It was time to die.
My 2014 iMac, equipped with a 3TB drive and maximize RAM, it was a dream machine. For years, I called and started working, transcoding videos, recording podcasts and writing books. It was almost too much of a machine. There was a huge and beautiful screen – one of the first Retina models, if I remember correctly – great speed and incredible performance. And it lasted for almost seven years, a record due to my habit of updating with every major Apple update.
After installing macOS Big Sur, however, things got worse. I opened several tabs on Safari and got a spinning beach ball that resulted in a crash so hard that I was ashamed of the Apple CEO Tim cook. Everything would freeze and spin for a solid two minutes before the Gray Screen of Death appeared. I would have to restart almost daily. Apple had reduced my previously capable machine to rubble.
What should I do? I could use a laptop at home, but those were taken by my kids and their remote studies. I could keep working on this iMac and restart it constantly. I could use an iPad and cry myself to sleep every night.
Reader, I bought a Mac Mini.
The Mac Mini is a computer dear to my heart. I had a first generation model in 2005 and it was my first real foray into Apple products. Remember, at that time, unless you were a diehard, you did all your real work on a Windows machine. They were cheaper, more ubiquitous and, with the exception of some art, music and design apps, more capable. We can discuss these points if you want, but for the average computer user, you are buying a Dell.
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The original Mini was a revelation. It worked wonderfully, the UI was great (I wasn’t a Mac-head, so I probably haven’t used it since the days of PowerPC) and I was able to add any peripherals I wanted. I used an old monitor, a good keyboard and a Logitech mouse. Everything worked perfectly.
After the death of my iMac, I wanted something similar in power with an incredible display, something I loved about the huge, shiny Retina display that my old one had. I also wanted to try the M1 chip. I replaced the iMac and set up the Mini. Here’s what I learned.
Get a great monitor
I went for $ 700 LG 24-iNch IPS UltraFine 4K UHD monitor, which offers much of the brightness and clarity of the original iMac. I noticed a slight difference in color and brightness, and the screen was slightly smaller than the 27 inches that I was used to and, in retrospect, I probably should have chosen a bigger one, since this is my daily driver. That said, the difference between the laptop, the iMac and this screen is minimal.
You can go cheaper – about $ 300 for the BenQ PD2700Q – or go crazy with the LG 38WN95C-W for $ 1,600. But what you’re looking for is a USB-C compatible monitor with some expansion ports. Since the Mini has only two USB-C and two USB-A ports, you will want the expansion.
Get an external drive
The Mac Mini maxes with 512 GB, which I realized was getting full almost immediately. As mentioned, my old iMac was 3 TB on board, and that was more than enough. That was too little. I bought an external hard drive and turned it into a “trash” drawer for downloads and the like.
You will also want a good powered USB dock. I have an Anker model with eight ports and I can change multiple devices while keeping my external sound system (the Scarlett 2i2) and the Logitech MX Master 2S mouse connected.
Replace your webcam
You’ll want a video capture device like the $ 110 Elgato Cam Link 4K. You can also connect a GoPro camera to the M1, but I had a hard time getting it to work with the new M1 chips. I am currently connecting a Sony DSLR to Elgato via HDMI, as the USB streaming feature does not work. This is the biggest mistake in the entire system, and I definitely miss the built-in webcam – although the oldest the one on the iMac was abhorrent (the 2020 modelit is much better).
Altogether, I spent about $ 800 on accessories to make the Mac Mini work like my iMac, not including the cost of the Mini itself. Since iMacs still don’t have M1 chips and the Mini was so reasonable, I think this is a perfect opportunity to try hardware that I haven’t used in years and update my Mac in the process.