AFansHub

Mac mini is most likely a misunderstanding when it is used as a server

by Poster Nov 9, 2024 60
Many people follow the trend and buy Mac mini without knowing what, planning to use it as a server, especially UP owners such as Zhong Wenze who send videos to add fuel to the fire. This is purely a misunderstanding. Generally, UP owners mention things they can do with it, such as qBittorrent, Plex, SMB sharing, Time Machine, and cheaper Linux Servers can do it, and whether it is x86 or arm, to put it bluntly, a TV box that costs tens of dollars can do it. Do you have to say macOS to be Time Machine? Find out about Netatalk. Docker for Linux Server is native, and the Docker client for Mac essentially uses a virtual machine for Linux, which has worse performance. Of course, it doesn't matter if you say that Apple Silicon has strong performance and is not afraid of virtualization losses. Or you take an old Mac mini to flash Asahi Linux (supporting M1/M2) and also have native Docker, but I think it's full. Mac is exclusive to some usage scenarios that are strongly bound to Apple's ecosystem, such as content caching and Xcode for CI/CD. But I have used my M1 Mac mini for so many years, and the content cache only takes up about 166M to accelerate iCloud. It probably doesn't work for most people at all. Even backups of iOS devices (iMazing/iTunes) and signatures (AltServer and the like), these so-called Apple ecological things, have Windows versions. No, it is not necessary for Mac Server. Let me talk about a Server scenario that most people can't think of, and I am using it myself, that is AirMessage, which allows Windows/Android machines to use iMessage through a Mac forwarding, which is suitable for dual-wielding parties. This thing is also mandatory for macOS, but theoretically, I can also virtualize a black Apple macOS VM on Linux Server to solve it. Of course, if I have to say it, there is another advantage, that is, the low power consumption of Apple Silicon, which makes some things that originally need to be run with CPU/GPU, such as AI graphing, LLM, video transcoding, etc., not particularly anxious about efficiency. If so, it is very suitable to run with a Mac mini, which is quiet and energy-saving. Now you can buy the old Mac mini for the price of 2K +. If you just run Ollama, SD or press video, it is no worse than spending thousands more to buy an Nvidia GPU. Therefore, I still advise everyone to spend rationally. Of course, if you buy it happily, it is also worth it.

Replies

  • Anonymous7424 Nov 9, 2024
    How to put it, I am the kind of person who has everything, NAS, PC, Macbook, soft routing, and servers; I have been wanting to buy an m4 pro 64G these days. I personally enjoy this overkill feeling. If I have any ideas, I can run it immediately. If the equipment is insufficient, I will not take the first step to try it
  • Anonymous2045 Nov 9, 2024
    I am not a server, but a box, compatible with domestic and foreign platforms, which is satisfactory for me.
  • Anonymous8641 Nov 9, 2024
    Understood, buy it as soon as you need it, if you don't just need it, OP suggests not to spend too much
  • Anonymous12244 Nov 9, 2024
    In fact, you should mention that apple's chips do non-interactive background programs, and most os schedules energy efficiency cores rather than performance cores, so they cannot give full play to the performance of the cpu. But it doesn't affect.
  • Anonymous13074 Nov 9, 2024
    @ Poster # 2 Indeed, mbp, NAS have it. Can't find the meaning of buying this.. But still want to buy it. This is indeed the kind of feeling that you know it's useless or think it's very cost-effective, and it's a bit of a loss if you don't buy it
  • Anonymous1954 Nov 9, 2024
    I have a TV and a projector. I'm worried that I don't have the right box. The projection is connected to appletv and the TV is in the bedroom. Playing Hearthstone ipad while lying down is still almost boring
  • Anonymous2262 Nov 9, 2024
    @ Anonymous11686 I open smb in Synology nas, and the Apple TV even costs more than 300. It is the fastest to use webdav. It can be filled directly, and ftp can also be filled. nfs has limited strength than smb
  • Anonymous3502 Nov 9, 2024
    It's not expensive, just buy it for fun x
  • Anonymous13075 Nov 9, 2024
    The bottom layer of Mac is derived from BSD, and most NAS are based on BSD. This is the advantage I can think of
  • Anonymous7366 Nov 9, 2024
    It's hard to disagree. I wanted to buy a mac after reading the current discounts, but then I thought about it. There were really no application scenarios. Most service-class dockers don't require any performance, and what they need is not suitable for running on mac. To put it bluntly, mac is very wasteful to do these things, rich brother is casual, ordinary people really don't need it
  • Poster Nov 9, 2024
    @ Anonymous1575 The appearance is too subjective and there is no need to mention it. Even if I think I like the appearance, the power consumption is mentioned in the last paragraph @ Anonymous11686 That's really strange. Which hard disk cabinet do you use? How stable is it? @ Anonymous631 videotoolbox There are very few configurable options, and the speed is not very good, but it is energy-saving. The graphics card can often reach hundreds of watts, not to mention the CPU soft pressure. I think it's okay to use. I don't have a 780m, but I have an RDNA2 graphics card. I think qsv nvenv may touch porcelain, but amf is still a little short @ Anonymous3741 You can play, but most people who follow the trend have to watch Zhong Wenze videos to find reasons for themselves. That's not a segment @ Anonymous2045 The top version of Apple TV is pretty good. I have TV but I can't watch Aiyouten, but I don't watch it either. Apple Silicon's webview performance is very strong, and it is also suitable for swiping web pages. Those who have clear application scenarios are not spending money indiscriminately @ Anonymous13074 Something that is destined to fall in price doesn't mean that you can resell it for +200 if you buy it, nor does it mean that you will stop production tomorrow. How can you lose money? In fact, the main thing is to be happy yourself. It's OK to be happy if you buy it. It's just that after someone buys it, it's not happy if it's boring... @ Anonymous13075 But there doesn't seem to be a particularly strong correlation, not to mention that many NAS are already based on Linux operating system, even those that are really based on BSD, such as TrueNAS, are also stronger than ZFS. Although macOS is a bit related, it doesn't have ZFS. If it has memory, it can't take advantage of ZFS. Even the current RAID assistant only has RAID 0 and 1 options, which is simply funny. It can only be used lightly and cannot be used as a professional.
  • Anonymous13076 Nov 9, 2024
    I don't have a computer at home, but I only have a windows console in the rental house for playing games. My current expectations for mac mini are: 1. Keep it open at home, and vnc can be used as a remote computer. 2. When the nas server is used to run docker, run bt download, home theater, and file sharing. 3. Use it as a set-top box for the TV at home. 4. Used as a blog server, it is always open anyway. Others: It may be used to run AI models, which belong to your own local AI. Used as a development machine, windows machine always wants to play games. I can't take my desktop home when I go home on holidays, but I can barely play some games with my mac. ps: I don't know if it can be used as a smart home central control. Currently, Apple seems to have to buy a home pod to operate smart homes through public networks.
  • Poster Nov 9, 2024
    @ Anonymous13076 1. It is smoother to use Parsec if possible. Windows VNC is not as bonus as Mac connected to Mac 2. Try to use the native Mac version, Docker is not necessary 3. APTV is quite easy to use 4. No, only Homepod/Apple TV/iPad can be used as the Homekit hub
  • Anonymous12931 Nov 9, 2024
    Surge is just needed. After I switched from PVE black Apple to mini, my phone never freezed again
  • Anonymous8110 Nov 9, 2024
    I'M more curious about whether the M series processors are ARM or Apple's self-developed? If it's the former, isn't it as good as x86?
  • Anonymous12982 Nov 9, 2024
    @ Anonymous8110 uses the arm instruction set and the arm chip architecture are fully developed by Apple
  • Anonymous2160 Nov 9, 2024
    I think if you already use mac mini, you can run the service by the way, instead of buying it as a server.
  • Anonymous13077 Nov 9, 2024
    It is very important that the server for personal use at home is quiet, and all small x86 machines have fans whirling
  • Anonymous8110 Nov 9, 2024
    @ Anonymous12982 # 36 Thanks for the answer-. -
  • Anonymous13078 Nov 9, 2024
    @ Poster # 2 It did, so I placed the order and returned it. I have NUC8 and NAS, I really don't know what to buy it for