u/Conscious_Scar_368

I’m building an AI workflow automation business (think automating lead response, booking, support, etc. for service businesses), and I’m trying to figure out the right Mac Mini setup to support this.

The idea is to run multiple AI agents / automation workflows (via tools like n8n, APIs, possibly local models where needed) — not hardcore ML training, but a lot of parallel workflows, data handling, and integrations running consistently.

I’ve seen people talk about using “one Mac Mini per employee replaced,” but I want to ground this in reality and spec things properly.

My main questions:

1. RAM: Is 16GB enough for running multiple automation workflows + light AI usage, or should I go straight to 32GB/64GB for stability?
2. Storage: How much SSD do I realistically need if most things are cloud/API-based? Is 512GB enough or should I go 1TB+?
3. CPU vs GPU importance: For this use case (automation + APIs + maybe some local inference), what actually matters more?
4. Scaling: At what point does it make more sense to:

• upgrade a single machine vs
• run multiple Mac Minis vs
• just move everything to cloud servers?

1. Reliability / uptime: Are Mac Minis even the right move for something that needs to run workflows 24/7?
2. Real-world setups: If anyone here is running automation/AI agents at scale, what does your setup actually look like?

Not trying to overbuild, but also don’t want bottlenecks later.

Appreciate any insight, especially from people actually running similar systems in production.

I’m building an AI workflow automation business (think automating lead response, booking, support, etc. for service businesses), and I’m trying to figure out the right Mac Mini setup to support this.

The idea is to run multiple AI agents / automation workflows (via tools like n8n, APIs, possibly local models where needed) — not hardcore ML training, but a lot of parallel workflows, data handling, and integrations running consistently.

I’ve seen people talk about using “one Mac Mini per employee replaced,” but I want to ground this in reality and spec things properly.

My main questions:

1. RAM: Is 16GB enough for running multiple automation workflows + light AI usage, or should I go straight to 32GB/64GB for stability?
2. Storage: How much SSD do I realistically need if most things are cloud/API-based? Is 512GB enough or should I go 1TB+?
3. CPU vs GPU importance: For this use case (automation + APIs + maybe some local inference), what actually matters more?
4. Scaling: At what point does it make more sense to:

• upgrade a single machine vs
• run multiple Mac Minis vs
• just move everything to cloud servers?

1. Reliability / uptime: Are Mac Minis even the right move for something that needs to run workflows 24/7?
2. Real-world setups: If anyone here is running automation/AI agents at scale, what does your setup actually look like?

Not trying to overbuild, but also don’t want bottlenecks later.

Appreciate any insight, especially from people actually running similar systems in production.

I’m building an AI workflow automation business (think automating lead response, booking, support, etc. for service businesses), and I’m trying to figure out the right Mac Mini setup to support this.

The idea is to run multiple AI agents / automation workflows (via tools like n8n, APIs, possibly local models where needed) — not hardcore ML training, but a lot of parallel workflows, data handling, and integrations running consistently.

I’ve seen people talk about using “one Mac Mini per employee replaced,” but I want to ground this in reality and spec things properly.

My main questions:

1. RAM: Is 16GB enough for running multiple automation workflows + light AI usage, or should I go straight to 32GB/64GB for stability?
2. Storage: How much SSD do I realistically need if most things are cloud/API-based? Is 512GB enough or should I go 1TB+?
3. CPU vs GPU importance: For this use case (automation + APIs + maybe some local inference), what actually matters more?
4. Scaling: At what point does it make more sense to:

• upgrade a single machine vs
• run multiple Mac Minis vs
• just move everything to cloud servers?

1. Reliability / uptime: Are Mac Minis even the right move for something that needs to run workflows 24/7?
2. Real-world setups: If anyone here is running automation/AI agents at scale, what does your setup actually look like?

Not trying to overbuild, but also don’t want bottlenecks later.

Appreciate any insight, especially from people actually running similar systems in production.