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
---------------------------------------------------------------------

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 things I would have liked for it to have on this Mac: 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 an 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.

 

[cateye]

I was in the same position recently. Because I needed to upgrade both memory and storage, however, it gets easy to push a Mini up into Studio pricing territory (as others have noted). Which of course is exactly as Apple, master of the pricing ladder, has designed. I hemmed and hawed for a while, watched refurb pricing, etc.

In the end, I was lucky enough to find a heavily discounted M4 Max Studio at MicroCenter and... well, yolo. For my purposes as a 2D designer, the Studio is totally overkill, processor-wise. But it's completely silent even under load, effortlessly fast, and the extra ports on the back are a welcome benefit I didn't realize would be as useful as they are. Would the Mini have been more than enough for my needs, once upgraded? Yes. But I don't regret the path I took, even if probably would've been equally happy with a Mini. But it's always nice to be able to get something beyond what you intend and enjoy it for that reason alone.

 

[SDAVE]

If you can wait for the MS M5 Max version...thats what I recommend. It's only a few months away. M5 is an incredible jump especially for GPU perf.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

If you can wait for the MS M5 Max version...thats what I recommend. It's only a few months away. M5 is an incredible jump especially for GPU perf.

This is my opinion only: As long as I can afford it I would buy it now instead of waiting for next year's model, since there is no telling what my economic nor health status will be like next year when the new model arrives. As for me, I would enjoy it now and as long as possible, then if I can afford it several years later, I buy it then when I want or need it. Now, I am certain the Apple would love to have the same buyer buying the newest model next year, and then trading it for the next new model a year or two later, just like some buyers do iPhones, iPads, and so on.

Also, I were a buyer who usually keeps up with the latest model release, then I just use the new model for a year or so while waiting for the next year's model, just like some buyers do with the automobiles they buy. A have had several coworkers who buy cars and trucks and drive them from from 1 to 3 years or just enough before the 3-year/milage warranty expires, and then trade them for the newest model. Yes, they still pay a fortune in vehicle depreciation cost, but since they can afford it is not an issue.

 

[SDAVE]

This is my opinion only: As long as I can afford it I would buy it now instead of waiting for next year's model, since there is no telling what my economic nor health status will be like next year when the new model arrives. As for me, I would enjoy it now and as long as possible, then if I can afford it several years later, I buy it then when I want or need it. Now, I am certain the Apple would love to have the same buyer buying the newest model next year, and then trading it for the next new model a year or two later, just like some buyers do iPhones, iPads, and so on.

Also, I were a buyer who usually keeps up with the latest model release, then I just use the new model for a year or so while waiting for the next year's model, just like some buyers do with the automobiles they buy. A have had several coworkers who buy cars and trucks and drive them from from 1 to 3 years or just enough before the 3-year/milage warranty expires, and then trade them for the newest model. Yes, they still pay a fortune in vehicle depreciation cost, but since they can afford it is not an issue.

This is a good rule of thumb, but my point was M5 GPU perf is pretty crazy, even a 30% uptick from M4. Just looking out for OP

 

[maflynn]

This is a good rule of thumb, but my point was M5 GPU perf is pretty crazy, even a 30% uptick from M4. Just looking out for OP

But if the need is immediate then waiting isn't the best course of action. Rumors are that the M5 Max/Ultra are coming out in 2026, but when? 1st quarter of 2026, that could mean March, about 5 months from now. The ultra has rumors later in the year, so maybe 10 months from now.

The listed apps in the OP, show that the M4 Pro is more then enough to handle the task load, but as I mentioned the M4 Max studio has upsides that make it more suitable. If the OP can wait, then the answer has always been wait, i.e., if you need one now, buy now, if you can wait then wait.

What @AlaskaMoose wrote adds a new wrinkle into that decision matrix, simply because of the current climate here in the US, and the possibility that things could get much more expensive in the near future.

 

[SDAVE]

But if the need is immediate then waiting isn't the best course of action. Rumors are that the M5 Max/Ultra are coming out in 2026, but when? 1st quarter of 2026, that could mean March, about 5 months from now. The ultra has rumors later in the year, so maybe 10 months from now.

The listed apps in the OP, show that the M4 Pro is more then enough to handle the task load, but as I mentioned the M4 Max studio has upsides that make it more suitable. If the OP can wait, then the answer has always been wait, i.e., if you need one now, buy now, if you can wait then wait.

What @AlaskaMoose wrote adds a new wrinkle into that decision matrix, simply because of the current climate here in the US, and the possibility that things could get much more expensive in the near future.

Well yeah, if the OP really needs it then it's best to get it now. That was my point.

 

[AlaskaMoose]

But if the need is immediate then waiting isn't the best course of action. Rumors are that the M5 Max/Ultra are coming out in 2026, but when? 1st quarter of 2026, that could mean March, about 5 months from now. The ultra has rumors later in the year, so maybe 10 months from now.

The listed apps in the OP, show that the M4 Pro is more then enough to handle the task load, but as I mentioned the M4 Max studio has upsides that make it more suitable. If the OP can wait, then the answer has always been wait, i.e., if you need one now, buy now, if you can wait then wait.

What @AlaskaMoose wrote adds a new wrinkle into that decision matrix, simply because of the current climate here in the US, and the possibility that things could get much more expensive in the near future.

Not only that above, but one never knows what will happen in the future. One's "sky falling" cannot be predicted. Unexpected accidents, illnesses, and so on can happen when one least expects them. One thing for certain is that the best way is to not rely on credit for one to purchase anything imaginable, and this includes paying one's debts. As such the best thing to do is to wait until one can afford to buy a product, and then buy it. For example, if one has to wait for the next model, with in fact will cost more, then one can take one's time to gather the $ needed to pay for it.

Also, as you mentioned above most of us have no idea of exactly when the M5 Mac Studio will be available for purchase, plus there will be more time of waiting for all the issues with the new model to be ironed out. Would a little more processing power in the 2026 model be enough for one to not enjoy whichever Mac Studio one buys in 2025? See...all depends on one's needs and wants. If one wants the RAW power of the 2026 model, would it be even better to way a few years to buy an even more powerful post 2026 model?

How about waiting to buy the future Mac with a Google's Quantum processor?

~Just kidding with you. I am too old already to wait for it

 

[okkibs]

1) Don’t buy through Apple at full MSRP if you can find a retailer stocking a good config. They lower prices slightly over time. That lower cost makes the current M4 generations a good deal. A new M5 generation wouldn’t come down in pricing for a few months.

2) There is a couple hundred bucks between Mini and Studio at somewhat similar specs (identical storage and memory). If you are looking at a base model for 1.5 to 2k bucks then that’s still a somewhat significant difference. Once you look towards better specs for 3k and above the significance of this difference diminishes more and more.

3) Consider what you actually need. For office work the Mini will be bored and fan noise or temperatures won’t be relevant. For lightweight hobby photo editing the Studio might make a few seconds difference when applying certain filters, denoise, and so on. But is that relevant for a hobby? The M4 Pro Mini isn’t slow by any means. You might very well profit from the M4 Max and if this is how you make your money then by all means jump straight to the Studio. But I know of Apple customers with 10 years old slow Intel Macs who are questioning whether the M4 Pro is a good chip.

 

[cateye]

That's all excellent advice, okkibs. The base-model Minis are a killer deal, if they have the specs you need. For me, upgraded memory and storage was a non-negotiable requirement for my use-cases, so that blurred the lines a bit. But even then, I fully realize buying a Studio was an ego thing—I just wanted the bigger, nicer machine. Which is not a bad reason to buy something, even something that is primarily a work device (as the Studio is for me). But I had to "arrive" at that decision and realize it stopped being about price or specs eventually.

That I found the Studio at a healthy discount just sealed the deal.

 

[mcnallym]

With the M1 generation then there was no M1 Pro in the mini chassis. However using the upgrade pricing that in the M1 was fairly consistent then simply no "price slot" into which to drop it.

Sine the Mx Pro joined in the Mini then there is essentially once you upgrade the Mini then you rapidly approach the Base Studio but still have the Pro vs Max

Unless for some reason such as Studio not fit in the space or really are budget constrained that the extra few hundred not possible then there is very little reason to not go with the Studio.

You also get double the number of media engine's in the Studio vs the Pro which if you doing video work may be useful

I have the M1 Studio Base. I like to encode to ProRes to import into FCP X so the absence of ProRes in the base M1 SoC was a problem,

The absence of M1 Pro and no need for laptop meant that was not buying an M1 Pro MBP.

The lack of blue sky between the upgraded Mx Pro and the Base Max Studio has always existed.

 

[waloshin]

What are you using your computer for? Do you really even need an m4 Pro, and 48 gigabytes of ram? Or is a $500 Mac Mini good enough?

What is your workload and apps you plan to use?

Edit: looking at your previous posts you will just use it for music production and web surfing.

Realist in me save $3000 and go with a 24 gigabyte M4 Mini you don’t need a studio let alone a maxed out M4 Pro. Either will be idling 99% of the time.

 

[okkibs]

That's really the crucial point here: If the new Mac will be idling 99% of the time or even just 96% of the time, will there be any noticeable difference between Mini and Studio? And if not, what are you really paying the (admittedly rather small) premium for?

The thing with Apple is that they are extremely skilled at upselling customers. For just a little more you can get this advantage, and for a little more you can get an even better version, and in the end you spend hundreds or sometimes even thousands extra that you could have saved for a Mac replacement later in the future.

If you know that you will make use of the extra GPU cores or better media engine performance and the software you use is confirmed to take advantage of that extra hardware then of course go for the better machine.

I got the latest M4 generation when it released just because it was a free offer for work and the fans don't ever spin up. They did spin up sometimes in heavier loads on my older M1 machine but even then it wasn't noisy. I didn't really need that upgrade at all. So when people say that the Studio has much better cooling I really wonder what percentage of users is really gonna tax a M4 Pro or Max to the point that fan noise becomes relevant. I edit ProRes in Final Cut and both the M4 Pro as well as the older M1 Max handle that just fine. Whether the final export takes half an hour more or less is of no relevance to me.

 

[JoeG4]

That's really the crucial point here: If the new Mac will be idling 99% of the time or even just 96% of the time, will there be any noticeable difference between Mini and Studio? And if not, what are you really paying the (admittedly rather small) premium for?

Better cooling and more ports.

 

[maflynn]

will there be any noticeable difference between Mini and Studio?

Here's the differences:

M4 Mini: 10/10/16 (cpu/gpu/neural) cores, 16GB ram 256GB storage 3 TB4 ports 2 USB-C ports $600
M4 Pro Mini: 12/16/16 (cpu/gpu/neural) cores, 24GB ram 512GB storage 3 TB4 ports 2 USB-C ports $1400
M4 Pro Mini: 14/32/16 (cpu/gpu/neural) cores, 36GB ram 512GB storage 4 TB5 ports 2 USB-A 2 USB-C ports SDXC card slot $2000

I'd say the differences are pretty stark, the processing power is over 2x of the mini and mini pro. You get more TB5 ports USB A ports a card slot, and faster ethernet

I owned the M4 Pro (and returned) and now the studio, I can say even at idle the M4 Pro ran warmer then I prefer and its temps whether under load or idle were significantly higher then the studio. In every metric to measure a computer, the Studio is significantly better (except for the price, lol)

The M4 Pro Mini at idle was noticably hotter then what my studio is. I'm in the 30c when the studio is idle. If memory serves me the M4 pro mini was in the 50c range at idle. It easily was getting into the 80s and 90s under load.

The thing with Apple is that they are extremely skilled at upselling customers.

Without a doubt, but that doesn't mean the M4 Mini is a bad deal, its a fantastic option, conversely that also goes for the more expensive Studio, for what you get, its a very good deal.

in the end you spend hundreds or sometimes even thousands extra that you could have saved for a Mac replacement later in the future.

But if you need it, why purposely hamstring your computing needs now by purchasing a less capable computer today? Wouldn't it be better to figure out what your needs are today, and possibly the short term future, buy that and not worry about what you may buy 5 years down the road?

If you know that you will make use of the extra GPU cores or better media engine performance and the software you use is confirmed to take advantage of that extra hardware then of course go for the better machine.

That goes without saying, I think the general consensus is that for people just using facebook, chrome, office usage, etc, the base level M4 Mini is more then enough and a fantastic deal. If you need or want more CPU or in my case GPU cores then the studio is the better buy.

 

[okkibs]

Better cooling and more ports.

More ports is definitely a valid point. But the better cooling would be moot when the machine is idling. These Apple Silicon chips remain fairly cold even with multiple external displays attached where older Intel Macs would have already started heating up noticeably. I have the M4 Pro in a Macbook chassis that obviously has worse cooling than a Studio and the only times so far I ever heard the fans come on audibly was during longer video project exports that take a while and lead to high utilization of the M4. Even then the fans never spin up very loud.

 

[maflynn]

But the better cooling would be moot when the machine is idling.
...
I have the M4 Pro in a Macbook chassis

Yes, but its a noticeable difference which is what you said. I can't speak to the M4 MBP and its thermals, but I can speak to M4 Pro Mini and that computer runs hot, at idle and under load.

On one hand I agree about the idle temps, as it has little to no actual impact on the Mac, but on the other hand, it shows how little thermal headroom the mini has.

One thing is clear apple prefers silence and they have designed their fan curves in such a way that you would rarely hear them, even with the computer starting to throttle.