Post your Mac mini setups

[iMacFarlane]

[doublepost=1543454414][/doublepost]

Are you going with the Dell in the photo or with the BenQ also referred to in your Terminal output?

Just looking at this thread, I'm struck by the number of people so far who are using Dell monitors.

Yeah, that was part of the fun in the coding that may not be clear on second thought . . . : )

The BenQ was atrocious. The panel was too big (32"), the text was waaaaay too small (4K), and that thing was so washed out / bright. What really drove me to give up on it was the fact that the picture was remarkably better on the display of the $87 1080p WalMart monitor next to it! I returned it, ordered the Dell 1440p IPS, and boy, that picture above doesn't do it justice. The display is so vibrant, clear, and readable, I couldn't be happier with it! All that, and it was 10% less expensive than the BenQ!

 

[rmdeluca]

View attachment 807203

This will be used primarily for iOS development, which is why I opted for the stand-up desk. Details of my setup (and the changes I had to make while building it) are elaborated upon in the Xcode screenshot. If you're not a coder, read the console output to see the current state of the rig!

View attachment 807204

Thank God Swift caught on. Objective-C is such a hideous language that I couldn’t bring myself to use it even if it meant I was making things more difficult for myself

 

[DeepIn2U]

No points for aesthetics, but functional

@rmdeluca ... sweet! I love the mirroring side walls you have there ... where did you get those? (bronze digital wall with cutouts).

still working on the 2nd workstation made a stand up work area. the mini is connected to am entertainment center and 4k tv 6 feet away. Thankfully Thunderbolt 2 has a 3 meter cable length limit. USBc is only 2 meters.

I actually dig the died in the wool bunker look of this setup.

 

[rmdeluca]

Thank you! I think you're referring to the corner bass traps?

https://www.gikacoustics.com/product/corner-ct-alpha-bass-trap-absorber-diffusor/

I got the blond veneer with gray fabric underneath.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Thank you! I think you're referring to the corner bass traps?

https://www.gikacoustics.com/product/corner-ct-alpha-bass-trap-absorber-diffusor/

I got the blond veneer with gray fabric underneath.

yes perfect that's what I was after. Much appreciated!!!

 

[F-Train]

Thank you! I think you're referring to the corner bass traps?

https://www.gikacoustics.com/product/corner-ct-alpha-bass-trap-absorber-diffusor/

I got the blond veneer with gray fabric underneath.

The bass traps were easy. On first look, my question was "Why the hell is he running Yamaha monitors back to back?"

Escher ain't got nothin' on you

 

[rmdeluca]

The bass traps were easy. On first look, my question was "Why the hell is he running Yamaha monitors back to back?"

Escher ain't got nothin' on you

Haha yeah I guess it would have been easier to tell if I had used a real camera. What's also funny is that the Yamahas are about a meter away from the traps and that's still way too close to the wall. I have a LOT more bass trapping to add before I put a sub in there...

 

[ktcifone]

Thanks, this is a repurposed coat closet, still a work in progress.

 

[Jellyenzo]

Late to the party. New forum member here. Been on the macbook pros but swapped over to the mac mini.

Currently running two 27” displays for my work setup.
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It's a bit of a mess:

Very nice keyboard. Is that a ducky? What switches are you running on those?

 

[SpacemanSpiffed]

Here's my 2012 Mini sitting on top of a Shuttle XPC. They share monitors and KVMs depending on what I'm doing.

Now just imagine the Mini has eyes like in the Cars movie...

 

[wdwpsu]

Here's my 2012 Mini sitting on top of a Shuttle XPC. They share monitors and KVMs depending on what I'm doing.

Nice! Which KVM (and respective K, V, and M) are you using and have you hit any problems with that?

 

[SpacemanSpiffed]

Nice! Which KVM (and respective K, V, and M) are you using and have you hit any problems with that?

I didn't find a regular KVM that I liked so I wound up just using the 3 different inputs on a Dell 3014 Monitor (display port, mini displayport, DVI-D), and an IoGear USB peripheral sharing switch. I velcroed the toggle button to the base of the monitor. I share the 2012 Mini, a 2013 13" MacBookPro and the Shuttle XPC (which has 32GB, GTX 1060, and 14TB of storage) on the one monitor+Keyboard+Mouse Pair. The Keyboard is an original MS Natural USB, and the mouse a MS wireless basic.

L to R - USB Input toggle w/ handy chart to read the LEDs, Thermometer, USB peripheral switch with KB, wireless mouse receiver plugged in, and optional USB power in, and finally - Volume control on speakers that are shared by all 3 computers (I use a passive mixer, so all three can be heard at the same time).

 

[StellarVixen]

Nice setups.
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View attachment 807203

This will be used primarily for iOS development, which is why I opted for the stand-up desk. Details of my setup (and the changes I had to make while building it) are elaborated upon in the Xcode screenshot. If you're not a coder, read the console output to see the current state of the rig!

View attachment 807204

Why I can't like this more than once?

 

[Alexandberg]

2018 i7/8/128. Have used a MBP connected to an external monitor since 2011 as a desktop, but was in need for some more power. The MBP is still running beautifully for my mobile work—and I can't stand the new MBP's keyboards—so why not get a Mac Mini for when I'm home?

Monitor: Samsung S27H850
Speakers: Audioengine 5+

 

[DozerDave]

I have an old mount for attaching a Mac Mini to the back of a monitor and an unused VESA monitor stand. For grins I decided to see what it would look like to attach my new 2018 Mac Mini directly to the stand instead of the back of a monitor. The MM kinda floats to the side of my right monitor. Not the prettiest setup (and my pictures suck) but you can see this setup I'm testing out.

I originally thought I needed an eGPU but I see that Photoshop runs okay so far without one even on the 4k monitor. I bought Affinity Photo during the Cyber Monday sale and will see it can replace Photoshop for my needs. I don't take as many pictures with the DSLR as I use to.

This 2018 MM replaces a Hackintosh I built in 2015. One thing I like about the MM is how quiet it is.

Only a geek likes to see all of these cables! You do get to enjoy seeing the MM vertical with the nice Apple logo. This is ugly as sin but it is easy to hook up the cables in this setup.

• Mac Mini 2018 i7/32/1TB
• ASUS PB278 (2k monitor via HDMI) <- Primary for most things like Web Browser
• LG 31MU97 (4k monitor via Displayport)

 

[harriska2]

How are you guys posting pictures? I tried the picture icon with a link to google icloud shared picture but no luck. I see no way to attachba picture.

I also use the IOGear KVM. Well, really KM to share a mouse and keyboard with 2 Win7 and 1 mac mini and it works just fine. I did have to turn off sleep.

 

[F-Train]

How are you guys posting pictures? I tried the picture icon with a link to google icloud shared picture but no luck. I see no way to attachba picture.

If you want to attach a picture (as distinct from using a URL), click on "Upload a File" on the bottom right of the Reply window. It's the black rectangle with white lettering between "Post Reply" and "More Options...".

 

[Dr. Stealth]

How are you guys posting pictures? I tried the picture icon with a link to google icloud shared picture but no luck. I see no way to attachba picture.

Just drag a picture to the text input box and it will upload. That's how I do it. Drag N' Drop, it's the Mac way...

 

[philipma1957]

Same here, so I'll just post the specifications instead:

• Mid-2010 Mac mini (2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo)
• Upgraded to 16GB RAM (1067MHz DDR3)
• Internal HDD replaced by a Kingston SV300S37A120G (SSD 120GB)
• Optical drive replaced by a Western Digital WD7500BPKX (Black 750GB)
• ViewSonic VP171s monitor (not even 16:9 so that makes me laugh when some people say everyone "has to" upgrade to 4K/retina monitors)
• External Western Digital HDD (500GB) connected via USB2 for backups.
• Apple A1243 aluminium keyboard with enough dust packed under the keys to kill two dozen butterfly keyboards. But unlike a butterfly keyboard, the A1243 still works fine, the keys just feel a bit "mushy".
• Logitech mouse M-BA47 (not even optical)
• 4th generation iPod shuffle (gold, because I bought it about a week after it was discontinued so there was only gold and pink left in the stores)

Do I win a prize for still using the most obsolete components in the thread? (apart from MattA's iPod)

I think my key board is older A1048

At the moment I have

AN Acer 28 inch 4k
A 2014 base mac mini with a 2tb micron ssd in an Orico usb 3 hub
A compaq mouse that plugs into the
A1048 keyboard
An Avantree Optical dac
A diy amp forgot the chip in it
A pair of diy Speaker
a reckhorn x-over to a Now Hear This or NHT sub

I also have the Dell optiplex micro 7060 with
i7 8700t
256gb toshiba nvme m2 ssd
512 gb intel ssd
32 gb ram a 2133 stick and a 2400 stick. That ram sets to 2133
A second keyboard and mouse for the dell

and it is an insane mess reminds me of the professor"s hair on back to the future

 

[Apples Apples Everywhere]

2019 Update: Vega 64 Liquid!



The Razer Core X was disassembled to remove the fan and instead use a XSPC Universal Radstand from Amazon. I wouldn't call the result silent, but whisper quiet is fair. My eGPU means I no longer wish for the Blackmagic eGPU Pro.

 

[harriska2]

Nope, drag and drop doesn’t work on the ipad pro 12.9. But the Upload a File button sure did.

 

[F-Train]

View attachment 809061 Nope, drag and drop doesn’t work on the ipad pro 12.9. But the Upload a File button sure did.

Which monitor is that? Looks huge

 

[harriska2]

View attachment 808894 View attachment 808895

Which monitor is that? Looks huge

Samsung 40” 4k. I had it foisted upon me by my ex husband but grew to like it. It’s why I can afford a mac as I already had a monitor. You can see the 27” imac with broken lcd to the left :/. Another reason why I have a mac mini, not imac.

 

[-M7-]

I wall-mounted mine with the cables pointing down. Screen is a 43 inch LG 4k monitor (no UI scaling required). Behind the wall-mounted monitor is a PS4 Pro and a Node 202 mini gaming PC.

 

[scottsjack]

No pictures, just the facts;

2018 mini i7 16GB 1TB
OWC Thunderbay 6 with WD 4TB RE drives
2 OWC dual bay USB3 Boxes with WD 6TB Gold drives for backup
Antique Samsung 1920x1200 SyncMaster 245bw
3TB Time Capsule for Time Machine backup
Clicky Das Keyboard Pro for Mac
Magic Mouse 2

BTW the above replaced a 2012 Mac Pro hex 3.46 with 24GB RAM and a 960GB SSD running on a PCIe SATA3 card. I am keeping the MP forever as an artifact from a golden age when Apple really built (and cared about) great computers.