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GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

New Mac Mini M1....

I decided that, after 26 years of Windows based computers, I would try a Mac.  The Minis are pretty inexpensive when it comes to a Mac, though still somewhat pricey overall.  Back when they came out with the iMac in the late 90s I wanted one, but it was far outside my budget.  When they changed to using Intel processors they lost their appeal, at least for me, as what set them apart was no longer there.  When Apple announced the transition to using their own CPUs, it sparked that interest again.   And I like mini PCs, so this is a perfect fit.  It's not quite as mini as my other mini PCs, but it runs circles around them.  

 

So far, it's been great.  It's quite a bit of learning, that's for sure, as some things are done very differently on a Mac, but as time goes on I'm getting a better hang of it and I'm learning to do new things more quickly.  I just got a new 2TB Western Digital Elements drive today, connected it, selected it for Time Machine, and in around six minutes it had written a nearly 12GB backup.  Six minutes.  And this is with a mechanical drive!  Just unreal.  I have it in the USB-C port with an adapter, but still.  

 

My next try is downloading Steam and trying one or two of the few games I have through them (Half-Life series, Half-Life 2 series, Portal and Portal 2).  I don't know how well they'll work with this new type of CPU, as I believe it will have to use Rosetta 2 to translate it, but we'll see.  

 

The responsiveness of this thing is amazing.  You click and whatever you're trying to open or do is practically instant.  It makes my Ryzen 5 3400G desktop seem ancient, even though I just built that early last year.  I'm so glad I got this.  I got the 16GB/1TB model.  I know they may be coming out with models that have the M2 processor later this year, and likely more RAM, but they'll be a good bit more expensive, I'm sure.  I'm happy with this.  

 

Has anyone else out there gotten one of these recently? 

29 REPLIES 29
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

Downloading to the Beelink GK55 as we speak...

 

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Was going to suggest Steam but you beat me to it.


* Disclaimer: I am a HughesNet customer and not a HughesNet employee. All of my comments are my own and do not necessarily represent HughesNet in any way.
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

Half-Life 2 actually runs very well on the Beelink, so I think I'm going to work on downloading the rest of them to it.  It's a little bigger than the T6 Pro and a little more involved to switch over, but it's still easy enough.  

 

That they run on the Beelink likely means they would run on the T6 Pro as well, but with its storage being less and slower, and with it running hotter than the Beelink, I think I'll stick with the latter.  

 

The crazy thing is I bought Portal and Portal 2 in anticipation of getting the Mac, but not doing enough research to know that they wouldn't run on it.  Talk about DERP!!!   🤪

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

Eek.  I tried playing the game today and it took about twelve minutes for me to start feeling dizzy and get a headache.  This is at 75hz.  I might have to try going back to 60hz, like it was with my old monitor, or even try my old monitor with the games, as I never had a problem like this before.  

 

On my old computer, and with my old monitor, I could play the game for an hour or more without any issue whatsoever.  This was awful.  

 

And I just found out today that none of my Windows computers support Windows 11, save for maybe my Ryzen desktop, but that takes a bit to reconnect to find out.  If it doesn't have the firmware version of TPM 2.0, its motherboard does have a port for a module.  The T6 Pro I got to evaluate does have firmware TPM 2.0, but it doesn't support Secure Boot, so I asked them if they plan on releasing a BIOS with Secure Boot for it.  Still, W10 will work for years to come, but it would be nice to be able to upgrade, as I've always done, especially since, like Windows 10, it will be free to do so.    

 

Now I'm even MORE glad that I have the Mac. 

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

" I tried playing the game today and it took about twelve minutes for me to start feeling dizzy and get a headache.  This is at 75hz.  I might have to try going back to 60hz, like it was with my old monitor, or even try my old monitor with the games, as I never had a problem like this before. "

 

I don't understand this at all...It's beyond my knowledge of the topic.

 

I haven't tested all my devices, but the one I tested is Windows 11 ready.  The mac, on the other hand, is reaching its limits with the operating systems, and I'm not sure it can take the latest one.  So I find it good to have both Windows and Macs around. 🙂

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

I think the dizziness issue may have to do with the style of my monitor.  I had it happen years ago with a low refresh rate on a monitor, before I knew how to change it.  It surprised me with this, however, as 75hz is supposed to be less likely to cause this than 60hz, so it's a bit of a mystery as to why its happening.  I'll try the 60hz soon to see what happens.

 

I imagine I'll get my desktop out and reconnect it one of these days to see if it supports W11.  I haven't checked my laptop yet, but I'm sure it won't work with that.  It's too old.  No TPM chip, nor firmware based TPM (fTPM).  The fTPM is what I'm banking on my desktop having, and if it supports secure boot, which I believe it does, I should be in business.  

 

Apple's coming out with macOS Monterey later this year, which I already know my Mini will support. 

maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

I hope you can fix the issue that causes you dizziness.  That sounds pretty bad. 

 

I checked 2 laptops and both are W11 ready.  I don't think my Mac will take Monterey, so I'll have to get a new one at some point, or install Linux on the Mac.  I don't much care for the constant updating thing, so maybe one day I'll go all Office Space on the machines. 😁


@maratsade wrote:

Enjoy New Jersey!


Unfortunately it's not a pleasure trip.


* Disclaimer: I am a HughesNet customer and not a HughesNet employee. All of my comments are my own and do not necessarily represent HughesNet in any way.
maratsade
Distinguished Professor IV

Sorry to hear that, Mike. 

 


@MarkJFine wrote:


Unfortunately it's not a pleasure trip.