iFixit has posted its video teardown of the brand new M4 Mac mini, and as standard, it’s an interesting examine of how design, engineering, and expertise come collectively–or on this case, taken aside
Whereas lots of people have an interest within the internal workings of Apple’s merchandise, the Mac mini would possibly draw extra curiosity than every other product. There’s a widespread perception that customers ought to have the ability to carry out a specific amount of customization and upgrades with desktop computer systems, even with Macs. And the Mac mini has been utilized in distinctive conditions and initiatives. Teardowns like iFixit’s don’t simply fulfill curiosity, they supply helpful info.
Watch iFixit’s video, and after that, listed below are just a few takeaways from the teardown.
It’s packed to the gills
The M1 and M2 Mac minis used an outdated design and left plenty of area inside. With the brand new design, the Mac mini is immensely packed. It’s an unimaginable feat of design and engineering, nevertheless it additionally offers a severe hurdle to do-it-yourselfers. Which leads us to…
It’s person upgradeable…however is it, actually?
Apple clearly has an concept of what elements must be accessible, and it’s apparent within the Mac mini. For instance, the CMOS battery is designed for entry with out diving deeper into the machine. The truth is, it’s the one element that’s readily accessible.
We heard early experiences concerning the Mac mini’s SSD being upgradeable and the iFixit video offers extra information. The M4 and M4 Professional Mac minis use modules of various sizes and iFixit couldn’t get its Mac mini to work after they tried swapping the SSDs.
iFixit usually refers back to the Mac mini as being upgradeable, however being “upgradeable” entails the flexibility to take away an element and substitute it with an obtainable half. At this level, there’s no obtainable half for the Mac mini. Apple makes use of a proprietary SSD module that’s nothing just like the NVMe SSDs utilized in Home windows PCs and is made by third events equivalent to Essential. You possibly can’t purchase a NVMe and pop it into the Mac mini.
Might an organization make a Mac mini-compatible SSD module? Perhaps, however wouldn’t it be well worth the funding for them? It’s exhausting to say. The Mac mini’s SSD is just like that of the Mac Studio, and a Kickstarter undertaking to make a third-party Mac Studio SSD improve has exceeded its funding objective, nevertheless it has solely 142 backers. Granted, the Mac Studio is extra of a distinct segment than the Mac mini, nevertheless it nonetheless looks as if a low-volume endeavor.
In case you’re questioning, the RAM is integrated within the M4 chip, because it has for the reason that M1. There isn’t any option to improve RAM after buy.
The fan is massive
The ring of vents on the backside of the Mac mini results in a fan that takes up a substantial quantity of area (and much more area within the M4 Professional mannequin). I can’t assist however marvel if smaller cooling models can be utilized, which might make the Mac mini much more tiny.
For instance, Frore System makes “solid-state lively cooling chips” which can be tremendous skinny and efficient. Final yr, I coated how they modified a MacBook Air with its cooling chips, which allowed it to cease throttling to keep up a correct working temperature. I don’t know what a system like Frore’s would value to implement, however I think about it’s not as low cost as a fan, so it could be too dear for consideration.
