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Had to choose between Mac and PC for my shop's main bench machine last winter | Computer Technicians - Talk Freely

patb12•2mo ago

Had to choose between Mac and PC for my shop's main bench machine last winter

I got tired of fighting with old hardware so I had to pick between a new Mac Mini or a custom PC build for my repair bench. I went with the Mac Mini because I deal with a lot of iPhone and iPad repairs and the software integration is just smoother. But man, the RAM situation is a joke. I maxed it out at 16GB but that was the limit when I bought it in November last year. Now I'm kicking myself because some of the newer diagnostic tools need more memory and I can't upgrade it. My buddy runs a PC for the same job and he just pops in more sticks when he needs them. Has anyone else run into this wall with a Mac for shop work?

2 comments

2 Comments

danielmason2mo ago

Jake_owens nailed the whole can't upgrade thing and that's the part that really gets me. It's like a lot of stuff now where companies build things to be disposable on purpose. You buy a car and the battery is glued in so you can't just swap it. Your phone's battery is sealed. Your laptop's RAM is soldered. Everything is designed to make you buy a WHOLE NEW THING instead of just fixing one part. That's the bigger pattern here and it's maddening for anyone who works with their hands and likes to keep gear running a long time.

jake_owens2mo ago

Oh man, you're not wrong about the RAM thing with Macs. But actually, the Mac Mini M1 from November last year could be ordered with up to 16GB, that's true. The catch is Apple had an M2 Pro model that could go to 32GB, but it cost a lot more. For a repair bench, I'd say the real issue is that you can't swap it later. On PC you can buy 32GB of decent DDR4 for like 60 bucks now and just plug it in. That flexibility is huge for shop work where your needs change.