Mac mini M4 Pro vs Mac Studio M1 Max

#apple #production #audioengineer
We compare the M4 Pro Mac mini against our M1 Max Mac Studio and the results will surprise you. So the question is, are we switching and should you switch?

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Gear used in my video reviews:
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Mac Mini M4 16 Gig / 256 SSD
Mac Mini M4 16 Gig / 512 SSD
Mac Mini M4 24 Gig / 512 SSD
Mac Mini M4 Pro 24 Gig / 512 SSD
RODE Wireless Pro
DJI Mic 2
Shure KSM44A
Warm Audio WA251
JZ Microphones V67
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Yamaha YC-88
Yamaha YC-73
Yamaha YC-61
Cubase Pro Recording Software
Soundcraft Notepad 8FX Mixer
Black Lion Audio Seventeen Compressor
Klark Teknik KT-2A Compressor
Klark Teknik 76-KT Compressor
Nikon z6ii Body
Nikon Z6ii w/24-70 f4
Samyang AF 14mm f2.8 lens
DJI Pocket 2 Creator Combo
Shure SM7b Microphone
Mackie ProFXv3 10 Channel Mixer
IK Multimedia Z-Tone DI Box

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a very small percentage at no cost to you and helps us
continue to make these videos.

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#macmini #m2pro #macstudio #m1mac #mixing #recording #recordingstudio
#productionhouse #cubase #steinberg #computers #computerknowledge

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[tedantares]

I have both M1 Max Mac Studio and an M4 Mac Mini. The M1 Max Mac Studio shows 12.5K CPU score and 98K Metal score in Geekbench 6, while the M4 Mac Mini shows 15K and 57K, respectively. Even though the M1 Max shows a lower CPU score, many apps run faster on it because the RAM data transfer speed is 410 GB/s - 3 times that of the M4 (135 GB/s), and the M1 Max' GPU is almost twice as fast as the M4's

[MarkAlderson]

Great video! I have the M1 Max Mac Studio (base model with 32GB RAM and 24 core GPU and 1TB SSD) and I have been thinking about upgrading. Apple is offering $700 for a trade in, which isn't to bad. I have zero issues with it, and I would like to have the newest M4, but I might be unhappy with the GPU cores. It's a hard decision. Thanks!

[Robroy]

Still doing advanced video and audio And VFX work Feature films and original music ( Davinci Resolve and Adobe after effects and Blender 3S on a base M1 Mac mini for the last 3 years. No issues. M4 will run circles around it though I’m already doing it . I don’t understand people saying the M4 is only good for light video work lol

[Epicgamer_Mac]

Thanks for the video! Shoutout to my man Lance from Mac Sound Solutions for pointing me here. Awesome comparisons and glad to see it broken down like that. Looks like the older Max chips are still the video kings by quite a bit!

[DojoOfCool]

I got a Mac Studio M2 Max this year so no plans to upgrade since I do audio only. Also starting to read reviews that the M4's are running hot and fans are kicking in and can get noisy. Going to be interesting to see why the M4's are running hotter. The new TSMC 2nd generation 3nm that the M4 is based on is suppose to run cooler. Or is Apple kicking up the clock speed on the cores because that would make them run hotter too. I have no need for a M4 Mini right now, but maybe in a year my old Intel iMac might need to be replaced so have time to watch how the new M4's do in the coming year.

[bluelinewhitetails]

would have love to seen this vs the m2 studio.

[melodology-]

Hey there 👋
Which machine is the quietest?

I can't stand the fan sound in my recordings.

Thanks a lot

[TheGuyFromCali]

Thank you. I have the M1 Max Studio with 32GB. This video was my exact comparison of what I wanted. I just bought the Mini, M4 Pro chip with 14‑core CPU, 20‑core GPU with 64GB RAM and I updated the ethernet to 10G option. Apple even gave me a $720 trade-in for my Studio (I would have just given away to a friend anyways).

I don't do any video or photo editing. Just web browsing, email, and running Plex server and uploading and downloading torrents. I think this should be a great upgrade and for $1300 after trade-in

[billschnake]

Great job on the video. I am currently using a M1 MacBook Pro with 16gb of memory. It technically does everything that I need to do, however I am going to update to the Mac Mini Pro with 32gb of memory w/14 core CPU, 20 core GPU and 16 core neural engine and a 1TB SSD. At 63 this will mostly be one of the last two computers I purchase for my home/semi-pro studio. I am currently running Cubase 13 Pro, Logic Pro XI and Wavelab 12 Pro for music production. I have several sample libraries on external drives and I am currently in a down swing for purchasing plug-in. If I am not going to use it why purchase it just to say I own it. This will also allow me to move from my 2012 MBP to my M1 MBP for my personal use. So I win at both ends of the spectrum, update the studio and my personal laptop in one move.

[crouge]

Thanks for the great video! I just have one question that's on my mind: bandwidth. Does it actually matter in music production?
Upgrading from the M1 Studio Max (Which I also use and is still great) to the M4 Mac Mini Pro is impressive in terms of CPU scores, no doubt. But with nearly half the bandwidth, will that impact performance? And how does the cooling system hold up when the machine is pushed hard?

[RaquelFoster]

There's no way I'm getting a desktop M4 that isn't the Max. The M4 Max Studio will completely blow away the Minis in anything that uses the GPU or cares about memory bandwidth. I'm still using a 2018 6-core Intel Mac Mini with an external Vega 56 GPU with Resolve, but I'll be fine for a few months till the M4 Studios come out.

[epicsynthwave]

Not all musicians make videos. In fact, I'd go as far to say that the vast majority of musicians just make music with their Mac Mini. So for that reason, the M4 (or M4 Pro) Mac Mini is an absolute no-brainer.

[GuillaLife]

I just upgraded from a late 2012 iMac (16GB) to the MacMini 24GB and I’m super geeked about it…lol

[MrFn]

Great video! It’s what I was looking for as a music professional. I use M1 MacMini with 16 gb ram currently. I don’t do a lot of video work so I’m running tons of virtual instruments, effects. I will wait to see what the M4 Mac Studio comes up with, like you said that’s a tougher decision as the M1 work amazingly well! In my case, I would have to upgrade to 32 or 64 Gb, 1 TB to make a move up and now you are in the 3 K budget M4 Pro. I would have also mentioned that it comes with Sequoia OS and many 3rd party apps aren’t running officially on that OS. In 6 months when apps/ drivers are up to Sequoia and m4 Studios are out, then I will take a serious look. Glad you mentioned using your current gear for improved cpu and that would be a useful video to see. How to use your older Macs in a audio production studio along with a ‘current ‘ Mac.

[robtriton]

I will buy the new Macbook Pro M4 Max, 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, and 48GB Unified Memory with the 4TB SSD option. Then next summer, I will buy it when it is released- Mac Studio with the M4 Max.

[disklamer]

As a pro, get the Pro, as a studio, you get the Studio. As an engineer, get all the things. As a creative pro, probably get the biggest baddest thing that can help give you an edge.

[yinoveryang]

Macs have incredible longevity. You wont need to upgrade for years after getting one (unless you're a tech nerd) my last one - 6 years. So continue to be proud of your M1 Pro. But the leap in the M4 performance is significant in a lot of areas. The M4's Electricity usage is apparently ridiculously low also – may seem like a small point, but in Europe is a serious economic consideration.

[JayashKesri]

Hi, I am confused between Mac Studio M2 Max having 12c/30c and Mac mini M4 Pro having 14c/20c both with 64GB Ram and 1TB HDD.

My workload is 150+ browser tabs opened simultaneously on different browsers daily, 20 small reels to 3-4 medium video edits (on FCP/DaVinci) a week and 1 or 2 blender edits a month. Attached to a single 5k monitor, no memory card or ethernet required. Both costs exactly INR 2, 49, 900 here in INDIA.

Please, suggest to me what's best? Thank you in Advance.

[ckatheman]

M2 Max Mac Studio here. Heavy audio and video only. Can't see needing anything else for years because I cannot imagine what I would do in those realms that is not covered. The M2 Max does about 250mph, and I only can seem to drive 100mph - so what would the point be to upgrade it?

[chrisbogart]

I have to agree with everything you said about upgrading. I am playing that game right now. I upgraded my M1 MacBook Pro to the M4 Mac mini Pro. I have keyboard, mouse, trackpad, and monitor in place along with a hub with SD card reader among other ports with fast external drives to lessen the storage needs. . I also have the M! Studio for my video work and I will wait until the M4 Mac Studio comes out. Apple did hit it out of the park with the M4 Pro chip this year. It helps to future proof you with all the AI apps coming down the pike. I see it in my video and photography work already. Everyone has to make their own decisions about their needs. I just went with the Apple trade-in and Apple Card option to pay in 12 increments. That definitely lessens the pain and hassles.