The Acasis 40Gbps Mac mini M4 Dock gives your computer excellent existing connectivity, dual SSD slots and uses Thunderbolt. For once, an affordable Mac M4 mini dock that doesn’t lack bandwidth.
We do a lot of dock exams here, for good reason. There are many and many recommendations from you, the user.
We have received several requests for one in particular: the Acasis 40 Gbps Mac mini M4 docking station.
It’s an interesting concept. Just a bit larger than the Mac mini M4, the “dock” holds the Mac mini and encases it in a well-ventilated aluminum shell with ports.
Acasis 40Gbps Mac mini M4 Dock test – assembly and insertion Mac mini
Acasis 40Gbps Mac mini M4 dock can work without Mac mini inserted. This defeats the purpose of the product, however.
A Torx screwdriver is included to take the device apart, which is a nice touch. We’re ready for Philips head screws to disappear on products like this.
The side door contains a pair of M.2 slots for SSDs, and thermal pads are included in the package.
Acasis 40Gbps Mac mini M4 Dock test: access to storage
Throw in your own SSDs, put in the thermal pads, and close the door. Simple.
Don’t do what I did initially: instead of removing the top four screws, remove the bottom four screws. The Mac mini inserts from the bottom of the device.
Acasis 40Gbps Mac mini M4 dock review: where the Mac mini is going
Once in, the bottom feet screw back in and you’re ready to go, with a power button now on a healthy side of the device. A short cable is included, which connects from any rear Thunderbolt port to the dock’s host port.
Acasis 40Gbps Mac mini M4 dock review – ports and connectivity
Three 10Gbps USB-A ports handle external drives, audio equipment, and peripherals. Each provides up to 4.5W of power.
Acasis 40Gbps Mac mini M4 Dock Review: Front Ports
The performance of these three ports varies a bit, depending on what you ask of them. They provide 4.5W of power, which is a bit low for some external devices, but keyboards, mice, and external SSDs should be enough.
However, we recommend an external power supply for drives connected to a hub, regardless of manufacturer. If you have a bandwidth-critical drive, connect it directly to the Mac mini.
Acasis 40Gbps Mac mini M4 dock review: rear ports
Two DisplayPort outputs will allow up to 4K 144Hz refresh with a connected display, or two 4K with a 60Hz refresh rate. A third monitor can be connected directly via the Mac mini HDMI or a USB-C port, as needed.
The top of the unit features SD/TF 4.0 slots with transfer speeds of up to 312 megabytes per second, streamlining photo and video workflows. I didn’t really hit that target, with top speeds reaching 220 megabytes per second.
I didn’t notice any Wi-Fi attenuation during testing. It sits under a metal mesh, but that’s much more radio-permeable than a metal plate next to the Wi-Fi antenna.
ACASIS 40Gbps Mac mini M4 docking station review – storage
The main selling point of the Acasis Mac mini M4 dock is the storage slots. The package contains everything you need, with thermal pads, screws, etc. to connect the drives.
Each slot is capable of 20 gigabits per second, supporting RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD, or single-disk configurations, all selected in the software. The company claims that RAID 0 can achieve throughput of up to 40Gbps, which would make it ideal for 4K editing and 3D rendering.
Without displays attached, we managed 2,400 megabytes per second reading and writing on a pair of 1TB M.2 drives. It’s not as fast when the displays are connected via the dock.
When running dual monitors through DisplayPort, we found that the RAID 0 array speeds slowed to around 1,500 megabytes per second for reads and writes. This is the nature of a 40 gigabit connection, and it’s normal.
Acasis 40Gbps Mac mini M4 Dock Review – Nice but not great with connectivity
If you absolutely need a Mac Studio, you’ve already bought one. The M4 Mac mini, professional or not, is a great machine, but it lacks the robust I/O of its larger cousin.
The Acasis Mac mini M4 Dock is a little more than a hub: it’s a Mac mini-based workstation optimizer. Between RAID storage, triple display capability, and good legacy connectivity, it’s built for video editors, designers, streamers, and anyone who needs a Mac Studio-like expansion at a fraction of the cost.
For the price of one Thunderbolt port, you get DisplayPort, much faster than the SSD speed of 10 gigabits per second, another USB-C port, card readers, and three USB-A ports.
The only trade-off is minor bandwidth balancing under heavy dual monitor and RAID loads. But for most users with Pro workflows and a Mac mini budget, this is a top-tier upgrade that costs less than most Thunderbolt docks and has storage slots to boot.
We’d love to be able to strip away the Mac Pro’s no-hacksaw styling and just use it as a metal box, but it’s attractive enough to sit on your desk or under your TV as a media server.
Acasis 40Gbps Mac mini M4 Dock Review — Benefits
- Good balance between cost and features
- Two SSD slots
- Simple installation, without Philips head screws
Acasis 40Gbps Mac mini M4 Dock Review — Cons
- Expected speed drops from SSD when slamming into dock with IO
- Mac Pro design nods are cute, but unnecessary and non-removable
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
For not much more money than a 10GB USB-C hub and a dock with SSD storage, you can get the Acasis 40Gbps Mac mini M4 Dock. It’s faster, it has more ports, and those SSD slots are very nice.
And it fits quite well in a travel bag, without needing an external power supply like most Thunderbolt docks. I highly recommend this one.
Where to buy the Acasis 40Gbps Mac mini M4 dock
The Acasis 40Gbps Mac mini M4 Dock is available directly from Acasis, priced at $169. It is also available on Amazon for $169.99.