M4 Mac mini

[Fellowes]

So far the delivery date has not change, Apple you don't have ready stock is it, wonder what other countries delivery date, is it same as us need to take so long 4-5 weeks. Lol

 

[Thunderlip]

So far the delivery date has not change, Apple you don't have ready stock is it, wonder what other countries delivery date, is it same as us need to take so long 4-5 weeks. Lol

I got an email this morning of changed delivery date. Original date was 13 March. New date range is 1-8 March.

 

[Fellowes]

I got an email this morning of changed delivery date. Original date was 13 March. New date range is 1-8 March.

Mine was originally 1-8 March, hoping it reach earlier maybe 3rd week or last week of Feb.

 

[junk610]

Mine was Mar 4. Flipped yesterday to Mar 1, so I think the earliest they have them in stock is probably Mar 1.

 

[Fellowes]

Mine was Mar 4. Flipped yesterday to Mar 1, so I think the earliest they have them in stock is probably Mar 1.

Guess they don't have ready stock for Asia market while USA and EU waiting time is way shorter. Perhaps Mac Mini not as popular in Asia comapre to western nations.

 

[junk610]

Guess they don't have ready stock for Asia market while USA and EU waiting time is way shorter. Perhaps Mac Mini not as popular in Asia comapre to western nations.

Yeah, and we probably bought Mac Minis cuz we got tired of waiting for the elusive iMac Pro with the bigger screen lol. Will be pairing it with a 32” LG 4k monitor. What are you guys using?

 

[Fellowes]

Yeah, and we probably bought Mac Minis cuz we got tired of waiting for the elusive iMac Pro with the bigger screen lol. Will be pairing it with a 32” LG 4k monitor. What are you guys using?

Pair with my existing Dell 27" 2K UltraSharp monitor + MX Master 3 + Keychron Keyboard + AudioEngine A2+.

 

[junk610]

Pair with my existing Dell 27" 2K UltraSharp monitor + MX Master 3 + Keychron Keyboard + AudioEngine A2+.

Nice setup. I love the Keychron keyboards. Classic. I’ll probably just reuse the keyboard and trackpad from my iMac though. Plus the HEDD Audio Type 05 speakers I already have.

 

[suchaloser]

Nice setup. I love the Keychron keyboards. Classic. I’ll probably just reuse the keyboard and trackpad from my iMac though. Plus the HEDD Audio Type 05 speakers I already have.

Am still thinking if I should get 16GB or 512GB SSD... Nice, what DAC/AMP you pair with your speakers?

 

[junk610]

Am still thinking if I should get 16GB or 512GB SSD... Nice, what DAC/AMP you pair with your speakers?

I’m using the Arcam irDAC with my speakers. They’re active speakers, so I only needed a DAC, not an amp. This setup has served me well for quite a number of years now.

I was in the same dilemma as you…16GB RAM or 512GB SSD.

I’ve checked plenty of reviews, and some folks with 5 tabs open in Chrome were already hitting 7GB RAM, with the Mac Mini already doing some memory swap. In the long run, this could tax the internal SSD, which doesn’t bode well for longevity. Also, I always have plenty of tabs open at any one time, and I’m pretty hard on multitasking, so the upgrade to 16GB RAM is a no brainer for me.

As for the internal SSD, I figured 512GB isn’t enough for me anyway. I’m already on 1TB on my iMac, and it’s barely enough. And since I sure as hell aren’t gonna let Apple fleece me the $1.2k just to upgrade to 2TB, I’ve decided to do it myself with an external SSD.

It‘s a 2TB Samsung 980 Pro PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD paired with the Acasis TBU405 Thunderbolt enclosure. Excellent reviews for this particular combo, and the damage was only about $360. I’ll be configuring it as my boot disk with the memory swap also performed from here.

That should give me plenty to play around with the next couple of years. The peace of mind is worth it.

 

[tec_geek]

Yea I think to get the 16GB RAM will be better as it’s not changeable or expandable.

As for storage, we can always plug in/expand it with external storage in future.

 

[junk610]

Yeah good point about RAM not expandable post purchase vs storage.
I still think Apple's an ass for charging a ridiculous fee for each upgrade though, especially when prices of chips have gone down substantially over the years.
Apple, how's 256GB a realistic base capacity for storage?? My base 2008 24" iMac came with 320GB of storage at the time...and that was a whopping 15 years ago! Even iPhones come with that much storage!
Apple's just nasty with their profit margins

 

[Fellowes]

Yeah good point about RAM not expandable post purchase vs storage.
I still think Apple's an ass for charging a ridiculous fee for each upgrade though, especially when prices of chips have gone down substantially over the years.
Apple, how's 256GB a realistic base capacity for storage?? My base 2008 24" iMac came with 320GB of storage at the time...and that was a whopping 15 years ago! Even iPhones come with that much storage!
Apple's just nasty with their profit margins

Like what they said, because Apple can, there is no alternative of another Apple, we all agree that the price of ram and ssd is ridiculously expensive when those parts are so cheap now.

 

[junk610]

It is what it is I guess. We’re all suckered into the pretty darn good ecosystem.

Oh by the way I just checked the Apple site, and it appears that if you order a base model today, you’ll receive it on Feb 28. Not sure if delivery dates have changed for you guys, but mine remain the same for a 16GB + 256GB config.

 

[longdi]

It is what it is I guess. We’re all suckered into the pretty darn good ecosystem.

Oh by the way I just checked the Apple site, and it appears that if you order a base model today, you’ll receive it on Feb 28. Not sure if delivery dates have changed for you guys, but mine remain the same for a 16GB + 256GB config.

Still earliest 28 Feb for my base model ordered 2 weeks ago.

 

[junk610]

Darn. Oh well guess I just gotta wait another 2 weeks.
The good news is that we’ll all be getting a pretty powerful machine.

 

[Kopi Gao]

For peace of mind sake ... is it OK to use a "good" normal (4K) TV as MM monitor? Currently using Dell but already have many lines appearing on the screen. Thanks!

 

[junk610]

For peace of mind sake ... is it OK to use a "good" normal (4K) TV as MM monitor? Currently using Dell but already have many lines appearing on the screen. Thanks!

I've actually considered that route too, but I didn't have peace of mind so i scrapped the idea lol. I believe tvs and monitors are engineered for different purposes for a reason.

2 of my concerns:
1. Longevity: Monitors are probably engineered for at least 10hrs of usage a day for office use. I can't imagine them doing the same for tv, since nobody watches tv 10hrs a day. I'm no expert though.
2. Comfort: Tvs are designed to be viewed from a distance, so they usually have nice glossy screens, very vibrant colors, and lower refresh rates. That may be nice for tv content, but may not be comfortable for Mac usage for long periods of time at close distance.

I do read about folks using 4K tvs as their monitors, but I'm just not sure if they work that well, especially since Mac seems to be finicky with resolutions. So for myself, I've decided to go the tried-and-tested route instead of having to deal with potential issues later.

But if you do decide to go with the 4K tv route, do let us know how that turned out for you. It could be a great idea, and I'm all for more options!

 

[iCubes]

Yeah, and we probably bought Mac Minis cuz we got tired of waiting for the elusive iMac Pro with the bigger screen lol. Will be pairing it with a 32” LG 4k monitor. What are you guys using?

I also got tired of waiting for the new iMacs to launch. I think I'll get a Mac Mini with the studio display. i really hate to pay so much for a monitor but the built in speakers with camera and aesthetics is so hard to resist....

 

[junk610]

I also got tired of waiting for the new iMacs to launch. I think I'll get a Mac Mini with the studio display. i really hate to pay so much for a monitor but the built in speakers with camera and aesthetics is so hard to resist....

Plus the build quality is excellent…solid aluminum is definitely nice. Good built in speakers and camera makes it a very appealing all-in-one package. Very few monitors out there are 5K, which is the native resolution for Mac. I say go for it, especially if color accuracy is important to you.

For me I needed at least a 32” 4K IPS monitor with height adjustability. Demoed at the store and literally couldn‘t tell any pixels apart at my usual viewing distance of around 60cm. Spreadsheets looked very crisp and sharp…it was perfect even at 80% font size. Snagged a great deal on the 32” 4K LG 32UN650 for only $470 on Lazada.

Yeah the new and bigger iMac is a big question mark, with no ETA in sight. Plus there’s no guarantee it’ll be 32”, so I’m out. Probably a good thing anyway…you can’t take it apart to fix anything that requires fixing.