What to do with a Mac Mini

[r6mile]

Hey guys,
I have a 2012 i7 Mac Mini currently gathering dust at my parents' place, and as soon as lockdown is over I am planning to get it back as I'm sure I can make some use of it. I already put in an SSD and 8GB of RAM a few years ago, so shouldn't need any further upgrades.

The thing is, I've already got a 2010 i7 27" iMac that I use as my desktop (+ 2013 13" MBA, and my wife's 2010 white MB and iPad). Currently the iMac is always on and being used as a Time Machine server for the Macs (as well as just a regular desktop). Perhaps this task should fall to the Mac Mini as it has lower power draw, and the iMac just be turned on when it's needed? The iMac was also being used as a Plex media server, but to be honest since Netflix/Spotify etc. I've stopped buying music and movies, and any cameraphone pictures now get automatically uploaded to Google photos which is more straightforward.

Any views welcome! I'd like to find a good use for the machine

 

[fricotin]

I do everything with it, in fact it is the only computer I have...

 

[r6mile]

Of course, if I only had a Mac Mini I would do everything with it too. I'm just asking, given I already have a desktop and a laptop, how you think I can make use of it.

 

[iAssimilated]

Content Caching and Backup server. That is what I am using my 2014 mini for. The content caching is great in a house with multiple devices with iOS and macOS, downloads the update once and shares it locally instead of using internet bandwidth. I backup our primary devices and USBs to the mini via Carbon Copy Cloner and then again from the mini to an external hard drive (which is stored in a fire proof safe). My wife likes the setup since she can look for her files in one place instead of finding and searching multiple USBs. I like it because I have redundant backups.

 

[boswald]

I use mine for everything! Sold my PC to my brother and nephew so they can play games (I don't game anymore.). Considering selling my laptop as well, since it's also a PC and I want to go all-in with the Apple ecosystem.

 

[rambo47]

My 2014 is running headless and crunching data for Folding@home. 24/7 from the corner of the living room, silent, just grinding away. I use screen sharing to monitor it and administrate.

 

[MultiFinder17]

My 2012 i7 sits quietly on a shelf in my den as my home server. I host iTunes media off it for the Apple TV’s in my home, transcode the occasional movie, and with a couple of 5TB external drives, it provides time machine backups for all of the macs around by home. I also host a small wiki for an RP community my wife runs off it. With their decent power and low power draw, they make fantastic little always-on servers. I would recommend replacing the iMac you keep on 24/7 with it for server duties at a minimum.

 

[honestone33]

Until recently, I had that same machine, and I also upgraded to a 256 gig SSD and 8 gig of Ram. The machine worked flawlessly. My main uses for machines these days are checking my EMail, browsing on the internet, watching an occasional movie or TV series, and composing a word processor document or a spreadsheet (I use LibreOffice). Again, it was a very solid machine.

But with it most likely not being supported by the next Mac OS, in February I purchased a 2018 Mac Mini Core i5, with a 256 gig SSD and 8 gig of Ram. It seems just about a fast as the 2012 model. Shortly thereafter, I sold the 2012 model for a decent price.

 

[iAssimilated]

My 2014 is running headless and crunching data for Folding@home. 24/7 from the corner of the living room, silent, just grinding away. I use screen sharing to monitor it and administrate.

View attachment 922182

This sounds awesome, can you give me any insight on your setup as well as impacts on the system (CPU usage, heat caused, etc.)? I am trying to decide if I want to put this on my 2011 linux mini or my 2014 mini.

 

[rambo47]

This sounds awesome, can you give me any insight on your setup as well as impacts on the system (CPU usage, heat caused, etc.)? I am trying to decide if I want to put this on my 2011 linux mini or my 2014 mini.

I've never monitored my Mini's stats, but the fan has never come on. It sits silently on a small cocktail table in the corner, doing it's thing.

 

[Osamede]

Hey guys,
I have a 2012 i7 Mac Mini currently gathering dust at my parents' place, and as soon as lockdown is over I am planning to get it back as I'm sure I can make some use of it. I already put in an SSD and 8GB of RAM a few years ago, so shouldn't need any further upgrades.

The thing is, I've already got a 2010 i7 27" iMac that I use as my desktop (+ 2013 13" MBA, and my wife's 2010 white MB and iPad). Currently the iMac is always on and being used as a Time Machine server for the Macs (as well as just a regular desktop). Perhaps this task should fall to the Mac Mini as it has lower power draw, and the iMac just be turned on when it's needed? The iMac was also being used as a Plex media server, but to be honest since Netflix/Spotify etc. I've stopped buying music and movies, and any cameraphone pictures now get automatically uploaded to Google photos which is more straightforward.

Any views welcome! I'd like to find a good use for the machine

Sell it to me...

 

[iAssimilated]

I've never monitored my Mini's stats, but the fan has never come on. It sits silently on a small cocktail table in the corner, doing it's thing.
View attachment 922546

Installed Folding@HOME on both my 2011 and 2014 models.

The 2011 mini immediately ramped up its fans to the point where I thought my eGPU was on max load. I changed the setting to medium and light power but that did not help. The fans continued to run at full blast. I assume this is because I have KDE neon installed on this mini and it does not know how to control the system as well as macOS would. Ultimately I uninstalled FAHClient from this system since the noise will definitely bother me in the long run.

The 2014 mini had the fans ramp up when set on full and medium power, but runs silent on low power (the CPU temp is hovering around 88C). My current work unit's eta is 7hrs 50 mins @ 11.35%. Since I love the cause I believe this will be suitable to use this mini for this task at those temperatures.

Thank you for the idea @rambo47 !

EDIT: I am currently running as Anonymous, what is the up side to setting a username/identity?

 

[rambo47]

Installed Folding@HOME on both my 2011 and 2014 models.

The 2011 mini immediately ramped up its fans to the point where I thought my eGPU was on max load. I changed the setting to medium and light power but that did not help. The fans continued to run at full blast. I assume this is because I have KDE neon installed on this mini and it does not know how to control the system as well as macOS would. Ultimately I uninstalled FAHClient from this system since the noise will definitely bother me in the long run.

The 2014 mini had the fans ramp up when set on full and medium power, but runs silent on low power (the CPU temp is hovering around 88C). My current work unit's eta is 7hrs 50 mins @ 11.35%. Since I love the cause I believe this will be suitable to use this mini for this task at those temperatures.

Thank you for the idea @rambo47 !

EDIT: I am currently running as Anonymous, what is the up side to setting a username/identity?

Now that SETI has shut down for distributed computing work what are your plans for the Mini? I was running SEIT@home and switched over to Folding@home. The Folding client seems to draw less power for me than SETI did. My fan has yet to come on, and I have it running 24/7.