Select Costco Wholesale Stores (
link for reference only) [
store locator] offer Costco Members:
Apple Mac Mini Compact Computer w/ Apple M1 Chip (Late 2020 Model, MGNR3LL/A) on closeout for
$399.97 valid for In-Store Purchase Only where stock permits (request item # 1486314).
Thanks to community member
Laotzu3 for finding this deal.
- Note: Inventory availability nay vary by location.
Specs:- Apple M1 Octa-Core Processor (4x high-performance + 4x high-efficiency)
- 8-Core Integrated GPU
- 8GB RAM (onboard)
- 256GB Integrated NVMe PCIe Solid State Drive
- 802.11ax WiFi 6 / Bluetooth 5.0
- Ports:
- 2x USB Type-A (USB 3.1 / USB 3.2 Gen 1)
- 2x Thunderbolt 3 USB Type C (supports DisplayPort / HDMI / VGA & Power Delivery)
- 1x HDMI 2.0 (output)
- 1x 3.5 mm Headphone
- 1x Ethernet
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Top Comments
To get disk access on par with M1 you need to pay $200 to upgrade to 512gb ($799 or $699)
https://youtu.be/bF_Lbdqfowo
341 Comments
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I would go base M2 + 2tb nvme drive all day long over a 256 M1 mini
However note I've done this my self and the following are the performance numbers:
Internal SSD (M1): 3408MB/s read, 2194MB/s write
Thunderbolt NVMe: 1995 read, 962 write
USB-c NVMe: 709 read, 717 write
This was using wavlink external TB case with a WDS100T2B0C drive.
Also the M2 256gb would be approx half as fast as the M1 256GB.
Quite a while back I was able to build an I7 overclocked hackintosh that was faster than anything Apple would put out, for less than half the price, and it worked flawlessly.
These days, the OS doesn't work (without some serious hacking) with the latest Intel generations, and the performance benefit vs. Mac Mini isn't exactly impressive.
Re: performance, the i5-12400 (a cheap chip) is pretty close to the performance of a base Mini ($499) - it's still a bit better. If you already own the Intel chip / setup, or if you have a better Intel setup, with an AMD graphics card, already, the math looks pretty good on the Hackintosh side still. With a decent AMD GPU, your Hackintosh can be faster (graphics, gaming, etc.) than any Mac ever made quite easily.
It's not hard. I've several guides on GitHub myself for the full process.
However note I've done this my self and the following are the performance numbers:
Internal SSD (M1): 3408MB/s read, 2194MB/s write
Thunderbolt NVMe: 1995 read, 962 write
USB-c NVMe: 709 read, 717 write
This was using wavlink external TB case with a WDS100T2B0C drive.
Also the M2 256gb would be approx half as fast as the M1 256GB.
Edit:
Interesting, anyone know why 0ric0 is blocked on SD?
In my experience the key factors for longevity in mac minis are:
1) App support for the OS version
2) Physical ports
Prior to picking up the M1 I was relying on a 2014 i7 16GB. App support is still fine for it and it displays 4k just fine, but the lack of any USB-C ports was becoming untenable.
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However note I've done this my self and the following are the performance numbers:
Internal SSD (M1): 3408MB/s read, 2194MB/s write
Thunderbolt NVMe: 1995 read, 962 write
USB-c NVMe: 709 read, 717 write
This was using wavlink external TB case with a WDS100T2B0C drive.
Also the M2 256gb would be approx half as fast as the M1 256GB.
Put a random user in front of normal Windows 11 machine for normal Windows use, and I'll bet you money he can't tell the difference between the different NVME and SSD interfaces and speeds. RandomIO is what matters.
You can actually (!!) have a good experience with a SATA SSD on a USB2 (yeah, 2 - limited to about 35-40MB/s, how's that for slow!) interface, booting Windows from USB2. Yeah, it's slower, but it beats the living daylights out of using a HDD on a far faster SATA interface. The reason is because while Maximum Speeds (think: the BlackMagic useless benchmark) is only 40MB/s (vs. the HDDs 500MB/s SATA interface), random IO is also at around 40MB/s, and it won't drop much; it's not nearly as limited by the slow USB2 interface, since it was never much higher than that to begin with. And it will DESTROY the HDD speeds on that fast 500MB/s SATA interface because random IO, not max speed, is what matters.
People need to understand how disks work.
Obviously, not cheap, but it's offset by the cheap machine. I also upgraded the RAM to 16Gb.
You can also have the OS run off of the external drive instead of the internal drive. You won't even need to worry about the TBW that way.
I also bought and returned an Mini M2 Pro maxed out on processor and a 1tb drive.. it was fast, but not fast enough over the lower one to make the price worth it.
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However note I've done this my self and the following are the performance numbers:
Internal SSD (M1): 3408MB/s read, 2194MB/s write
Thunderbolt NVMe: 1995 read, 962 write
USB-c NVMe: 709 read, 717 write
This was using wavlink external TB case with a WDS100T2B0C drive.
Also the M2 256gb would be approx half as fast as the M1 256GB.
There's no worry about os updates on old machines anymore.. (see Mr. Mac on youtube)..
However note I've done this my self and the following are the performance numbers:
Internal SSD (M1): 3408MB/s read, 2194MB/s write
Thunderbolt NVMe: 1995 read, 962 write
USB-c NVMe: 709 read, 717 write
This was using wavlink external TB case with a WDS100T2B0C drive.
Also the M2 256gb would be approx half as fast as the M1 256GB.
Then you need to be sure that the NVMe drive you pick can at least do 3000 read/write... AND you need to be sure the drive you picked has DRAM... I will report results when I get all of this in this week!
At that point you should be just about equal with the internal M1 drive, on an M2 Base.
Also - I haven't looked but do the M1's have Thunderbolt 4?
Re: performance, the i5-12400 (a cheap chip) is pretty close to the performance of a base Mini ($499) - it's still a bit better. If you already own the Intel chip / setup, or if you have a better Intel setup, with an AMD graphics card, already, the math looks pretty good on the Hackintosh side still. With a decent AMD GPU, your Hackintosh can be faster (graphics, gaming, etc.) than any Mac ever made quite easily.
It's not hard. I've several guides on GitHub myself for the full process.
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There's no worry about os updates on old machines anymore.. (see Mr. Mac on youtube)..
Yeah. "No worry". OK.
Sure, for a techie it's easy. For an average user, nah. Just get a supported Mac.
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