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kardiackidneykids 192K Views
May 11, 2021 7:52 AM

Costco Members: Apple Mac mini (Late 2020): M1 CPU w/ 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD

$600

$670

10% off
+ Free Shippingat Costco Wholesale
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Deal Details
Costco Wholesale has for its Members: Apple Mac mini w/ Apple M1 Chip (MGNR3LL/A, Late 2020) on sale for $599.99. Shipping is free.

Thanks to community member kardiackidneykids for finding this deal.

Specs:
  • Apple M1 Chip 8-core CPU (4 performance cores & 4 efficiency cores)
  • 8GB Unified Memory
  • 256GB Solid State Drive
  • 8-core GPU
  • 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 & Bluetooth 5.0
  • macOS Big Sur
  • Ports:
    • 2x Thunderbolt / USB 4
    • 2x USB A
    • 1x HDMI 2
    • 1x Gigabit Ethernet Port
    • 1x 3.5 mm Headphone Jack

Editor's Notes

Written by qwikwit | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • Price matches this Frontpage Deal from February that received +161 votes from the community.
  • Ratings/Reviews:
    • PC Mag gives the new Mac mini a 4.5/5 (excellent) rating
      • "With a new lower starting price and Apple's straining-at-the-leash M1 CPU, the Mac mini is far and away the most polished, potent tiny desktop in its class."

Original Post

Written by kardiackidneykids
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Costco Wholesale has for its Members: Apple Mac mini w/ Apple M1 Chip (MGNR3LL/A, Late 2020) on sale for $599.99. Shipping is free.

Thanks to community member kardiackidneykids for finding this deal.

Specs:
  • Apple M1 Chip 8-core CPU (4 performance cores & 4 efficiency cores)
  • 8GB Unified Memory
  • 256GB Solid State Drive
  • 8-core GPU
  • 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 & Bluetooth 5.0
  • macOS Big Sur
  • Ports:
    • 2x Thunderbolt / USB 4
    • 2x USB A
    • 1x HDMI 2
    • 1x Gigabit Ethernet Port
    • 1x 3.5 mm Headphone Jack

Editor's Notes

Written by qwikwit | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • Price matches this Frontpage Deal from February that received +161 votes from the community.
  • Ratings/Reviews:
    • PC Mag gives the new Mac mini a 4.5/5 (excellent) rating
      • "With a new lower starting price and Apple's straining-at-the-leash M1 CPU, the Mac mini is far and away the most polished, potent tiny desktop in its class."

Original Post

Written by kardiackidneykids

Community Voting

Deal Score
+174
Good Deal
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Top Comments

chumtastic
141Comments
59Reputation
After reading all the discussions about ram amount, I'm just curious how many browser tabs people keep open at a time during a typical day.

POLL
How many browser tabs do you keep open?

"Like" for 10 or less
"Funny" for 11 to 20
"Helpful" for 21 and above
Go to Comment
LarrySW
54Comments
22Reputation
The ones who have actually used them personally say 8 is enough for most people.

The ones who have never used it and are just guessing say it isn't enough.
Go to Comment
MrSkeptic
14.5KComments
3.8KReputation
Another very expensive problem with today's Apple. Prior to 2016, you could buy a computer and later upgrade it by adding more RAM or storage later once your needs change. My daily driver is a mid 2012 MBPro. I've doubled the RAM and added a SSD over the years.

Now, everything is soldered, so upgrades are impossible. To get 16 or 32 MB of RAM or a bigger SSD, you need to pay 3 times the price up front of what upgrades would cost for the same configuration, even if you don't realize the need now.

No thanks, Apple.
Go to Comment

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451 Comments

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May 12, 2021 11:11 PM
420 Comments
Joined Aug 2006
sunkizMay 12, 2021 11:11 PM
420 Comments
I paid $746 including tax for a 512G. 8G model. Blissfully quick. Every app opens up instantly. I don't do any photo nor video editing but do use it to rip vinyl. Hook it up to a 32" LG 4K monitor. And my audio recording rig. Waiting on my TB hub. Am using side car with my iPad and apple pen as a remote display+control. Great setup that replaced my i7 Alienware R7 gaming desktop. No regrets. Oh and 4 years warranty paid with my cash card. Waiting on the cash back too.
Last edited by sunkiz May 12, 2021 at 04:13 PM.
1
May 12, 2021 11:34 PM
3.5K Comments
Joined Oct 2006
waterfrontMay 12, 2021 11:34 PM
3.5K Comments
Quote from cheaposale View quoted comment :
At $499 (using $100 off $500), this would be an awesome deal. Will consider buying it.
where is the $100 off? is that a coupon issued this month?
May 12, 2021 11:35 PM
1.1K Comments
Joined Dec 2007
mm-chiMay 12, 2021 11:35 PM
1.1K Comments
Quote from aaa187 View quoted comment :
So which answer is really true

Some say it is, some say it isn't
I have a 8 GB M1 MacBook Air and run a tool that tells me when I have less than 2 gig free RAM.

Only time it hits that threshold is during large batch image edits or when I have a bunch of Office apps open.

In my view the performance improvement for the increased RAM isn't going to be noticeable and not worth the price delta.
1
May 12, 2021 11:44 PM
1.2K Comments
Joined Mar 2006
TeramanMay 12, 2021 11:44 PM
1.2K Comments
Quote from stacks3000 View quoted comment :
I really wouldn't consider this if you do mission critical work. As of right now, I would consider this a beta product. They are faster on benchmarks than a lot of the competition (Intel) but new tech has tradeoffs.
The m1 chips obviously have problems, as most gen 1 tech does. It would be smarter to wait for Apple to fix (at least some) of the problems with these before jumping on the bandwagon. The technology looks promising but it's far from a refined product on both the hardware and software front.

Known problems
-- ssd wearout from overwriting
-- bluetooth stack issues
-- performance issues due to low ram
-- USB issues
-- non-native apps


Solutions
Increase RAM don't consider the 8GB ram version
Increase SSD size to minimize overwriting


No solution for the bluetooth stack issues. Maybe they can patch it but that's too unreliable

USB is known to have issues regardless of the platform. Not every device plays friendly with every other device.

Native apps will pop up more and more as the platform develops. This should autocorrect as the platform gains more users/developers.

***I haven't seen Apple openly address any of these problems or even say a fix is on the way.

I would look for larger amounts of RAM and SSD storage on the next iteration, USB4 and/or thunderbolt 4, as well as an updated bluetooth chip. If they don't address the problems at the hardware level then I would sit out until they do.
Great assessment!
Thanks for your post!
May 12, 2021 11:52 PM
155 Comments
Joined Dec 2008
stannersMay 12, 2021 11:52 PM
155 Comments
Quote from abugli View quoted comment :
Very likely that this will only have 8gb of RAM, which might or might not be enough considering it is M1. There have been googlable discussions on 8gb not being enough for M1, causing SSD to wear more than usual

edit1 problem: https://bartechtv.com/m1-mac-ssd-...t-appears/ [bartechtv.com]
edit2 likely cause and "fix": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyMCoQmsv-I
Worrying about "wear" on an SSD lol
4
May 13, 2021 12:22 AM
328 Comments
Joined Jan 2005
thunderstruckMay 13, 2021 12:22 AM
328 Comments
I originally bought one with 256 GB and it just wasn't enough. I migrated from my i7 mini and could not import my old user data. One thing of note is if you migrate a user, the passwords in the keychain do not transfer over. Fortunately I hadn't wiped my old one yet so I periodically have to fire it back up for a password or 2.
May 13, 2021 2:01 AM
2.6K Comments
Joined Feb 2007
MrApertureMay 13, 2021 2:01 AM
2.6K Comments
Quote from thunderstruck View quoted comment :
I originally bought one with 256 GB and it just wasn't enough. I migrated from my i7 mini and could not import my old user data. One thing of note is if you migrate a user, the passwords in the keychain do not transfer over. Fortunately I hadn't wiped my old one yet so I periodically have to fire it back up for a password or 2.
Passwords in keychain aren't linked to iCloud like they are on the iPhone?
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May 13, 2021 1:34 PM
12 Comments
Joined Oct 2016
Maximus_DMay 13, 2021 1:34 PM
12 Comments
Quote from GizmoDVD View quoted comment :
M1 isn't heavily reliant on RAM like many think. 8GB is pretty damn good
I would agree! I've been using the 8gb version for more than 6 months for 8+ hours a day.
I downgraded from 2017 16gb MacBook to 8gb M1 and the performance is so much better.
1
1
May 13, 2021 4:01 PM
108 Comments
Joined Apr 2016
kdeals82May 13, 2021 4:01 PM
108 Comments
For desktop computer that stays in your home office or at a place where you usually go when you want to sit down and focus or get important things done. 16gb ram makes more sense for such a computer. If you already have a computer with 16gb ram and good specs, getting MacBook Air with base configuration to get things done on the go makes sense, but for Mac mini, I would opt for 16gb ram even though I know 8gb is enough for my use case at the moment. I want to account for the future hobbies I may develop or things I might want to do in future on this computer.
May 13, 2021 9:39 PM
56 Comments
Joined Feb 2019
BaylorGreen84May 13, 2021 9:39 PM
56 Comments
I have the 8GB Mini and it's rock solid.

I consider myself a "power user" and have thrown CPU-intensive applications at it, including video editing, all with a dozens of Chrome tabs open, and there's never any hesitation or lag.

I have other computers, including 16gb+ Windows machines I've assembled myself, and I prefer the Mini much more. Not to mention it's quiet, puts out way less heat, and takes up very little space. Unless you are editing 8K video all day or compiling large applications, I can't see why anyone would need the 16gb version.
1
1
May 13, 2021 10:05 PM
2.5K Comments
Joined Nov 2014
WestCoastSDerMay 13, 2021 10:05 PM
2.5K Comments
Quote from BaylorGreen84 View quoted comment :
I have the 8GB Mini and it's rock solid.

I consider myself a "power user" and have thrown CPU-intensive applications at it, including video editing, all with a dozens of Chrome tabs open, and there's never any hesitation or lag.

I have other computers, including 16gb+ Windows machines I've assembled myself, and I prefer the Mini much more. Not to mention it's quiet, puts out way less heat, and takes up very little space. Unless you are editing 8K video all day or compiling large applications, I can't see why anyone would need the 16gb version.
This is relieving. Thank you!
May 13, 2021 10:16 PM
7.8K Comments
Joined Oct 2008
RumbleTheBisonMay 13, 2021 10:16 PM
7.8K Comments
This argument over the ram is just maddening, especially as it's full of folks who have either not used the model OR are basing it off PC usage.

Please listen more to those who have actually used this model. It's fine for daily usage. If you start trying to future proof yourself you'll price yourself out...
1
May 13, 2021 10:27 PM
269 Comments
Joined Nov 2006
van_bastenMay 13, 2021 10:27 PM
269 Comments
I never really look at the RAM and Swap usage. All I can tell is that with the base M1 mini, I have no problem running 20+ tabs on Chrome and do 4k video editing and everything runs fast with no lag. Things run more snappy in general than my PC with Ryzen 3700x, 16GB. And the Mini has absolutely no heat at all with much lower power consumption.
1
1
May 14, 2021 1:41 AM
130 Comments
Joined Feb 2008
rabidwallabyMay 14, 2021 1:41 AM
130 Comments
Quote from aaa187 View quoted comment :
So which answer is really true

Some say it is, some say it isn't
It's because of the issue that the ones with 8GB will use the SSD as swap space. Performance-wise, 8GB works great. But it *might* wear out the SSD prematurely because of the huge number of I/O operations.
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May 14, 2021 1:47 AM
9.5K Comments
Joined Dec 2013
doboy007May 14, 2021 1:47 AM
9.5K Comments
Quote from rabidwallaby View quoted comment :
It's because of the issue that the ones with 8GB will use the SSD as swap space. Performance-wise, 8GB works great. But it *might* wear out the SSD prematurely because of the huge number of I/O operations.
Except for rare use cases, SSD will outlive your upgrade cycle even when used for swap.

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