Ultimate Pain Cave Part 1 - Mac mini M2 with Zwift

[@chawley52]

Just upgraded from ATV 4K to Mac Mini 16GB/512GB and it completely eliminated my Bluetooth woes....everything connects instantly and faultlessly! And, of course it looks so much better! I won't be doing much computing on it, but I can run streaming services and chat services without impacting Zwift performance.

[@TheImprobableIronman]

I honestly have found it such a capable device. It was so impressive that I swapped out my Windows video editing rig for one - so I can confirm that it's more than capable of handling some fairly heavy workload too. Thanks for watching and commenting.

[@dinoaustralia7752]

great video! Would zwift run at the highest settings on the MacBook pro M2 or M3??

[@TheImprobableIronman]

Many thanks. Yes, I'm running an M2 Mac and have Zwift set to 1440 (I think that's the highest setting). It even copes with this and multi-tasking - running OBS / Skype and maybe even KZbin at the same time. So an M3 should be even more capable.

[@aerobrain2001]

I’m thinking of going for mATV to a Mac Mini as I also use a few other cycling platforms that don’t support ATV. Currently I have to take my M1 MacBook Air out to the cave. I much prefer having a permanent set up to remove any excuses not to get on the bike :-) Great review!

[@TheImprobableIronman]

Many thanks for watching and commenting, I'm blown away with how good just the base M2 mini is. They are probably turning up on the used market too now - which could be even more cost-effective.

[@GogglesTyresandTrainers]

Great set up mate, looks fantastic! Never gone down the Apple rabbit hole personally but can see the attraction

[@TheImprobableIronman]

Thanks mate. Yep - Apple is a rabbit hole indeed..... They just keep giving me reasons to buy things LOL.

[@Nuno_bikes_fun]

Hi there, nice video. Right now I have a "gaming PC" that I use for ZWIFT...It runs the at the same settings as your Mac mini. However I also run MAC OS...so my question for you is: Is zwift running in emulation mode, or as it already been compiled for the ARM (M1/2). If it is running on emulation, then, there is still room to improve, right ? Cheers.

[@TheImprobableIronman]

Thanks for watching and commenting. As far as I know, this is running natively on the machine - it's a stand-alone app and does not require any other steps (other than clicking on the app in the Dock) to launch.

[@BooXdk]

Just dumped my last Windows PC - a 1050Ti laptop only used for Zwift - in the house, for a Mac Mini M2 Pro - It's soooo good, you seriously can't feel any heat difference to the surroundings even after having been Zwifting for 3 hours in 4K Ultra profile 👍

[@Stevenafoe]

Boox; you also responded under zwift forum i think? Mind you, you are using a ‘pro’ version of the mac mini, 2x the cost of the entry mac mini. As. My 10yo mbp is now also able to do high or ultra profiles (i think due to zwifts recent changes), it’s more important what’s on the screen. My old mbp is not that good in high profile and 1440/2k. But it runs smoothly anyway. At the forum you also said you did change the setting files from zwift. I’d be more interested in what the plain mini can do (high or ultra profile at 1440 or 4k) and whats to be seen on screen. If a simple 600euro mac mini can do ultra-profile at 1440p smoothly with enough trees, animals etc surrounding that would be an absolute winner.

[@grantallannos8974]

Argos catalogue. Lol. I hear ya bud! Nice vid. Good info as I’m looking at bumping my setup for zwift

[@TheImprobableIronman]

Many thanks for watching and commenting too. Yes - the Argos catalogue really used to be a thing, didn't it. I can remember my nan asking me to pick her the new one up whenever it got published - was like someone had printed the internet back in the 80s LOL. What upgrades are you planning for your Zwift setup?

[@grantallannos8974]

@@TheImprobableIronman LOl - yep. I remember the pallets of catalogues they used to have in store. as for my setup - thats a how long is a... question. IDEALLY, a larger 4K capable monitor, rocker, the Elite steerer riser block, new fan(s) running on a smart plug

[@Stevenafoe]

You said your mac mini m2 was on ‘ultra’ profile? Can you show/confirm that? Most m2 users can’t set it higher than ‘high’-profile (As this is set by the zwift app). To have it on ultra would be awesome, but it seems impossible (yet).

[@TheImprobableIronman]

It certainly is on Ultra. With my setup and the current game version I have two ultra settings available - 1440P and 4K. I know that Zwift had disabled the ultra settings on earlier game versions - but I have both options available.

[@Stevenafoe]

@@TheImprobableIronman awesome mate, thx for feedback.

[@TheImprobableIronman]

No worries. Next time I livestream, I may do a run through of my settings if helpful.

[@Stevenafoe]

@@TheImprobableIronman yes, might be helpfull, i am considering the same set up (replacing a 10yo mac book pro, lol). It’s about time 😅

[@TheImprobableIronman]

Ooh - the M2 Mini will smash the performance on the MacBook Pro. I've got an old 15" i7 MacBook Pro and it really struggles with Zwift.

[@roadcyclist1]

Apple tv is awful. Limited blue tooth connections and terrible hardware under the hood.

[@TheImprobableIronman]

I agree that the limited Bluetooth connections is a pain. And the remote control experience is very sub-optimal. But, if your budget is limited, I still think Apple TV is probably one of the best bang-for-buck options for Zwift.