M4 Mac mini

twosix

twosix

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kamsani0 said:
Many who bought macs are just casual user. Mac mini with the minimum specs just for browsing and general.

Power users go for those mid to high end range like the studio.

Looking forward to the new Mac Studio with M4 Ultra. After its announcement, will start saving up. Don't want to max out the credit card.
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You are right. This is the cheapest desktop pc one can buy now, between mac and windows. A lot of home users r buying the base model which is more than powerful enough for general use.
 
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kamsani0

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twosix said:
You are right. This is the cheapest desktop pc one can buy now, between mac and windows. A lot of home users r buying the base model which is more than powerful enough for general use.
Click to expand...

Even my lowest end PC setup for office use has a minimum of 16GB RAM and 500GB SSD Internal Storage.
 
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kamsani0

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reddevil0728 said:
Noted.

but those basic users that aren’t like you, do they need anything more than base?
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1. Mac Mini is OVERKILL with its M4 chip just for browsing and general use. Should take full advantage of the power of the chip.
2. 256GB Internal storage is NOT ENOUGH.
3. Use external storage, yes. but a lot of cache, background invisible files, downloads, etc will eventually fill up the 256GB space.
4. 256GB to last a few years? 2-3 years? doubt it.

1 very obvious reason why casual users think S$300 internal storage upgrade to 500GB is too expensive. Because SSD for PC is so cheap.

Basic users - GET A PC! Super cheap! Basic configuration is 16GB RAM and 500GB SSD. Best thing is the SSD storage can upgrade to high capacity when needed. SSD is CHEAP!

If a casual user decides one day to jump into the Apple ecosystem, it can be very very demanding on storage needs - like iTunes/Music, AppleTV, Apple Games, etc. Photo you snap from the iPhone will be sync to the Photo app on the mac mini. It will grow big fast.

If you insist on buying and using the M4 Mac Mini, upgrade the internal storage to 500GB. You don't need to upgrade the network port to 10GBe, unless you have a 10GBe network with other computers and NAS. If you are moving large files that require fast network speed, then you definitely need at least 500GB.

I've learnt from so many years and so many models of the Macs that I have used that best is to get the MIDDLE configuration. Base model don't cut it anymore. Especially storage and RAM.

My M1Pro Macbook has laster 4 years. Still using iMac 27" 2013 and iMac 27" 2017. All mid configurations.
 
reddevil0728

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kamsani0 said:
1. Mac Mini is OVERKILL with its M4 chip just for browsing and general use. Should take full advantage of the power of the chip.
2. 256GB Internal storage is NOT ENOUGH.
3. Use external storage, yes. but a lot of cache, background invisible files, downloads, etc will eventually fill up the 256GB space.
4. 256GB to last a few years? 2-3 years? doubt it.

1 very obvious reason why casual users think S$300 internal storage upgrade to 500GB is too expensive. Because SSD for PC is so cheap.

Basic users - GET A PC! Super cheap! Basic configuration is 16GB RAM and 500GB SSD. Best thing is the SSD storage can upgrade to high capacity when needed. SSD is CHEAP!

If a casual user decides one day to jump into the Apple ecosystem, it can be very very demanding on storage needs - like iTunes/Music, AppleTV, Apple Games, etc. Photo you snap from the iPhone will be sync to the Photo app on the mac mini. It will grow big fast.

If you insist on buying and using the M4 Mac Mini, upgrade the internal storage to 500GB. You don't need to upgrade the network port to 10GBe, unless you have a 10GBe network with other computers and NAS. If you are moving large files that require fast network speed, then you definitely need at least 500GB.

I've learnt from so many years and so many models of the Macs that I have used that best is to get the MIDDLE configuration. Base model don't cut it anymore. Especially storage and RAM.

My M1Pro Macbook has laster 4 years. Still using iMac 27" 2013 and iMac 27" 2017. All mid configurations.
Click to expand...
so if a causal user wants a Mac cause they are just used to Mac. And they don’t want PC, just base model of Mac mini is ok right? Don’t have to custom or anything.
 
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After I saw that M4 mini’s SSD is modular, I immediately ordered a base model.Looking to upgrade it with a 3rd party SSD soon.
 
Rubick

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Happy with my M4 Mac Mini 256GB with 10gbps port.
Dont think will even reach 200GB for my usage.
So dont understand why ppl say 256GB not sufficient
 
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Tukatuz

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reddevil0728 said:
precisely right.

so causal user doesn’t need more capacity unlike what some people say that its almost like necessary if not it’s nonsense just because to them they aren’t casual?
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I used an M1 for 4 years, doing basic photo and video editing (with everything stored on an external drive), and it worked just fine.. What matters most is that it works for ME. (Not sure why its hilarious)

Why would I spend extra money upgrading internal RAM or storage since M1 works fine and with M4, it shouldn't be worse? I don’t need lightning-fast video or photo exports, and I don’t do complex video editing.

Sure, PCs might be cheaper, but I’ve been using Apple products for years. Why switch to a PC now?

If you're getting $$ out from work, especially where time and speed matter, then yes, go ahead and get the best that suits your workflow.
 
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erwinrommel

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kamsani0 said:
Many who bought macs are just casual user. Mac mini with the minimum specs just for browsing and general.

Power users go for those mid to high end range like the studio.

Looking forward to the new Mac Studio with M4 Ultra. After its announcement, will start saving up. Don't want to
Click to expand...

My friends and i who buy and use Macs is because of multimedia editing and long battery life (for laptop). I consider myself casual user too, but I won't be using mac just for surfing net. :ROFLMAO:

Most people would have MS office, messaging and cloud storages apps as basic.
 
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kamsani0

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erwinrommel said:
My friends and i who buy and use Macs is because of multimedia editing and long battery life (for laptop). I consider myself casual user too, but I won't be using mac just for surfing net. :ROFLMAO:

Most people would have MS office, messaging and cloud storages apps as basic.
Click to expand...

Who are we to judge people who are casual users what is appropriate configuration that they MUST have?

If 256GB of storage is more than enough to last their lifetime, so be it.

If not, just buy an external storage to complement it.

Experienced users know. Basic configuration is NONSENSE! Adding external storage is NOT the answer to avoiding paying Apple Tax, i.e. the super expensive upgrades to storage and RAM.

What started as being a casual users, will eventually progresses into doing other things. May not be video editing, heavy-duty design works, etc.

Apple TV and Music is a great entertaiment hub no other OS can match.
 
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