16:9 Display, IPS Panel, AMD FreeSync Premium, sRGB 99%, Integrated Speakers, 1500:1 Contrast Ratio, Comfortview Plus - Ash White (Roughly $280 - HDMI display).
Around $300 for 4K at 27" and you get 120-Hz and a brand name well-rated on Amazon.There should be reviews around on one or both of those.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Is anybody one of these stands
One review said it helps with m4 pro temps went down
Another review says it covers the vents on the mini
One review said it helps with m4 pro temps went down
Another review says it covers the vents on the mini
I have one. Works fine. Not sure about temps, Wi-Fi, or dust issues as I don't obsess over those things. Since my mini sits on a leather desk pad, I thought it better to get it a little off the surface. Haven't had any issues with it in 8 months.
My QwiizLab UH61 M4 fits the bill for what you want minus the SATA backup drive, only issue is that the dock runs a bit hot, the M4 Mac mini is very cool in the dock though.
Attachments
the apple superdrive dock/stand
sorry you still have to lift for the power button , but you get a nice cd/dvd player
but seriously would this be ok to leave the Mac mini on top of the superdrive , its unplugged, I just did this cause I wanted to lift the mini incase I spill liquid on my desk and I don't use the superdrive anymore
and according to this post it works with the mini m4 using the apple usb c to usb adapter
sorry you still have to lift for the power button , but you get a nice cd/dvd player
but seriously would this be ok to leave the Mac mini on top of the superdrive , its unplugged, I just did this cause I wanted to lift the mini incase I spill liquid on my desk and I don't use the superdrive anymore
and according to this post it works with the mini m4 using the apple usb c to usb adapter