If you, -had money for either M4 or M4 Pro -are buying into this generation to hold for a while (4-6y) -use 3 monitors (1 studio display) at all times -use the machine for 10-15 h/d -most used programs are trading platforms, Brave, Mail, Spotify, DaVinci for the occasional edit, VSCode (Prusa software if i get a printer) -set a price cap at $2,000 (because max and ultra specs are for workloads that I do not directly benefit from), what would you do? - I have been testing the base m4 and the base m4 pro and while the base can do everything, I am always at 80% cpu/11-13gb mem, with the pressure bar at around 53% green. thoughts? I overclock windows and use a 7800x3d/strix 4090 for gaming, so this would be every single thing except gaming
@@zachwarner7164 sounds like you are working it pretty hard to be at 80% , if it was me doing that i think i would be spending a bit more coin on the more powerful model if i could afford it . Good luck with your choice .
Finally replacing a late 2009 27" imac which has been an absolute trooper, in constant use everyday for 15yrs, but can no longer cope with raw photo files or anything too demanding. It'll mainly be used for editing photos, some light logic stuff and a bit of movie editing along with duties as the main family mac. While I'd already pretty much settled on the base model, (along with the studio display, keyboard and mouse, so not really a budget spend!) this review was really helpful and clarified any doubts I had over its capabilities. Much appreciated!
My work on this one, when it arrives at my post office, will be editing UGC. And I am concerned if it will be fast enough to work with a lot of text animation and motion graphics in general. And if it will handle the workflow between Premier Pro and After Effects running at the same time and sharing media.
Good review, the algorithm brought me here. I have a 2010 27” iMac. About 5 years into that, I whipped off the screen, stuck a SSD in and maxed out the RAM. It’s chugging now, and time for an upgrade. I’m refusing to get the new iMac due to its small display. I’ve decided that the target operational window should be predicated on when Apple and other software vendors stop me upgrading to their latest software. That time window is probably around 6-8 years? Hence I think my best option is probably a M4 mini, 24Gb Ram, 256Gb SSD, a 2Tb M2 external TB drive, and a 4K res monitor with my existing keyboard/mouse. All in £1000-£1100 ish (UK based).
512 should be standard, but let's be honest, the 256 means we should only be using it as the boot disc, and just keep the SSD external drives we were already using for storage and time machine.
As much as I appreciate RUclipsrs telling us export times, I really wished they showed us how good playback is on the timeline. To me that's more important than export times imo.
Yeah same .I also want to know about the heavy workflow . Is that laggy or smooth.. bcas when you create things .if that is smooth .. there are no headaches 😂
I haven't watched one video on the Mini that actually helped me all goofy benchmark BS and stuff that means nothing to me. It's like all RUclipsrs get together and agree to talk about the exact same stuff it's goofy. I just want to know if the M4 Pro is worth spending more money for editing video in a more serious way than the M4
And tell you it does get a tad warm and the fan kicks in. Yeah I am shocked at how many NEVER said a word about this. There is NO Mac mini M4 where the fan some times will kick in. It's not really loud more like.. what's that noise? Now I don't mind but.. SO MANY never said a word.. and some of you sub to them
Bought the base model M4 Mac Mini - its currently hosting my websites (via Docker), my family’s Mac’s TimeMachine backup server and Photos library (both running off external SSDs) - it hasn’t complained once 😅 Best Mac for the money by far!
I'm from across the pond and sequence light shows for a living using xLights. I switched to Mac a few years ago because I grew tired of the Windows platform constantly crashing and slow render times. A few days ago I purchase the base model Mac Mini M4 and compared eight different sequences between it and my Macbook Pro M1 Max with 64GB memory. The Mac Mini M4 was faster across the board. It's remarkable and at a price point not to be ignored. I think for those wanting more storage a sensible external 2TB or 4TB SSD drive will be perfect and not break the bank.
If an item cost $499 in 2004, accounting for average annual inflation of approximately 2.6% over the past 20 years, its equivalent cost in 2024 would be about $830.53.
Could be the device that finally breaks desktop pc sales. Windows is brilliant. There, I said it openly on a Mac channel. But desktop pcs either don't do enough or cost too much. This is cheaper than Ryzen AI mini PCs from cheap Chinese box makers, yet is effectively silent, has better support and massive amounts of single and multi-core performance. Brilliant
Amazing! I’m sold on the bare bone base model, will be perfect for a light user for web browsing and simple tasks! Really appreciate your work, and making things simple and obvious for the viewers to make a decision 🙏🏼
Honestly the base model could do everything that 90% of the people getting the Pro version can do, people just want to spend more for what they view as the better toys lol
@ What monitor did you choose? I’m currently using a Samsung N95C 43” TV as a monitor and I really enjoy using it but the color accuracy for photo editing is not that good (I’m using my iPad pro m4 for that haha).
@@NirHason Hey there!! I am a hobbyist landscape photographer and I don't make much money but I went wit the Asus ProArt 279cv and I love it... I can't believe what the photos look like on it.
Thanks for this, especially the Logic Pro test. I’m strongly considering this as an upgrade for music production from my Core i5/8/256 MacBook Pro, but was wondering if I might run into the same fan noise / CPU / RAM issues I had with that computer if I keep it in its base configuration. As someone who may use up to 6 layers of tracks split into stereo using effects chains and amp models, I think it’s safe to say that your 128-track test confirms that the base m4 will be more than up to the challenge. Thanks for the review!
I just purchased the M4 Mac mini with 16GB 512GB SSD. With 24 months to pay (no interest), the purchase is a comfortable one. It replaces a mini M1. Along with an M1 MacBook Air, these devices allow me to use the most modern full-frame, mirrorless cameras without worry. Though I'm thinking of stepping into digital medium format where the files are outrageously large per image. And the M4 is the candidate for that. Good video.
This is the setup I think I am going to go with. Been deliberating for a few weeks whether the M4 is enpugh for music production and some video ot if I needed the Pro. I'm coming from an ancient upgraded 2012 Mini that died two days before the M4 was released. It wasn't handling what I needed it to anymore but it tried. I only did light video on it because it couldnt handle too much...but then I ran out of memory. Did you get it through Best Buy?
I completely agree with you the way this product makes you feel and it’s performance makes this one of the best Apple products ever next to the iPad mini
For the price, this has to be one of the best desktop options you can go for, I love my old Mac mini and I look forward to the new one when it arrives :)
I have been considering buying the base model and your review pushed me to the finish line, Mark. I switched to working on my M2 iPad Pro about 18 months ago and while I’m able to do 80% of my work on that, there are still a number of things I have to borrow my wife’s MacBook Air for. Thanks for the recommendation.
Yes I am definitely considering a base model. I have owned Mac Mini’s for years back to the Power PC days. I have a M2 iPad Air for portability so a Mac Mini would fit perfectly on my small bedroom desk space. So glad there are front ports now.
Upgrading from a 2020 iMac 3.6GHz i9 with 40Gb RAM. Mac Mini finally convinces me to jump to 'M' series. Watched many YT reviews including yours and I think I've decided to go M4 32Gb/512Gb. I will be running FCP 11, GarageBand as well as MS Office 365, Keynote/Pages/Numbers and a variety of other office tasks. Im fairly certain the performance will ultra impressive. The price point will be badly spoilt by the cost of a Studio Display but I'm used to a 5k 27" screen so it would be hard to downgrade. Thanks for your informative real world testing.
Mac Mini M4 made me interested in an Apple Computer for the first time in my life, seriously considering switching from Windows when my current PC can't do it anymore. So I'm probably aiming for M5 or M6. Exciting little thing, can't wait to see what future iterations can do.
@@rswaz Yeah Flight Simulator 2024 and a £3000 graphics card etc. Sniper Elite 5 looks amazing on 4k OLED on Xbox SX so it's much better than my last Ryzen 5 2600 1060 GTX PC 😎
Thanks for the ‘real world’ test on this - I have been on the fence as to which one to get - for me the price/performance of this ‘base model’ seals the deal. Just off to time how long it takes to make a cup of tea as that is now the new benchmark timing unit. 🥰
Every few years Apple releases a product that just wows. They did it with the M1 Air and now they have done it with the M4 Mac Mini. It's just crazy to imagine that by mid next year we will have this available on discounts or as open box for as little as $499. Thats just crazy.
Thanks for the detailed, snappy review. This was fun to watch and was convincing. I'm coming from a 2017 MBP and I think that while I could get the M4 Pro, upgrading to the M4 with 512gb and 24gb ram is going to be more than enough for me for many years to come. I'd be running 1 or 2 programs at once, and I just can't see that overloading this system. It's certainly going to go a lot faster than the set up I am using now.
@@thedownunderverse I’m 99% sure that’s the move I’m making. Looking at Apple’s 0% financing option, or throwing it on another CC with airline miles. Haven’t decided yet.
Great Insight ...As an intel User ...Dare I say I have an iMac 4 years old and this is the way I feel I will go because I don`t want to buy a new iMac.... Great Video and Insight !!!
@@vasanthnagkv5654 i haven't got this machine just but just wanted to point out that maybe 85% of that 24gb can also be used as vram. So this machine will also have 20gb of vram essentially. Not sure how that will effect your workflow in your chosen program. Hopefully the program will be optimised and native to apple silicon for the best performance. If you're doing 4k 360 video editing, I think that this machine will be fine but I think the ram might still limit your performance as I've read that 32gb might be recommended. But this machine should be able to do it as long as the software support is there. For 8k 360, you will want 64gb ram I believe. So this will definitely effect your workflow. 8k is quite important for 360 videos too unlike for regular videos. the vram on this machine does have you more than covered but I would recommend the mac mini m4 pro and upgrading its unified memory higher. either that or getting a mac studio. edit: i'm not an expert in this field and my information may be wrong.
I have been using a second hand 2015 Imac for a few years now and had plan on getting an up to date Mac. This M4 mac mini is getting me excited to update my computer.
When the M1 Mac Mini was introduced just about every Apple reviewer stated that 8gb of unified memory and 256gb SSD was all that 90% of the population needed. Four years later we have the same set of Apple reviewers are stating that 16gb of unified memory is all that 90% of the population will need. If 8gb was all that 90% needed on the M1 then I am reasonably convinced that the inclusion of Apple intelligence will make the 8gb Mac Mini obsolete overnight. This leads me to the conclusion that more memory is needed. What I would like to see is a proper review of the entry level M4 Pro Mac Mini. It seems reviewers buy the entry level Mac Mini and the specced up M4 Pro Mac Mini they intend to use on a daily basis. This makes me suspicious of the long term viability of the entry level M4 Mac Mini.
I am still using 8GB MacBooks in my business, and they work great-there's no need for 16GB for many. So, yes, 8GB is sufficient. But why is Apple now making 16GB the base model? It's because Windows machines have transitioned to 16GB as their base this year, and since Apple holds only an 8% market share, they felt compelled to match the competition. Last year, Apple used 8GB as the standard because all Windows OEMs also had 8GB as their base option. However, these models were often hidden on websites and overlooked by creators, who typically received high-spec models or participated in sponsored reviews.
The 256gb version has dual band chips, so very fast. It's removable but need a lot of know how to upgrade storage. There is a Kickstarter company making upgradable mac mini SSDs that work out of the box
Plenty of good options for external SSD using TB4. With Black Friday/Cyber Monday coming up, you can get a great deal on 2TB+ for a fraction of an Apple upgrade. There is no need for more internal storage IMO.
Mark there's a way that will kill the M5 Mini. Just have too many exterior drives plugged in without adding any more power to them. The USB power from the mini will not handle more than a couple of exterior drives or appliances. Mine went into a loud buzz and clicking and was unmounting drives and remounting them until I hit the power button and did a force quit. Then unplugged everything re-booted and added exterior items one at a time until it went beserk again. I was using 2 docks that were using the power through the USB, switched them out for 2 that had their own power supply and no problems.
Already got one :) It's incredible; I too am floored at the performance/dollar ratio. It's insane how capable this $600 box is, which means for someone that just needs a basic computer? This could last them a decade!
High quality content, as always! 🎉 Thank you! My opinion: People should buy the base model or upgrade RAM to 24 GB only, no storage upgrades! For storage you can buy a Thunderbolt 4 (or 5 if you have M4 Pro) SSD. It is cheaper and way more flexible. RAM is pure gold, 'cause as it is "unified memory" it means the GPU could theoretically use almost the complete RAM for GPU calculations.
Hi! Which MacBook pro M4 would you suggest buying for doing some work on video editing as a beginner and for photo editing? I do not know whether buy the M4 pro or go for the regular M4 (both at the base version, no upgrades). I’m afraid that the M4 pro would not be enough but, at the same time, I wouldn’t like to overspend money on a machine that I perhaps don’t need in terms of power.
They should sell a ton of these, this is so perfect for so many use cases. Are you going to do a iMac review, if so please do power consumption and temperatures. Love these reviews.
If and when I need to replace my 2017 iMac (Retina 27") then YES, your excellent video has convinced me that it would be with the M4 Mac mini base model.
I upgraded from my base M1 iMac to the M4 base mini, the M1 still worked great and never once left me needing more performance for my use, but the M4 mini coupled with a larger screen size as I bought a studio display to use it with made sense to warrant (or being honest an excuse) for an upgrade. So far it has been and I'm confident it will continue to be pleasure to use.
@@cejay67 to be sincere I never had been left wanting more performance from the M1 so for my use the M1 was great anyway the same as the M4 is, but Id like to think more future proof for any app upgrades coming our way is now catered for. The monitor is nice but not drastically larger, but still enough to make a difference, its very nice and lovely to use. Plus with the display separate it leaves possibilities to upgrade the Mac mini if the need ever arrises. all the best.
I'm watching this video on my base Mac Mini M4 and replaced my M1 Pro Macbook Pro for Home Office use as it's just better. If someone comes out with a 3rd Party SSD internal upgrade, I'll jump on it straight away.
The big difference in export times between the base model and the others have the whiff of running out of memory and needing to write to disk to get the whole job done. I'd love to know whether (in normal usage for modest tasks, rather than torture testing) 16, 24 or 32GB is the sweet spot.
I'm a college instructor, a PC user, and am heavily considering the base model M4 Mac Mini. The education discount makes it all the more appealing. Though I'm also thinking about the 512gb version but at that price of an upgrade, I'd rather use that money to get an external ssd for media production and a large capacity usb-c flash drive for work files. Not giving up on my PC though (I'd like to have them co-exist) but I have given up on the idea of a windows laptop.
I am sure the fans are always running, you just can’t hear them and they never spin up too hard. IStat menus does have the fan speed monitor, that would have been a good number to look at.
Based 512gb storage had around 50% improvement in write speed. Other big file can store in external. Not worth go any over 512gb. Same price can get you a 8T TB4 ssd. I been using 16/512 base model for over a week, average over 12 hours non media production usage + machine never turn off, it used less then 0.1 kwh per day. My old PC used over 1.3 to 1.7kwh in similar usage.
I have a mac mini M1 and i have always wanted to upgrade but i have never relay found the right one. I have a little business but also use it for many little things photo ,video editing but i also wanted it to use 2 monitors + my new Ipad pro , so i did not know if it had to be mini 4 pro or just the basic mini 4 but after seeing your video i have made my mind up so i am going for the basic mini 4 with 512 storage, so thank you
Great video as always. Got to say, I’d have to say the iPhone is Apple’s best ever product. This new Mac mini is epic but without the iPhone, the mini’s form factor, chipset etc arguably wouldn’t exist! Just one for discussion! Keep up the good work!
The new mini is tempting. I'm holding out for the M4 MacBook Air. I hope Apple make the nano texture display an option for it as well. As much as I'd love to get the M4 Pro, I just can't justify the expense. I also prefer the thinner chassis and 15 inch display.
Yay! been waiting for this to drop. Been using my old MBP 2012 and now it won't really do what I want. (It is 13 years old!) Need to upgrade and this is a bolt from the blue. Base model is good enough to run my life now. Great review
I think the original iPhone was a leapfrog product by the standards that were about at that time; today it is not so hot; at launch it was a brand new and very innovated product. It is nice to see that Apple is still innovating. Will I buy an M4 Mac Mini? I don't really need one, but if Roon is available one day with ARM code, then it is on my list.
After quite a bit of research I’ve decided the base model with 256gb storage is incredible value. I will get a 2 or 4tb SSD and move my entire home folder to that and only have my Apple Apps on the machine.
Paired one with a 2tb SanDisk ProG40 for a couple hundred bucks on sale at Best Buy and the external drives are actually faster than internal. No regrets on that $800-ish investment.
I have all kinds plugged into my M1 including NVME, I usually move photo/video to internal drive for edits. I also use it as a music media server with the excellent easy to use Firestream software but you have to buy that, but it's a one off payment. It was £17.99, now £29.99 😮
I’ve had a Mac mini m2 for 7 months and bought a m4 a week ago and with the power button on the bottom and offers a few more features, I was not impressed and returned it today to the Apple Store, the m2 Mac mini has a few features less, but I like it better, if you have a Mac mini m2 keep it and save your money 💵
As the owner of a 2011 27” iMac that is now a massive paperweight..will this be my next Mac primarily to run Bambu studio software for the Bambu XC1 3D printer..I’m hoping this will be the answer as to run this software all it says is iOS 10.5 or later….
Ok, great review, but if you had to choose between your base model M2 Pro mac mini or the base model M4 mac mini (upgraded to 512Gb storage) which would you choose? I ask because I can get both for a similar price. I would be using it in my home studio to record and mix my own music and my own videos etc. I guess you could say I'm a prosumer? P.S, I would get one of these computers for the rest of my life and have a closed system by not upgrading and buying anymore software, including DAWs, plugins and virtual instruments etc
Hi Mark I got the base with the 512 as I had run into issues before with 256 , I also thought they were going to up the price so paid less than I thought will use as family computer and some photo and video editing great review Ta
As other commenters have suggested, Apple should have configured the Apple logo on the Mac Mini's top as the on/off switch. If they did this, then I would agree it's the best Apple product ever.
I prefer it the way it currently is. I don’t want an on off button to be capacitive and to have it be a normal button, it wouldn’t be flat and would need to be easily identifiable for those that don’t know. Since it won’t be labelled. Therefore, it will need to be raised or lowered to show that it clearly is a button. Not worth it. Also wont be able to use many stands for clusters or farms of them. They could but would have to work around it. It would create another entry for dust and liquids. It could also be poked in or pulled out since it’s so big. Finally, it won’t look as good and there would be no benefit. Where it is right now is perfect in my opinion. The people suggesting other solutions need to think a little bit more about what they’re suggesting and realise they’re wrong. Even the cutting into the metal for the button will add cost to this super cheap machine. Just to give an idea, reduce 600 by 40%. 20% vat from the customer and 20% from Apple which is just another way of charging the customer another 20% tax. Do 40% of the price of this machine is just uk tax. That leaves 60% of its price. That is £360. On top of that £360 isn’t what people still think it to be as they’re stuck in what the pound used to be. £360 of today’s money is equal to £260 of 2018’s money. Without considering warranty, returns, legal fees, extortionate rent of Apple stores in the uk, shipping costs, research , marketing, hardware manufacturing, designing, execution and management, uk business fees, super expensive macos development costs which comes with the mac for free as well as with free upgrades… and the £100 off for students… this thing is nuts. They know what they’re doing and Apple annoy me just as much as anyone else, but they’re not allowed to be judged fairly or to speak for themselves like we are with ourselves. Fair is fair. This computer is unique, delivers so much value, has the potential to change your life and yet is the equivalent of 1 weeks rent for a crappy studio room in the uk.
i'm sure the m4 would allow you to run logic, adobe and many other things at the same time without any fan noise or lag. in this video, he was exporting insanely heavy tracks while exporting insanely heavy video while having a bunch of other programs open, and all he heard was some fan noise. Having said that, if you're doing a lot of video editing, I would still recommend the m4 pro. but if you're learning how to edit videos or want to create music and edit videos for your small youtube channel or for something else, the base m4 is more than enough.
I want a computer solely for Logic Pro.. I don't need all those GPU cores in the pro model... although I'm tempted as you get more performance core's.. I think tbe 512Gb base model is the one for me..been putting off the purchase for 4 years since the M1 mini launched I think I might notice a performance improvement on my current MacBook Pro from 2006! 🤯
Night and day difference, the original M1 mini is still astounding AND silent. Yes you don't need the extras, maybe 512GB but original 256GB I have does me and I have NVME plus, SSDs and 5TB portable hard drives on mine. It all works beautifully.
Thanks for the jnfo. I have been deliberating for weeks if I needed the Pro, I shouldn't spend more than I need to at the moment. I am using Reaper. My old 2012 upgraded Mini died on me.
Update : I bought the base model with 512gb SSD solely for Logic Pro and it's the best Logic pro experience I've ever had... I was on Logic 9 so 11 is taking some getting used to but it runs so smoothly... For the first few days I did keep thinking that I should have bought the pro to be more future proof but I'll put the £600 saved towards my next mini in say 10 years time.. 🙂
I'm in this same boat. I currently have a 2018 i7 3.2 GHz 6 Core with 64 GB RAM and a 1TB SSD. I'm producing and mixing a track now with 128 tracks, lots of plugins and it chokes every now and then at 48/128. I've been on the fence about the M4 base vs M4 Pro but this video pretty much sums it up for me. Plus, the pro is really more than I want to spend right now.
Just did the upgrade from mini M1 to mini M4! I am quite pleased so far. Even paid the extra $9 for courier delivery the next day! Transferring data from M1 to M4 was a challenge with one monitor. You have to approve the code on both so I had to change the cable between them. I think it didn't work at first because M1 went into sleep mode, so I locked the screen on that. I used thunderbolt 4 cable and migration assistant. It was taking so much longer than one video that I watched? I did stop the transfer. My photos and docs came down from iCloud , I think? Perhaps You could make a video for the transfer?I am but an amateur hobby user. Thanks !
Definitely intending to buy a mac mini. I will get the base model because I already have three HDDs and a 4TB SSD that I can plug in for storage. It's the monitor I will have to buy that's pushing the price up; up until now I've always owned AIO PCs, but Windows 11 has soured me on that forever.
Bought a base model m4 Mac mini because I don’t have time to game on my big windows gaming pc-I use it primarily to listen to music and work on my thesis. It’s silent at all times for me so I can listen to open back headphones with my headphone amp and dac and have a lower noise floor. What a great price for such a device
In my opinion, yes it is worth it. I traded in my M1 mini for $230 and buying under the education program the took my out of pocket cost to $270. A huge performance boost all around (core, GPU, ports, memory) for that small sum is a ridiculous value!
LLMs are much more dependent on memory (for what you can run) and GPU (for performance). The increased memory bandwidth on the Pro/Max chips makes a significant enough difference that if you're doing serious LLM work you'd want to upgrade beyond the base model. That said, if you're looking to play around with smaller models, the 16GB base models *can* definitely run them - just the smaller and/or more quantized variants. Look up Alex Zizkind's channel if you're interested in that stuff. He's been doing quite a bit of testing of LLMs on the new MBPs and Minis.
I think I am going to get this for video editing in iMovie and eventually FCP. I am currently using an 2017 MBP and have muddled through with it. But, it needs a new battery and speakers. After I get the mini, then I will take on refurbishing my current computer or finding a newer one for less money than it will take to repair my current one. I still need a laptop of some sort. Great video- thanks so much for addressing the fan noise as I do lots of voice overs during my video edits. ❤
yeah, im buying one. mainly for coding (just more basic stuff). im back and forth about whether im going to upgrade the storage to 512gb. the pricing on upgrades is heinous and yeah i could (and likely will) use external storage but I 256 internally is probably not going to cut it for me, application wise.
Would love to hear your thoughts on what specs are minimum! and then ideal, for a monitor to work with this new Mini. I’ve heard you mention the Benq monitor but it’s pricey and given the good entry price for the new Mini would be good to know where to start looking. Thanks
I can ask for more: a reasonable price ladder for RAM and SSD upgrades! Maybe keep the rungs at $200 but offer much more at each step and so reduce the total number of SKUs.
I got mine on release day.....I promptly installed World Of Warcraft Classic Cataclysm ......my monitor is 1080p up to 240hz .....(Samsung G40b).....after some tweaking , I locked the monitor at 120hz and moved the graphics slider in WoW to 8, but pushed up environmental detail to 10......I'm getting 120fps with no meaningful drops in fps (maybe to 118fps)
I’m currently favoring the M4 iMac with 32gb memory and 1TB SSD, which is US $1000 less than the equivalent M4 Mac Mini with Studio Display, keyboard and mouse. Do I assume correctly that the performance will be the same from the iMac as the Mini?
I bought mine - M4 base chip, 24 GB of memory and a 1 TB drive - the day it became available. I expect it to be the last music production computer I'll ever need. Peter Alexander, Cyberphunx Music Productions
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
Why are you buying the base model M4 Mac mini?
Because not have more money
If you,
-had money for either M4 or M4 Pro
-are buying into this generation to hold for a while (4-6y)
-use 3 monitors (1 studio display) at all times
-use the machine for 10-15 h/d
-most used programs are trading platforms, Brave, Mail, Spotify, DaVinci for the occasional edit, VSCode (Prusa software if i get a printer)
-set a price cap at $2,000 (because max and ultra specs are for workloads that I do not directly benefit from), what would you do?
-
I have been testing the base m4 and the base m4 pro and while the base can do everything, I am always at 80% cpu/11-13gb mem, with the pressure bar at around 53% green. thoughts?
I overclock windows and use a 7800x3d/strix 4090 for gaming, so this would be every single thing except gaming
@@zachwarner7164 sounds like you are working it pretty hard to be at 80% , if it was me doing that i think i would be spending a bit more coin on the more powerful model if i could afford it .
Good luck with your choice .
Finally replacing a late 2009 27" imac which has been an absolute trooper, in constant use everyday for 15yrs, but can no longer cope with raw photo files or anything too demanding. It'll mainly be used for editing photos, some light logic stuff and a bit of movie editing along with duties as the main family mac. While I'd already pretty much settled on the base model, (along with the studio display, keyboard and mouse, so not really a budget spend!) this review was really helpful and clarified any doubts I had over its capabilities. Much appreciated!
My work on this one, when it arrives at my post office, will be editing UGC. And I am concerned if it will be fast enough to work with a lot of text animation and motion graphics in general. And if it will handle the workflow between Premier Pro and After Effects running at the same time and sharing media.
Good review, the algorithm brought me here. I have a 2010 27” iMac. About 5 years into that, I whipped off the screen, stuck a SSD in and maxed out the RAM. It’s chugging now, and time for an upgrade. I’m refusing to get the new iMac due to its small display. I’ve decided that the target operational window should be predicated on when Apple and other software vendors stop me upgrading to their latest software. That time window is probably around 6-8 years? Hence I think my best option is probably a M4 mini, 24Gb Ram, 256Gb SSD, a 2Tb M2 external TB drive, and a 4K res monitor with my existing keyboard/mouse. All in £1000-£1100 ish (UK based).
Glad to see apple finally is making 16 gb ram as standard. I feel they should do that with the internal storage being 512 gb.
512 should be standard, but let's be honest, the 256 means we should only be using it as the boot disc, and just keep the SSD external drives we were already using for storage and time machine.
So far it seems that the unified RAM out performs what I've come to expect from 24GB.
As much as I appreciate RUclipsrs telling us export times, I really wished they showed us how good playback is on the timeline. To me that's more important than export times imo.
Yeah same .I also want to know about the heavy workflow . Is that laggy or smooth.. bcas when you create things .if that is smooth .. there are no headaches 😂
I haven't watched one video on the Mini that actually helped me all goofy benchmark BS and stuff that means nothing to me. It's like all RUclipsrs get together and agree to talk about the exact same stuff it's goofy. I just want to know if the M4 Pro is worth spending more money for editing video in a more serious way than the M4
And tell you it does get a tad warm and the fan kicks in. Yeah I am shocked at how many NEVER said a word about this. There is NO Mac mini M4 where the fan some times will kick in. It's not really loud more like.. what's that noise? Now I don't mind but.. SO MANY never said a word.. and some of you sub to them
Somebody said it finally 🙏
I mentioned several times in this video (and the one for the M4 Pro) that timeline performance was perfect - in both Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro.
Bought the base model M4 Mac Mini - its currently hosting my websites (via Docker), my family’s Mac’s TimeMachine backup server and Photos library (both running off external SSDs) - it hasn’t complained once 😅 Best Mac for the money by far!
That’s cool
“Best Mac for the money…” - dang, that’s going to be stuck in my head until I get one 😣
I'm from across the pond and sequence light shows for a living using xLights. I switched to Mac a few years ago because I grew tired of the Windows platform constantly crashing and slow render times. A few days ago I purchase the base model Mac Mini M4 and compared eight different sequences between it and my Macbook Pro M1 Max with 64GB memory. The Mac Mini M4 was faster across the board. It's remarkable and at a price point not to be ignored. I think for those wanting more storage a sensible external 2TB or 4TB SSD drive will be perfect and not break the bank.
Quite incredible that the G4 Mac mini was launched nearly 20 years ago and cost $499
We still have ours! Still running.
If an item cost $499 in 2004, accounting for average annual inflation of approximately 2.6% over the past 20 years, its equivalent cost in 2024 would be about $830.53.
Could be the device that finally breaks desktop pc sales. Windows is brilliant. There, I said it openly on a Mac channel. But desktop pcs either don't do enough or cost too much. This is cheaper than Ryzen AI mini PCs from cheap Chinese box makers, yet is effectively silent, has better support and massive amounts of single and multi-core performance. Brilliant
Amazing! I’m sold on the bare bone base model, will be perfect for a light user for web browsing and simple tasks! Really appreciate your work, and making things simple and obvious for the viewers to make a decision 🙏🏼
Web browsing? I think you missed the memo
It's far more capable than that!
@@fairgreemusic1 He also sends emails so needs an M4 😆
Honestly the base model could do everything that 90% of the people getting the Pro version can do, people just want to spend more for what they view as the better toys lol
Guilty 😅
I have been putting off buying anything... but now I just bought this and I am THRILLED. I used the saved cash on a great monitor.
@ What monitor did you choose?
I’m currently using a Samsung N95C 43” TV as a monitor and I really enjoy using it but the color accuracy for photo editing is not that good (I’m using my iPad pro m4 for that haha).
@@NirHason Hey there!! I am a hobbyist landscape photographer and I don't make much money but I went wit the Asus ProArt 279cv and I love it... I can't believe what the photos look like on it.
@ You got yourself an awesome display for photography! I wish you the best with your photography career! 🙏🏻
I got the M4 pro with 24gb memory and 512 ssd. It's amazing and is a great upgrade from my M1 mac mini.
sure, but the M1 Mac Mini wasn't any slouch other and wasn't even obsolete.
Thanks for this, especially the Logic Pro test. I’m strongly considering this as an upgrade for music production from my Core i5/8/256 MacBook Pro, but was wondering if I might run into the same fan noise / CPU / RAM issues I had with that computer if I keep it in its base configuration. As someone who may use up to 6 layers of tracks split into stereo using effects chains and amp models, I think it’s safe to say that your 128-track test confirms that the base m4 will be more than up to the challenge. Thanks for the review!
I just purchased the M4 Mac mini with 16GB 512GB SSD. With 24 months to pay (no interest), the purchase is a comfortable one. It replaces a mini M1. Along with an M1 MacBook Air, these devices allow me to use the most modern full-frame, mirrorless cameras without worry. Though I'm thinking of stepping into digital medium format where the files are outrageously large per image. And the M4 is the candidate for that. Good video.
This is the setup I think I am going to go with. Been deliberating for a few weeks whether the M4 is enpugh for music production and some video ot if I needed the Pro. I'm coming from an ancient upgraded 2012 Mini that died two days before the M4 was released. It wasn't handling what I needed it to anymore but it tried. I only did light video on it because it couldnt handle too much...but then I ran out of memory. Did you get it through Best Buy?
I completely agree with you the way this product makes you feel and it’s performance makes this one of the best Apple products ever next to the iPad mini
For the price, this has to be one of the best desktop options you can go for, I love my old Mac mini and I look forward to the new one when it arrives :)
Awesome test. Makes my mind up! I’ll be replacing my creaky old Mac mini for this
I have been considering buying the base model and your review pushed me to the finish line, Mark. I switched to working on my M2 iPad Pro about 18 months ago and while I’m able to do 80% of my work on that, there are still a number of things I have to borrow my wife’s MacBook Air for. Thanks for the recommendation.
Yes I am definitely considering a base model. I have owned Mac Mini’s for years back to the Power PC days. I have a M2 iPad Air for portability so a Mac Mini would fit perfectly on my small bedroom desk space. So glad there are front ports now.
Upgrading from a 2020 iMac 3.6GHz i9 with 40Gb RAM. Mac Mini finally convinces me to jump to 'M' series. Watched many YT reviews including yours and I think I've decided to go M4 32Gb/512Gb. I will be running FCP 11, GarageBand as well as MS Office 365, Keynote/Pages/Numbers and a variety of other office tasks. Im fairly certain the performance will ultra impressive. The price point will be badly spoilt by the cost of a Studio Display but I'm used to a 5k 27" screen so it would be hard to downgrade. Thanks for your informative real world testing.
Thx for the video. Could you please do an M1 16RAM vs M4 base comparison?
Mac Mini M4 made me interested in an Apple Computer for the first time in my life, seriously considering switching from Windows when my current PC can't do it anymore. So I'm probably aiming for M5 or M6. Exciting little thing, can't wait to see what future iterations can do.
Switched from PCs to M1 mini and Xbox SX for gaming, never looked back except in horror.
IMO the only reason to stay on Windoze is high-end gaming. If you are not playing those top tier titles, get the Mac and never look back!😂
@@rswaz Yeah Flight Simulator 2024 and a £3000 graphics card etc. Sniper Elite 5 looks amazing on 4k OLED on Xbox SX so it's much better than my last Ryzen 5 2600 1060 GTX PC 😎
@@rswaz Only thing I'm worried about is running indie titles not native to Mac, like Manor Lords. For AAA titles I'll probably buy a PS5.
Yes, to replace "Antiques Roadshow" Windows workstation, plus it'll go nicely with my Macbook M1 Max. Used with Logic, Dorico and Resolve Studio.
Been waiting for this one !!
Thanks for the ‘real world’ test on this - I have been on the fence as to which one to get - for me the price/performance of this ‘base model’ seals the deal. Just off to time how long it takes to make a cup of tea as that is now the new benchmark timing unit. 🥰
Every few years Apple releases a product that just wows. They did it with the M1 Air and now they have done it with the M4 Mac Mini. It's just crazy to imagine that by mid next year we will have this available on discounts or as open box for as little as $499. Thats just crazy.
What a glowing review! I concur with everything said. Well done Apple!
Thanks for the detailed, snappy review. This was fun to watch and was convincing. I'm coming from a 2017 MBP and I think that while I could get the M4 Pro, upgrading to the M4 with 512gb and 24gb ram is going to be more than enough for me for many years to come. I'd be running 1 or 2 programs at once, and I just can't see that overloading this system. It's certainly going to go a lot faster than the set up I am using now.
For a fraction of the price, I might add 😂
This is the config I’m considering
@@thedownunderverse I’m 99% sure that’s the move I’m making. Looking at Apple’s 0% financing option, or throwing it on another CC with airline miles. Haven’t decided yet.
Great Insight ...As an intel User ...Dare I say I have an iMac 4 years old and this is the way I feel I will go because I don`t want to buy a new iMac.... Great Video and Insight !!!
"And there's just something about the Mac Mini that makes you happy everytime you turn it on... you don't turn it on [flip], forget that" 😂
I upped the RAM to 24gb on my M4 Mac mini. And I paired it with an Apple Studio Display.
with 24 gigs of ram, have you tried any 360 vide editing yet? I would really love to know how it does with that
i was going to suggest the m4 mini pro but then i saw the studio display and you definitely made the best decision here.
@@vasanthnagkv5654 i haven't got this machine just but just wanted to point out that maybe 85% of that 24gb can also be used as vram. So this machine will also have 20gb of vram essentially. Not sure how that will effect your workflow in your chosen program. Hopefully the program will be optimised and native to apple silicon for the best performance. If you're doing 4k 360 video editing, I think that this machine will be fine but I think the ram might still limit your performance as I've read that 32gb might be recommended. But this machine should be able to do it as long as the software support is there. For 8k 360, you will want 64gb ram I believe. So this will definitely effect your workflow. 8k is quite important for 360 videos too unlike for regular videos. the vram on this machine does have you more than covered but I would recommend the mac mini m4 pro and upgrading its unified memory higher. either that or getting a mac studio. edit: i'm not an expert in this field and my information may be wrong.
Got the base model and using it for photography, photoshop etc. just ticks over, love it!
thanks for input. how much storage do U have left available, when you have installed photoshop, lightroom, IOS?
thanks
I have been using a second hand 2015 Imac for a few years now and had plan on getting an up to date Mac. This M4 mac mini is getting me excited to update my computer.
When the M1 Mac Mini was introduced just about every Apple reviewer stated that 8gb of unified memory and 256gb SSD was all that 90% of the population needed. Four years later we have the same set of Apple reviewers are stating that 16gb of unified memory is all that 90% of the population will need. If 8gb was all that 90% needed on the M1 then I am reasonably convinced that the inclusion of Apple intelligence will make the 8gb Mac Mini obsolete overnight. This leads me to the conclusion that more memory is needed. What I would like to see is a proper review of the entry level M4 Pro Mac Mini.
It seems reviewers buy the entry level Mac Mini and the specced up M4 Pro Mac Mini they intend to use on a daily basis. This makes me suspicious of the long term viability of the entry level M4 Mac Mini.
I am still using 8GB MacBooks in my business, and they work great-there's no need for 16GB for many. So, yes, 8GB is sufficient. But why is Apple now making 16GB the base model? It's because Windows machines have transitioned to 16GB as their base this year, and since Apple holds only an 8% market share, they felt compelled to match the competition. Last year, Apple used 8GB as the standard because all Windows OEMs also had 8GB as their base option. However, these models were often hidden on websites and overlooked by creators, who typically received high-spec models or participated in sponsored reviews.
The 256gb version has dual band chips, so very fast.
It's removable but need a lot of know how to upgrade storage.
There is a Kickstarter company making upgradable mac mini SSDs that work out of the box
What’s that company?
@andy545i
It was on one of them teardown videos on Mac Mini.
Max tech maybe.
Plenty of good options for external SSD using TB4. With Black Friday/Cyber Monday coming up, you can get a great deal on 2TB+ for a fraction of an Apple upgrade. There is no need for more internal storage IMO.
Excellent content, keep up the great work
Thanks!
Mark there's a way that will kill the M5 Mini. Just have too many exterior drives plugged in without adding any more power to them. The USB power from the mini will not handle more than a couple of exterior drives or appliances. Mine went into a loud buzz and clicking and was unmounting drives and remounting them until I hit the power button and did a force quit. Then unplugged everything re-booted and added exterior items one at a time until it went beserk again. I was using 2 docks that were using the power through the USB, switched them out for 2 that had their own power supply and no problems.
I bought my base model for 499 because of education. Traded in my base Mac mini M1. Win Win! Thanks for the video. Subscribed!!!
Ha I considered the same but no point as the M1 is all I need.
Do they ask for student ID or education email to verify that you are a student?
@RPGxGACHA Yes, not sure how to get around it, get a student or teacher to buy it for you?
Mark, loved the review. Current PC user and been for years, though always loved the Mac. 512gb M4 with 24gb would be the model I'd go with.
Why didn’t they get rid of the power cable and allow it to be powered via USB C directly from a monitor? One cable less for a minimal setup.
For me it will be the base model Mac Mini (possibly 24Gb RAM?) running Davinci Resolve. Thank you Mark for the review bro!
Already got one :) It's incredible; I too am floored at the performance/dollar ratio. It's insane how capable this $600 box is, which means for someone that just needs a basic computer? This could last them a decade!
High quality content, as always! 🎉 Thank you! My opinion:
People should buy the base model or upgrade RAM to 24 GB only, no storage upgrades! For storage you can buy a Thunderbolt 4 (or 5 if you have M4 Pro) SSD. It is cheaper and way more flexible. RAM is pure gold, 'cause as it is "unified memory" it means the GPU could theoretically use almost the complete RAM for GPU calculations.
Hi! Which MacBook pro M4 would you suggest buying for doing some work on video editing as a beginner and for photo editing?
I do not know whether buy the M4 pro or go for the regular M4 (both at the base version, no upgrades). I’m afraid that the M4 pro would not be enough but, at the same time, I wouldn’t like to overspend money on a machine that I perhaps don’t need in terms of power.
I’ve got the previous m2 mac mini and it’s great. Expecting it to be my primary “fast machine” for many more years.
They should sell a ton of these, this is so perfect for so many use cases. Are you going to do a iMac review, if so please do power consumption and temperatures. Love these reviews.
I added terabyte drive. Upgrading from M1 with 512GB drive.
My first mini was the white one. I’ve had more than five of these over the years.
If and when I need to replace my 2017 iMac (Retina 27") then YES, your excellent video has convinced me that it would be with the M4 Mac mini base model.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Watching this on my 16GB/512GB, picked-up yesterday! Loving it!
I upgraded from my base M1 iMac to the M4 base mini, the M1 still worked great and never once left me needing more performance for my use, but the M4 mini coupled with a larger screen size as I bought a studio display to use it with made sense to warrant (or being honest an excuse) for an upgrade. So far it has been and I'm confident it will continue to be pleasure to use.
I’m toying wit the same. Have you noted any great performance change?
@@cejay67 to be sincere I never had been left wanting more performance from the M1 so for my use the M1 was great anyway the same as the M4 is, but Id like to think more future proof for any app upgrades coming our way is now catered for. The monitor is nice but not drastically larger, but still enough to make a difference, its very nice and lovely to use. Plus with the display separate it leaves possibilities to upgrade the Mac mini if the need ever arrises. all the best.
I'm watching this video on my base Mac Mini M4 and replaced my M1 Pro Macbook Pro for Home Office use as it's just better. If someone comes out with a 3rd Party SSD internal upgrade, I'll jump on it straight away.
The big difference in export times between the base model and the others have the whiff of running out of memory and needing to write to disk to get the whole job done. I'd love to know whether (in normal usage for modest tasks, rather than torture testing) 16, 24 or 32GB is the sweet spot.
I'm a college instructor, a PC user, and am heavily considering the base model M4 Mac Mini. The education discount makes it all the more appealing. Though I'm also thinking about the 512gb version but at that price of an upgrade, I'd rather use that money to get an external ssd for media production and a large capacity usb-c flash drive for work files.
Not giving up on my PC though (I'd like to have them co-exist) but I have given up on the idea of a windows laptop.
I am sure the fans are always running, you just can’t hear them and they never spin up too hard. IStat menus does have the fan speed monitor, that would have been a good number to look at.
This is going to be my next home media server running my Plex etc - think it provides great long term value!
i think getting a good thunderbolt external SSD solves the storage problems. thinking of getting the base one too for Figma and some dev work.
Nice video, don't you think the best product/Mac ever should be the Mac Book Air M1??
Based 512gb storage had around 50% improvement in write speed. Other big file can store in external. Not worth go any over 512gb. Same price can get you a 8T TB4 ssd.
I been using 16/512 base model for over a week, average over 12 hours non media production usage + machine never turn off, it used less then 0.1 kwh per day. My old PC used over 1.3 to 1.7kwh in similar usage.
I have a mac mini M1 and i have always wanted to upgrade but i have never relay found the right one. I have a little business but also use it for many little things photo ,video editing but i also wanted it to use 2 monitors + my new Ipad pro , so i did not know if it had to be mini 4 pro or just the basic mini 4 but after seeing your video i have made my mind up so i am going for the basic mini 4 with 512 storage, so thank you
Great video as always. Got to say, I’d have to say the iPhone is Apple’s best ever product. This new Mac mini is epic but without the iPhone, the mini’s form factor, chipset etc arguably wouldn’t exist! Just one for discussion! Keep up the good work!
Which monitor to compliment this mini would you recommend?
The studio monitors are sweet but super expensive. Any 4K 32" @60Hz will be nice. Samsung and LG will have plenty on sale in the next 2 weeks.
The new mini is tempting. I'm holding out for the M4 MacBook Air. I hope Apple make the nano texture display an option for it as well. As much as I'd love to get the M4 Pro, I just can't justify the expense. I also prefer the thinner chassis and 15 inch display.
Yay! been waiting for this to drop. Been using my old MBP 2012 and now it won't really do what I want. (It is 13 years old!) Need to upgrade and this is a bolt from the blue. Base model is good enough to run my life now. Great review
ten days ago Ive bought macbook pro m1 16/1tb and apple released m4 mini today purchased this as well as was amazed with result of that small pc
I got the base model. I have 2TB NMVE SSD for addition storage.
I replaced my M2 Pro Mac mini with the base M4 mini and its somehow as good (better). This thing is insane!
I think the original iPhone was a leapfrog product by the standards that were about at that time; today it is not so hot; at launch it was a brand new and very innovated product. It is nice to see that Apple is still innovating. Will I buy an M4 Mac Mini? I don't really need one, but if Roon is available one day with ARM code, then it is on my list.
i keep getting the override buffer size warning come up during Logic sessions..
not sure if any of you know why?
Shout outs from Australia.
soooo great newssss for Mac mini M4.... thankkksss
Thanks for posting this video.
After quite a bit of research I’ve decided the base model with 256gb storage is incredible value. I will get a 2 or 4tb SSD and move my entire home folder to that and only have my Apple Apps on the machine.
Paired one with a 2tb SanDisk ProG40 for a couple hundred bucks on sale at Best Buy and the external drives are actually faster than internal. No regrets on that $800-ish investment.
I have all kinds plugged into my M1 including NVME, I usually move photo/video to internal drive for edits.
I also use it as a music media server with the excellent easy to use Firestream software but you have to buy that, but it's a one off payment. It was £17.99, now £29.99 😮
Is the correct answer. I have the base model and a 10Gbs USB3 plugged in but have a TB4 arriving this week….. it’s a great little machine.
Sandisk prog40
I’ve had a Mac mini m2 for 7 months and bought a m4 a week ago and with the power button on the bottom and offers a few more features, I was not impressed and returned it today to the Apple Store, the m2 Mac mini has a few features less, but I like it better, if you have a Mac mini m2 keep it and save your money 💵
As the owner of a 2011 27” iMac that is now a massive paperweight..will this be my next Mac primarily to run Bambu studio software for the Bambu XC1 3D printer..I’m hoping this will be the answer as to run this software all it says is iOS 10.5 or later….
Ok, great review, but if you had to choose between your base model M2 Pro mac mini or the base model M4 mac mini (upgraded to 512Gb storage) which would you choose? I ask because I can get both for a similar price. I would be using it in my home studio to record and mix my own music and my own videos etc. I guess you could say I'm a prosumer? P.S, I would get one of these computers for the rest of my life and have a closed system by not upgrading and buying anymore software, including DAWs, plugins and virtual instruments etc
Puedes probar el Mac mini m4 con after effects?
Porfa 🙏
I wonder if the base model would be ok for Xcode iOS simulator for development?
Hi Mark I got the base with the 512 as I had run into issues before with 256 , I also thought they were going to up the price so paid less than I thought will use as family computer and some photo and video editing great review Ta
As other commenters have suggested, Apple should have configured the Apple logo on the Mac Mini's top as the on/off switch. If they did this, then I would agree it's the best Apple product ever.
I prefer it the way it currently is. I don’t want an on off button to be capacitive and to have it be a normal button, it wouldn’t be flat and would need to be easily identifiable for those that don’t know. Since it won’t be labelled. Therefore, it will need to be raised or lowered to show that it clearly is a button. Not worth it. Also wont be able to use many stands for clusters or farms of them. They could but would have to work around it. It would create another entry for dust and liquids. It could also be poked in or pulled out since it’s so big. Finally, it won’t look as good and there would be no benefit. Where it is right now is perfect in my opinion. The people suggesting other solutions need to think a little bit more about what they’re suggesting and realise they’re wrong. Even the cutting into the metal for the button will add cost to this super cheap machine. Just to give an idea, reduce 600 by 40%. 20% vat from the customer and 20% from Apple which is just another way of charging the customer another 20% tax. Do 40% of the price of this machine is just uk tax. That leaves 60% of its price. That is £360. On top of that £360 isn’t what people still think it to be as they’re stuck in what the pound used to be. £360 of today’s money is equal to £260 of 2018’s money. Without considering warranty, returns, legal fees, extortionate rent of Apple stores in the uk, shipping costs, research , marketing, hardware manufacturing, designing, execution and management, uk business fees, super expensive macos development costs which comes with the mac for free as well as with free upgrades… and the £100 off for students… this thing is nuts. They know what they’re doing and Apple annoy me just as much as anyone else, but they’re not allowed to be judged fairly or to speak for themselves like we are with ourselves. Fair is fair. This computer is unique, delivers so much value, has the potential to change your life and yet is the equivalent of 1 weeks rent for a crappy studio room in the uk.
I want a Mac mini that will run Logic and Abobe software but not necessarily at the same time so I reckon the M4 would deliver.
i'm sure the m4 would allow you to run logic, adobe and many other things at the same time without any fan noise or lag. in this video, he was exporting insanely heavy tracks while exporting insanely heavy video while having a bunch of other programs open, and all he heard was some fan noise. Having said that, if you're doing a lot of video editing, I would still recommend the m4 pro. but if you're learning how to edit videos or want to create music and edit videos for your small youtube channel or for something else, the base m4 is more than enough.
I want a computer solely for Logic Pro.. I don't need all those GPU cores in the pro model... although I'm tempted as you get more performance core's.. I think tbe 512Gb base model is the one for me..been putting off the purchase for 4 years since the M1 mini launched I think I might notice a performance improvement on my current MacBook Pro from 2006! 🤯
Night and day difference, the original M1 mini is still astounding AND silent. Yes you don't need the extras, maybe 512GB but original 256GB I have does me and I have NVME plus, SSDs and 5TB portable hard drives on mine. It all works beautifully.
@@nocturnal1970sounds good 👍
Thanks for the jnfo. I have been deliberating for weeks if I needed the Pro, I shouldn't spend more than I need to at the moment. I am using Reaper. My old 2012 upgraded Mini died on me.
Update : I bought the base model with 512gb SSD solely for Logic Pro and it's the best Logic pro experience I've ever had... I was on Logic 9 so 11 is taking some getting used to but it runs so smoothly... For the first few days I did keep thinking that I should have bought the pro to be more future proof but I'll put the £600 saved towards my next mini in say 10 years time.. 🙂
I'm in this same boat. I currently have a 2018 i7 3.2 GHz 6 Core with 64 GB RAM and a 1TB SSD. I'm producing and mixing a track now with 128 tracks, lots of plugins and it chokes every now and then at 48/128. I've been on the fence about the M4 base vs M4 Pro but this video pretty much sums it up for me. Plus, the pro is really more than I want to spend right now.
Hi Mark, great review, thanks. One quick question, what software are you using else to monitor CPU usage etc, please?
Istat menus from Bjango. Great set of tools, recently updated.
Just did the upgrade from mini M1 to mini M4! I am quite pleased so far. Even paid the extra $9 for courier delivery the next day! Transferring data from M1 to M4 was a challenge with one monitor. You have to approve the code on both so I had to change the cable between them. I think it didn't work at first because M1 went into sleep mode, so I locked the screen on that. I used thunderbolt 4 cable and migration assistant. It was taking so much longer than one video that I watched? I did stop the transfer. My photos and docs came down from iCloud , I think? Perhaps You could make a video for the transfer?I am but an amateur hobby user. Thanks !
Definitely intending to buy a mac mini. I will get the base model because I already have three HDDs and a 4TB SSD that I can plug in for storage. It's the monitor I will have to buy that's pushing the price up; up until now I've always owned AIO PCs, but Windows 11 has soured me on that forever.
Bought a base model m4 Mac mini because I don’t have time to game on my big windows gaming pc-I use it primarily to listen to music and work on my thesis. It’s silent at all times for me so I can listen to open back headphones with my headphone amp and dac and have a lower noise floor. What a great price for such a device
Plus not have the room heat up
Great video, thanks! Do you think it’s worth upgrading from a m1 mini to the m4? I mean, how much faster can it be?
In my opinion, yes it is worth it. I traded in my M1 mini for $230 and buying under the education program the took my out of pocket cost to $270. A huge performance boost all around (core, GPU, ports, memory) for that small sum is a ridiculous value!
@@rswazThanks! My M1 works great, but maybe this is the right time to pull the trigger on a new one.
The exports were faster the second time likely because the data was still in cache.
That's what I thought, but even that wasn't consistent.
@@MarkEllisReviewsThat could be LR itself being inconsistent with the M4, maybe updates will solve it.
What LLMs can you run on it and what can they do?
LLMs are much more dependent on memory (for what you can run) and GPU (for performance). The increased memory bandwidth on the Pro/Max chips makes a significant enough difference that if you're doing serious LLM work you'd want to upgrade beyond the base model. That said, if you're looking to play around with smaller models, the 16GB base models *can* definitely run them - just the smaller and/or more quantized variants.
Look up Alex Zizkind's channel if you're interested in that stuff. He's been doing quite a bit of testing of LLMs on the new MBPs and Minis.
Quick question - running the Mini M2 pro side to Sid with the Mini base M4 - which would perform better?
I think I am going to get this for video editing in iMovie and eventually FCP. I am currently using an 2017 MBP and have muddled through with it. But, it needs a new battery and speakers. After I get the mini, then I will take on refurbishing my current computer or finding a newer one for less money than it will take to repair my current one. I still need a laptop of some sort.
Great video- thanks so much for addressing the fan noise as I do lots of voice overs during my video edits.
❤
yeah, im buying one. mainly for coding (just more basic stuff). im back and forth about whether im going to upgrade the storage to 512gb. the pricing on upgrades is heinous and yeah i could (and likely will) use external storage but I 256 internally is probably not going to cut it for me, application wise.
yesterday I Ordered the Mac Mini M4 Pro, since I dabble in Creative tools like XCode and sometimes Game Engines like UE 5
Future proofing. The Mini M4 Pro base model, is the one for me. I just like to have that bit more power and sometimes game 😀
Would love to hear your thoughts on what specs are minimum! and then ideal, for a monitor to work with this new Mini. I’ve heard you mention the Benq monitor but it’s pricey and given the good entry price for the new Mini would be good to know where to start looking. Thanks
@@rogerhartley4456 ASUS have a 27inch 5k and 32 inch 6k which should work fine.
I can ask for more: a reasonable price ladder for RAM and SSD upgrades! Maybe keep the rungs at $200 but offer much more at each step and so reduce the total number of SKUs.
Agreed or make the rungs £100 they would get a lot more upgrades and still make a killing.
I'm sold! I'll mainly be doing video editing for RUclips videos! Does imovie come with it?
I got mine on release day.....I promptly installed World Of Warcraft Classic Cataclysm ......my monitor is 1080p up to 240hz .....(Samsung G40b).....after some tweaking , I locked the monitor at 120hz and moved the graphics slider in WoW to 8, but pushed up environmental detail to 10......I'm getting 120fps with no meaningful drops in fps (maybe to 118fps)
I’m currently favoring the M4 iMac with 32gb memory and 1TB SSD, which is US $1000 less than the equivalent M4 Mac Mini with Studio Display, keyboard and mouse. Do I assume correctly that the performance will be the same from the iMac as the Mini?
I bought mine - M4 base chip, 24 GB of memory and a 1 TB drive - the day it became available. I expect it to be the last music production computer I'll ever need. Peter Alexander, Cyberphunx Music Productions
Pretty sure the dump was a RAM issue. 16GB isn’t much for that much stuff going on. As you said, nobody would EVER do that.
ciao Mark, bel video!!!! una domanda: sai se sia possibile (e come) usare un tablet Android (lenovo P12) come monitor per il Mac Mini? grazie
Will the basic version 16/256 handle 20 browser windows open at the same time smoothly, with 10-15 www tabs in each window? Is that too much?
You're right it is the best Apple product ever , I have one ,it is amazing, end of comment 😁