Mike Peterson
Apple service providers are reportedly seeing Apple Silicon Mac mini logic boards with 10 Gigabit Ethernet in an internal parts list.
The M1-equipped Mac mini, compared to its Intel predecessor, lacks 10 Gigabit Ethernet as an upgrade option. Instead, the device is stuck with Gigabit Ethernet compatibility.
However, in a repair parts list meant for Apple Authorized Service Providers, obtained by MacRumors, every Mac mini logic board without 10 Gigabit Ethernet has a corresponding logic board listing that includes the networking technology.
Sources inside Apple's service chain not authorized to speak on behalf of the company told AppleInsider that those part numbers are placeholders and don't correspond to an existing part. It isn't clear to the sources if Apple ever intended on making those parts, or if they are reserved for a future refresh.
For prospective Mac mini buyers that want or need 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Apple still has Intel-based models available for purchase with the upgrade option, and some Thunderbolt 3 docks incorporate the technology as well. Those Intel Mac minis also have four Thunderbolt ports, instead of the two ports on the M1-based devices.
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5 Comments
The M1 Mac mini is pretty appealing from a performance/watt/volume perspective.
For workloads that can be spread across different machines, a stack of Mac minis might be a cheaper, faster, and less power hungry solution than a Mac Pro.
Anandtech found the new Mac mini maxes out at about 31 watts.
Apple reports that a fully loaded Mac Pro hits over 900 watts.
So for the electrical power of one Mac Pro, you could run 30 Mac minis. If you're doing that, 10GB ethernet is probably what you want.
Now if we can just get some "Mac Mini" colocation centers to fully support 10Gb/s, that'll be nice!
OR at least the one I am with! ;) 🤞 fingers crossed
I'm curious how many people/companies actually NEED 10Gb/s ethernet. For most of us, it's a "nice to have" option, but I would guess that 99.9% of us don't actually NEED it. I would assume it's probably used mainly in data centers. (Yes, I know what they say about assuming...)