fwiw, I use a KVM with my Intel Mac Mini and don't have any problem with it. (using HDMI output)
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M1 Air Owners - Any regrets for not getting Pro or an Intel?
- Thread starter AltecX
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One of the best tech decisions I ever made. Been a techie for over forty years. I bought the 16G/1TB Mini with a Dell 27” U2720Q and the 16G/1TB MBA and ditched my 2015 27” Intel iMac and 2019 16” MBP.
Between the Air and the Pro, unless you’re going to be pushing it with video rendering or something the Air is the obvious choice. As for the 14”, I don’t think the extra .7 of an inch is realistically going to make a meaningful difference in the way jumping up to a 15-16 inch laptop does, so probably not worth shelling out another $800 ish just for the display, but ymmv.
No regrets! I love my MBA (base model). I chose it precisely because having no fan at all. Lighter, cool and silent!
Well, on the intel Mac minis I tried (as well as on other systems with intel GPU) it sort of works but sometimes when switching the KVM back to the computer the screen stays dark.
But I do use DisplayPort, not HDMI (which on Macs are often problematic with non-HDTV resolutions like 2560x1080 super-wide). Still, it works fine with every PC I tried (which were many) and under either Linux or Windows, as well as with my Mac Pro 2010 running 11.2.3.
No regrets at all. So nice to have a silent cool machine. Nice change from my 2013 MBP. The screen display was my only concern but as it is a big improvement from the older MBAs, I am fine with it.
That's good to know, I was thinking of switching to DP!
There are some problems with mine too, sometimes when I switch, the screen has problems, but just turning it off and on a again usually helps. I don't really switch that much, so it's not much of a problem. I'm running 4K...
My M1 MBA does have the weird interference on dark screens problem people are talking about with HDMI in clamshell mode.
M1 Air is probably the best computer I’ve ever owned.
I’ve got a company-issued 2020 Intel Pro machine so I can make a direct comparison. I really like better brightness on the Pro in the summer, but I opted for Air since I. Just. Can’t. Stand. Touch Bar.
I’ve specced it up to 512 GB of storage and 16 GB of RAM so I have the 8-core GPU in there as well, works flawlessly for my needs - running a few headless Linux VMs in Parallels, compiling a lot of C/Golang code, along with standard office work.
In fact, I’m in the middle of setting up a complete local CI/CD pipeline in Parallels VMs and I’m yet to see any slowness. I still have trouble believing this is actually an Air machine with no active cooling, the amount of work you can throw at it without it breaking a sweat is unbelievable.
I’ve got a company-issued 2020 Intel Pro machine so I can make a direct comparison. I really like better brightness on the Pro in the summer, but I opted for Air since I. Just. Can’t. Stand. Touch Bar.
I’ve specced it up to 512 GB of storage and 16 GB of RAM so I have the 8-core GPU in there as well, works flawlessly for my needs - running a few headless Linux VMs in Parallels, compiling a lot of C/Golang code, along with standard office work.
In fact, I’m in the middle of setting up a complete local CI/CD pipeline in Parallels VMs and I’m yet to see any slowness. I still have trouble believing this is actually an Air machine with no active cooling, the amount of work you can throw at it without it breaking a sweat is unbelievable.
I have an M1, and it is amazing, but really falls down in GPU performance for high end applications. For the longest time, I've said I just can't go across to Windows because I really like the look and feel of macOS. But now with Windows 11, I think it has reached the point where I wouldn't mind using Windows. It comes down to how rapidly Apple can offer performance GPU's. If or when the price of PC GPU's gets back to sane levels perhaps in 2 years time when the chip shortage has been addressed, I'll assess what GPU performance the M series has achieved by then.
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You might want to check out Docker. It would be way more efficient than Parallels VMs.
Isn’t the iGPU in the M1 more powerful than any MacBook barring the latest 16” MacBook Pro? That is to say it’s even competitive with a 2019 15” MacBook Pro Vega… that’s maybe more an indictment of pre-16” graphics in Apple notebooks, but also impressive for a fanless 10W MacBook Air.
The only reason why I kept my Intel Mac mini from 2018 is because I needed bootcamp to run certain things. However, for the day-to-day activities, my M1 Air is my primary device. I do wish I got the Pro only because I do miss some aspects of the TouchBar.
That's good to know, I was thinking of switching to DP!
There are some problems with mine too, sometimes when I switch, the screen has problems, but just turning it off and on a again usually helps. I don't really switch that much, so it's not much of a problem. I'm running 4K...
My M1 MBA does have the weird interference on dark screens problem people are talking about with HDMI in clamshell mode.
I sometimes get no screen when my M1 mini wakes up from sleep (and nothing aside from shutting it down and rebooting brings the screen back) so I now just leave it running since it consumes so little energy anyways.
However, the color space bug makes the screen image so horrible that I can't stand working on it for more than a short period as it gives me eye strain. Which is a shame as without the issue this would be a great and very powerful little computer.
The other thing that worries me is SSD life (yes, I know about the bug in SSD life reporting that was fixed with 11.4, however since some of my apps write a lot I'd appreciate it if the expensive built-in unreplaceable SSD had a longer endurance rating than just the few hundred TBW that's common for cheap consumer-grade drives which go for $100 per TB these days; the 1.6TB SSD in my MP 5,1 is rated at 17PBW).
So I decided to return my Mac mini M1 and keep on rolling with my MP5,1 on 11.2.3 until Apple comes up with something more expandable than the Mac mini, and hopefully by then the color space bug will be fixed. And while it's a really nice computer, I wouldn't recommend it just because of the color space bug and the resulting limited compatibility with standard monitors out there. Apple really dropped the ball hard on this one.
On the other side, Apple Silicon appears to be perfect for laptop use, and as soon as we see a refreshed AS 13" MBP (hopefully with Magsafe again) I'll definitely get one to replace my non-retina 13" MBP 2012.
Base model M1 MBA here. Cheapest laptop Apple makes, and it’s the most powerful computer I’ve ever owned. Massively impressed with it—no regrets.
It's a month since I replaced my 16" with an M1 Air and honestly I never expected the Air to fully replace it. My only downside thus far is the one monitor external display, I have a ultra wide connected to this when I'm on the desk but it sucks having to leave my 27" 4K turned off.
Looking forward to upgrade to the high end Air model or a 14" M1X. Honestly I'm looking more into the Air due to the fact this is more than the peformance I need for my work
Looking forward to upgrade to the high end Air model or a 14" M1X. Honestly I'm looking more into the Air due to the fact this is more than the peformance I need for my work
Yes, it probably is - but some software for motion graphics needs really powerful GPU's. Not everyone uses such software. I aiming for something like an RTX 3080, and even an RTX 3090 if prices come back to MSRP. Not even gamers need these sorts of graphics cards. The rumors of the Mac Pro suggest that Apple might shake up the industry and eventually give these a run for they money. But it could take a few years.
No regrets. I have a fully loaded Macbook Pro 16'' 32GB 1TB collecting dust. M1 Air 16GB 1TB has fully replaced it. I live in Singapore, average temperature inside the room is +27C. Fans in the 16'' were blowing all the time. M1 runs silently, cool and does everything that I need. I only wish it supported two external monitors. But I can live with the limitation.
If you search youtube for - M1 two external monitors - there seem to be a few workarounds that other people have used.
These are desperate man kind of workarounds. Instead of using M1 in clamshell mode + 2 external monitors, I use it opened plus an external monitor.