Mac mini M4 or M4 Pro?

[LaurentR2D2]

Hello,
My friend is using the following softwares :

Marvelous Designer
Blender
Photoshop
Substance Painter
Second Life

She is a fashion designer on Second Life virtual world

Is the Mac mini M4 enough for her needs or should she choose the pro version ?

Also, which monitor is the closest of the Apple monitor colors ? She is tempted by the following model for the screen size, but it's quite expensive 🙂 Also I've read that very big screen are not so good for color accuracy.

Dell UltraSharp 40 Curved Thunderbolt Hub Monitor - U4025QW​

Thank you

 

[ubinko]

Sounds like some 3D work is involved. In which case, I would say get the M4 Pro Mini - the base pro version would be more than enough.

Monitor? Well.. probably just go with the Apple Studio Display if it's for professional work.

 

[Andrey84]

Hello,
My friend is using the following softwares :

Marvelous Designer
Blender
Photoshop
Substance Painter
Second Life

She is a fashion designer on Second Life virtual world

Is the Mac mini M4 enough for her needs or should she choose the pro version ?

Also, which monitor is the closest of the Apple monitor colors ? She is tempted by the following model for the screen size, but it's quite expensive 🙂 Also I've read that very big screen are not so good for color accuracy.

Dell UltraSharp 40 Curved Thunderbolt Hub Monitor - U4025QW​

Thank you

Agree with @ubinko, because of Blender you need the M4 Pro.

As the is a fashion designer and colour accuracy is important, she should get the Apple Studio Display. 27" is not a small screen. Another 27" option is the LG UltraFine 5K display.

This 40" Dell has an incompatible resolution (5120 x 2160) and large pixel size. The image will be grainy and generally unpleasant. On the website it's positioned as an office monitor for Outlook/Excel/Teams calls and stuff. You need a specialised professional display, and ASD is this display.

 

[ubinko]

Choosing an appropriate Display is really important.

MacOs is really designed for Retina-like PPIs. If I were her, I'd try to match an apple retina display in terms of size and resolution. This would be something like:

• 24 inch, 4K Monitor (Close enough to iMac's 24 inch, 4.5K screen. i.e. LG Ultrafine, 24/4K are hard to find, but can be found used)
• 27 inch, 5K Monitor (such as the ASD or LG UltraFine 5K display)

A lot of people use 27 inch, 4K monitors, and are ok with it, but it won't quite be retina (text will look a little fuzzy).

Personally, I'd stay well away from a 40 inch monitor - even with 5K the text clarity will be poor compared to Apple Displays.

Easiest option is to just get one or two Apple Studio Display(s) and be done with it. Maybe there are some good Black Friday Deals out there.

 

[Ifti]

Base M4 Pro.
Apple Studio Display.
Expensive, but she'll be happy for years.