2021-01-14

I had an unused iPhone from one of the kids that had been replaced and an iMac that I was able to trade-in and get the cost down to just over $100, which at this point had the cost close enough to the kind of money I would have to layout to get the Raspberry Pi setup I was looking for. I actually owned the first ever Mac Mini, the PowerPC G4 and a third generation Mac Mini and I have to say that the Mac Mini M1 is the first Mac Mini I have used that has felt like a true Mac. The Mac Mini M1 is fast, which I do not think I would have ever described the others as fast. I am running two monitors, one via USB-C and the other via the HDMI port and it has been wonderful. Setup has been flawless and I am still rocking my Model M Keyboard which fits right in with the computing aesthetic I wanted. In operation the Mini never gets warm, which means that the fan is never heard and the Mini performs with consistent excellent speed with multiple apps running. The sleek minimal footprint makes excellent use of available space, allowing me to just sit the computer between my two monitors.
I am in a state of awe at the consistent great performance with 8GB, my old iMac had 16GB and I decided to go with the base model thinking that with Apple's tradein feature that I could get into a consistent low cost upgrade every few years, if I need to. Based off my research of those that seriously load tested the Mac Mini, it is possible the 16GB is a waste of money for most users. I think a strategy of frequent lower cost upgrades will provide a better value than a single maxed out upgrade now. I run Office, Xcode, Firefox with lots of tabs and streaming music and Citrix Workspace without the device getting warm or ever seeming to slow down. I also think I benefitted from buying a few months after release, I have only read one or two bad experiences where folks had crashes on their new Mac Mini M1, I have had zero, but I suspect they had a lemon or an update fixed any issues. When you are buying hardware that is brand new, especially with a new chip one should expect some issues. The only consistent con among everyone and it is absolutely true is that an external speaker is a must. There is absolutely no way I would have been as happy with a Raspberry Pi build as I am with this, granted that is absolutely not a fair comparison. It just so happens because of the discount I was able to get nearly the same cost Mac Mini M1 as the build I was planning. Truth be told, the Mac Mini M1 is one of the best Apple purchases I have ever made and due to the cost I feel like I stole this thing.