Apple details the power consumption savings of the M1 in the Mac Mini compared to previous models
The Apple M1 has already held its own in our reviews of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, shining compared to Intel-powered MacBooks with its excellent performance and low power consumption. Additionally, Apple has updated its Mac mini power consumption and thermal (BTU) support document, providing comparisons between the M1 SoC and older Mac mini machines.
According to Apple, the M1 in the new Mac mini idles at 6.8 W, which we have rounded to 7 W in our table. Power consumption peaks at 39 W, while heat output varies between 23.2 and 133 BTU/h. Hence, a large gap in power consumption and thermal output exists between the M1 and the Core i7 processor in the Mac mini 2018, for example. Many older Mac mini models have lower power consumption than the 2018 edition, but none can match the latest version's efficiency with its in-house chipset.
It is worth emphasising that while the latter is a desktop-class processor, the Apple M1 in the Mac mini is a laptop-class one. Nonetheless, outperforms the Apple M1 outperforms the Core i7-8700B in the 2018 Mac mini by over 50% in benchmark sequences like Geekbench. Bring on the Apple Silicon chipset with 32 cores.
| Model | Power Consumption (Idle) | Power Consumption (Load) | Waste heat (Idle, BTU/h) | Waste heat (load, BTU/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mac mini 2020 (M1) | 7 W | 39 W | 23 | 133 |
| Mac mini 2018 (Intel Core i7, 6 cores) | 20 W | 122 W | 68 | 417 |
| Mac mini 2014 (Intel Core i5, 2 cores) | 6 W | 85 W | 20 | 290 |
| Mac mini 2012 (Intel Core i7, 4 cores) | 11 W | 85 W | 38 | 290 |
| Mac mini 2011 (Intel Core i5, 2 cores) | 11 W | 85 W | 38 | 290 |
| Mac mini 2010 (Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 cores) | 10 W | 85 W | 34 | 290 |
| Mac mini 2009 (Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 cores) | 13 W | 110 W | 44 | 376 |
| Mac mini 2007 (Intel Core 2 Duo, 2 cores) | 23 W | 110 W | 79 | 376 |
| Mac mini 2006 (Intel Core Single, 1 Core) | 23 W | 110 W | 79 | 376 |
| Mac mini 2005 (PowerPC G4, 1 core) | 32 W | 85 W | 110 | 290 |
Source(s)
Apple via Daring Fireball & 9to5Mac
