Upgrades to base model M4 pro?

[flyer22]

Hi all

I’m looking at a base Model M4 pro Mac Mini but would like to try and future proof (had my current MacBook is 7 years old and still super!).

I was thinking about upgrading the ram to 48 figuring in 5 years time that’s likely where we’ll be and adding the 1tb for storage as I’m closing in on 512 on the MacBook. What do you think is the 48 worth it and what about the higher model chip upgrade? Any real benefit likely in 5 years time or waste of money? Your wisdom is appreciated!

 

[teohyc]

Whether to upgrade depends on what work you'll be doing on it.

 

[flyer22]

Thanks for response and good question. Mainly photoshop, light video and life admin but planning to get more into video if I can.

 

[curnalpanic]

It couldn't hurt to have the extra RAM.

 

[haralds]

I ended up with 48GB and 2TB on a mini Pro. It's my "second" desktop in my hideaway study. I previously bought an M1 Ultra 64GB/4TB for the office in my house.
I am very happy with the mini Pro in that config. It does not feel much different from the Studio except for video transcoding tasks which are a little slower.
My work load is productivity, app development on macOS, iOS, and Windows via Parallels Desktop, and playing (with) music using Logic Pro and Ableton. I also do a little gaming.

 

[Acronyc]

I thought about that when I got my M4 Pro mini also. When I priced it up with the RAM and SSD I thought would be good to have, I was in Mac Studio territory. So I decided to stick to the base M4 Pro model. It was a little begrudgingly, as I've never been the one to get base models and have always upgraded something, but I thought I should try it.

So far it's been perfectly fine for my use. The most intensive things I do are some light video editing, podcast editing, a bit of gaming, and some virtual machines. The 24GB of RAM hasn't been a limiting factor for me yet. Though, if I was in my VMs as much as I used to be, I might have just upped the RAM.

Anyway, I'm going to see how much I can get out of the base model M4 Pro. If I feel my workflow suffer, I'll upgrade with the next iteration or move to a Mac Studio.