[rapind]

> On the desktop front I think AMD has been killing it but both companies need to start from scratch for laptops.

IMO Apple is killing it with the mac mini too. Obviously not if you're gaming (that has a lot to do with the OS though), but if you're OK with the OS, it's a powerhouse for the size, noise, and energy required.

[cosmic_cheese]

Yeah for most "normal" users the Mini is pretty ideal. It's got enough power that it's overkill for most folks while being the least intrusive a desktop could possibily be: it's tiny, it doesn't have a power brick, it doesn't make any noise, and it's not going to impact your power bill hardly at all.

[whyoh]

>it doesn't make any noise

You can hear the fan at full load, especially on the M4 Pro. I really wish Apple went with a larger case and fan for that chip, which would allow quieter cooling.

Also, many units are affected by idle (power supply) buzzing: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255853533?sortBy=rank

The Mac Mini is quieter than a typical PC, but it's not literally silent like, say, a smartphone.

[balder1991]

That might be a recent phenomenon caused by the inevitable heat of the CPU getting closer and closer to its limit? Like explained in this video: https://youtu.be/AOlXmv9EiPo

My Mac Mini M2 never does any noise, even when I run FFMpeg the fans don’t spike. It just gets slightly warmer. Still, unless I’m doing these high CPU bound activities, every time I touch it it’s cold as if it was turned off, which is very different than my previous Intel one that was always either warm or super hot.

[sgarland]

Even if you are into gaming, between native builds and Crossover, it’s quite capable. It’s not going to match a top of the line Windows build with a dedicated GPU, but it’s shockingly capable.

[MangoToupe]

I've been running a Mac mini as a gaming machine for years; an egpu is much cheaper than building a whole new desktop tower.

[astrange]

Apple Silicon Macs don't support eGPUs. (At the moment anyway.)