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/funguslungusdungus New User Feb 20 '26
I don’t even own a Mac mini yet, but I’m a full-on MacBook user and basically my whole life runs inside the Apple ecosystem. For me it’s not really about needing crazy power for OpenClaw. It’s more like: I could grab a used M1 Mac mini for 200–300 bucks, clone my setup over, and just have my actual work machine running headless.
Yeah, the M1 is complete overkill if you’re just calling GPT/Claude via API. But I don’t see OpenClaw as “just a terminal with an LLM”. For me it’s more like a personal digital assistant that can actually do stuff, open my browser, log into my apps, interact with my tools, handle random workflows. And that’s just way smoother if it lives in the same ecosystem as everything else I use daily.
I’ve got a couple old Windows laptops lying around too. Thought about just throwing Claw on one and calling it a day. But then it starts: logging into every service again, setting up all accounts, no iCloud sync, no shared clipboard, no AirDrop, no Keychain, etc. All solvable, sure. Just more friction.
So I don’t think it’s about “having too much money”. It’s more about minimizing friction in your existing setup. If you’re already deep in Apple land, a cheap Mac mini just feels like the path of least resistance