M4 or wait for M5?

[VTGuy79]

I know, another thread on this but am curious what you think with the latest news.

Current setup:

• M1 Mac Mini
• 8GB RAM
• 256 SSD

Uses:

• Photoshop
• Lightroom
• iMovie
• Final Cut Pro (VERY LIGHT)
• Web, etc.

What I am going to buy:

1. Either M4 or M5 Mac Mini
2. 24-32GB RAM
3. 1TB SSD (Maybe 512)
4. 10Gb NIC

Thoughts on waiting for the M5 and possible price increase? I want to get the best bang for my buck (who doesn't) and performance. M1 works good but the RAM and disk space are becoming an issue with the amount of things I have open- the memory usage is pretty good for how small it is.

 

[chown33]

The price for a Mac mini increased today.

Apple Stops Offering Mac Mini With 256GB of Storage, Starting Price Rises to $799

Apple this week stopped offering a 256GB storage option for the Mac mini worldwide. As a result, the desktop computer now has a higher starting price. In the U.S., for example, the Mac mini now starts at $799 with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage, whereas it previously started...

forums.macrumors.com

If you have a budget you're working with, you may be forced to select from fewer and pricier configurations.

Predicting prices accurately is impossible, but the pricing pressure from pervasive gen-AI is unlikely to decrease any time soon.

 

[maflynn]

If you have a budget you're working with, you may be forced to select from fewer and pricier configurations.

Ouch, that makes the mini harder to justify.

 

[Ben J.]

I'd say; look in the second hand market for a used Mini with an M2 Pro or a M4 Pro cpu. I've used them both, for Lightroom and music production. Powerful machines, still. Preferably 24GB ram, but 16 might also be OK. 512GB internal drive for user accounts and app installations, and it will often be 50%+ free space.

Then get a Thunderbolt NVMe (40Gbits/s) enclosure and put a 2TB or 4TB NVMe chip in it. Create a "Photos" folder in it, and a "Movies" folder and whatever you need to store your Lightroom files etc., so that the internal Documents, Photos, Movies folders are not stuffed with those. Thunderbolt NVMe (40Gbits/s) will give you speeds of ~2800MB/s, and do wonders for you when scrolling big LR libraries.

Acasis 40Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure Compatible with Thunderbolt 4/3

Best M.2 NVMe SSDs List for the ACASIS 40Gbps Enclosure ACASIS The Most Cost-effective SSD Enclosure - TBU405Air This Acasis NVME M.2 enclosure offers lightning fast file transfer and storage at a fraction of premium models' price. Perfectly solves the memory limitation issue of Apple's M4 Mac...

www.acasis.com

Kingston NV3 2TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD | PCIe 4.0 Gen 4x4 | Up to 6000 MB/s | SNV3S/2000G

Kingston’s NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is a next-gen storage solution powered by a Gen 4x4 NVMe controller, delivering read/write speeds up to 6,000/5,000MB/s*. It offers lower power consumption and reduced heat, optimizing your system's performance without compromising value. The compact, single-sided...

www.amazon.com

Rough guess:
$1100-1500 for the mac.
$350-500 for the external drive.

I don't expect a new M5 Mini will be able to compete with the 'bang-for-the-buck' of these macs used.

 

[whitby]

Unfortunately you just missed the boat for an affordable upgrade. The M4 Pro or plain M4 Mac Mini was the best option. The M5 may or may not come out with affordable memory and SSD options, but external SSD options are now very expensive ( 2x to 3x what they were two or three months ago). Received wisdom was buy a Mini with a minimum of 16 GB and 512GB SSD and then add on a TB4 (TB 5 for the Pro) external drive for your main storage. This is no longer a cheap solution but waiting for an M5 solution maybe even more expensive. Find a refurbished unit from Apple or used from OWC and get what you can but do not wait for an M5.

 

[throAU]

At this stage, if you can - wait for M5.

I have both M4 and M5 based machines (M5 and M4 max) and the single thread improvement in performance on M5 is significant, which is what makes the machine feel snappy in general use.

 

[Matt2012]

I couldn't see many decent M4 used deals about so I just went M5. Brand new and with a warranty.

 

[gilby101]

Thoughts on waiting for the M5 and possible price increase?

Nobody knows when (or IF) there will be an M5 Mini. You might be waiting for a year.

Apple are indicating that there may be price increases because of memory supply constraints. I would guess this is not going to make much difference to low RAM configurations.

The recent so-called price increase for the Mini is that the cheapest model is no longer available. The available models have not had any price change.

If you need a higher RAM/SSD, then order an M4 now - you may need to wait for your chosen configuration.

I couldn't see many decent M4 used deals about so I just went M5.

There is no M5 Mini, which is what the OP is asking about.

 

[benwiggy]

As you say, it's the RAM and storage constraints that are the issue. The M4 will be a faster CPU, but your usage isn't that taxing, so an M5 isn't crucial to your work.

Given the problems with supply, I would get what's available now.

 

[Alameda]

My guess is that the reason for the current shortage is the imminent release of M5 Mac Mini’s.

 

[Black_Mage]

Wait for M5.

 

[gilby101]

My guess is that the reason for the current shortage is the imminent release of M5 Mac Mini’s.

Tim Cook said the issue is supply of RAM.

 

[FluffyDog6]

The supply of Mac Minis is drying up. That can be an indication of a possible M5 coming out soon.

However, with RAM and storage prices what they are, expect a nice bump in price, as well as the entry-level configuration model being bumped up in specs from last year. (Say 512gb storage and 16gb RAM as the starting point for the new models.)

Best bang-for-buck is going to be buying local (Facebook Marketplace, etc) used machines. (Forget eBay, people have lost their minds with the Mac Mini pricing there.)

 

[1st-Replicant]

Just my 2 cents (german Apple prices)

• Mac mini M5 16/512 will start as 899,00 € minimum
• Mac mini M5 16/1TB will start as 1.199,00 € minimum
• Mac mini M5 24/1TB will start as 1.499,00 € minimum
  
  It appears, that a MacBook Pro M5 with 16/1TB or 24/1TB is the bang-for-buck for me. Even if I mostly use it at home and connect it with the Apple Studio Display. But's nice to have a laptop too for vacation etc.

With 10% discount-offers on Apple Gift Cards the prices are actually in the German Apple refurbished Store:

• MBP M5 16/1TB MDE14D/A: 1.466,00 €
• MBP M5 24/1TB MDE34D/A: 1.655,00 €

What's your opinion / advice? Should I wait for WWDC 2026 and hope for a cheaper Mac mini M5 16/1TB / 24/1TB or buy the MBP M5 at refurbished Store now? Just sold my Mac mini M4 16/256 and working temporarily on my iMac 27" 2020 i5 32/256.