Yip completely agree with this :)

Agree 100%

Great video David, much appreciated!

Yes! I could be getting a lot more value out of my m3 iMac if I could also use it as a second screen.

Well said sir. Totally agree!

I agree, too. It's a contradiction. We want again the target display mode.

For the love of god yes. I liked that feature years ago, even though I never actually needed to use it

Nicely said, David! Makes total sense! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

I completely agree. I currently have a 27" 5k iMac that is no longer upgradable and is super slow. I want the new M4 mini and that would be perfect.

On point!

They only care about their revenue, nothing more

I don't currently have an iMac, but I totally agree with you. If Apple really cares about the environment, as they keep claiming, they would bring this option back. I had an iMac for 10 years, and I had to recycle it, though the display was working fine.

I totally agree. this is something that has been on my wish list for a very long time.

Agree, but Apple will likely never do anything that hurts their bottom line.

I can you make Unreal Engine 5.5 from MacMini M4 and M4 Pro test and comparing thanks.

i ask CHATGPT build windows strong same as Mac Mini M4 and the result is : CPU: Intel Core i5-13600K or AMD Ryzen 7 7700 GPU: NVIDIA RTX 3060 (12GB) or AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT RAM: 16GB DDR5-5200 or 32GB DDR4-3600 SSD: Samsung 970 EVO or WD Black SN770 Do this right? Or Apple buy CHATGPT lol?

Nice & Thanks :)

Subscribed!

My M1Max Studio SSD is still churning out over >6GB/s write and >5.7GB/sec read. Noice.

excellent work we were waiting for this one 😎🤙

I went with the M4 Pro, 24 gig, 512 GB SSD. Was able to use points off of one of my credit cards! I’m currently using a Late 2014 iMac 27” Retina with a Fusion Drive so … I suspect it will be a bit quicker!

Nice work, but with all due respect, I think this video has a deceiving title. You're basically saying give apple all your money and upgrade everything to the top tier available, right? Upgrade your memory and storage, the appeal of this computer suddenly isn't such a "good deal" anymore. A "Buyers Guide" normally implies How-To get the Best Value for price. For instance, if I'm going to upgrade my Memory (RAM) to 32 GB, and my Storage to 1 or 2 TB, well at that price point why the hell even get a MAC Mini? Get the M4 PRO, or a studio. I agree, UPGRADE your Memory (RAM). I got the 24 and do A LOT of 4K video editing. I don't really mess with 3D renderings or Gaming so I'm not worried about that, therefore, for me anyway - 24 GB is future-proofing. If you can swing it, 32 is obviously better, but again, by that price-point you may as well move on to the PRO version, or MAC STUDIO. As for Storage, it appears (from other videos I've seen) the 512 GB storage operates significantly faster than the base model, 256 GB. So go reluctantly you have to get the 512 GB Storage, AT LEAST 24 GB Memory, and then use an EXTERNALL SSD and you're golden. Way better value (in my humble opinion) than what you're promoting. I really don't think MOST PEOPLE are going to be hung-up over an external SSD hanging off their MAC MINI, but if that really is an issue, then sure -- do it your way and pay the 4X the price Apple Tax and for their Storage. You'll get a better computer, but at a price point where you could have gotten better value from a lower bells & whistles version M4 PRO or Studio. I purchased the Mac-Mini and upgraded my Memory to 24 GB, and my Storage to 512 GB. That turned my $600 (usd) Mac Mini into a $1000 (usd) computer right off the bat. It should be noted, anyone buying from Apple(dot)com would be a fool not to click the "student link" at the bottom of the page and give yourself $100 (usd) off the price, as its not like they verify this or you have to prove it. So I got an AMAAAAZING set-up for $900 (usd). That's 1/3 what I paid for my last iMAC in 2017 which is a dinosaur in comparison. I have an external 2 TB external ssd connected and I'm rocking better than I ever have been and feel fairly confident for the my needs as a video editor I'm future-proofed AT LEAST the next 6-7 years.

Tb 5 is double the speed of tb4, so 80gb up and down. The 120 comes from the fact that it’s got 4 lanes. With a display it can run 3 lanes up to the display, and one back. So rather than 80/80 it can do 120/40 in that mode. With storage, it’s always 80/80. Still pretty fast though!

Great video! I am tempted to go for the Mac Mini 24Gb Ram and 512Gb storage (I don’t need it right now, but want it badly), that one is right now on Amazon at a good discount price! !5k subs? I bet you will go over 20k before the end of the year!

Now this is what I call a comparison. Great work David! Thank you so much for making this an also listening to your viewers and what they want to know. Great stuff!

Can you use your phone as a m4 mac mini screen (just as a 1 off portable solution?) And I'd also like to know how to port fcp from my old Intel imac to a new mac mini.

Is there any real advantage in upgrading the pro to the higher core chip, 48gb ram or 1TB ssd?

Dave, been looking forward to this one. Can anyone give me some advice please - I run Parallels on my Mac so that I have access to the windows OS but it is too slow on my current MBP. Is it necessary to go for the mini pro chip or will the standard m4 with upgraded RAM suffice? Is the pro chip mainly for graphic related work? Thanks

If only more scientific applications were compiled for Mac OS instead of just Linux. 😅

Another great review, I agree for most people, even for some major video editing, the Mini or Mini Pro is all you need. I almost upgraded to the Mini Pro, until I saw some graphic tests that even now the current Studio beats the Mini Pro due to the massive amount of GPU cores. So maybe if you do lots of heavy graphic work, 3d rendering, effects, or want to work with local AI or generative AI, then maybe wait and see. It's so hard not to jump on this but I just decided I'm waiting until March when we hear something about the Studio. The Mini Pro with 20 GPU cores is just too close to what the Studio will cost, I would kick myself if the Studio was $500 more with a M4 Max chip plus 2 times the GPU cores, and even more. Graphical performance of the Studio will be insane, I'm really hoping it beats a PC with a Nvidia 4090 for AI, but we shall see. I just strictly need more graphical performance, more GPU cores since I will be doing more and more graphical and 3D work with generative AI in the workflow. So just keep it in mind if your ready to lay down over 2k, certain use cases might be wise to wait a few months to see the Studio, otherwise jump on the base Mini Pro or even just the base model for most, if you have extra $$ always bump the memory, I regret that every time.

I don't understand how the M1 Max is still performing up against the m4. That's pretty crazy when you think about it. Thank you for the video. Great work.

nobody cares about export time !

I think it was neat but wasn't as small as it could be

Running Cinebench R24 between my 7800X3D desktop and my M4 Pro 14 Core CPU / 20 Core GPU MB Pro (There has to be an easier way to type that) I'm shocked by how much it slaps the desktop CPU in CPU performance.

Hi David! I went MBP in the end - M4 Pro with the 20 core GPU, 48GB RAM, 1TB SSD and the nano display … arrives 2 Dec !

Great video, thanks for all the work that went into this. I ordered a new pro version with the extra cores and 64mb of memory, hoping this will fix issue I had with it struggling (oddly) with dropbox doing an initial large sync in the background and falling over when building large databases

Download a game. Any 3d. And see them struggle

Thanks again David! Looking forward to your thoughts on the pro version.

Lovely work as always my Friend! Absolutely loving the videos you put out! I Appreciate the time and effort it takes you. 🎉

I have been waiting all week for this-thank you so much for the content you produce. I was on the fence between the M4 and the M4 pro, but your excellent information has moved me towards your earlier suggestion of the M4/512GB SSD/24GB ram. Unfortunately I am coming from an Intel iMac, so I will need to purchase all the necessary peripherals. I miss the days when you can use the iMac in target display mode.

A really great overview and comparison of multiple models. Would it be possible to make a short video on the GPU performance across the same models. There has been next to nothing on the Mac minis performance in 3D apps like Blender or the bforartists fork of it. Would be good to see After Effects or Apple's Motion too, to see how the GPU stacks up in both rendering and whilst working in the environments.

New sub here. Great channel. Would you be so kind as to answer a few questions. I mostly use Final Cut Pro & Photoshop to create videos on my Billy Luna Crime Stories YT channel. I am working in 1080p, but plan to start working in 4k. Currently I am Using a Sandisk Extreme Pro SSD (2TB & 4TB) to edit off whilst using FCP. I like to use Final Cut Pro, Photoshop and 40 web browser tabs open simultaneously. 1) For my needs, which exact configuration of the new M4 Mac Mini should I get? (Pro or no, RAM, SSD) These are the two configurations that I have been mulling: $1,079.00 Apple M4 chip with 10‑core CPU, 10‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine 32GB unified memory Or $1,799.00 512GB SSD storage Apple M4 Pro chip with 12‑core CPU, 16‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine 48GB unified memory 512GB SSD storage 2) Is there any speed or performance advantage in going with a 1 TB SSD vs 512? 3) Do I need to worry about fan noise when I’m recording on camera video or voice over?

I wondered if you uploaded a new video on the new mini and I found out you just did less than an hour ago haha. tnx I’m working from home most of the time and once a week I’m working from my parents house so I really want to have two mac minis, one for each location. I really torn between getting the m4 mini base model (maybe with 512GB) now and use it as my main machine until the m4 studio base model comes out and then buy it, use it as my main machine and place the mini base model in my parents house. The other option is to buy now two minis: - M4 10/10 16/256 - for my parents house - I need it just for stock market trading. - M4 Pro 12/16 48/1TB 10Gbps or maybe M4 Pro 14/2048/512 10Gbps - as my main machine. Maybe you can help me with that decision. The upcoming m4 studio will have basically the same/better specs than the m4 pro and it comes with 10gbps and also will have more ports and better thermals. I don’t really need that power and i do love the mini form factor but I hate fan noise.

This was crazy extensive. Maybe I dont need an M4 Pro 😅

UBB C is a port you can stick anything into, including an SD card adapter, but the only thing you can stick in an SD port is a SD card which comes in two sizes, one of which needs an adapter.

Damnn! Love the graphics and animations in this video. Make it looks very polished and clean.

Is the M4 Pro Mac mini REALLY as good as it's cracked up to be? Benchmarks...on my channel? Yup...that's right! And then a chunky Final Cut Pro 11 export. How do you use your Mac mini and what specs did you go for?

Thanks a ton for the info man! As a heavy usage video editor myself, I think you may have convinced me to drop from 64GB of memory down to 48GB and instead upgrade the CPU/GPU. Same config as you, minus the 10 gigabit ethernet. I think I may hold off a little longer though (if I can) and wait to see what you have to say about yours. In any case, you've got my sub! Thanks again!

The thing that continues to disappointment me about the iMac (and is why I don’t buy one) is a lack of 10 gigabit Ethernet and a larger display. The M4 Mac mini though, I love and I’m definitely buying one next year. Do you have a multi gig internet connection that can take advantage of the 10gbps Ethernet port?