Looking to pick up one of these myself and found that Umart has about a $100 off both for the next 7 days, but I don't see an OzBargain deal for it yet.
Apple Mac Mini M1: 8GB/256GB - $999 (RRP $1099) / 8GB/512GB - $1299 (RRP $1399) @ Umart
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Lbjeanes on 17/05/2021 - 12:24 umart.com.au (410 clicks)
Last edited 19/05/2021 - 09:24 by 2 other users
Last edited 19/05/2021 - 09:24 by 2 other users
This is part of Click Frenzy deals for 2021
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I'm waiting for the M1X/M2 for laptop purchase but my Year Of Linux On The Desktop experiment is coming to a close after about 2 years and I really want a mac again sooner than the next few months :D
What did you miss about the Mac? (:
@chrism238: macs make for awesome work machines though shrug
it'd be nice to run my own choice of OS, but it's still an awesome machine.
In my opinion, Macs have more UI polish, better ACPI support (sleep, power usage) and are better for proprietary software.
Linux supports much more hardware, but sometimes the driver quality is lacking which is frustrating when you just want to get work done. It also has better package management for open source software, but macports/homebrew are usually sufficient anyway.
I switch back and forth and like/dislike things about both.
@3: nailed it. I do and often have run both Linux and Mac across various machines and am comfortable with both, but I've just not been in the frame of mind to wrestle with tracking down why software X behaves subtly different than software Y in Linux. But, as a programmer, Docker is so much better on Linux than macOS that it's a mixed bag, no matter which OS you choose…
Also the M1 as a processor and architecture is just so damn tempting. Hello 17 hour battery life, yes please.
@bjeanes: Looks like you should be waiting for another good deal on macbooks though… but I do wonder what M1X/M2/etc will bring. Apple has a pretty consistent track record with improving significantly on the first revision of something whether it be iPhone, iPad, etc… so I really do wonder! Presumably it's also going to bring new form factors if leaks are to be believed.
(ps. I edited your post since there was an extra asterisk from your bullet point list causing the URL link for the $999 model to 404)
@bjeanes: I just can't see us getting GPU support for Linux on Apple's M1 so dual boot option is out and I'm not sure if VMs will run well with the limited ram
Meanwhile Windows has added X support to WSL and I think it includes GPU acceleration, so that's pretty tempting. But … Windows…
I despise how 8GB is still seen as okay in this day and age. 12GB should be the minimum, 16GB ideal for the baseline, especially given there’s no upgrade path beyond paying a lot more on the outset.
For most people, 8GB is enough.
Today, but likely not tomorrow. Hence very clever of apple to push 8GB so hard today in a non-upgradeable machine…
Today I can dev on my 6gb machine I built nearly 7 years ago. If I can do that, surely most can browse facebook with 8gb. Windows uses less than it did back then, it's only web browsers that kill it (aka Chrome)
8gb is a minimum, not enough.
The problem is that it doesn't stop. Apps use more ram because it's available, cheaper to develop that way, and you can have more bling. So vendors put more ram in and the cycle continues.
It's interesting if Apple just decides to not ship more ram, it puts pressure back on app developers to reduce usage.
There's also an argument that storage is getting so fast that swap is a lot more viable in these systems, but that seems to be ending poorly for SSD wear
You can get a 16GB configuration for the Mac Mini M1, but no one but Apple seems to sell them so you're generally paying RRP for that.
Or EPP/Education pricing. But even then (for me) it's a pricey $281.60 upgrade to 16GB RAM!
In all fairness I do agree with your train of thought here. Instead of becoming better/more efficient/clever with limited resources, many have just adopted a mindset of throwing more hardware/resources at a problem.
I'm out of the loop here. Is there not two RAM slots on the motherboard with one spare?
You are well outside of the loop I'm afraid. The ram is part of the M1 chip itself, there are no slots on the motherboard
https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mac-M…
Crikey! That really makes upgrading hard!!!
@Bob81: My MacBook Pro from 8 years ago has the ram soldered on. At least now they have an excuse (faster access because it's closer to the proc or something)
No all soldered sadly.
Despise it all you like, not everyone needs the same amount of RAM as you.
I have found that my M1 mac with 8gb can do as much or more than my gaming rig with 16gb of DDR3 ram (its a few years old). The M1 chip is so optimised that you really dont notice the lack of ram.
On a Windows machine I'd agree, but Mac OS X is supposedly much more efficient, and the architectural differences in the M1 SoC with integrated RAM and storage would indicate that the size of RAM isn't the binding constraint it is often perceived to be. I'm sure you can max it out if you really deliberately go out of your way, but plenty of reviews have indicated it took significant effort to create a stressed environment on the M1 which brought any noticeable performance impacts.
I'm saying this not as a Mac user (I haven't owned one since the Core2 Duo MBA 11", and am PCMR all the way) but being curious enough about the topic I've watched way too many Youtube reviews and analysis of the M1 lineup.
That is subjective though. Both to the individual and how the hardware deals/processes that memory.
Probably a better price here from wireless1 via ebay for the 8GB/256GB:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/254794848539?epid=19042413477&ha…$988 (after $100 promo code), then maybe another 5% discount for giftcards from shopback.. so around $938.60
Close to $900 for those loaded with 10% off $100 Ebay cards from last week and the perfect size 5% .
256GB bump for $300 - now that's what i call a bargain!
^This. I did a price beat last time with Officeworks on exactly this model from UMart
Must resist….
This is a great deal.
Thank you! I was in the market for this
How does one get a discount on a 16GB M1 Mac Mini without going through the "Education" program (it's for uni students and teachers only apparently)? Can't seem to find any retailers offering the 16GB version as a stocked item.
Has anyone had any success negotiating through the likes of JB for a custom order Mac?
For the education site, there's no verification tho, so apparently anybody can order it.
I think the custom models can only be ordered through the apple website.Have you checked out the certified refurbished store? They often have 16GB mini available at up to 15% off RRP.
I think parents of K-12 students are allowed to use the education store as well. Also it may be worth checking if your company has an EPP.
Someone on OzB got 5% off CTO@JB by showing his/her student ID, you can maximise discount by using discounted GC I supposed.Thanks for the tips. I'll give all those options a crack and report back!
Yeah, despite posting this deal I really want a 16GB model, so I'm going to camp https://www.apple.com/au/shop/refurbished/mac/mac-mini-16gb for a few weeks and see if an M1 pops up!
If you are looking at an M1 Mini and happen to have 10gbe networking, there is now a 10gbe upgraded Mini available via Apple. Just as an FYI.
Make sure call apple to validate the purchase date to start warranty.
No need to do that if you sign in with your Apple ID.
saw it last week, waiting for M1X or M2 though