Mac mini M4 serves as 24/7 LLM node

The unified memory architecture allows running large models on a single quiet device, though the 128GB configuration mentioned by the user is currently exclusive to the Mac Studio or MacBook Pro. Extreme power efficiency (~10W idle, ~60W load) makes it the ideal always-on server for home automation and agentic workflows compared to power-hungry multi-GPU rigs. Memory bandwidth on the M4 Pro remains the primary bottleneck; while it handles 8B models at 50+ t/s, larger 70B models see a significant drop to 3-6 t/s. The "Apple Tax" on memory is balanced by the simplicity of a single-node setup that avoids the heat, noise, and driver complexity of multi-GPU Linux builds. Decoupling the "worker" (Mac mini) from the "workstation" (PC) is a growing architectural trend to ensure high uptime for local API-driven agents.