I do have a very similar usage. Affinity photo, some home office, light gaming (csgo) and a few docker containers…. I got the Mac mini M1 16GB ram 512 GB storage and I love it. Ended up getting a usb-c dock (50 usd) for extra storage… I am very happy I see no reason to go for anything more powerful for this kind of usage….
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Which Mac Mini recommended for my kind of Usage ?
- Thread starter marcusalwayswins
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I moved away from the M1 Mac Mini with 512/16 spec. I sold it locally for 750 dollars. I probably could have gotten 800. However, you may want to try locally and in spite of what others say, do try for 16 gigs of RAM. I got the Mini in hops it would do well for at least 4 years. However, I simply added a couple of apps that I use regularly and instantly the RAM was insufficient. It should have had no issues but lets be honest, there really isn't any memory management with the latest OS and M1. I only have this page open and Safari is gobbling a gig of RAM. I ended going up a grade to get more RAM and while the difference of performance overall is similar, I don't have any of the issues from before with the Mini. Honestly, I am a big fan of the Mini and for your purposes and future spec, go with 16 gigs.
I dunno, I have the 2018 quad core i7 and it's fine for PS and Lightroom (though yes, the ARM Macs are faster).
A bit of a wind machine though.
That refurbished M1 Mini is such a great deal at $589 that I just placed an order for one. I have been waiting for the base model M1 to show up. I have similar use case as OP (browsing, office apps, light photo/video editing) and the base M1 Mini will be perfect, no need for 16GB nor future M2.
I also have an M1 16/512 MacBook Air, but I initially ordered the 8/512 Air before returning it. During my brief time with the 8GB M1 Air it ran everything I threw at it. I had Photoshop, Final Cut Pro rendering, Gmail, a dozen Chrome tabs, Microsoft Office, Acrobat DC, all open at the same time and the 8GB M1 didn't bat an eye. I was really amazed! With 8GB RAM, the M1 Air was significantly faster than my 2015 13-inch MacBook Pro with 8GB RAM, as expected, but also ran circles around my work laptop with 32GB RAM and Intel Quad-core i7.
As a former Intel engineer, the M1 is extraordinarily well-balanced with blazing fast memory and storage access so the overall system always feels responsive. I returned the 8GB MBA and grabbed the 16GB model because I wanted to future proof it and get 7+ years of use out of it like my 2015 MBP (that is still utilized by my daughter). After I received the 16GB Air I loaded up the same suite of apps and it honestly wasn't a whole lot faster than the 8GB M1, switching between apps was maybe a second quicker. The 16GB gives me peace of mind but if budget is a primary factor then an 8GB M1 Mini ($640 after taxes, free shipping) will provide phenomenal performance for many years to come.
Locally on Facebook Marketplace I can get a used M1 Mini for $550 and no tax, but I prefer the "new" condition of Apple refurbs (plus I have some Apple credit to use). If you're not already aware, OP, Apple refurbished is literally like new. My 2015 MacBook Pro was from the Apple refurbished site and arrived looking brand new, not a scratch on it, nor any indication of it being "used". Only difference is the box is plain and lacks any pictures. Good luck and hope you find what you need. Sorry for such a long post just to say:
1) Definitely get the M1 over any older Mini with slower Intel processors. The M1 architecture alone is your future-proof, OP.
2) Don't worry about being "limited" by 8GB, it's not the same as needing 16GB or more RAM on Intel/Windows. The M1 is the key (see #1 again), and blazing fast with 8GB RAM on MacOS.
The M1 packs a ton of performance yet is also incredibly power efficient. I am a huge fan of Apple silicon and upgraded our family to M1 MacBook Air, M1 iPad Air, M1 iPad Pro, and soon-to-be M1 Mac Mini.
I also have an M1 16/512 MacBook Air, but I initially ordered the 8/512 Air before returning it. During my brief time with the 8GB M1 Air it ran everything I threw at it. I had Photoshop, Final Cut Pro rendering, Gmail, a dozen Chrome tabs, Microsoft Office, Acrobat DC, all open at the same time and the 8GB M1 didn't bat an eye. I was really amazed! With 8GB RAM, the M1 Air was significantly faster than my 2015 13-inch MacBook Pro with 8GB RAM, as expected, but also ran circles around my work laptop with 32GB RAM and Intel Quad-core i7.
As a former Intel engineer, the M1 is extraordinarily well-balanced with blazing fast memory and storage access so the overall system always feels responsive. I returned the 8GB MBA and grabbed the 16GB model because I wanted to future proof it and get 7+ years of use out of it like my 2015 MBP (that is still utilized by my daughter). After I received the 16GB Air I loaded up the same suite of apps and it honestly wasn't a whole lot faster than the 8GB M1, switching between apps was maybe a second quicker. The 16GB gives me peace of mind but if budget is a primary factor then an 8GB M1 Mini ($640 after taxes, free shipping) will provide phenomenal performance for many years to come.
Locally on Facebook Marketplace I can get a used M1 Mini for $550 and no tax, but I prefer the "new" condition of Apple refurbs (plus I have some Apple credit to use). If you're not already aware, OP, Apple refurbished is literally like new. My 2015 MacBook Pro was from the Apple refurbished site and arrived looking brand new, not a scratch on it, nor any indication of it being "used". Only difference is the box is plain and lacks any pictures. Good luck and hope you find what you need. Sorry for such a long post just to say:
1) Definitely get the M1 over any older Mini with slower Intel processors. The M1 architecture alone is your future-proof, OP.
2) Don't worry about being "limited" by 8GB, it's not the same as needing 16GB or more RAM on Intel/Windows. The M1 is the key (see #1 again), and blazing fast with 8GB RAM on MacOS.
The M1 packs a ton of performance yet is also incredibly power efficient. I am a huge fan of Apple silicon and upgraded our family to M1 MacBook Air, M1 iPad Air, M1 iPad Pro, and soon-to-be M1 Mac Mini.
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Another voice for the base M1 Mini, which I bought in November 2020. I have a similar set of uses to the OP, and over the last nearly two years have found it to be a great performer, with no noticeable slowdown over that time. I purchased it with a goal of keeping it 2-3 years, and it will take me through that third year and beyond with ease. The $589 price for a refurb is a good deal.
This might not be the most popular opinion, but given everything you've detailed I wouldn't quite discount the intel based Mac Minis. I am writing this response on my 2018 i7 Mini with 32Gb of RAM and I prefer working on it to my 16" M1 MacBook Pro 16Gb. It certainly feels at least as fast, in some cases actually more responsive. I bought the i7 Mac Mini at the beginning of the year as I too was transitioning from a Windows desktop over to Mac OS to go along with the M1 Macbook Pro. My point here is that I picked the Mini up for a bargain on ebay, and it's my go-to machine. I'm a graphic designer and content creator who uses a host of Adobe applications including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom and Premiere Pro. They all run really well on the Mini, and I'm sure I'll be using it for a good couple of years yet. Honestly, I don't get how people think the M1 somehow solved a problem that the Intel machines were having, because it's just not true. The world of Apple computing existed before the M1 and it worked just fine.
Facebook marketplace, OfferUp, Craigslist. Watch out for scammers though.
Here's a video from a content creator/graphic designer that went from a 2018 i7 32GB Mini to the M1 (16GB) because his Intel setup couldn't edit 4K video on a 4K display. He uses Lightroom, Affinity Photo, and Final Cut Pro on a daily basis. His opinion is 8GB M1 would still be adequate:
While a 2018 Mini with i7 and 32GB RAM is no slouch, a refurbished one from Apple is almost triple the price of a refurbished 8GB M1 Mini. Even if you could score the Intel model outside of Apple, it will still cost considerably more than the base M1. As the second video below shows, a base M1 handily outperforms a specced-out i7, 32GB Mini (in some cases even with an external GPU added to the Intel Mini).
It basically takes a top-of-the-line 2018 Mini to approach the performance of the base M1, yet the base M1 is still faster in most situations, is quieter, uses less power, and costs less. If OP picked a base 2018 Mini within their budget it will perform considerably worse than an M1.
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From what you are saying you'd be better off sticking to a Windows computer. First your budget is real tight and that isn't going to get you much Mac Mini M1. 8GB or RAM and 256 GB storage isn't realistic in this day and age. You need to get the 16GB RAM model at least. If you stick with a PC you can add more RAM when you need to with Apple M1 you can't add more RAM later since it's on the CPU chip. Also in these days everyone is running multiple apps at once and that another reason Mac or Windows you want more than 8GB or RAM.
Also something I don't think you thought about is your software if you switch to Mac you will have to buy Mac versions of all the software you're using on your Windows computer. There's more money you'll have to spend. So you might want to hold off moving to a Mac until you have a bigger budget for the transition.
As for where to buy a refurbished Mac, buy it from Apple the price would be as good as eBay, but it will come with a warranty from Apple and you can also get AppleCare for it. I've been buying Apple refurbished Mac for a long time and never had a problem with any of them. Here's the link to Apple's refurbished webpage: https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished
When you're on a tight budget it isn't the time to make a big platform change.
That is an interesting point I did not think seriously about. I am just thinking which essential APP will I have to buy if I get a Mac ? Every thing ? People in this kind of scenario think the basic like MS-Office for Mac.
If you have Office 365 you can install on a total of 5 devices and use them all simulataneously IIRC. Of course, if you have a standalone version of Office for Windows, that would not be compatible. I believe the Adobe Creative Cloud apps can be installed and used on two computers at the same time.
Words of wisdom!
Words of wisdom!
There is a Variant in Mac Mini which is also available with Gigabit Ethernet. What does that do ? How does it help ? How do I determine if I need that or not ? Can you please tell me ?
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All minis have gigabit ethernet. The option is to go to 10 gigabit, which is pretty much one of those things where if you don't know you need it, you don't need it. It'd give you faster wired networking, if all of your networking equipment also supports 10 gigabit, which is far from common.
When you say "Microsoft Office", what does that mean exactly? Do you mean you use general word processing/ spreadsheets/ powerpoint? If so, all Macs come with Pages/ Numbers/ Keynote, which are equivalent to Word/Excel/Powerpoint (respectfully). Do you mean you use Pivot Tables or advance Word features? Then in that case you might have to buy a new version of Microsoft Office (if you don't have Office 365 or whatever it's called).
Regarding Gigabit Ethernet: If you know what that is and why you need it, then you need it. Otherwise, you won't need it, and wifi would work just fine for your needs.
As was posted above, all Mini's have had gigabit ethernet for many years. The new option is for 10 gigabit ethernet and it's very unlikely that the OP needs that.
I think many people would take issue with that.
It isn't really an issue of what each app can do, but people don't want to learn a whole new way of doing things.Yes I have my Internet Cable Which is a Ethernet Cable going into my Wifi Router and then I use Wi-Fi in my House.
Just to piggyback on this thread: I have similar usage needs to the OP, but do a fair amount of hobbyist Topaz AI photo processing. Should that push me towards 16GB? (Otherwise my usage is largely browsing/office-type stuff.)
That is not called Piggyback that is called Hijacking someone else thread.
Strat your own !
I do apologise. I'm sure another very similar thread is just what's needed. I'll Strat one. (Though I may just Telecaster one instead!)
I wouldn't buy an 8GB model of any computer to do photo editing if it's anything more than extremely occasional and basic.
I suspected that was the case, but thanks for answering; I think Topaz recommends 16GB for best performance, so I will have to stump up the $...
Earlier in the thread folks when asked the same question by me have said occasional photo editing in whatever App that you use still does not warrant, call for 16GB of RAM. 8GB will do the Job just fine.
Now I am confused 🙄🙄🙄
Editing occasional 12 MP photos in Apple Photos? Sure 8 GB is fine.
Loading fifteen 48 MP RAW photos in Photoshop? Nah, get 32 GB.
Loading fifteen 48 MP RAW photos in Photoshop? Nah, get 32 GB.