AVOID the MISTAKE Most People Make When Buying a M4 Mac Mini!

🛒In this video, I explain the key differences between the M4 Mac Mini (Base Model) and the M4 Pro Mac Mini (Base Model) to help you decide which fits your needs. From design and specs to performance and 4K export times, I've got you covered. Plus, I will share a cost-saving storage upgrade tip you won’t want to miss!

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🛒 Mice & Keyboards

📚 Video Chapters:
00:00 Intro
02:00 Design & Build
03:05 Spec Breakdown
03:40 Storage Upgrade CHEAPER
07:35 Performance Comparison
09:00 4K Export Comparison
11:28 The Simple Answer
12:40 Which One Should YOU Buy?

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👍 Don’t forget to like the video if you found it helpful and drop your questions in the comments below!

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[gap]

If you buy more than you actually need the penalty is just financial
If you buy less than you need the penalties can be numerous, including having to upgrade early

I was replacing a 10 yr old iMac that was still working perfectly but no longer supported. I really like that by going M4 Mini I have split the hardware to enable future upgrade flexibility - oh and I still have a 27' screen. Crazy how little the iMac was worth given it had the 5k Retina display but my son has repurposed it as the screen for his Zwift bike

I don't do anything Memory hungry so got the base M4 Mini but did upgrade the storage one notch because I was happy to be 'ripped off' to get simplicity. Very happy with my decision so far. In fact my favourite part is a new keyboard with touch ID!

[waynej]

Lightroom and Photoshop user. I'm getting the M4 Pro with the 14/20/16-core processor upgrade, 64GB RAM and 1 TB storage. This will be my fifth iMac and the first one that isn't a legacy base model. My current two Macs are both 27-inch models from mid-2017 and 2015. My current MacBook Pro is an M2 Ultra with 24GB of RAM and a 1 TB hard drive. I'll pair it with the new BenQ 27-inch 5K monitor in about a month.

[Tech-Head]

M4 Mac Mini Pro 64GB unified memory 512GB internal storage and 3 smaller external ssd's to organise tasks etc.
Love the performance and great channel, keep it coming please.

[HemNetOrange]

I went with an M4 Mini Pro with 48Gb, 1TB, 10Gb ethernet, and I love it. A little beast of a machine.

[jairunet]

Thank you dude, great info, simple and to the point 👌

[john_hind]

My choice is between the basement spec of the Pro at $1, 399, or a non-pro tricked out with maximum RAM (32GB), more comfortable 512GB SSD (but still using external for bulk storage) and 10GB Ethernet (so I can use a fast NAS for that external storage), at $1, 299. My heaviest workload is mostly CAD with some video editing. I have been paralysed with indecision between these two options for months now and have not found any real analysis of whether more RAM or more CPU/GPU is most valuable in different scenarios. Of course it would help a lot if Apple was not quite so predatory with its RAM pricing!

[johnkauffman]

Thanks for the video, I will get the M4 mac mini with 512 gb storage, and 24 gb memory FRIDAY, I cant wait! this is my second new mac, my first one was a 2006 mac mini from 2006! I Got a 2017 imac used from amazon, which works very well!

[tetzel]

I snagged a Mac Mini M4 base model for $499 (got the student discount) and then upgraded the internal 256 GB storage to 2 TB. Quite an easy process and love not paying the Apple price for the increased storage option. I saved A LOT of $$ going this route. Highly recommend!

[infinitedarkness]

I bought the M4 Mini with 24GB and 1TB. Did I upgrade? Yes. Do I wish it was cheaper? Yes. Do I know how to use the external storage? Of course. But I wanted what I wanted and bought it. :)

[JaapKroon]

I bought the M4 Mini Pro with 48GB and 512 GB because I'm a heavy Lightroom user with big files.

[kevjak]

Coming from PC to first time Mac, as I Music composer I would buy a M4 Pro Mac Mini with 1TB and 64gb Ram

[hardlines]

I’m a musician/songwriter, Logic Pro x user, went for M4 mini and Samsung monitor, upgraded from iMac 27in late 2015. I’m well happy with this setup. I’m thinking keep this setup for a year then upgrade to Mac Studio.

[malcolmwright]

Hi,
I'm new to the Mac environment, and I'm moving from a dual Linux/Windows machine. Linux being Unix based as is Mac OS means the leap isn't that hard for me. The reason for my move was the need to upgrade my self build 4 year old PC. During those 4 years, my preferred CPU vendor has changed CPU socket, DDR Type and the PCIE has changed, USB4 is also new. So, my upgrade would need to be new motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM, and a case, then there would be the Windows Operating system to buy. Those cost considerably more than the Mac mini M4 base or the Mac mini M4 pro.
I went for the base Mac mini M4 and 2TB of external storage. I use my computer for photography (hobbyist) and having bought my photo software(s) directly from the developers have a minimum of a 2 seat licence, one even has a licence that works anywhere providing I log in using my account details.
The base model Mac mini is a considerable upgrade on my PC, and provided Apple continues its aggressive system entry pricing structure, my upgrade costs per year will most likely halve.
Needless to say, I'm very happy with my purchase.
Malcolm

[philipcaldwell]

Excellent real world news you can use, thanks!

[edwardjons]

Great overview. I’m new to Mac (bought the mini in December), having always had PCs in the past, though I have been using an ipad pro and iphone for some years so there is a bsic familiarity with the interface. I bought the base M4 mini after procrastinating about getting a pro with 48Gb. Ultimately I decided the base model is so cheap, relatively, that I may as well buy the base with a good external ssd (I went for graugear and 2Tb) so I can at least take my external drive on to a new mini if I feel the need to upgrade. The external drive using Thunderbolt 4 is reading at around the same speed as the internal drive, so performance there is also fantastic. When you compare drive speeds to broadband speeds, it’s really not worth worrying over a few Mbs in your internal/external drive when the real drag is wifi speed. I do some music production, some gaming, watch of a lot hd video. Probably a typical non-professional use - demanding enough to need a decent spec machine but not super demanding enough to warrant the highest specs. So far the base mini has been flawless and I have been very impressed with its performance in every area. My plan is to trade in the base mini before the end of the year and get a ‘future proof’ pro model at that time, giving me plenty of time to budget for the extra cost. To anyone who is a non-pro user I would say do the same - you may well find that the base mini performs perfectly for what you need, and you can consider the more costly upgrade later having invested a relatively small sum in your base model. I’m fortunate to not have significant money worries, so affordability is not the issue for me, but I don’t want to waste spending the additional £1000 if I can avoid it, or delay it.

[mowcowbell]

I went with the M4 Mac Mini with 16gb, 256gb, 1Gb ethernet. I'm a Windows user and wanted to try out MacOS for cheap. ($579 from Amazon). I'll be comparing it to my Beelink SER8 mini pc (32gb ram, Ryzen 7 cpu, 1tb storage, Win11 ($652 from Amazon). The Beelink looks very similar to the M4 Mac Mini in size.

[simonbubner]

You mentioned some programs need to run off of the internal storage (can’t be on external). How do I work this out (especially before buying)?

[MaximusPham]

Currently using a base 2021 mbp14 pro m1 16/512, may get the new Mini M4 base 16/256 to supplement my mbp14. Just home user, only time I tax my cpu is during the morning stock trading session running 2 TOS instances, browsers, and OBS to record stock session so I can review later. Moment the markets open my fans spin up on the mbp14, I think the mini m4 base will be fine for a 2-3yrs and if ever get into content creation then I'll upgrade to the latest model/chips.

[jaggyjut]

I got the MAC Mini Pro base - 24GB, 512 SSD. More then enough for everyday use, using AI editors like cursor and running small LLM locally.

[winslowjoy]

For my use case I typically keep my Mac for 8-10 years. So that is why I chose the up spec Pro, 64GB and 1TB SSD. My 3D printer slicer drove my M2 MBA 16GB to use 8GB swap and 4GB compressed.