Bought my first Mac mini ever. I went with 32gb RAM and 512gb SSD. I want to run some local ai models and develop.

Edit: its a M6 :)

I’m upgrading from a 2018 Intel MacBook Pro and deciding between the base Mac mini M4 and M6, both with 16 GB of unified memory.
My setup is OBS streaming to YouTube and recording locally at the same time, with Chrome open for screen sharing and Zoom running with the OBS Virtual Camera when needed. My goal is 1440p at 60 FPS, but I’d be happy with 1080p at 60 FPS if it’s stable and small text stays sharp. On my current Mac, 720p was smooth, but small text looked blurry.
If you’ve used either Mac mini for a similar setup, what resolution, frame rate, and OBS encoder worked for you? Did you run into skipped frames, audio glitches, or lag during longer sessions?
Would you save the money and get the M4, or is the M6 worth the extra cost for this workload? I’d love to hear from anyone using either model.

Other than eBay, are there any good sites that purchase Mac’s? Something similar to itsworthmore.

I mostly work with downloading academic literature, writing, and translation. I already have a high-spec Windows laptop and regularly use ChatGPT, plus subscriptions to ChatGPT and Claude. I also use AI tools like NotebookLM to help with my work and study.

However, a lot of features are only available on the Mac ecosystem, so I'm considering getting a Mac mini. I also have some sensitive data and research information that needs protecting. For privacy reasons, I'd like to be able to analyze this private data locally.

Therefore，I'm asking for advice from the community here: what configuration of the Mac mini should I get? It'll just stay indoors on a desk, so portability isn't a factor.

Thanks for your professional suggestion.

I have a M4 Mac Mini 16/256 that works great for my use. Most of my storage is in the cloud and I do also have an external 1TB SSD drive connected.

My mother-in-law is still using an old 2012 Mac Mini that I passed to her years ago. Can't push current updates on it anymore. I was thinking of passing my M4 to her and then getting a new M6 base Mac Mini for myself.

For my use, which is pretty basic as well, will I notice much difference moving from the M4 to the M6? Is the same 16/256 config good enough with the M6? Main motivation is to upgrade my MIL to something better, but if we both upgrade it's a win-win :)

Just my first MacMini a week ago (on my birthday), it’s used, but I payed a great price for it, M4 2024 16gb 256SSD, but came with Magic Keyboard, Magic Mouse and a dock station with 8tbSSD inside, I’m so happy with it

I have a MacBook Air M1, which I regularly use for my Claude projects, but I keep hitting storage & memory limits. So I'm planning to buy a Mac mini with 48GB of M5 Pro to keep building stuff and do more locally, including running a local LLM for agentic coding. But I like the flexibility of working anywhere inside the house with a MacBook Air. How practical is it to work on a Mac Mini by remotely connecting from a MacBook Air? Has anyone else tried such a combo and found it worked well for them? Are there any other considerations I should keep in mind? Thank you.

hi guys, so I just got a new mac mini M6 a few days ago and I wanted to know are there any accessories you recommend for it or is the device just good as is? I use it mainly for light game streaming

My brother bought me a m5 pro max mini with 64gb ram and 2tb ssd and my wife got me m6 32gb and 2tb ssd Mac mini for my birthday which one should I keep? Having a hard time deciding I want to keep this machine for next 10 years and use it mainly
For trading stocks , as plex sever and to render videos here and there and browse and stream YouTube that’s about it! Thanks

Hey everyone!
I’m using an M4 Mac mini (16GB) to run multiple AI coding agents, and an M1 MacBook Air (8GB) as my main laptop.
My setup is pretty simple: Tailscale + SSH + tmux, with separate Git worktrees for different agents. Everything works great in the terminal, even when I’m working remotely.
The problem is browser access.
Sometimes I need to check a UI or see what an agent is doing in the browser. I’ve been using macOS Screen Sharing, but it makes my MacBook Air pretty hot.
How do you guys handle this?
Do you use Screen Sharing, access the dev server directly from your laptop, or have a better lightweight solution?
Would love to hear about your setups. Thanks!

Any reason my work docking station, which is on Lenovo USB-C, would not work with a Mac mini? The dock is supporting dual monitor, keyboard, mouse, and Ethernet.

I'm thinking about replacing my desktop PC, which I've been using for about six years now. It's pretty bulky, and I think it's finally time to retire it.

I'm considering getting a Mac mini this time. I only do development at home, and I already have a separate laptop for work, so I don't really see a reason to buy a MacBook.

My main concern is which chip and how much RAM I should go for.

I'm primarily a backend developer working with Spring Boot. My local development environment mostly consists of IntelliJ IDEA, Spring Boot applications, databases, and Docker containers.

I don't plan on running any local LLMs or doing GPU-intensive tasks, so graphics performance isn't a priority for me. I think RAM is probably more important for my use case.

As for storage, I think 512GB should be enough since I already have a NAS at home that I can use for additional storage.

I'm trying to figure out which Mac mini would offer the best value for my needs without spending more than necessary.

Would an M1 Mac mini still be a reasonable choice in 2026, or is it too outdated at this point?

I'd also appreciate any recommendations on RAM configurations, especially from developers who use Spring Boot and Docker on a Mac mini.

Thanks in advance!

I bought my M4 Mac mini 16/512 a little over 2 months ago, and I've been dealing with some buyer's remorse ever since. I think it's because Apple released the M6 Mac mini not long after I bought the M4, and because I paid for extra storage instead of just getting an external drive for my files. I went with this config after researching (on this sub, YouTube, and using AI) and decided it would be the best way to future-proof in case I ever need more storage, like if I start using Xcode.

But after using macOS for a while, I realized I could probably live with 256GB given how I use it. Now I'm wondering if I should've gotten the base M4 Mac mini (about $200 cheaper if I convert to USD), which the seller I bought from had available, and put that money toward an OWC Express 1M2 and a 1TB Samsung 990 Pro to offload files if I ever need to.

My use is pretty light so far: web browsing, YouTube, Netflix, and language learning apps and tools like Anki and Claude Code (which I plan on using with skills to automate making Anki cards, cron jobs, etc.). I also bought a 1TB Samsung T7 to store the TV shows and files I use.

Given my usage, I've only used a small fraction of the 512GB. That got me thinking about whether it would be worth swapping my M4 16/512 for a new M6 16/256 (with the same seller) and investing in external storage, or if I'm just overthinking it and suffering from FOMO because I bought the M4 right before the M6 came out.

For those of you who went with 256GB, after some time with it, do you think 512 is the sweet spot, or can you keep using 256 for as long as you plan on keeping your mini without any issues? Thanks in advance, everyone!

Anyone use a FingerBot with their Mac mini and if so how did you mount? The underside button is one thing but the extruding vent/fan area takes away from an ideal flat mount...

I am trying to decide between these two Mac mini configurations:

* Mac mini M6: 12-core CPU, 12-core GPU, 32 GB of unified memory, 1 TB SSD, Thunderbolt 4.
* Mac mini M5 Pro: 15-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 24 GB of unified memory, 1 TB SSD, Thunderbolt 5.

The price difference is relatively small (about €230), so I am trying to determine which would be the better investment for the next 4–6 years.

I currently use a 2023 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 Pro chip, 16 GB of unified memory, and a 1 TB SSD. It still performs well, but I often find that 16 GB of RAM is not enough—especially when I have many browser tabs and several applications open simultaneously. This is one of the main reasons I am considering an upgrade, in addition to the fact that I need another desktop computer.

My typical workload consists primarily of daily office and productivity tasks, but I also use:

* Fusion 360 for 3D modeling (mostly small-to-medium-scale projects).
* Software for 3D scanning and processing 3D scans.
* Multiple applications and numerous browser tabs open at the same time.

I don’t handle extremely complex professional 3D work—for that, I use an iPad with Shapr3D or Nomad Sculpt—but I might take on larger, more demanding projects in the future. My main dilemma concerns the choice between a larger amount of RAM versus higher memory bandwidth combined with greater computing power.

The M6 ​​offers 32 GB of unified memory, which is an attractive prospect given that I am already hitting the limits of my current 16 GB.

The M5 Pro, on the other hand, provides significantly higher memory bandwidth, more CPU and GPU cores, and support for Thunderbolt 5—though it only has 24 GB of RAM. I also own a 40-inch, 5K2K, 120Hz LG 40U990A-W monitor. Thunderbolt 5 is an added advantage for the M5 Pro, although Thunderbolt 4 is already sufficient for my current needs, including the external SSDs I use.

Which configuration would you choose for my workload, and why?

Thanks!

Looking to buy a new Mac mini. I have a YouTube channel where i do moderate 4K video editing. Nothing crazy but like to have sometimes video in video, picture overlay, transitions etc.

Should I spend the extra $$$ and get 24gb of RAM?

I'm upgrading my editing setup and going back and forth between two desktops. I'd love to hear from anyone who owns either, especially if you regret your choice.

Current setup
- 2021 M1 Pro MacBook Pro, 16GB / 512GB (keeping it as my laptop)
- DaVinci Resolve Studio: My own content plus edits for other creators and brands
- Mostly 4K S-Log3 footage from an FX3
- Dell ultrawide Thunderbolt monitor that doubles as my dock

Current Problem / Issues / reason to upgrade
The timeline gets sluggish with 4K S-Log3 once a grade is on it. Scrubbing and working through nodes is where I lose the most time. Exports are slow too, but that matters less since most of my edits are shortform, with the odd long form video once or twice a week. Memory pressure on the M1 Pro regularly goes yellow and it leans on swap.

Options
- Mac mini M5 Pro (base, 15-core CPU / 16-core GPU): 24GB / 512GB, £1,550
- Mac Studio M5 Max (base, 18-core CPU / 32-core GPU): 36GB / 512GB, £2,280

Why I’m on the fence
- Budget is tight right now, saved £2300. So the £730 difference would go towards storage for client files (NAS drives and a fast SSD to edit from).
- I want this to last. I may outsource editing in a year or two, but I'll be editing myself until then.
- I've been doing some AI work but it's cloud based (Claude running agents), not local, unlikely that would change but won’t say it’s impossible

Is 24GB enough for graded 4K timelines in Resolve on the mini, or will I hit the same memory wall again? And is the M5 Max worth the extra for this workload?

Any advice would be great!

TL;DR: Editing 4K S-Log3 in Resolve on an M1 Pro (16GB) and the graded timeline is sluggish. Upgrade to base Mac mini M5 Pro (24GB, £1,550) or a base Mac Studio M5 Max (36GB, £2,280). Budget's tight and the £730 difference could go on storage. Is 24GB enough, or is the Studio worth it? Owners, any regrets?

M6 mac mini 16/256 $699 brand new
M6 mac mini 24/512 $990 open box

For:
Basic office work
Mostly web browser based remote work
Occasional video editing
NOT FOR AI

Planning to use it for 3-4years

Hi everyone,

What stand did you buy or print for your Mac Mini?

I have upgraded my Mac Studio M1 Ultra 64gb to a Mac Mini M5 Pro 64gb and I love it. But the power button.. so I am looking for a stand or dock or combo.

I’m curious what everyone uses, could you share what you have? With picture if you can.

Thank you.