The current Mac mini has two front USB-C ports at USB 3 and no video, plus three rear Thunderbolt ports: Thunderbolt 4 at 40 Gb/s on M6, Thunderbolt 5 at up to 120 Gb/s on M5 Pro. A dock cable goes in a rear port.
Mac mini with M6 or M5 Pro has a front headphone jack with high-impedance headphone support. The Sennheiser HD 600 is a 300 ohm headphone. Apple does not print an ohm rating for the jack.
Mac mini with M5 Pro lists a single 4K display at up to 165 Hz, and 4K at 240 Hz in the two-display row. The Dell U2725QE’s HDMI port is specified at 3840×2160 and 120 Hz.
Mac mini with M6 has Thunderbolt 4 on the back, up to 40 Gb/s. Mac mini with M5 Pro has Thunderbolt 5 there, up to 120 Gb/s. The front USB-C ports on both are USB 3 at 10 Gb/s.
A desk drive for the 2024 Mac mini should bring its own power supply. The OWC Express 4M2 Ultra reaches up to 6,622 MB/s on Thunderbolt 5 and 3,200 MB/s on Thunderbolt 4.
On the 2024 Mac mini, the base M4 rear ports are Thunderbolt 4. The M4 Pro rear ports are Thunderbolt 5. The OWC Envoy Ultra’s peak over 6,000 MB/s is the Thunderbolt 5 row.
If you recently unboxed a new Mac mini M4, you have likely realized that the system’s unified memory architecture is a double-edged sword. Unlike traditional PCs, you cannot upgrade the RAM after purchase, leaving many users stuck with performance bottlenecks if they underestimated their workflow needs. In my testing of the Mac mini M4, I…
Mac mini M4 docks go in a rear Thunderbolt port — front USB-C is 10 Gbps with no video. Plugable TBT-UDM is the current dual-HDMI desk. Skip leftover M1 USB-A hubs, leftover DisplayLink, and leftover TS5 on base M4.
As a professional editor who spends hours hunched over a workstation, I know that desk real estate is more precious than a prime lens in low light. The Mac Mini is a powerhouse for post-processing, but leaving it on your desk invites clutter and cable chaos. Finding the right under-desk mount isn’t just about aesthetics;…