Base M1 Mac Mini in 2024.

[mac38728]

I’ve been looking at a refurbished M1 Mac Mini, does anyone still currently have one and how is it running? I don’t need anything more than the base model as it’ll only really be used for light gaming and work. Is it worth to buy for around ~$350 or should I get a refurbished M2 or wait for the M3.

Also if you have one, what monitors and keyboards do you use or recommend?

 

[jazz1]

I’ve been looking at a refurbished M1 Mac Mini, does anyone still currently have one and how is it running? I don’t need anything more than the base model as it’ll only really be used for light gaming and work. Is it worth to buy for around ~$350 or should I get a refurbished M2 or wait for the M3.

Also if you have one, what monitors and keyboards do you use or recommend?

I’ve had my M1 since it was introduced. I did go for 16GB RAM and 512 GB of SSD. It runs great with two Dell 27” monitors and a Logitech mini mechanical keyboard. I usually have Tidal/Apple Music, Safari (two windows), Message and Mail open. Along with Photo when I need it.

i do note this usually leaves me with 6GB of RAM free according to Clean-My-Mac.

I don’t use it for gaming. So k can be of no help with tha question.

What is the storage and RAM config of this refurb?

 

[mac38728]

I’ve had my M1 since it was introduced. I did go for 16GB RAM and 512 GB of SSD. It runs great with two Dell 27” monitors and a Logitech mini mechanical keyboard. I usually have Tidal/Apple Music, Safari (two windows), Message and Mail open. Along with Photo when I need it.

i do note this usually leaves me with 6GB of RAM free according to Clean-My-Mac.

I don’t use it for gaming. So k can be of no help with tha question.

What is the storage and RAM config of this refurb?

8/256, a base model. Would I need 16 even if its light work?

 

[FreakinEurekan]

M1 mini works great. I also have 16/512 because that's what I decided was going to work best for me. 8/256 is fine as long as you have a realistic expectation of what it'll do.

$350 seems reasonable to me. You can get a M2 8/256 on the refurb store right now for $509, so $350's a good discount from that.

As far as monitor - whatever you like. They're commodities now and there are hundreds of options.

Keyboard - I really like the Apple Touch ID keyboard. Super handy to be able to use Touch ID for unlocking, password access, etc. etc. I resisted the Touch ID keyboard for a while, because I had an older Apple Magic Keyboard that was "Fine" so why spend the $$$ on it? Finally got one and I'm glad I did.

 

[i486dx2-66]

My M1 MacBook Air is one of my favorite computers of all time. Even now having a M3 MBA, I reach for the M1 MBA more often than not, and the M1 cpu doesn't hold me back.

That being said, "it’ll only really be used for light gaming and work" is extremely broad... It would be hard for anyone here to tell you if it will meet your needs or not.

 

[ipos]

bump this. Also think of getting a base m1 Mac mini. Or is it better to get m2 for light work and to future proof

 

[Fishrrman]

What follows is my opinion only.

I wouldn't buy ANY m-series Mac unless it came with 16gb of RAM.
Say this to yourself 3 times:
16gb is "the new 8"...

Monitors?
I'd suggest 27", 4k. Many choices available at many price points.
I like Dell and Viewsonic.

Keyboards?

https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Advanced-Illuminated-Wireless-Keyboard/dp/B082TSD2W5/ref=sr_1_3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.SEHWYBXVkUSJJaVaqoMC5_0fM9YP5ZHR2QMnhD37QevhZRg8YjME9TmQiXPYnlhutmjBjxuh3BIkl_cPqqtJEXW64BzIVkmLo20p_RUNY7C6HBR5f6u12gEi8NQRg81I35MMU5-vPTK7HrNNFGnRuzgiiZAx-K6YAv4pFfc7aoF75tl4nLRGkg9nkcP1FjDei0QcDn-_SLjfPjZ7iqnDWDqhMeUlo4Yj_DKyWxG4mdI.gdFRwkAOkb7oZQAensE79bCqrc_gUBMKSviwiH5ID6o&dib_tag=se&keywords=logitech+mx+keys+mac&qid=1713107496&sr=8-3&th=1

(wireless [can be used with their unifying receiver], but I think it also works with a USB connection for those times when you need a wired keyboard)

Mouse?
Logitech -- get one which uses the "unifying receiver".

 

[karatekidk]

I can't say anything about base M1 mini, but my 16/512 M1 mini has been great for work, watching Netflix and occasional iMovie projects. I use Logitech MX Keys Mini for Mac and MX Anywhere 3 for Mac - they are definitely an upgrade from the 1st-gen Apple wireless keyboard and Magic Mouse I had been using for many years.

 

[meson]

I have a 16/256 M1 mini with an LG 32 UL500 display and Apple Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad as my productivity machine in my office. It is excellent. The only reason I splurged on 16GB of ram is that on occasion I will fire up a Windows virtual machine. This thing is excellent. I use a WD Blue 1TB nvme ssd in an enclosure to supplement my storage.

I have a 16/1TB M1 13" MBP as my work laptop, and it is up to anything I ask of it as well.

I have base 8/256 M1 Airs in my teaching lab at work, and my wife has one we got for her preK classroom. I've watched her run her portrait photography workflow (one of her side-hustles) on that base model M1 Air, and it handles the work remarkably well. Sure it swaps like crazy but we live in a time where SSD storage is nearly as fast as ram was 20 years ago, so the impact on most tasks is minimal. Apple's base machines are incredibly capable when we do not try to micromanage them or stare at system monitoring applications nonstop. (I can only imagine the backlash if iOS or iPadOS had an Activity Monitor and iStat/Stats equivalents.)

For your stated uses, the base model M1 will handle the work just fine. That said, if you can get one with the education discount, at $499, the base model M2 would be worth the price for the extra couple rounds of MacOS updates those machines will get compared to M1. At this point, I don't believe we'll see M3 minis, and I wouldn't expect M4 minis before the November to January timeframe, possibly October if they launch the M4/M4 Pro simultaneously.

When it comes to the monitor, there are many opinions. If you've only been using Apple retina displays for years, then anything lower resolution may be a nonstarter. If you've been working with a mixture of displays, then 27" 4k and 32" 4k offer some nice compromises. For me, 32" @ full 3840x2160 provides all the screen real estate I need so that I do not require a second display, and mounting it on a vesa arm means I can swing it out of the way or share my screen easily when meeting with others in my office.

 

[EdwardC]

Have a M2 pro base Mini (for a reference on performance) and a M1 16GB / 256 GB model. The M1 is still extremely good for a work machine, honestly there would be no need to upgrade if all you do is email, document creation, etc.

 

[Eduardot]

I have a Mac Mini M1, 16gb ram, 1 TB ssd. 3 monitors. One SSD for docs, and one HDD for backup. Keyboard and mouse are logitech, and a Caldigit TS4 Doc. Definitely like Fishrman says, 16 is the new 8.

 

[nickf]

I have an M1 mini, 16/1 Tb config. I'm usually running Word, Safari, Powerpoint, Kaleidagraph, Zoom, Apple Music and some academic apps on it (Papers, VMD for molecular modelling). I'm not a gamer. The machine doesn't break a sweat; one of the best Macs I've owned. Screen is a 4K 27" Phillips.

 

[mac38728]

bump this. Also think of getting a base m1 Mac mini. Or is it better to get m2 for light work and to future proof

I think it’s between a M1 or M3 for me. The slower read and write speeds on the M2 is disappointing and the actual difference between them isn’t a lot.

 

[mac38728]

I have a Mac Mini M1, 16gb ram, 1 TB ssd. 3 monitors. One SSD for docs, and one HDD for backup. Keyboard and mouse are logitech, and a Caldigit TS4 Doc. Definitely like Fishrman says, 16 is the new 8.

Yeah, I’m looking into 16gb refurbished models now, the real world difference is actually a lot bigger than it seems.

 

[TechRunner]

I have a base M1 Mini 8/256, and it's been great for normal daily tasks since November 2020 when I bought it. Having said that, if I was buying a Mini today I would upgrade to 16GB of RAM simply because I would be buying it for the next four years and I'd want to make sure I had the headroom for any new, future uses (like more advanced photo editing, for example) that I might engage in.

 

[yellowhelicopter]

I've had 8GB model about 2 years now. It's still absolutely great and fast for usual computing. One of the my best purchases ever, given that I bought it just for about 450$ two years ago. I even play some modern AAA titles on it, x86 including, plus it's great for emulation, like Switch emulation.

Also if you have one, what monitors and keyboards do you use or recommend?

I've been using an old Sony 32" FullHD TV (with PVA panel) as a monitor And Logitech K380 keyboard + Logitech Pebble mouse, both bluetooth and work nice with it.

Also, I don't believe you need 16GB for usual computing. Not even once I felt it lacked RAM, virtual memory is very fast on ASi, but usually even browsing with lots of open tabs and some other apps opened it doesn't need it.

 

[turbineseaplane]

If keeping it for a few years, absolutely get one with 16GB RAM

 

[Dimvol]

Has anyone tried to play on the mini m1-8-256? For example, Cities Skyline on the Intel platform takes up to 8 GB of memory, Subnautica Below Zero up to 6 GB. Will this not become a bottleneck? Small case. Overheating? Display resolution. Most likely, I will not be able to buy a monitor with a resolution higher than 1440 lines. After Retina 4K, it will probably be unusual. Has anyone tried to play on the Mac mini 2020? For me, this is the main question, because for now this is all I can afford to buy. Are there any real owners? I would be grateful for real experience of use.
Now I have Intel Kaby Lake + Radeon Polaris. This is a weak gaming platform, capable of 2048x1152. If believe the tests and the promises, the M1 processor is more than twice as fast, the metal is almost twice as fast. But is this really true? But I can't afford to buy an iMac right now. This is the only way.

 

[Eduardot]

What if I tell you that I had the Mac mini with 16 gig of ram and 1 tb of ssd, and after upgrading to Mac Studio with 64 gig ram and 1 TB ssd and 32 cgrfical cores, I still decided to revive my old Windows machine to game intensive grafical games. I guess Apple has not clinched the gaming aspect yet. Apart from that both the mini and the Studio seve me WELL for what I used them. Gaming on them ? very little.

 

[Deadceptor]

I've had a 8/512 M1 Mini for two years now and no problems so far. Never ran out of RAM even though I always have 2 browsers open all the time (with 10+ tabs open), VPN, mail, photos, multiple Finder windows and loads of background stuff like Hazel, iStat Menus, MacUpdater etc. running. On top of that I got my 4K display set to a nice HiDPI rendering via BetterDisplay Pro and that's why windowserver process eats like 1,5GB of RAM on average. It's perfectly fine for my general everyday usage in 2024.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I've had a 8/512 M1 Mini for two years now and no problems so far. Never ran out of RAM

You ran out of RAM all the time (and the SSD swapping kicked in)

Nothing wrong with that, but it's inaccurate to say you weren't running out of RAM

 

[Macky-Mac]

I've got a 8/512 M1 Mini that I've had for a couple of years. I use a CAD program for work for relatively simple modeling and I use photoshop frequently for basic photo and graphics. Beyond those, it's the usual web browsing and MS Office apps for work.

It's still a very useable computer and probably will be for a while.........but if I were buying today I'd get a more current Mini with more RAM since I suspect AI will be incorporated into more apps and that's likely to mean the need for more RAM

 

[Deadceptor]

You ran out of RAM all the time (and the SSD swapping kicked in)

Nothing wrong with that, but it's inaccurate to say you weren't running out of RAM

Ah yes you're right. I should've clarified that I meant I have never ran out of RAM by having my system grinding to a halt and/or displaying the "Your system has run out of application memory" dialog box. The highest swap memory usage I have witnessed was something like 1,8GB. Just checked that max amount in the last 28 days has been 771MB.

 

[Dimvol]

I bought a Mac Mini. But not 2020 as I wanted earlier, but 2023. There is a lot of information on games collected here.

 

[ctucci]

I’ve been looking at a refurbished M1 Mac Mini, does anyone still currently have one and how is it running? I don’t need anything more than the base model as it’ll only really be used for light gaming and work. Is it worth to buy for around ~$350 or should I get a refurbished M2 or wait for the M3.

Also if you have one, what monitors and keyboards do you use or recommend?

I have one. It's the daily driver for me. I have it connected to a nice TV, and I use the small magic keyboard. Does light gaming very well, and everything else nice and quickly. That's a good price, if it's in great shape, etc.