2020 Apple Mac mini with Apple M1 Chip (8GB RAM, 512GB SSD Storage)

Works like a champ! It was the update to my 2008 Mac mini. I can use ai now! Cons: lost some apps that won’t run on the new chip. I lost all my adobe stuff. Garage band didn’t come with it. I have to buy a digital interface to record my guitar now. Had to get a converter and run my monitor off the usb-c slot because hdmi didn’t work. Bought the stand below to plug in my external toys. Pros: can run all the new ai stuff and do video work. Has a great price with the 512gb drive. Fast. Warning, you will have to upgrade a lot of things that you are using right now so prepare to do the downloads and installs and buying some new apps. It will do the job though. Five stars just cause I love Apple.

It’s pretty incredible just how efficient and powerful this new M1 processor is. I can compile and run Java code _literally_ 10x faster than with my previous 2019 16” i7 MBP. A Spring app that previously took 24 seconds to compile now takes 2 seconds. Gains of this magnitude are not normal, given Moore’s Law. Also, I know this has a fan in it, but I have pushed all cores to 100% while driving a 4K monitor and a 1080p monitor, and put my ear right next to it, and I cannot hear a thing. My MBP would get so loud I thought it was going to blow out a fan motor. The only draw I see for this machine is its video out limitations. You can only run one video signal via the HDMI channel, and one via both Thunderbolt ports. No combo of the two, so my Caldigit TS3+ can no longer simultaneously drive my 4K DisplayPort monitor AND my 1080p hdmi monitor - I have to run one from the mini’s HDMI port, and the other from the Thunderbolt port. It sucks, but it’s not a dealbreaker. Also, I researched wide online to see if anyone could find a current need for the 16GB RAM option, and all the research I found showed that no tester has been able to even saturate the full 8GB of RAM yet, so I’m sticking with the $200 cheaper option of 8GB RAM. For the past month, with heavy development, compiling, photo/audio editing, and browsing (with Brave or FF), I haven’t hit more than 6GB of utilization at one time. The memory management on this is really phenomenal. If you’re thinking about it, and the desktop form factor can work for you, you should definitely pull the trigger. This is a super deal, and I’m excited to see what advancements come from more Apple silicon in the future.

My old 2012 Mac Mini was starting to show her age. Didn't know if this Mac could handle it. Was worried about the 8 Gigs of memory. Boy I was wrong, this thing is amazing smooth, boots fast and handles pretty much anything thrown at it with ease. Just for the record, I don't do video editing or anything as intense as that. If you do that, you might want to consider the 16 gig memory Mac mini. Am I'm satisfied with this purchase? Absolutely!

The reviews were not exaggerated - this is a very nice performing computer., This is the first computer I have ever owned that is fast yet doesn't generate any heat in doing so. As of yet it has never even been warm in the almost 2 weeks I have owned it-always cold-like it's not even turned on.. I have 2 Intel Nucs that are the near equivalent of this Mini and while they are great little machines as well, they have been warm at times. Apple has figured a way to be as fast/faster than intel but not use much power in doing so. The downside of this being new technology is that software has to be written for it . In the meantime it uses emulation so older software will work with it, but is only a temporary situation. Firefox started out that way 2 weeks ago but they have already rewritten the browser now so emulation is no longer needed. Risc based processors are nothing new (they made those Dinosaur movies with them) but processors that are fast without using much power or getting hot certainly are. If this is a sign of things to come I feel sorry for Intel. I liked the way the computer performed so much I ordered a second one with larger memory and gifting this one to my fiancé .

I have a MacBook Pro (mid 2018, I think) that I had been using as my “main” computer (with a separate monitor, Apple wireless keyboard, mouse, touch pad and external disks, etc.). It was (and is) great for my use (I don’t edit videos, etc.) but to use it somewhere else inside or outside the house, I have to unplug it, put it in its case, etc. etc. and then put it back together latter. I needed a desktop computer! I checked the Mac mini specs. It was all I needed (and then some) and even had the new M1 processor chip and 512 GB SSD “disk”! This looked great and since I had all the peripherals, it looked like a whole computer at a very nice price. It is. I love it. It is small, sits out of the way, makes no noise, and just works. I only remember where it is when I have to push its little button to start it. Wish I could remote that! It has more I/O ports (including USB A 3.0!) than the MacBook Pro. Super value for the money, I think. Love that M1 CPU chip. Apple, let's have some more of that!

You'll see every tech blogger, small-time journalist and "influencer" with a video channel raving about these new M1 Macs. Me? I'm not seeking any fame or clicks or readership. Here are my pros and cons: Pros Definitely fast. It's the future of Macs right here right now. Relative cheap compared to my Mac Mini 2018 bought for $1499 (Core i7, 3.2GHz, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD). And yes, it's not as noisy nor hot. Cons Only two Thunderbolt/USB-C ports instead of previous four. This alone had me hesitating and preparing months in advance to figure how to connect all my peripherals before I committed. And I still wish for a third USB-A port. Also, the M1 hardware runs only the latest software! This means only MacOS Big Sur and only your latest apps and utilities. What will work and what will not work? You don't really know until you try it. I found out the hard way that I had to abandon Vectorworks 2019 and prior, SimpleClock (desktop analog display) does not install, no DJI Assistant (still testing alternatives), and some songs will not convert while syncing, some apps will not open in 2nd display regardless of dock options. Just weird little things that should get ironed out as time goes on. Overall, still good strategy for me because I was able to sell my old Mac Mini 2018 for top dollar at this point in time. In fact, the net expense for me was nearly zero! Just like spring cleaning reconfiguring my apps.

Really happy with the new M1 chip. Had an i5 mid-2012 Mac Mini with 16 gigs of RAM running my in home Plex server for about the last 6 years. It is a tough act to follow considering the pricing, size, and stability of the unit. Ended up gifting it my 75 YO mother who loves to make greeting cards and such, so it’s retirement years are probably a bit more relaxed than transcoding multiple streams of HD films at a time. The M1 on the other hand is another whole league and has been insanely powerful in function and use. I tested it’s ability to transcode (through Plex) multiple 4K streams down to 1080p and I was able to hit 5 streams at once without so much as breaking a sweat. Granted, this is no the machine for those that want great big stinking media servers but it is just fine for my purposes. 90% of our family streaming happens in the house, on the network. We run three Apple TV 4K’s and one Roku Ultra, along with a few iPads and iPhones. I have hit as many as 9 full resolution 4K streams at once (no transcoding mind you) and the machine just kills it. Needless to say, daily tasks are a cakewalk for this thing. Highly recommended.

I've been building PC's for 40 years. Now with high prices of the competition and parts, this new M1 comes with everything built in. Technically 32 cores. 8 for the CPU, 8 for the GPU, 16 for the Neural, all in a 5 nm process, just blows everything out of the water, for performance, and no heat coming out the back! 15 to 28 Watts maximum instead of 65 to 125 watts on most other PCs. Was able to use my old mouse, old kybrd and old HDMI monitor. Used Parallels software to get my ole registered Win 10 64 loaded too. So it wasn't too difficult to have Win 10 Pro 64 added in. After 6 months of research, I'm expecting the built in SSD to last 9 to 10 years. Great and TREMENDOUS value for this M1! No Bluetooth and no Wi-Fi problems after 2 weeks. Just have to get all settings done right.