Using a mac mini for netflix 4k windows#

This architecture allows the SoC to access RAM with low-latency and high-bandwidth. One of the most interesting, yet double-edged, features of the M1 chip is its new unified memory architecture. Even rendering a twenty-minute video in iMovie couldnвЂ™t slow the mini down-it tackled the task in less than five minutes. After throwing significant amounts of window dragging, application opening, Spotlight searching, and image processing at the M1, it didnвЂ™t break a sweat.

Using a mac mini for netflix 4k windows#

Windows pop open, and videos over our gigabit connection were smooth and lag-free. That being said, there is no doubt that the M1 chip is fast. Why Apple would choose to compare the M1 to something as old as the i3, rather than the more recent i5 or i7, however, is anyoneвЂ™s guess.

Apple claims image processing performance is up to 7.1 times faster than the i3. By combining these components, the M1 can operate faster and more efficiently. In AppleвЂ™s previous Intel iterations, I/O, security, and the CPU were all housed separately.

The SoC combines the 8-Core CPU, the 8-Core GPU, the image processor, SSD controller, 16-Core Neural Engine, unified memory architecture (RAM), and many other components onto a single chip. ItвЂ™s the same chip used in the 2020 MacBook Air and in the 13-inch 2020 MacBook Pro.В Apple states that this processor is the first 5-nanometer processing chip in a personal computer.ДЄdditionally, the M1 is the first вЂњsystem-on-a-chipвЂќ (SoC) that has been designed for use specifically with Macs. The primary difference is its ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) architecture, which uses smaller sets of instructions at the processor level to optimize computing speeds. This processorвЂ™s muscular performance differs from previous Apple Intel chips. Underneath the hood of the Mac mini is AppleвЂ™s first-generation M1 processor.