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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 05:39 AM
4 Posts
Joined Apr 2023
IyomoJun 06, 2023 05:39 AM
4 Posts
The new Macs would cost a minimum of $399, making it the most affordable option for purchasing a starter Mac Mini, with the option to return if necessary.
Jun 06, 2023 05:56 AM
990 Posts
Joined Jan 2011
teucerJun 06, 2023 05:56 AM
990 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.
Yeah the Mac ecosystem is pretty nice if you also have an iPad, iPhone and watch. Yes you pay a premium but like you said they also have better resell or trade in value than others
Jun 06, 2023 06:02 AM
990 Posts
Joined Jan 2011
teucerJun 06, 2023 06:02 AM
990 Posts
Quote from Eager2 :
My brother attempted to play games on it in order to make some use of it, but even his i5 Surface surpasses this device in performance.
I play some games on mine. If the games are running through Rosetta it definitely has lackluster performance vs native support.

At some point I imagine there will be sufficient cloud gaming support that it doesn't matter the device you're on
Jun 06, 2023 06:03 AM
742 Posts
Joined Feb 2011
nautiliiJun 06, 2023 06:03 AM
742 Posts
Quote from dealslicker8000 :
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.
Just install Open-Shell aka Classic Start / Classic Shell.
Pro
Jun 06, 2023 06:43 AM
7,158 Posts
Joined Sep 2014
MostBased
Pro
Jun 06, 2023 06:43 AM
7,158 Posts
Quote from elefante72 :
Don't support Apple in this e-waste initiative. You can buy a mini pc for less and you can actually upgrade it.
Amen. Apple is big on charging exorbitant amounts of money for usable storage even when storage is dirt cheap cheese days. No apple product constitutes a slick deal if we're being honest with ourselves.
1
Jun 06, 2023 07:02 AM
38 Posts
Joined Apr 2019
Glen1936Jun 06, 2023 07:02 AM
38 Posts
Quote from KyleJ5615 :
How well do these Mac minis handle Logic, Reaper, or any DAW?
Logic only runs on Mac (at least for a decade or so.) And it runs perfectly as it's optimized for the OS.

I haven't personally run Reaper on Mac but I'm not sure if it's optimized for Apple silicon or if it has to run in Rosetta.

FWIW, Logic is a perpetual license for $200 and if you're going Mac, it's a no brainer.

I can't stand the AVID subscription model so Logic is the obvious choice, for me.
Jun 06, 2023 07:46 AM
490 Posts
Joined Nov 2016
duc75Jun 06, 2023 07:46 AM
490 Posts
It's been over 20 years since I bought a windows pc but I'm thinking to buy this and run windows on Boot Camp. Is that a good decision?

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Jun 06, 2023 07:56 AM
2,953 Posts
Joined Sep 2014
msp3Jun 06, 2023 07:56 AM
2,953 Posts
Can I take this anywhere for a price match?
Jun 06, 2023 09:55 AM
742 Posts
Joined Feb 2011
nautiliiJun 06, 2023 09:55 AM
742 Posts
Quote from duc75 :
It's been over 20 years since I bought a windows pc but I'm thinking to buy this and run windows on Boot Camp. Is that a good decision?
If you want to run Windows, this would be about the worst possible choice of hardware.

Boot Camp no longer exists. Apple hardware is now exclusively using the ARM architecture, Windows is still using the x86 architecture. Windows cannot natively run on Apple hardware at all. There are virtualization options, but the compatibility and performance is far from perfect, and the good virtualization options cost money.

There are many used, very inexpensive small form factor PCs out there that can do a lot. I see on ebay right now an HP Z240 with a xeon e3-1230 v5 (similar to an i7-6700), 16GB DDR4 RAM, and a 256gb SSD for $100 buy it now or best offer, shipped. If you put an RTX A2000 in that machine for ~$275, you now have something that can run Blender and play games better than any Mac currently in production for less than the cost of this Mac mini.

Depending on what you want to do and what software you want to do it with, the M1/M2 chips can be pretty good. But in other ways they can be pretty anemic.
Jun 06, 2023 10:28 AM
9,298 Posts
Joined Nov 2008
LanmannaJun 06, 2023 10:28 AM
9,298 Posts
Quote from nautilii :
If you want to run Windows, this would be about the worst possible choice of hardware.

Boot Camp no longer exists. Apple hardware is now exclusively using the ARM architecture, Windows is still using the x86 architecture. Windows cannot natively run on Apple hardware at all. There are virtualization options, but the compatibility and performance is far from perfect, and the good virtualization options cost money.

There are many used, very inexpensive small form factor PCs out there that can do a lot. I see on ebay right now an HP Z240 with a xeon e3-1230 v5 (similar to an i7-6700), 16GB DDR4 RAM, and a 256gb SSD for $100 buy it now or best offer, shipped. If you put an RTX A2000 in that machine for ~$275, you now have something that can run Blender and play games better than any Mac currently in production for less than the cost of this Mac mini.

Depending on what you want to do and what software you want to do it with, the M1/M2 chips can be pretty good. But in other ways they can be pretty anemic.
Would the Z240 be a good choice for emulation? More specifically, emulation for newer gens? It seems like decent specs.
Jun 06, 2023 10:37 AM
727 Posts
Joined Nov 2022
CleverCreature256Jun 06, 2023 10:37 AM
727 Posts
Quote from Elon69 :
Zero for a home computer setup which is what a mini is geared for. Even if you have lab, no one has legit use-case that requires 10Gbe interconnections even if you are transfer between computers at home.

Connecting to the internet? no one needs that at home and getting 10Gbit ISP link makes no sense. What are you indexing the web? you'd run something in the Cloud and not at home cuz you need machines to crunch it. Run a large server farm at home? well that's just dumb due to electricity. Oh you're running mining rig? well that's silly too cuz these machines are not optimized for it.

Oh using it at the office? No one plumbs 10GbitE to desks and if you're sending that much data to the mini to crunch, it can't keep up with the processing power to do something with that data anyway so what's the point.

This is like asking for a 20in ZR rated tires on a 200hp Honda. You're not gonna run it 200mph to need the ZR rating tires.


"future proof" without a real use-case is just hallucination
No one needs more than 640k RAM
Jun 06, 2023 11:48 AM
82 Posts
Joined Nov 2017
pb903369Jun 06, 2023 11:48 AM
82 Posts
Quote from Lanmanna :
Would the Z240 be a good choice for emulation? More specifically, emulation for newer gens? It seems like decent specs.
Can I use z240 to download or watch from RD/Kodi? Looking for a mini-pc or Apple box solution for RD instead of Android box(onn)
Jun 06, 2023 11:49 AM
6,061 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveJun 06, 2023 11:49 AM
6,061 Posts
Quote from Eager2 :
My brother attempted to play games on it in order to make some use of it, but even his i5 Surface surpasses this device in performance.
Unless that Surface has a GPU and not an Intel iGPU, this should absolutely destroy the Surface. Have you tried Resident Evil: Village ?

You can argue there are exactly 5 Apple Silicon games ready-to-play (whatever the real number is) , but don't argue performance. Performance for a Metal 3 & ARM compiled game is stunning.
Jun 06, 2023 01:57 PM
189 Posts
Joined Aug 2012
cigar3tteJun 06, 2023 01:57 PM
189 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.
If I could play Lost Ark on the Mac Mini, I'd still have it. Sold it for the same reason you did. GeForce Now doesn't help because it doesn't support (top tier might now, but not back then) ultrawide resolution.

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Jun 06, 2023 05:41 PM
8 Posts
Joined Nov 2017
maprx1Jun 06, 2023 05:41 PM
8 Posts
They are not taking orderee for this model. It's seems every Mac mini is out of stock. The link now take you to a dead page. Earlier you could put a request for when it returns to stock. But that's gone.

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