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This is a bit of a test my thinking one.
We need a new computer in the house and having had a few cheap laptops in the past I’m thinking about going back to a desktop.
The brief is for something I can setup with my (occasional us) work desk where I can swap between my Dell monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse. I don’t have much space spare so a small box is essential.
The new Mac Mini M2 looks pretty smart so I’m thinking about one of those (base model).
It’ll primarily be used for basic stuff like word, excel, transferring camera pictures from an SD card (no real editing), I’d like to be able to continue to transfer my CDs into digital format so I’m looking at an external disc drive together with a USB/SD card hub thingy. I’m planning to use an office 365 subscription for cloud storage but my Wife will want to plug in an external hard drive for managing her work stuff from time to time.
So based on that very shaky brief will the Mac work (with the right accessories)?
Ta.
Yes. If there is a large price difference an M1 would be fine for a good long time as well.
No reason the Mac won't work for any of that. The only thing I'd say is that it's quite a big change if you're a long time user of Windows, and things like different shortcut keys will be especially annoying if you continue to use Windows at work. I used to have Windows at home but have gone fully Mac now because I find switching between the two inefficient and quite frustrating.
Based on your brief that's pretty much my setup with a late 2018 Mac Mini 6 core i5:
- 40" curved monitor
- External 2TB Lacie hard drive
- USB C card reader for camera
- USB C 4 port USB hub for bits and bobs such as Garmin etc
Base model will do you fine, no need for any upgrades but the apple keyboard and mouse are very nice
Yep it'll be 5x more powerful than you need (which is great)
They just work. It's always instantly on. (The keyboard with finger print reader - if it's an option is worth it). I bought mine (iMac but same setup, really) with the trackpad because I came from so many years on laptop I prefer it over a mouse now
And it's tiny so can be hidden away and sips power - about the same as a lightbulb
You quickly get used to the slight Mac OS differences
If you have an iPhone it's like a breath of fresh air. Airdrop, the way they talk to each other (eg you can copy on the iPhone and paste on the Mac - instantly), the sms/messages integration. iCloud password manager keychain. All of it - just fantastic. Welcome to the bright side!
Just to be clear you are spending much more money than you need to for that. If you can afford it, then that's fine, but don't feel you need to.
Just to be clear you are spending much more money than you need to for that.
This x100!!
A lot of people seem to be suckered into buying hardware that simply isn't needed - kinda makes me sad.
Just to be clear you are spending much more money than you need to for that. If you can afford it, then that’s fine, but don’t feel you need to.
Yep, this. By all means get a Mini, but I'd really look to see you can find a bargain on a M1.
Just a quick google of the Mac Mini 2 shows it at about £600, i think you may be better off getting a laptop and then possibly a monitor dock if you feel you need it. You could get a pretty snazzy laptop for around the £500 mark which will do all you need it to and give you some versatility.
Thanks all.
I have looked at one or two other mini desktops but gave up. Dell do some but they didn’t seem particularly lower in price.
I really like the IPad/IPhone pairing I have so mimicking some of that on the computer would be nice.
I’ve now found a couple of M1 refurbs for just under £500 from online shops. EBay options are half the cost but I’m sceptical about that route
I’d be using non-Apple monitor, keyboard and mouse to enable them to be shared with my work laptop when WFH so some of the features would be lost.
I’ve also taken another look at laptops but remember now the feeling of being overwhelmed with the choice from a mixed bag of dodgy battery life, crappy keyboards and plasticky feel that I’ve had over the years with budget laptops.
On which note, I emailed Hoxton Macs last week to see if they'd be reducing the prices of their refurbished M1 Minis now that the M2 is out. They said they will do, but probably not in the next few weeks/months.
So it's lucky that I was almost immediately hit with a large bill that means I won't actually have the spare cash for a new computer for a few weeks/months, eh?
M1 refurbs for just under £500 from online shops.
Which shops are these, out of interest?
Just get the new M2 for £649 but buy it from John Lewis with a 2 year guarantee, you won't regret it.
If you do go for a Mac Mini and have a monitor with a VESA mount on the back then you can save even more desktop space by buying a metal bracket that bolts into the mount that the Mini then sits in. They around £20 on Amazon.
I've done it with my setup and it's great for saving space (not that the Mini takes up much room anyway).
I’m waiting to get the money together for a new SSD for my Mini. Mine is one of the last available 2010 ones with an optical drive, which I had swapped out for a second HDD and bought an outboard optical. The original 500Gb drive has all the OS and other software on, the second 750Gb drive has all my media on. Trouble is now that drive hasn’t enough capacity, so I’m looking at a 2Tb SATA III SSD, but at the moment my finances are a bit stretched.
It normally sits under one corner of my Sony Bravia, which is also the monitor, with a BT Apple keyboard and BT trackpad.
Cost me £650 when I bought it in early 2011, so it’s been a good investment.
A friend has it at the moment, waiting for me to supply the new drive - he used to sort all the Macs in the studio I used to work in, he’s got a lot more knowledge than me when it comes to Macs and computers in general, I don’t know enough or trust myself enough to faff around with it!
Brilliant little machine, given the funds, I’d buy an M2 and get some graphics apps and set it up in another room for greater convenience, and keep the old one for just my media.
If you decided to save cash and stay in Windows land, this will do what you want. There is space inside for a SSD in a M2 slot and another or an actual hard drive in 2.5 inch format. Mine is set up with 1TB ssd and the 1TB hard drive from my previous pc, 16GB ram. It’s no gaming rig but it flies along and plays basic games like World of Tanks etc, and is almost silent. Mine came with a bracket for the back of the monitor too.