M4 Mac Mini Accessories: Building My Perfect Setup

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It’s been a great year for Mac mini fans. The arrival of the M4 Mac mini in November was Apple’s finest release of 2024 – no arguments. In fact, I’d argue it’s one of their finest releases in the history of the company.

I’ll get to why that’s the case later, but today, I want to give you some updated thoughts on the new Mac mini and explain why I decided to return one of the two machines I ordered. I’m also going to reveal a bunch of accessories I’ve slung together to start the process of building my perfect Mac mini setup.

If you’re thinking about purchasing one of these wonderful little Macs, this tale may just guide you towards the best buying decision, too.

Updated thoughts on the M4 Mac mini

When it comes to design, the new Mac mini is a triumph. Nearly. There’s just one frustration for yours truly (and, I’d guess, a good portion of the user base) – and that’s the lack of an SD card slot. 

As a creator, I use SD cards constantly while in the studio; they’re the conduit for all of the footage I shoot in that room and the ability to transfer stuff quickly is super important. Given the intended market Apple is shooting at with the M4 Mac mini, the lack of a front-facing SD slot is a miss, in my book. It doesn’t feel Pro enough to be exclusive to the Mac Studio.

That’s a relatively small gripe, though, because the M4 Mac mini feels like something Apple has been working towards ever since the introduction of the M1 chip four years ago. The amount of headroom available in the base model M4 Mac mini is utterly stupid. It’s telling that the only way people are managing to spin up the fans or produce a “please stop it” error message is by conducting ludicrous stress tests which bear no relation to the way anyone will use these computers.

And all of this for just £599/$599. This is why, for me, the M4 Mac mini is Apple’s best-ever product. There’s nothing quite like it, and I’m not convinced there will be again.

Two many Mac minis

I bought two Mac minis because I’m a tech YouTuber who focuses predominantly on Apple stuff. I’ve also built a reputation for testing base model devices, therefore it made sense to get in the cheapest M4 Mac mini alongside the one I really wanted.

I planned on keeping both. The specced up M4 Pro Mac mini was destined to become my main studio Mac, while the base model M4 Mac mini, well, that was going to become a testing machine. Or something. To be honest, I’ve forgotten which excuse I settled on.

Therefore, It should be no surprise that I eventually decided to take advantage of Apple’s wonderful returns policy and send back the base model M4 Mac mini. Because, let’s be honest, it wasn’t going to be used much beyond that initial review and stress test, was it?

Could I have kept the base model and instead sent back the £2,899 M4 Pro Mac mini? Yes, absolutely. As noted earlier, the power on tap from the £2,300 cheaper entry-level version is enough for most people – including me. But I’m a Mac fanboi, and the sort of person who still feels as though he should spec up his production Mac ‘just in case’.

That leaves one question: what am I up to with this super-powerful M4 Pro Mac mini?

My M4 Pro Mac mini desk setup

I’m building what might be the best Mac setup I’ve ever had in the studio. At its heart sits the M4 Pro Mac mini. This has all of its cores specced up to the hilt, 64GB of unified memory, and a wallet-bashing 2TB of SSD storage.

On monitor duties is my trusty Studio Display, which remains the most impressive display in my studio – although, not the most cost-effective way of getting an image out of the Mac mini. Combined, though, they just look epic. Apple knows exactly what it’s doing.

In terms of peripherals, I’ve switched to the Magic Keyboard for reasons I’m not entirely sure of, but continue to rely on the simply brilliant Logitech MX Master 3S mouse.

This desk setup is part workstation, part music production desk. The latter element is very much a work in progress, but I’ve made a start. There are a fair few bits of Mackie gear including the Big Knob audio interface, CR-X studio monitors, and a CR8S-XBT tucked under the desk. My old M-Audio keyboard controller is already taking up more space than it needs to and will be consequently replaced.

When it comes to headphones, we have the Sony MDR MV1 for production duties and my current noise-cancelling desk-based steed – the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones. Oh, and for no reason other than it’s really cool, there’s a JBL Spinner on the desk, too, which is a Bluetooth record player.

The desk itself is a Vernal standing desk (the best I’ve used so far), and the chair of choice is the HBADA E3 Pro.

Wrapping up

I’m already loving my new M4 Mac mini setup in the studio. It needs lots more work, but mainly from the music production side. Thankfully, that’s a big passion for me and I have plenty of content planned around it, so it won’t take much encouragement to ensure I get it finished and working.

If you’re thinking of doing something similar and building your own rig around the brilliant M4 Mac mini – just do it. There has never been a better time to get into Apple’s tiny desktop powerhouse. It’ll be one of the best pieces of tech you ever buy – trust me.