What do you use your Mac Mini M1 for?

[sigmadog]

As a recently retired graphic designer / illustrator, my Mac hardware needs have changed a bit. Where I used to make purchases based on "the most power/speed I can absolutely afford", now I'm adjusting my mindset to look for "enough power/speed for my use without wasting money".

As a result, the Mac Mini M1 is looking like a potential candidate for my desktop. I still do a small bit of design and illustration (using a Wacom Cintiq as a second monitor). My biggest concern is going from 64GB RAM down to 16GB and worrying whether that will be enough. I'll be mostly using Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Corel Painter, but seldom (if ever) all at once.

The new Mac Studio sounds great, but may be more power/speed than I need, so I'd like to get a feel for the capabilities offered by the M1 mini for future reference (I will probably make a purchase in a few months - there's no big rush at the moment).

All this is preamble to my question for Mini users:

What do you do with your M1 Mini?

 

[George Dawes]

From research I think you made the right choice , the m1 mini is a remarkably good value plus it’s not ugly or noisy like the studio

 

[hodad66]

I surf the web, use Photoshop, edit videos in LumaFusion, run Xara & Dynamic Autopainter (PC
versions) using Parallels, and never an issue.

 

[George Dawes]

I’ll surf the web , email , light office work ( spreadsheets) , no gaming ( ps5 for that )no films etc as I watch films etc on my atv4k , that’s about it , m1 if anything is overkill for me

Still , looking forward to a new os !

 

[sigmadog]

I surf the web, use Photoshop, edit videos in LumaFusion, run Xara & Dynamic Autopainter (PC
versions) using Parallels, and never an issue.

Not that I plan on doing so, but I thought Windows emulation didn't work on the M1. Granted, I was reading reviews from 2020 so maybe something's changed.

 

[sigmadog]

In looking into this further, I've come to the conclusion that 16GB won't be enough, mainly due to my use of Corel Painter and some really large files.

A portion of my retirement income is made from painting digital portraits for output on canvas, and they can often be very large files.

As a test on my 6,1, I loaded a particular file, a portrait that is 36" x 36" and 300ppi on one layer. In looking at Activity monitor I saw that memory usage was around 13GB, not leaving much room (on a 16GB mini) for extra layers and other programs that I commonly use at the same time. Painter also consumes a fair amount of memory when using some brushes, so being so close to the ceiling isn't good. Additionally, I occasionally do a screen-capture video showing my process, which I suspect would slow things down to an annoying crawl.

So it looks like I'm going to be saving myself some money by continuing to rock my 6,1 for the time being.

Once I can no longer upgrade the operating system, then it will be time to consider options, and it looks like Monterey is compatible with my trashcan, so there's still life in it for a while.

Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[George Dawes]

The trash can strikes me as a much prettier version of the studio , actually it’s not pretty it’s stunningly beautiful ?

Apple design really has gone down the drain since Jony left …

 

[MultiFinder17]

I have a base M1 mini in my classroom to drive a 4K touchscreen that I use in lieu of a projector. It shows PowerPoints, videos, and a couple of IDEs for my robotics and coding classes with occasional spats of 3D modeling software and Minecraft.

Certainly not the most exciting life for it, but I need this machine to be able to run that display and those apps quickly, efficiently, and without breaking a sweat. I’d used a 2014 mini for this previously and it struggled just with the 4K screen, the fan screaming if I did something like show a video. This M1 has been amazing

 

[chrisdazzo]

Hoping for M2 Mini's by EOY but...

Plex streaming (mostly 4K/1080p remuxes locally/remotely), Minecraft, Crossover games (Skyrim, HL2), light Photoshop and Illustrator work, and the usual web browsing/Twitch watching, music enjoying, and emailing.

 

[EdwardC]

Mine is a 16GB 512GB M1 and is a back up for my HP Z2 Intel Zeon workstation. The M1 is loaded up with Microsoft Office and a few CAD applications. Used 99% of the time to stream Apple Music in my office.

 

[sigmadog]

The trash can strikes me as a much prettier version of the studio , actually it’s not pretty it’s stunningly beautiful ?

Apple design really has gone down the drain since Jony left …

I agree the trashcan looks great on my desk. My former 5,1 was too large and had to hide near my feet.

Ive had a great run, but I'm glad his obsession with small, thin, and other unnecessary minimalisms (eliminating ports willy-nilly) is no longer the driving force in Apple's product design. Beautiful form is one thing, but we ultimately buy computers for functionality and at the end I think Ive wasn't on board with that ethos as much as necessary. It's a fine balance, and I began seeing at the end a tipping towards form over function, and the trashcan itself is a prime example.

My opinion. YMMV.

 

[George Dawes]

I’ve always assumed apple could do both

Pretty to look at and pretty awesome to use

Jony leaving and the horrible looks of the studio … just a coincidence ?

 

[sigmadog]

I’ve always assumed apple could do both

Pretty to look at and pretty awesome to use

Jony leaving and the horrible looks of the studio … just a coincidence ?

I'm sure he would have made it look awesome.

Probably a beautifully formed shiny aluminum sphere. No ports. Wi-fi only. Dead silent. And it would roll around the desk like a friendly beachball, eliminating unneeded papers, pens, and other desktop items until my work surface was pristine and unusable.

I'm kidding, of course.

Or am I?

 

[xb12]

In looking into this further, I've come to the conclusion that 16GB won't be enough, mainly due to my use of Corel Painter and some really large files.

A portion of my retirement income is made from painting digital portraits for output on canvas, and they can often be very large files.

As a test on my 6,1, I loaded a particular file, a portrait that is 36" x 36" and 300ppi on one layer. In looking at Activity monitor I saw that memory usage was around 13GB, not leaving much room (on a 16GB mini) for extra layers and other programs that I commonly use at the same time. Painter also consumes a fair amount of memory when using some brushes, so being so close to the ceiling isn't good. Additionally, I occasionally do a screen-capture video showing my process, which I suspect would slow things down to an annoying crawl.

So it looks like I'm going to be saving myself some money by continuing to rock my 6,1 for the time being.

Once I can no longer upgrade the operating system, then it will be time to consider options, and it looks like Monterey is compatible with my trashcan, so there's still life in it for a while.

Thanks for everyone's input.

Hi. A future m1 pro / m2 pro Mac mini is rumored for the future. So hopefully access to 32 GB Ram ? and some GPU boost.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Just sold my 8GB/512 M1 to upgrade to a base Studio Ultra.

I used the M1 for the past year for general computing, Excel and audio work in iZotope RX9. RX9 worked OK, but I believe there is a native Apple Silicon version available now.

The M1 mini (and the M1 Air) can drive the Pro Display XDR, but has occasional stutters. Nothing terrible, but I have high expectations for the UI when my Studio arrives in a couple of weeks.

 

[Grohowiak]

I had the mini for a few months and the only issue I had with it was a sometimes sluggish (not so smooth at least) experience on my 38" ultrawide monitor. It felt like the GPU is struggling. Photoshop, Lightroom and few others were choppy sometimes. Only reason I got rid of it.

 

[sigmadog]

Hi. A future m1 pro / m2 pro Mac mini is rumored for the future. So hopefully access to 32 GB Ram ? and some GPU boost.

That there just might be the ticket! Though it's always risky hoping for Apple to do the obvious.

 

[unixfool]

I plan to use mine to stream and record videos, edit video footage, and use it to house my music. I've also been using it for a lot of remote administration (using Terminal). I keep a lot of troubleshooting notes, howtos, FAQs, and important information in OneNote.