I have enjoyed reading these posts and threads about the Mini and I have learned a lot. I realize that many posts are asking for help with issues people are having with their Mini's, monitors, etc. That's why this forum exists.

I am looking to replace my 2011 Imac with an M1 Mini and a 27" monitor because I'm retired and my needs are pretty simple now. I will start out with a wired keyboard and mouse ( since I have them already) and just the 27" monitor. I will probably go for the 8Gb/512Gb version. For a basic setup is the current crop of M1 Mini's reliable? I appreciate your comments.

My M1 Mini (8GB RAM / 1TB SSD) works fine, slotted in a couple of months ago to replace my old 2009 Mac Mini, using most of the same peripherals..... HP 24" 1080P monitor (would replace it with a 27" 4k Dell or similar if I get back into doing more photography) wired Apple keyboard and basic Logitech wireless mouse. The Bose speakers sound a bit more mellow, and need the volume turned up a little. Two hubs now (one USB 2 previously), one connected to a USB3 port for permanent connections (webcam, UPS monitor, Time Machine HDD etc) and one connected to a USB C port for temporary connections (DVD drive, thumb drive etc, SD card etc).

Used Migration Assistant to migrate from the Time Machine HDD I was using with the 2009 Mac Mini. It was done quite quickly, and mostly OK except for Photos. Some photos, mostly older ones, have places but no image, and almost all of the Faces data has not migrated for some reason. Mostly backed up on an external HDD when I was running out of space onboard, along with archives I deleted from the on board library, I'll have to sort that out.

Office for Mac did not migrate..... Could get by without it, but better to have Word for some work that I do, so I stumped up to Microsoft for that. Works better than the version I had on the old Mac Mini (which didn't open Thai script for some reason.... Pages did) so that's a plus, but in general I still prefer Pages.

Other than the hiccup with Photos, I have had no issues, and I expect it to remain as reliable as my previous two mac Minis, the 2005 Original (replaced rather than repair when the HDD failed) and the 2009 (still with the original HDD, albeit rather full, and outdated MacOS). I guess it will be the end of the decade before I consider replacing my M1 Mac Mini.