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I bought the M4 mini with 16GB memory but I'm thinking should I get 24GB and call it a day?

ozziegn

ozziegn

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 16, 2007
1,321
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Central FL Area
As the title says...... I just bought the M4 Mini with 16gb of memory but I'm wondering if I should get the 24gb anyway? I currently don't need that much memory but I'm thinking I might need it in the future.

What would ya'll do?
 
I couldn't decide between 48 and 64GB. So I didn't buy it. ;) At the moment I have 16GB in my MBP and 24GB in my iMac and both seems to be enough. But I would buy at least 32GB for something new.
 
Noticed you have a M2 Pro Mac Mini in your signature. Pro M4 modal comes with standard 24GB AND thunderbolt 5 ports for additional 400 dollars but modal choice depends entirely on your workflow. 200 dollars for RAM upgrade ONLY additional 8 GB RAM you will not see a major difference. Might as well get the M4 Pro chip for another additonal 200 dollars and default 24GB RAM. If your workflow is simple, 16GB base M4 chip modal should be enough for most light users and is very cost effective.
 
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shinkansenwarrior said:
Noticed you have a M2 Pro Mac Mini in your signature. Pro M4 modal comes with standard 24GB AND thunderbolt 5 ports for additional 400 dollars but modal choice depends entirely on your workflow. 200 dollars for RAM upgrade ONLY additional 8 GB RAM you will not see a major difference. Might as well get the M4 Pro chip for another additonal 200 dollars and default 24GB RAM. If your workflow is simple, 16GB base M4 chip modal should be enough for most light users and is very cost effective.
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Yeah, I hardly ever do any taxing stuff on my computer. Mainly watch YouTube videos along with doing my day trading hobby using the Schwab app.
 
If one is thinking of M4 mini with 24gb ram and 512ssd does it just make sense to get the M4 Pro? Will be trading in a M1 mini for $300 so it almost covers that difference. Or is that overkill?
 
sidgriffey said:
If one is thinking of M4 mini with 24gb ram and 512ssd does it just make sense to get the M4 Pro? Will be trading in a M1 mini for $300 so it almost covers that difference. Or is that overkill?
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What is your mini M1 struggling with now?
 
It's not per se. Though sometimes a pinwheel with zoom with is annoying. But the M1 is 16gb 512ssd. It's in my bedroom. My office has the M2 Pro 16gb 512gb. Basically I would trade in M1, move the M2 Pro up into my room in its place and put the M4 machine where the M2 is in my office. But debating whether to up to 24gb and/or just go m4 pro.
 
ozziegn said:
Yeah, I hardly ever do any taxing stuff on my computer. Mainly watch YouTube videos along with doing my day trading hobby using the Schwab app.
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Are you trading in your M2 Pro Mini? That could be used to cover some of the upgrade costs if you simply feel it's piece of mind to future proof your machine and maybe later do more intensive work. It makes sense for people to invest a bit more in their hardware if you make money from it as a profession as time is money and working quickly without the machine choking and slowing down is important. In the end it's your call.
 
Currently have a base 16 gb and I am very happy so far memory pressure is very minimal even when editing videos in Final Cut Pro.
 
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sidgriffey said:
It's not per se. Though sometimes a pinwheel with zoom with is annoying. But the M1 is 16gb 512ssd. It's in my bedroom. My office has the M2 Pro 16gb 512gb. Basically I would trade in M1, move the M2 Pro up into my room in its place and put the M4 machine where the M2 is in my office. But debating whether to up to 24gb and/or just go m4 pro.
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Base m4 is more than capable!
 
shinkansenwarrior said:
Are you trading in your M2 Pro Mini? That could be used to cover some of the upgrade costs if you simply feel it's piece of mind to future proof your machine and maybe later do more intensive work. It makes sense for people to invest a bit more in their hardware if you make money from it as a profession as time is money and working quickly without the machine choking and slowing down is important. In the end it's your call.
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I was going to sell my M2 Pro Mini to Apple for $390 - But I then found sellyourmac website that offered my $575 so thats the route I'm going to take. I exchanged my 16gb Min today for the 24gb model. Will 24gb of memory be overkill for me? Probably so but thats okay. I plan on keeping my new Mini for several years so I should be good.
 
RAM is KING. If you can afford it ... do not worry about it. Pros NEED the RAM to ensure machine efficiency when working on projects with deadlines. Other users buy more RAM than they need cos they can afford it but don't really need it all the time... but it is there just in case. I certainly want as much RAM as possible. My Mac Pro has 32GB RAM but is over 10 years old!! 64GB is the new 32GB today. Some will need more!! My laptop only has 16GB cos I just do presentations to ciients on it. I don't need anymore (at the moment until my needs change). RAM is decided by what you intend to use each machine for.
 
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shinkansenwarrior said:
RAM is KING. If you can afford it ... do not worry about it. Pros NEED the RAM to ensure machine efficiency when working on projects with deadlines. Other users buy more RAM than they need cos they can afford it but don't really need it all the time... but it is there just in case. I certainly want as much RAM as possible. My Mac Pro has 32GB RAM but is over 10 years old!! 64GB is the new 32GB today. Some will need more!! My laptop only has 16GB cos I just do presentations to ciients on it. I don't need anymore (at the moment until my needs change). RAM is decided by what you intend to use each machine for.
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Fully agree. RAM has a higher priority in my choices.
 
Ah yes, the M4 Pro... But in a few months we'll have an M4 Max Studio for just a couple hundred bucks more than an upgraded Mini! 🤣
 
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ozziegn said:
I was going to sell my M2 Pro Mini to Apple for $390 - But I then found sellyourmac website that offered my $575 so thats the route I'm going to take. I exchanged my 16gb Min today for the 24gb model. Will 24gb of memory be overkill for me? Probably so but thats okay. I plan on keeping my new Mini for several years so I should be good.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip on sellyourmac website. Offering me $655 for my M2 Pro 1TB SSD and 16gb ram. Quite a bit more than Apple. I might try selling it first, as maybe can get $800? Then upgrade to the new M4 Pro with similar specs or normal M4 with similar memory/SSD specs.
 
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