PC Magazine - USA (2020-12)

(Antfer) #1

There’s no point in prying inside, anyway. Unlike the 2018 Mac mini, the M1-
based version incorporates the main system memory into the SoC’s module.
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you would before. The amount of memory you opt for at purchase time, as well
as the internal storage amount, are what you’ll have to live with for the life of
the system.


CONFIGURATIONS: MAC MINI TIMES TWO


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models: a $699 lower-storage-capacity model (256GB SSD), and an $899
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factory with more system memory or storage, however.


All SKUs of the Mac mini use the M1 processor, Apple’s custom SoC with eight
processing cores, eight graphics cores, and an additional series of cores that
Apple dubs a “Neural Engine.” The eight processing cores are split into four
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that can be shunted over by macOS for power conservation. This is the same
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of the base-model MacBook Air, which employs the M1 but with seven instead
of eight GPU cores.


This is a drastic change from the earlier Mac minis. Before this M1 CPU
switchover, the $799 base-model Mac mini came with a quad-core Intel Core i3,
and the $1,099 step-up version was based on a Core i5, with the option to level
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Mac mini boosted the capacity of the base SSD from 128GB to 256GB in the
$799 model, and from 256GB to 512GB in the $1,099 model.


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the Mac mini are the same. You get the M1 CPU, 8GB of not-user-upgradable
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you select. Each of the two base models can be kicked up to 16GB of system
memory for $200 more. The 256GB base model can be upgraded to a 512GB
(+$200), 1TB (+$400), or 2TB (+$800) SSD, while the 512GB base model can
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whether to pre-install Logic Pro or Final Cut Pro on the system.

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