At 7.7×7.7×1.4 inches, the Mac mini is a tiny desktop. When the form factor debuted in 2010, it was pretty impressive. But 12 years later, with mini PCs like the Intel NUC measuring 4.6×4.4×1.5 inches, the Mac mini doesn’t feel all that mini anymore.
As it turns out, the PC is packing some extra baggage, and by getting rid of some of those parts—like an overly powerful internal power supply unit (PSU)—an enthusiast has been able to rebuild the system with a 28 percent reduction in volume while allegedly keeping the same performance as the original machine.
Since I’m no archeologist who specialises in prehistoric measurement “systems”, I have no idea what those weird, alien measurements mean, but the pictures and video are clear: this is a really tiny M1 Mac Mini now.
And the “enthusiast” is Quinn Nelson, all-around good guy.
I guess you buy TVs and monitors by weighing them then.
Look, I also dislike freedom units, but since computers and TVs started out as a largely English and American affair, and most websites are still based in the US, we have to tolerate the fact that some measurements are given in freedom units.
Back in the day, it was volume. I remember my first 1/5 hogshead Trinitron CRT.
I’m sure Thom knows roughly what the units are, but TVs and monitors sold in much of Europe tend to have their size quoted in cm.
I don’t know if you live in Europe, but monitors are one of the few exceptions to this. Primary ‘dimension’ given, is diagonal size in inches.
You can usually also find vertical/horizontal length and depth in centimeters or inches, but it’s not exposed as much as vertical size in inches.
Here in Spain, monitors are mostly measured in inches or ‘pulgadas’ (1 pulgada = 1 inch).
In Sweden, they use inches, centimetres and thumbs (1 tum = 1 inch).
My God that thing is fugly.
Okay, some remarks on the actual job 🙂
On another thread, it was mentioned that fanless performance would not match the regular one. Especially in sustained loads and/or warm ambient temperatures. That was one of the large “space savers”.
Also they reduced the power supply capacity. PSU’s are most efficient at about 50% load. Hence you need to size it 2x your average needs to make best use of the electricty.
Overall, it is a nice hack. However I’m sure designers at Apple had reasons (such as the mentioned) to keep the current profile.
I agree. As much as I am all about miniaturization especially with desktop PCs, this is a step too far. I have a M1 mini and it is completely silent. I recall exactly one time when the fan was barely audible at a few inches away, when I was trying my best to get it to come on by running a CPU benchmark at full throttle. Even the case was cool to the touch throughout the torture test.
When Apple finally ditched the power brick on the mini and put it inside the case it was a huge step forward in aesthetics and space efficiency. I applaud the guy’s effort, but the end result is disappointing and overly complicated.