Thinking about ordering the new Mac mini with M4 Pro. I’m wondering is it really worth bumping up from the 12 core to the 14 core CPU? Mostly this will be used for Xcode. Any thoughts?
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12 or 14 core M4 Pro?
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Hi, I have the same question too, the difference for me will be 221 Euro but again I am considering a long-term laptop and heavy long-time use outside with no battery.
If you have a decision already please share it with us, thank you
Notice: there are 2 CPU core differences which are performance cores that consume more power.
the question is, are they optimized to be used only when it is needed or it is always active?
If you have a decision already please share it with us, thank you
Notice: there are 2 CPU core differences which are performance cores that consume more power.
the question is, are they optimized to be used only when it is needed or it is always active?
I would go with the 14-core model. Extra two performance cores will be helpful for code compilation.
Cores that aren't active won't consume any meaningful amount of power. I don't think you need to worry about this.
Cores that aren't active won't consume any meaningful amount of power. I don't think you need to worry about this.
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Yeah, that's the way I'm leaning at the moment. I think I'll wait for some performance benchmarks to make sure the cooling solution doesn't cause any throttling before I order though...
Probably, but is it $200 better? Again, probably but I’d like to see some test results to confirm.
I personally went with the 14-core upgrade. I plan on using this as my main machine for at least 3 years and think the price difference is worth it in the long run. I also noticed that the M4 Max starts at 14-core CPU. The way I see it, for $200 more, we get base M4 Max CPU performance (albeit with less powerful GPU) without having to pay M4 Max money. The cheapest available M4 Max is the 14in MBP starting at $3,199. Hope this helps!
My only issue with M4 Pro Mac mini is the price. With 14-core CPU, 24 GB RAM, and 1TB SSD, it costs $1,799. If Apple keeps the pricing of Mac Studio unchanged, an entry-level M4 Max Mac Studio will only cost $200 more. Assuming the base Mac Studio will be equipped with the lowest-end binned M4 Max, as in 14" MacBook Pro, it will have 14-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 36 GB RAM, 1TB SSD. Not to mention Mac Studio has much better IO and thermal.
I assume you use xcode now. Look at Activity Meter and see if you ever max-out the CPU. I bet not unless you are compiling a very large project with many *.c files or if you have a bunch of simulated iPhone hardware running apps.
software development does not stress the processor. Mostly you are just typing
Many times when I am wringing software I'm in a Linux environment inside a virtual machine. Doing that can really eat up RAM and CPU because I need to give four cores and 16GB RAM to the virtual machine but I like to run the editor windows on the Mac while the files physically live on the Synology NAS. But even this setup does not stress my 10-core M2-Pro mini.
This. Everytime I make the decision to upgrade, I spend too much energy trying to figure out if I'm buying a beefed up machine to salve my resource anxiety when I would have been fine with a more entry level model. I run into people who can run circles around me as a developer and many of them are doing it on an 8GB MBA.
That I can afford it doesn't change that I feel really stupid when I waste money, but once I make my decision, I'm good at living with it. No regrets... I front load all of the pain 😂
Well, you're correct I currently don't max out the CPU (Macbook Pro M1 Pro). Even so, wouldn't a faster CPU still complete builds in a shorter amount of time? Or if I'm not maxing out my M1 Pro, should I really just be focused on the single core speed of the M4 as the primary opportunity for a boost in compile speed? I'm in the habit of recompiling very frequently so any improvement there will be a very welcome quality of life boost.
The other thing I'd like to ensure is that the AI code completion features are as responsive as possible. Lag in things like that tends to drive me nuts so I would end up disabling the feature rather than taking advantage of it. I don't really know if the much larger neural engine would be the primary factor there, or the CPU itself...
I know exactly what you mean. That's really what this post is all about for me. On the one hand I could probably get by just fine with the base spec M4 with the 512GB SSD at just $799, but all those extra cores on the M4 Pro are whispering to me 😋
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A few of my recent upgrades were all forced by needing to have my laptop serviced by Apple. Anytime that happens, I buy whatever's available in the refurb store and sell my old laptop once it comes back.
As crappy as it was to be forced into upgrading so you wouldn't lose a week of work, there was one thing that was nice about it. There was no question I needed a replacement. I also didn't have time to second guess myself and I had to just choose from what was available.
Yes, a faster CPU would compete builds in a shorter period of time. The software is written to consume a fixed maximum percentage of your processing power, so that one can continue to do other things. So a 50% faster CPU will roughly translate into 50% faster compile times even though neither CPU will be stressed to the max.
My thoughts you wouldn't see a difference in everyday use. But if you do benchmarks (which I hate), you'll see a difference in numbers.
Curious, what memory and storage size you went with? And your workload?
If you have the money, it is better to spend it on increasing RAM. That is more likely to provide you a future benefit than a couple more cores
I agree with upgrading to 24GB RAM before anything else, but I disagree about upgrading from 24GB to 48GB RAM. Unless a person works with the Adobe or other memory intensive media creation software on a regular basis, RAM beyond 24GB isn’t needed (nor will it make much if any difference) in the next 3-5 years. Memory not needed by applications is just used by the OS for cache which makes a <1% difference in performance. By the time it the extra memory is needed for common applications, you’ll want a new computer anyway. In contrast, the upgraded processor will make a difference (even if modest) for every day use from day 1.
Bottom line, save the extra $400 cost of the 24->48GB RAM upgrade and roll that money into a M7 or M8 upgrade in a few years.
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Single core speed affects pretty much everything and it’s the same for both CPU’s. The 14 core model will only be faster after the 8 performance cores on the lower spec one are saturated.
Same here. In the end I didn't think I would get much value from the extra two cores. The 12 core model is plenty fast.
I see you haven't launched the iPhone Simulator lately. Takes a shockingly long time on my M1, with all cores on full blast.
Never worked with Swift before, huh?