Does the M1 mac mini have any value over the M1 macbook air?

[pshufd]

OK, maybe not hundreds of yards/meters, but for dozens of yards.

At his speed, he is running 100 yards in about 15 seconds.

I'm sure his top (burst) speed is pretty good, better than 4 minutes/mile. These guys train on a variety of distances and speeds. It helps increase their flexibility and range.

Usain Bolt is the current men's 100M record holder. How about swimming the same distance in a swimming pool? How about swimming 10,000 meters or running 26 miles?

Anyhow, my point stands that synthetic benchmarks are just one measuring point for one activity.

I like to run my systems around 15-20 percent so they have plenty of overhead capacity. My approach on x86 is to use Virtual Machines that use 1-2 cores so as to keep overall CPU usage down. If I were doing a lot of transcoding on a regular basis, I think that I'd offload it on a separate system.

Kipchogi would have me on the first step. My top speed is 12 MPH and I can't maintain it over 1/8th of a mile. Kipchogi is the only person to have run a marathon in under 2 hours.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

I ended up with a similar approach with my custom built Windows PC.

It's an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER graphics card.

Both have AIO liquid coolers (240mm for the CPU, 120mm for the GPU). On idle, the radiator fans are pretty silent. When I put a heavy load on either the CPU, GPU or both, the fans are slow to step up, quick to step down. I can do this because the heatsink pumps are running at full speed, both chips are already getting a lot of heat dissipation from their respective radiators.

At full load, the CPU and GPU max out at 65 degrees Celsius which is way below the design limit of either chip (and I overclock the GPU during gameplay). None of the fans ever run at full speed. This computer is quieter than my Mac mini 2018 at full load and WAY quieter than my MacBook Air 2019.

Of course, my custom built Windows PC is far larger than my Mac mini 2018 and consumes a lot more power whether it be at full load or idling. Pricewise, they are probably pretty comparable. The Mac mini 2018's iGPU graphics performance is decidedly feeble compared to the 2070 SUPER. That doesn't matter when I'm surfing the 'net, it does matter when I'm playing a AAA game title like Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

 

[pshufd]

We all need Mac Pros for the price of a Mac Mini.

 

[russell_314]

Or even better, the Mini.

The mini isn’t in the same category. It’s not portable like the MacBook Air. Yes technically you could put it in a laptop bag and carry around a monitor but you will get some weird looks at Starbucks. If you’re just talking performance the mini has a better cooling solution.

 

[tuc]

Plus a big one that you forgot:

The Air and Pro only support a single external display. The Mini supports two.

That's what Apple says, but I have a feeling that the M1 macbook air might support two external monitors if its built-in display is turned off (meaning its lid is closed). We won't know for sure until someone is able to test it.

But I think you might be undervaluing the value of HDMI, USB-A, and Ethernet ports that are warrantied to function AND likely don't chew up valuable Thunderbolt throughput (don't know how the mini's PCI bus is configured yet). We don't know how well existing Thunderbolt & USB-C docks will work with the M1 Macs.

I agree, but the cheap dock I mentioned (which I'm not endorsing, btw, just the first one I found on amazon) is a USB-C dock, not a Thunderbolt dock. I would imagine that USB-C docks would work fine, but again we won't really know until someone is able to test it.

If you're not sure what of these two models meets your needs then I wouldn't recommend ordering just yet. It sounds like the OP is just ordering something because it's new and shiny instead of something that will meet his needs and serve a purpose.

I'm the OP, and I'm not ordering anything. I'm happy for now with my 2018 mac mini and my 2017 mac laptop. But I have a family member who might be a good candidate for the M1 mac mini or the M1 macbook air. (She currently has a a 2014 mac mini with 4gb of RAM and a spinning hard disk.)

 

[Jimmy James]

Thinking about getting the mini for family use, rather than replacing a laptop. The fact that it stays put in one place is a potential bonus with kids using it.

For for the price of the Air I can get a mini with a 4K screen and wireless keyboard/mouse. Decisions.

 

[Spindel]

I don’t want a computer with a: built in battery, built in keyboard, built in screen, built in hinge, built in mouse.

To me the Mini has a point. Mobile needs se served by an iPad.

 

[theorist9]

I'm running 2x4k @ 30 hz (my video card won't do 4k @ 60 hz). Figuring out whether or not video cards do with 4k is not always easy. 30hz is fine for what I do (trading), email, web browsing, videos, etc. 4k support still isn't great with a lot of video cards out there. The high-end cards will do it but they are usually aimed at gamers and I don't need the gaming punch of high-end cards - just the ability to display 4x4k.

My mid-2014 MBP probably can't do 2x4k, period. But its NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M is able to do 3 external displays (4K + WUXGA + HD), all at 60 Hz.

 

[theluggage]

I took a look at that usb-c hub and it only supports 4K@30Hz (which is not a great experience).

There's a fundamental limitation of USB-C (when not in Thunderbolt mode) with DisplayPort 1.2 displays: 4k @ 60Hz requires 4 lanes of DisplayPort 1.2 and USB-C only has 4 high-speed wire pairs, each of which can be used for USB3 or DisplayPort, but not both. (There's an extra set of low-speed wires so USB 2 is always supported). So a USB-C hub can't offer 4k@60Hz DisplayPort 1.2 and support USB 3 ports (a very few are switchable, but most just compromise at 30Hz video).

DisplayPort 1.3/1.4 solves the problem in theory but your computer, hub, and display must be DisplayPort 1.3 compatible.

Or, use a Thunderbolt dock - Thunderbolt can mix DisplayPort and other data on the same wires.

 

[markiv810]

The mini has an active cooling system, as you mentioned, which is one of the biggest advantages over the Air. It allows it to sustain heavy load for a lot longer than the Air.

And that''s not a small difference, Mac mini would outlast MBA as it is much better in dissipation of heat, also unlike the laptop batteries having a definite number of charge cycles, the performance efficiency of the laptop is more affected than a desktop.

All things said and done, it really depends on your budget and requirement.

 

[pshufd]

I don’t want a computer with a: built in battery, built in keyboard, built in screen, built in hinge, built in mouse.

To me the Mini has a point. Mobile needs se served by an iPad.

I still use my 2014 MacBook Pro daily. As a better iPad Mini. I can use a MacBook Pro or an iPad Mini and frequently have both near where I sleep. I more often use the MacBook Pro - the issue is charging though. The iPad Mini is better on battery life. That's why I'm considering the MacBook Pro - but I'd want to use it for development and this model seems under-powered (in terms of ports and RAM).

 

[russell_314]

I'm the OP, and I'm not ordering anything. I'm happy for now with my 2018 mac mini and my 2017 mac laptop. But I have a family member who might be a good candidate for the M1 mac mini or the M1 macbook air. (She currently has a a 2014 mac mini with 4gb of RAM and a spinning hard disk.)

I don't think you understood my post. I'm trying to say that the things that make a MacBook Air ideal for one person are things that would make a Mac mini not ideal for another. Does she have any desire to bring her computer out with her and wants a computer she could use at different places in her house? Would she rather a larger monitor or maybe two? I think looking just at the fact that it has the same CPU is overlooking so many things. Yes you could buy a MacBook Air using it in clam shell mode hook it up to an external monitor. There might be some loss of performance with thermals since the Air is designed to be lightweight but if she's using a 2014 mini with 4 GB of RAM this might not be a huge issue. The biggest loss IMO would be spending extra for a screen and keyboard that never gets used. If it's going to be a desktop get the mini.

 

[pshufd]

My mid-2014 MBP probably can't do 2x4k, period. But its NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M is able to do 3 external displays (4K + WUXGA + HD), all at 60 Hz.

My 2015 MBP with AMD discrete can do 2x4k. I believe that my 2014 MBP with Intel Integrated can do 2xQHD but I got video artifacts when trying to run in that mode and gave up on it. The 2014 specs say that up to 2xQHD is supported while 2015 specs say that up to 2x4k is supported.

 

[joecatz1]

This has been my struggle for a couple days as well... My son NEEDS a laptop for some things... and we want to get an M1 machine through the education store primarily because we can do the proapps bundle for $199 with logicx and FCPx and were really looking forward to playing with those. No idea if he will be casual with this stuff or get crazy into it.

he has a 2017 macbook Air now. We can trade it for $320

so essentially its either meek the current AIR and get the mini or trade the current AIR and get a new one and the cost is a wash.

that said we decided on the 16G mini with 256SSD for a few reasons

1. the fan and GPU
2. he anticipates spending much more time on the desktop
3. Were pretty confident that should he love this stuff, he will want a PRO down the line in future generations of chip...
4. the idea of using LUNA DISPLAY with the mac mini as a potential option for portability when needed is kind of cool.

 

[russell_314]

I don’t want a computer with a: built in battery, built in keyboard, built in screen, built in hinge, built in mouse.

To me the Mini has a point. Mobile needs se served by an iPad.

I have the 2018 Mac mini and I love it. I might upgrade it to AS but that's a hard buy seeing how new my current model is. I will be buying the Air for portable use. I could never go in on iPad or any tablet as a fully capable computer. Yes I know you can do 95% on something like an iPad Air vs a MacBook Air but I need a real keyboard so by the time you include the Magic keyboard it's not cheaper so the question is why? Maybe if I didn't have a phone with a 6.5" (about to be 6.7") screen I would see the point of an iPad mini.

 

[russell_314]

This has been my struggle for a couple days as well... My son NEEDS a laptop for some things... and we want to get an M1 machine through the education store primarily because we can do the proapps bundle for $199 with logicx and FCPx and were really looking forward to playing with those. No idea if he will be casual with this stuff or get crazy into it.

he has a 2017 macbook Air now. We can trade it for $320

so essentially its either meek the current AIR and get the mini or trade the current AIR and get a new one and the cost is a wash.

that said we decided on the 16G mini with 256SSD for a few reasons

1. the fan and GPU
2. he anticipates spending much more time on the desktop
3. Were pretty confident that should he love this stuff, he will want a PRO down the line in future generations of chip...
4. the idea of using LUNA DISPLAY with the mac mini as a potential option for portability when needed is kind of cool.

That sounds like a good choice since he can do the portable stuff on his current MacBook Air. The 2017 model is fully capable for most tasks. I'm hopeful for a higher level 13" MacBook Pro in the future but Apple has treated the smaller pro like the red headed stepchild of the family so I'm not going to expect anything. With the new AS chips it can only get better!

 

[pshufd]

I have the 2018 Mac mini and I love it. I might upgrade it to AS but that's a hard buy seeing how new my current model is. I will be buying the Air for portable use. I could never go in on iPad or any tablet as a fully capable computer. Yes I know you can do 95% on something like an iPad Air vs a MacBook Air but I need a real keyboard so by the time you include the Magic keyboard it's not cheaper so the question is why? Maybe if I didn't have a phone with a 6.5" (about to be 6.7") screen I would see the point of an iPad mini.

I have the iPhone 7+ and bought the Mini 5 as the CPU is much faster and it allows me to consider the iPhone 12 Mini as I'd prefer a smaller and lighter phone for running. I like the idea of the Air but I want to do development and I think that the MBP would be a better fit. I would really prefer a real MBP 13 but that's not an option right now.

 

[tuc]

I don't think you understood my post. I'm trying to say that the things that make a MacBook Air ideal for one person are things that would make a Mac mini not ideal for another. Does she have any desire to bring her computer out with her and wants a computer she could use at different places in her house? Would she rather a larger monitor or maybe two? I think looking just at the fact that it has the same CPU is overlooking so many things. Yes you could buy a MacBook Air using it in clam shell mode hook it up to an external monitor. There might be some loss of performance with thermals since the Air is designed to be lightweight but if she's using a 2014 mini with 4 GB of RAM this might not be a huge issue. The biggest loss IMO would be spending extra for a screen and keyboard that never gets used. If it's going to be a desktop get the mini.

In her current use case, she doesn't move the computer to other locations, obviously because it's a mac mini. I'm unsure if this is something she would like to be able to do or not, but I'm pretending no for the moment.

She currently has a 1080p external display, but it's a low-quality TN panel. We were already considering replacing it with a 1080p IPS panel. (If we're replacing the display anyway, could also consider 4K, but would probably stick with 1080p.)

If we were to replace her mini with a macbook air, I do not envision keeping it in clamshell mode. She would use the built-in 2560x1600 IPS display, and probably also the built-in keyboard/trackpad. One plus for this would be she could use the built-in webcam and microphone for Zoom. Currently she has an external webcam and microphone, but they sometimes cause her trouble.

I don't think thermals would be a factor in her workload. (Actually, I think thermals may not be an issue for most people commenting here, but we'll have to wait for test results. I'm curious how much slower long handbrake jobs will actually be.)

[edit: Perhaps it makes sense to wait for the apple silicon iMac, which should be coming soon. I wonder if they will keep the same $1100 price as the current entry-level iMac.]

 

[russell_314]

In her current use case, she doesn't move the computer to other locations, obviously because it's a mac mini. I'm unsure if this is something she would like to be able to do or not, but I'm pretending no for the moment.

She currently has a 1080p external display, but it's a low-quality TN panel. We were already considering replacing it with a 1080p IPS panel. (If we're replacing the display anyway, could also consider 4K, but would probably stick with 1080p.)

If we were to replace her mini with a macbook air, I do not envision keeping it in clamshell mode. She would use the built-in 2560x1600 IPS display, and probably also the built-in keyboard/trackpad. One plus for this would be she could use the built-in webcam and microphone for Zoom. Currently she has an external webcam and microphone, but they sometimes cause her trouble.

I don't think thermals would be a factor in her workload. (Actually, I think thermals may not be an issue for most people commenting here, but we'll have to wait for test results. I'm curious how much slower long handbrake jobs will actually be.)

[edit: Perhaps it makes sense to wait for the apple silicon iMac, which should be coming soon. I wonder if they will keep the same $1100 price as the current entry-level iMac.]

If it's not a surprise maybe ask her if she would like something more portable. I'm getting the Air for my mom and unless she hates something about Big Sur she will love it. I bought her an Air years ago and she used it till the battery stopped working. Now she's suffering with a Windows laptop LOL

The iMac would be nice but I wouldn't count on it being available in the rock bottom base model. Also another question you might consider is will the small screen of the Air be a problem. You just said family member but if it's an older person vision might be a concern. I think this might be specific to the person though because I have seen people complain about this on here but my mom has zero issues with small screens.

Unless you're trying to get it early for Christmas you could wait till a few good YouTube reviews come out so you'll have a better feeling as to how they perform. From what I'm expecting the $999 base model will be the one I'm getting for my mom. I suspect even the base model will be overpowered for what she does. Mostly web browsing, light photo editing, and maybe some random apps. For most people something like an Intel i5 is plenty and I suspect it will outperform that. Of course we won't know till the reviews come out.

 

[4sallypat]

In her current use case, she doesn't move the computer to other locations, obviously because it's a mac mini. I'm unsure if this is something she would like to be able to do or not, but I'm pretending no for the moment.

She currently has a 1080p external display, but it's a low-quality TN panel. We were already considering replacing it with a 1080p IPS panel. (If we're replacing the display anyway, could also consider 4K, but would probably stick with 1080p.)

If we were to replace her mini with a macbook air, I do not envision keeping it in clamshell mode. She would use the built-in 2560x1600 IPS display, and probably also the built-in keyboard/trackpad. One plus for this would be she could use the built-in webcam and microphone for Zoom. Currently she has an external webcam and microphone, but they sometimes cause her trouble.

I don't think thermals would be a factor in her workload. (Actually, I think thermals may not be an issue for most people commenting here, but we'll have to wait for test results. I'm curious how much slower long handbrake jobs will actually be.)

[edit: Perhaps it makes sense to wait for the apple silicon iMac, which should be coming soon. I wonder if they will keep the same $1100 price as the current entry-level iMac.]

I just helped a retired person in her late 60s buy their 2nd iMac last year coming from a 2010 27" to a 2019 27".

I think for elderly folks, they want large displays for their vision, familiar surroundings when using, and a wireless keyboard/mouse/trackpad for no tangle messes.

Laptops while they appeal to the masses for portability and use everywhere, the older person tends to want familiarity and ease of use.

My 16" MBP permanently on the desk with a 27" Thunderbolt Apple LED display and I use the dual screens everyday.

The only fault I see with that setup is the difference in screen sizes (16" + 27").

I am now waiting delivery for the M1 Mini to test it out in a dual display (dual 27") setup.

 

[russell_314]

I just helped a retired person in her late 60s buy their 2nd iMac last year coming from a 2010 27" to a 2019 27".

I think for elderly folks, they want large displays for their vision, familiar surroundings when using, and a wireless keyboard/mouse/trackpad for no tangle messes.

Laptops while they appeal to the masses for portability and use everywhere, the older person tends to want familiarity and ease of use.

My 16" MBP permanently on the desk with a 27" Thunderbolt Apple LED display and I use the dual screens everyday.

The only fault I see with that setup is the difference in screen sizes (16" + 27").

I am now waiting delivery for the M1 Mini to test it out in a dual display (dual 27") setup.

View attachment 1666307

I agree with you but it’s always helpful to ask that person and not assume what they want because they’re older. I’m not saying that’s what you did so don’t take it that way. I just meant always ask then give recommendations. My mom is in her 70s and prefers a laptop because she can use it wherever she’s at. If she’s feeling lazy in the morning she can still go on Facebook without having to get up and sit on a chair. Of course she might be the exception rather than the rule.

 

[ADGrant]

I agree with you but it’s always helpful to ask that person and not assume what they want because they’re older. I’m not saying that’s what you did so don’t take it that way. I just meant always ask then give recommendations. My mom is in her 70s and prefers a laptop because she can use it wherever she’s at. If she’s feeling lazy in the morning she can still go on Facebook without having to get up and sit on a chair. Of course she might be the exception rather than the rule.

I am not in my 70s but I prefer a desktop computer for work and an iPad for casual browsing or watching video.