Deciding between M4 Pro Mini and M4 Max Studio

[ProgRocker]

It seems that when you start upgrading the Mx Pro Mini you hit a point where it might make more sense to go with a Studio instead. Do you guys find that to be true ?

I plugged in the Mini and Studio on Apple's website with somewhat similar specs and for a few hundred more the Studio might be the better option. Thoughts ??? Opinions ???



Mac Studio $3,099.00
Apple M4 Max chip with 16‑core CPU, 40‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine
48GB unified memory
2TB SSD storage


Mac mini $2,699.00
Apple M4 Pro chip with 14‑core CPU, 20‑core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
48GB unified memory
2TB SSD storage
10 Gigabit Ethernet
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Mac Studio, front, two USB-C ports, SDXC card slot, status indicator light, tapered base at bottom, flat top, rounded sides, straight edges, silver color
Mac Studio
Hardware

Apple M4 Max chip with 16‑core CPU, 40‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine
48GB unified memory
2TB SSD storage
Front: Two USB-C ports, SDXC card slot
Back: Four Thunderbolt 5 ports, two USB‑A ports, HDMI port, 10Gb Ethernet port, headphone jack
Accessory Kit

Software

Photos, iMovie, GarageBand
Pages, Numbers, Keynote
macOS

Quantity for Mac Studio

$3,099.00 or
AppleCare+ for Mac Studio (M4 Max/M3 Ultra) - annual coverage




Mac mini, front, two USB‑C ports, status indicator light and headphone jack, tapered black base at bottom, flat top, rounded sides, straight edges, silver color
Mac mini
Apple M4 Pro chip with 14‑core CPU, 20‑core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
48GB unified memory
2TB SSD storage
10 Gigabit Ethernet
Three Thunderbolt 5 ports, HDMI port, two USB‑C ports, headphone jack
Accessory Kit

$2,699.00
AppleCare+ for Mac mini (M4) - annual coverage

 

[u2u2]

As an owner of the same spec M4 Studio I suggest going for the Studio will be the best $400.00 you will ever spend on a computer. Vastly superior cooling system and you simply can not have too many graphic cores if you decide to do more demanding tasks. If the money is a concern I would consider the Studio with less internal storage... Lots of more detailed opinions in earlier similar threads.

 

[maflynn]

I've owned both and you are correct, you get to a point where its not cost effective to keep upgrading the Mini's configuration.

My take on the Mini - fantastic computer if you can live within the base model configuration - even if you increase the storage to 512, its still a good deal, barely so. Going for ram, storage, and the M4 Pro - I don't think its worth it.

I've owned the M4 Pro Mini great tiny computer but the M4 Pro chip runs hot in such a tiny enclosure - there is no available thermal head room. You quickly start hitting temps in the 80s and 90c range. I also found the M4 Pro's GPU cores lacking for me to play games.

As for the studio, I bought the base model, and its been fantastic, the 512GB is more then enough storage for your home folder, apps. I have an external drive for my data. The ram, cpu and gpu cores are awesome, this bad boy is fast. Where the M4 Pro struggled, this really flew. Temps are also fantastic, I sit in the mid 30c range at idle, and most games I play seem to push the temps to 55-75c and that's using apple's conservative fan curve. Using Macs Fan Control, I can keep the studio even quieter if I really wanted too.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

I've owned both and you are correct, you get to a point where its not cost effective to keep upgrading the Mini's configuration.

My take on the Mini - fantastic computer if you can live within the base model configuration - even if you increase the storage to 512, its still a good deal, barely so. Going for ram, storage, and the M4 Pro - I don't think its worth it.

I've owned the M4 Pro Mini great tiny computer but the M4 Pro chip runs hot in such a tiny enclosure - there is no available thermal head room. You quickly start hitting temps in the 80s and 90c range. I also found the M4 Pro's GPU cores lacking for me to play games.

As for the studio, I bought the base model, and its been fantastic, the 512GB is more then enough storage for your home folder, apps. I have an external drive for my data. The ram, cpu and gpu cores are awesome, this bad boy is fast. Where the M4 Pro struggled, this really flew. Temps are also fantastic, I sit in the mid 30c range at idle, and most games I play seem to push the temps to 55-75c and that's using apple's conservative fan curve. Using Macs Fan Control, I can keep the studio even quieter if I really wanted too.

View attachment 2575270

I debated about the same issues the OP is facing, and for a long time too. Meanwhile I started analyzing the difficulties the Mini would encounter in relation to cooling, specially if pushed hard or making it internally more powerful. That"t when I stopped my research and settled down on the Mac Studio 16/40 with a 2TB SSD, and more RAM than 48GB. What I saved by purchasing it under a student or military discount I turned it toward AppleCare. I don't even hear the cooling fan, and as I mentioned before in this forum, when I place my Hand on its aluminum case, it feels as cold as a cucumber out of the refrigerator

But there are 2-3 of things I would have liked for it to have: a protruding power button that would be easy to locate because I turn my Mac off when I don't need to use it, *having the cooling air intakes elevated by at least 3 inches from the case's base (but still tucked under as it is now), and also a microphone port in the front. *Apple could very well have provided an aluminum or even acrylic stand for it.

To the OP: M4 Max Studio with 48GB of RAM is more than plenty.

 

[eldho]

I also came to the conclusion that I might as well go for the M4 Max studio. It came to there being not much difference in cost but a far more capable machine.