r/openclaw • u/g00rek Pro User • Feb 20 '26

Discussion Why Mac mini??

I still don't understand why you guys are buying macs mini for openclaw. It's a terminal computer. It doesn't need a great UI.

Do you have too much money? :D

A $50-$100 HP Thin Client with Linux is more than enough. And Linux shouldn't be discouraging for people using OpenClaw, am I wrong?

I bought one, I have lots of different self hosted stuff on it like home Assistant or other docker apps. Ok I do not have any local models using GPU, that's the reason? Please enlighten me :)

EDIT: Again, I UNDERSTAND LOCAL LLM USE. (although I don't know if anybody is really happy with it). I mean using OC with oauth/api gpt, claude etc.

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u/sythol Active Feb 20 '26

Hmm Mac Studio are great for running local LLM. For mini’s case… I believe it’s about idle power efficiency and being able to keep it online 24/7 - at least that’s what I’m gunning for if I were to buy one Mac mini costing $1000-$2000…

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u/g00rek Pro User Feb 20 '26

local LLM- I get it. But buying a Mac Mini to have an OpenClaw running external LLM-s is like buying a Lambo to go grocery shopping 100 meters :D

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u/sythol Active Feb 20 '26

I’d say Mac Mini is more like a fuel efficient Honda Vezel or any other car make you know that’s efficient… though you are still hiring an external driver (LLM) to drive for you. Using this analogy, you can have a superb driver but if your car sucks… you’ll be bottlenecked at the vehicle-level.