Apple’s popular M4 Mac Mini desktop computer is on sale for only $500 at Amazon. To get the full $99 savings, you’ll need to click the coupon box below the price, which drops it from $549 to $500. Released last fall, the latest entry-level Mac Mini punches above its $599 MSRP. If you’re in the market for a desktop PC for around $500 or less, it would be challenging to find a better option than the 2024 Mac Mini–unless you need to use software that’s unsupported by macOS, of course.
Apple Mac Mini Desktop Computer with M4 Chip
$500 (was $599)
As mentioned, Amazon’s deal is for the base model M4 Mac Mini. At just 5 x 5 x 2 inches, the Mac Mini is an extremely compact machine, so it’s great for those working with minimal desk space. The M4 has a 10-core GPU and 10-core CPU. Four of those CPU cores are performance cores, while the other six are efficiency cores. It also has a 16-core Neural Engine for machine learning operations.
The base model has a 256GB SSD and 16GB Unified Memory. The latter is essentially RAM; it has the „unified“ moniker because the CPU and GPU in Apple Silicon chips pull from the same memory bank. The M4 has a memory bandwidth of 120GB per second.
The main downside to the Mac Mini is that you’re basically buying a computer tower, so you need to supply the keyboard, mouse, display, and all the cables beyond the power cord. But it does have a plethora of ports on the front and back:
Mac Mini M4 Ports:
- 2 USB-C 3.0 ports on the front
- 3 Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports on the back
- HDMI port
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- 3.5mm audio jack
The front two USB-C ports are conveniently located for wireless receivers and corded accessories, while the trio of Thunderbolt 4 ports on the back can be used to quickly transfer files and connect multiple displays at up to 8K resolution. The M4 Mac Mini supports up to three monitors. If you have monitors that support 4K (or higher) resolution, all three can run in 4K+ resolution at 60Hz refresh rates. Refresh rates of up to 240Hz are possible when using one or two monitors instead of three.
Since the 2024 Mac Minis have only been around for about six months, no one knows for sure how well the M4-equipped models will hold up over time. That said, Apple’s track record with Mac Minis and MacBooks suggests that you could use get five-plus years of consistent performance. Five years is a very conservative estimate, as there are plenty of Apple users who still use laptops and desktops purchased 10-plus years ago.