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expiredRelaxedMask8020 posted Jun 03, 2023 05:35 PM
expiredRelaxedMask8020 posted Jun 03, 2023 05:35 PM

Apple Mac Mini: M1, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD (Late 2020 Model)

+ Free Shipping

$399

$699

42% off
PC Connection
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Deal Details
PC Connection has Apple Mac Mini Compact Computer w/ Apple M1 Chip (Late 2020 Model, MGNR3LL/A) on sale for $399. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Community Member RelaxedMask8020 for finding this deal.
  • Note: Temporarily Out-of-Stock but available to order.
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

Editor's Notes

Written by StrawMan86 | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • This price is slightly ($0.97) less than a popular (+124) March Frontpage deal.
  • Please refer to the Forum Thread for further discussion regarding this deal.

Original Post

Written by RelaxedMask8020
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
PC Connection has Apple Mac Mini Compact Computer w/ Apple M1 Chip (Late 2020 Model, MGNR3LL/A) on sale for $399. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Community Member RelaxedMask8020 for finding this deal.
  • Note: Temporarily Out-of-Stock but available to order.
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

Editor's Notes

Written by StrawMan86 | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • This price is slightly ($0.97) less than a popular (+124) March Frontpage deal.
  • Please refer to the Forum Thread for further discussion regarding this deal.

Original Post

Written by RelaxedMask8020

Community Voting

Deal Score
+56
Good Deal
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Top Comments

jcrandall6
127 Posts
93 Reputation
So the M1 Mac Mini could make sense for some users over the M2, if they don't do things graphic intensive. The M1 has full speed storage, while the M2 base version storage is half the speed of the M1. They switched to a single chip for the 256GB versus using two 128GB chips. Processor speed is in the 15% range faster. Graphics gets two more cores. $100 savings versus the M2 education or refurb $499 price. Tough call for me but I took the older M1 for the 20% savings. May be the right call for some users, but there is a summary on the $100 difference.
wsush
2890 Posts
715 Reputation
Can i upgrade the mini pc to a Mac?
StevenS5131
12 Posts
22 Reputation
I know some people poopoo Macs for any number of reasons. I got a Mac mini m1 a bit after launch, used it for a year, them sold it and built a gaming desktop. I lost almost no money on resale. It's a slick little package. If you haven't played in the Mac ecosystem for a couple of decades, pick up a Mac mini and take it for a whirl. You might like it, and if you don't, sell it. Chalk it up to a few bucks on an interesting experience.

114 Comments

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Jun 06, 2023 03:28 AM
301 Posts
Joined Nov 2008
mc68386Jun 06, 2023 03:28 AM
301 Posts
Can I play Crystal Quest and Dark Castle/Beyond Dark Castle on this?
Serious question - I haven't used a Mac in about 25 years and those were mostly what I used them for back in the day.
Jun 06, 2023 03:30 AM
1,041 Posts
Joined May 2004
BunduckieJun 06, 2023 03:30 AM
1,041 Posts
Quote from MemorableWren1309 :
M2 is $499 at Costco hmm

Edit: not anymore
It was at Amazon too, don't worry that price will be back soon
Jun 06, 2023 03:33 AM
22 Posts
Joined Nov 2013
KyleJ5615Jun 06, 2023 03:33 AM
22 Posts
How well do these Mac minis handle Logic, Reaper, or any DAW?
Jun 06, 2023 03:34 AM
413 Posts
Joined Nov 2021
JollyJuice3134Jun 06, 2023 03:34 AM
413 Posts
Quote from GDBF :
FYI the Apple Back to School promotion started today. You can get the newer base M2 Mini for $499 through the Education Store plus a $100 Apple gift card, so essentially around the same $399 price as the M1 in this deal.
Link? I can't find it.
Jun 06, 2023 03:37 AM
6,061 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveJun 06, 2023 03:37 AM
6,061 Posts
Quote from stacks3000 :
All technologists are going to say future proofing but the reality is nothing is going to utilize that speed even if you have a device connected to it as it will still depend on whatever the rate limiting step is. You could have 3/4 of the computer have 10gbe speeds but if you have one 1/4 1gbe that will be your rate limiting step. The whole thing needs to 10gbe compatible for it to be worth it and they arent so its a waste. Same issue with tb4/usb4 with 40 gb/s speeds. Yea it's nice having the latest and greatest but nothing can utilize yet.
I'm not sure what this says.

10GBe is best for high speed inside-your-network traffic. In order to take advantage of it, you'll need a 10GBe switch (which the questions above imply they don't have), which is still, in 2023, expensive, even for a basic 8 port 10GBe switch. A GigE unmanaged 8 port switch might be $20 at the low end (and up from there); a similar 10GBe 8 port switch typically starts at $500 to $700.

Web traffic? No.

This is for hyper converged infrastructure - picture running a single PC (server) and then on that, loading it up with RAM and CPU and a fast (10GBe) NIC or two or three or four. Then imagine running 20 or 40 busy virtual machines - all working and doing things on them - with lots of network traffic on each one. (Granted, in this example network communication is internal, but I digress...imaging they talk on that NIC, or there are multiple servers...)

Or, it might be for faster access to a Synology 10GBe NAS. Even if all your clients are stuck at 1GBe, each would be able to build a 1GBe connection to the Synology NAS, and if you have 7 clients hitting it, you could potentially get around 700-800MB/s out of it from 10GBe, obviously about 10x what GigE can offer.

Or (pick your use case here) ...
Jun 06, 2023 03:38 AM
2,627 Posts
Joined Feb 2007
MrApertureJun 06, 2023 03:38 AM
2,627 Posts
Quote from JollyJuice3134 :
Link? I can't find it.
https://www.apple.com/us-edu/shop...--product-
Jun 06, 2023 03:39 AM
2,314 Posts
Joined Nov 2010
Elon69Jun 06, 2023 03:39 AM
2,314 Posts
Quote from LavenderPickle7682 :
8gb of ram. in 2023.

That's a joke. I don't care how amazingly well macs are at using it -- it's still 8gb. They just released two machines today that can be upgraded to 192gb. So if "8gb is more than enough", why'd they go do that?

There's a time and place to cut corners, and then there's ewaste.
Microsoft sells 4GB Surface Go 3. Not sure what your point is complaining about RAM that is twice as much as Microsoft's device. lol

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Jun 06, 2023 03:39 AM
6,061 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveJun 06, 2023 03:39 AM
6,061 Posts
Quote from Id10tech :
I've purchased older Mac Minis and they are awesome if you do regular stuff (web browsing, messages, email, apple eco system stuff). Don't upgrade the software! If you're Mac is a couple years old…stay at that IOS.
iOS? Macs run MacOS. And your suggestion is very bad advice from a security and functionality point of view.
Jun 06, 2023 03:50 AM
147 Posts
Joined Dec 2006
tamster121Jun 06, 2023 03:50 AM
147 Posts
Quote from dclive :
I'm not sure what this says.

10GBe is best for high speed inside-your-network traffic. In order to take advantage of it, you'll need a 10GBe switch (which the questions above imply they don't have), which is still, in 2023, expensive, even for a basic 8 port 10GBe switch. A GigE unmanaged 8 port switch might be $20 at the low end (and up from there); a similar 10GBe 8 port switch typically starts at $500 to $700.

Web traffic? No.

This is for hyper converged infrastructure - picture running a single PC (server) and then on that, loading it up with RAM and CPU and a fast (10GBe) NIC or two or three or four. Then imagine running 20 or 40 busy virtual machines - all working and doing things on them - with lots of network traffic on each one. (Granted, in this example network communication is internal, but I digress...imaging they talk on that NIC, or there are multiple servers...)

Or, it might be for faster access to a Synology 10GBe NAS. Even if all your clients are stuck at 1GBe, each would be able to build a 1GBe connection to the Synology NAS, and if you have 7 clients hitting it, you could potentially get around 700-800MB/s out of it from 10GBe, obviously about 10x what GigE can offer.

Or (pick your use case here) ...
10gbe switches are cheap. An 8 port 10gbe switch from Ubiquiti or Microtik is below $300 and a 5 port is $160 brand new. You can get used Mellanox Connectx-3 10gbe NICs off eBay for like $30, or a bit more for Connectx-4 or newer. 10gbe tech is very old in corporate world so you can buy used enterprise parts for very cheap.

It is definitely worth it if you have a NAS or other servers at home. I like to take photos and routinely transfer tens or hundreds of GB of files across the network for editing. 10gbe (or higher) is the only way to make that work.
Jun 06, 2023 03:56 AM
6,061 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveJun 06, 2023 03:56 AM
6,061 Posts
Quote from tamster121 :
10gbe switches are cheap. An 8 port 10gbe switch from Ubiquiti or Microtik is below $300 and a 5 port is $160 brand new. You can get used Mellanox Connectx-3 10gbe NICs off eBay for like $30, or a bit more for Connectx-4 or newer. 10gbe tech is very old in corporate world so you can buy used enterprise parts for very cheap.

It is definitely worth it if you have a NAS or other servers at home. I like to take photos and routinely transfer tens or hundreds of GB of files across the network for editing. 10gbe (or higher) is the only way to make that work.
Used is always cheaper; I quote new. New, the GBe stuff is dirt cheap, and 10GBe stuff is 20x to 40x the price. For most home use, it's a nonstarter. It also (almost; yes I know 5e can do X feet at 10GBe) requires CAT6A, which most homes don't have even in 2023.

Ubiquiti? $300: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/pr...ation.html - now add what you'll need to get ethernet working with SFP+.

And 10GBe obviously isn't "the only way" to make network transfers work. Rather than XGB of photos (just how many DO you have to transfer at once?) taking X seconds, it would take 10X seconds, give or take; for most people the overall impact to their life or their workflows in that type of scenario borders on "exactly none".

YMMV, your experience may vary, and you may disagree. Free country. But I don't think GBe is going to be replaced by 10GBe except for the home server / geek crowd for at least a few years yet.
Last edited by dclive June 5, 2023 at 10:00 PM.
Jun 06, 2023 04:19 AM
433 Posts
Joined Apr 2009
crazygideonJun 06, 2023 04:19 AM
433 Posts
Quote from aughsum :
Said machine is $7000. This M1 Mac runs great with 8GB, better than any $400 Windows computer with 16GB.
It's sad said machine is $7000 when 4 sticks of good DDR5 48gb is $850 or $600 for slower kits. That's one hell of a mark up for the rest of the components that don't even come with even one 4090.
Jun 06, 2023 04:23 AM
181 Posts
Joined May 2010
dealslicker8000Jun 06, 2023 04:23 AM
181 Posts
Quote from StevenS5131 :
I know some people poopoo Macs for any number of reasons. I got a Mac mini m1 a bit after launch, used it for a year, them sold it and built a gaming desktop. I lost almost no money on resale. It's a slick little package. If you haven't played in the Mac ecosystem for a couple of decades, pick up a Mac mini and take it for a whirl. You might like it, and if you don't, sell it. Chalk it up to a few bucks on an interesting experience.
Where did you sell it?

I have an intel 12th gen currently and I'm increasingly annoyed by windows. Remember when search actually looked for files on your PC vs. searching the internet?!

Mac appeals to me for 1) iphone integration & 2) the hope of a more of a traditional "PC" experience (like windows used to have)

The big downside to me is the non-ability to upgrade apple silicon though.
Jun 06, 2023 04:24 AM
7,155 Posts
Joined Aug 2010
rootbearJun 06, 2023 04:24 AM
7,155 Posts
You buy this machine for your S.O. to get out of tech support hell.
Jun 06, 2023 04:50 AM
12 Posts
Joined Dec 2014
roro2014Jun 06, 2023 04:50 AM
12 Posts
Jeeez this is getting silly. Apple most be getting desperate.
2

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Jun 06, 2023 05:16 AM
7,155 Posts
Joined Aug 2010
rootbearJun 06, 2023 05:16 AM
7,155 Posts
Quote from roro2014 :
Jeeez this is getting silly. Apple most be getting desperate.
They are not the seller

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