Micro Center Stores: Apple Mac Mini Desktop w/ M4 Chip, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD

NPFP

Dec 13, 2024 06:22 AM

82 Posts

Joined May 2008

NPFPDec 13, 2024 06:22 AM

82 Posts

Quote from hiteshseth

:

How do you manage remote for your 'Apple TV' or are you just relying on mouse/keyboard for navigation?

Air Mouse TV remote, $4 on Aliexpress.

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waf4545

Dec 13, 2024 06:27 AM

629 Posts

Joined May 2011

waf4545Dec 13, 2024 06:27 AM

629 Posts

Quote from Surge99

:

I don't know what's better but something to consider in your comparison is that the GPU probably cost as much as the the Apple computer before you add every other component to have a whole PC.

Not really I paid $2000 for the gaming pc (I'm not a gamer). My friend paid $1699 for his Mini Pro (Not the $500 base)

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waf4545

Dec 13, 2024 06:39 AM

629 Posts

Joined May 2011

waf4545Dec 13, 2024 06:39 AM

629 Posts

Quote from J3ff

:

Not true in the least brother. You need to fact check yourself.

My test was enough I pulled the trigger on a gaming PC instead of the Mini Pro. I received it earlier. Prove me wrong let's run a live test together my PC vs your Mini I'll send you the video files we'll use the same NLE.

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Abhi88

Dec 13, 2024 06:49 AM

1,738 Posts

Joined Nov 2018

Abhi88Dec 13, 2024 06:49 AM

1,738 Posts

Quote from J3ff

:

Not true in the least brother. You need to fact check yourself.

You need to be real before saying these can compete against 4080. It could may be 4070 around at best. These are good for power saving with good performance not the beast everyone is saying

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ElatedSparrow1421

Dec 13, 2024 09:15 AM

24 Posts

Joined Nov 2022

ElatedSparrow1421Dec 13, 2024 09:15 AM

24 Posts

Got one with the edu discount, and the thing is incredible value for the price. Runs cool, has handled everything I've thrown at it, just a great value for the price. No wonder Intel stock is sinking - if this is what ARM based processors are capable of, x86 is obsolete for majority of consumer workloads.

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OoTLink

Dec 13, 2024 10:06 AM

1,283 Posts

Joined Nov 2006

OoTLinkDec 13, 2024 10:06 AM

1,283 Posts

Quote from Camaro45th

:

if I had $500 to spend, I would think of upgrading. Remember the time when you bought a new computer and it came with a mouse and keyboard?
I guess those days are in the rear view mirror at this point.

The Mac mini came out like 20 years ago and never came with a mouse or keyboard

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LavenderStar992

Dec 13, 2024 12:06 PM

187 Posts

Joined Nov 2018

LavenderStar992Dec 13, 2024 12:06 PM

187 Posts

I bought this recently. Only does 4K@30 over HDMI (new 8K@60 capable cables) or TB4 to my 4K TV. Have to use 3rd party app to force 4K@60. A Dell laptop connected to same TV, does 4K@60 without fuss.
Dell allows volume control when outputting to the TV.
Mac only outputs sound at fixed volume to TV. Again, need 3rd party app for workaround.
Both issues are well known in the tech world. But Apple Support is puzzled why I am having this issue.
I am leery of using 3rd party apps that operate at the OS level!

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strayalive

Dec 13, 2024 01:11 PM

106 Posts

Joined Dec 2016

strayaliveDec 13, 2024 01:11 PM

106 Posts

Quote from LavenderStar992

:

I bought this recently. Only does 4K over HDMI (new 8K capable cables) or TB4 to my 4K TV. Have to use 3rd party app to force 4K. A Dell laptop connected to same TV, does 4K without fuss. Dell allows volume control when outputting to the TV. Mac only outputs sound at fixed volume to TV. Again, need 3rd party app for workaround. Both issues are well known in the tech world. But Apple Support is puzzled why I am having this issue. I am leery of using 3rd party apps that operate at the OS level!

Uh... the Mac Mini has exactly zero problems with 4k60 output over HDMI 2.0 - if you're having issues its most likely on the TV side. Check your TV's manual and make sure you're using the correct input; a lot of pre 2020 TVs had limited (sometimes just one) HDMI 2 inputs and sometimes you actually had to enable it too. As far as the audio thing when you adjust volume on the computer you're basically downsampling before outputting. I get that you would want to, but its generally a bad practice and Macs have a bit of a reputation to uphold in audio production settings.

Anyway I grabbed a Mini for $500 during the Costco sale and grabbed a 1tb 20Gbps external to pair with it for way less than an upgrade to 512 from Apple. I hadn't used MacOS regularly for years but I really love this thing so far.

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yourbuddypal

Dec 13, 2024 01:16 PM

170 Posts

Joined Feb 2009

yourbuddypalDec 13, 2024 01:16 PM

170 Posts

Quote from hiteshseth

:

How do you manage remote for your 'Apple TV' or are you just relying on mouse/keyboard for navigation?

I use Windows as an HTPC currently, but I highly recommend unified remote! I rarely bust out the keyboard. https://www.unifiedremote.com/download

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Zetaplus93

Dec 13, 2024 01:32 PM

95 Posts

Joined Dec 2009

Zetaplus93Dec 13, 2024 01:32 PM

95 Posts

Quote from pointbob

:

You are saying you "know" the future? In 2 years the 8gb m2 will be unuseable. Would you bet your life on that?

I had the 8GB M1 Mac mini and it became unusable after 1 year. Unusable meaning that opening more than 10 tabs in Safari slowed things down considerably. It just didn't have enough RAM to operate.

Definitely get at least 16GB with the M-series Macs.

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LavenderStar992

Dec 13, 2024 01:48 PM

187 Posts

Joined Nov 2018

LavenderStar992Dec 13, 2024 01:48 PM

187 Posts

Quote from strayalive

:

Uh... the Mac Mini has exactly zero problems with 4k60 output over HDMI 2.0 - if you're having issues its most likely on the TV side. Check your TV's manual and make sure you're using the correct input; a lot of pre 2020 TVs had limited (sometimes just one) HDMI 2 inputs and sometimes you actually had to enable it too. As far as the audio thing when you adjust volume on the computer you're basically downsampling before outputting. I get that you would want to, but its generally a bad practice and Macs have a bit of a reputation to uphold in audio production settings.

Anyway I grabbed a Mini for $500 during the Costco sale and grabbed a 1tb 20Gbps external to pair with it for way less than an upgrade to 512 from Apple. I hadn't used MacOS regularly for years but I really love this thing so far.

Ok, genius … tested using same TV HDMI port and same HDMI cable which Dell does 4K60. Mac does not. The fact that 3rd party utility BetterDisplay makes it work fine proves canle and port has nothing to do with it.

Overall, I love the thing but for these two stupid quirks that forces me to have to use 3rd party software

Last edited by LavenderStar992 December 13, 2024 at 06:50 AM.

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fueradeljuego

Dec 13, 2024 01:50 PM

1,626 Posts

Joined Aug 2009

fueradeljuegoDec 13, 2024 01:50 PM

1,626 Posts

when they have a sale on one with 512 gb I'll jump on it but not before

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schlack

Dec 13, 2024 02:14 PM

2,914 Posts

Joined Jun 2014

schlackDec 13, 2024 02:14 PM

2,914 Posts

Quote from CoolAlpaca551

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I'm not familiar with Macs, can this thing run games like Cyberpunk or Battlefield?

Yes, this is definitely gaming capable. It's more powerful than a current gen Xbox Series S by a large margin, and games are being natively optimized for the M chip. Just don't expect discrete GPU level performance.

Some games live, Cyperpunk at 4:16s https://youtu.be/iXVTt1pYTrw?si=2Twyz_0fEO3ztY5w

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schlack

Dec 13, 2024 02:17 PM

2,914 Posts

Joined Jun 2014

schlackDec 13, 2024 02:17 PM

2,914 Posts

Quote from fueradeljuego

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when they have a sale on one with 512 gb I'll jump on it but not before

Since this is a desktop with thunderbolt ports, and not a laptop that will be on the move, I think the best value and performance will be to get the cheapest storage version and add a multi-terabyte high-speed external drive, or even a NAS depending on needs.

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strayalive

Dec 13, 2024 02:20 PM

106 Posts

Joined Dec 2016

strayaliveDec 13, 2024 02:20 PM

106 Posts

Quote from LavenderStar992

:

Ok, genius … tested using same TV HDMI port and same HDMI cable which Dell does 4K60. Mac does not. The fact that 3rd party utility BetterDisplay makes it work fine proves canle and port has nothing to do with it. Overall, I love the thing but for these two stupid quirks that forces me to have to use 3rd party software

I mean... did you even try to change it to 60hz in the Display settings? I'm not clairvoyant and computers typically aren't either, and it sounds like at some point it identified your TV as 4k30. The Mini has no issue with 4k60 so if you want to fix it its doable with no need for third party apps, but if you're just looking for an excuse to return it and go back to Windows you're probably better off just returning it and getting a Chinese mini PC or something instead.

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Micro Center Stores: Apple Mac Mini Desktop w/ M4 Chip, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD

$500

$600

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