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Video: Choosing the Best Mac For You

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If you're new to Macs, or haven't upgraded for some time, it can be difficult to decide just what to get. Is the MacBook Air the best option? Do you need the power of the MacBook Pro? What about desktop options?


In our latest video, we walk through the current Mac lineup and provide some tips on things to consider when you're trying to decide on a new machine. Trying to figure out if you need more RAM or a storage upgrade? Our video just might help.

Article Link: Video: Choosing the Best Mac For You
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/04/03/mac-buyers-guide-video/
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Awesome video Dan. I got a baseline M4 MBP for Christmas and it is a beast in every sense of the word. It handles everything I throw at it and it comes back for more. Like you mentioned, it's the perfect middle ground for someone for whom a MBA isn't enough and a mid-to-higher range MBP is overkill.
 
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dorsal said:
My Mac Mini M4 routinely runs over 100 C with the fan manually set to 100%. If you use Handbrake or other CPU intensive apps, avoid the Mac Mini. It’s built to fail.
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The M4 isn’t the issue here. You simply chose the wrong configuration. For your workload, the M4 Pro would have been a better fit. It offers more power and a significantly better cooling system, which are exactly what you need. Hopefully next time, you’ll take the time to research the right setup for your needs
 
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If you hold onto your Macs for a while and are, I'd say, up to a "power-user," but not quite Pro/Studio level type. Dump all the money into maxing out the CPU/GPU/Ram with whatever you chose. (M4 Pro macMini makes the most sense, I think, for this class of user) Leave the drive at base. It's there for the base OS is all. Grab a quality external TB3/4 drive that will zip along at 2500mb to 2900mb a/s all day. Gobs of speed for well under $300 for 2TB. At those speeds you aren't missing much at-all compared to the larger internal drives running *almost* but not quite twice as fast. At least for most the tasks you'll realistically be doing. If adventurous, you can follow those modification guides for increasing the storage internally yourself. I know some folks simply require MAX SPEED or don't like drives hanging about their clean, well-maintained, desks. ;)
 
My advice to people is if you don’t know if you should get the Max or Ultra, you most likely don’t need the Max or Ultra. Stick with standard M# or Pro. The M# low end chip will be great for most users.
 
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I have an M2 MBA 16GB 1TB, a 16” M2 MBP 16GB 1TB, and an M4 iMac 24GB 500GB.

They all do everything I need.

I’m just a regular user, so don’t need to keep buying more machines.

I’m also hesitant to upgrade, as they seem to be replacing the M chip quite often, so I don’t wanna get buyer’s remorse.

I’ll just stick to buying watch straps 😀.
 
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Royksöpp said:
The M4 isn’t the issue here. You simply chose the wrong configuration. For your workload, the M4 Pro would have been a better fit. It offers more power and a significantly better cooling system, which are exactly what you need. Hopefully next time, you’ll take the time to research the right setup for your needs
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It's a Pro.
 

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dorsal said:
It's a Pro.
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What's worse, is that when the fans are set to "auto", the CPU is blazing hot yet the fans run slow. Hence my comment: "Built to fail". The OS should be smart enough to "protect" the CPU from overheating, regardless of what I throw at it.
 

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I needed a Windows environment on my M1 Pro (16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) to run a program. When I tried using UMT, the performance was almost unusable. But with Parallels, it ran buttery smooth. I remember using Parallels on my Intel Mac years ago, and the experience was nowhere near as good. I just wish I had 32GB of RAM instead of 16GB.
 
dorsal said:
What's worse, is that when the fans are set to "auto", the CPU is blazing hot yet the fans run slow. Hence my comment: "Built to fail". The OS should be smart enough to "protect" the CPU from overheating, regardless of what I throw at it.
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I wonder if that tool is measuring correctly. I’m curious how there can be such a huge temperature gradient between the GPU and CPU when they are on the same chip.
 
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ThatGuyInLa said:
Dump all the money into maxing out the CPU/GPU/Ram with whatever you chose. (M4 Pro macMini makes the most sense, I think, for this class of user) Leave the drive at base. It's there for the base OS is all.
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Will not second that. Indeed, I think I'll flip the script:

If one is buying a laptop to carry, then get at least 1TB internal storage.

The internal storage is also used for swap, so don't slow it down with the base storage. Even for desktop (Mini, iMac) go to 512GB at least, though the 1TB option will be faster.

Beefing up a Mini instead of buying the base M4 Max Studio (to be had for $1699 if you shop around) makes no sense unless you absolutely have to have something as small as the Mini to fit into some niche.
 
dorsal said:
What's worse, is that when the fans are set to "auto", the CPU is blazing hot yet the fans run slow. Hence my comment: "Built to fail". The OS should be smart enough to "protect" the CPU from overheating, regardless of what I throw at it.
Click to expand...
Ouch. Perhaps if you share the hardware config, software config, and a sample (public) video file, someone else in the forum could confirm if their experience is the same.

I only have the base Mac Mini M4 but would be happy to give it a try. I remember my laptop ~15 years ago had a bug where the GPU would run to 100 C and promptly thermal shutdown the whole machine.
 
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freedomlinux said:
Ouch. Perhaps if you share the hardware config, software config, and a sample (public) video file, someone else in the forum could confirm if their experience is the same.

I only have the base Mac Mini M4 but would be happy to give it a try. I remember my laptop ~15 years ago had a bug where the GPU would run to 100 C and promptly thermal shutdown the whole machine.
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I'm sure there is a bunch of tweaking I could do, but really: The OS should be smart enough to "protect" the CPU from overheating, regardless of what I throw at it. Fan speed, Hz reduction, etc. I've been been a Mac user since 1984. I like the company and the machine, it's just that every once and awhile they really miss the mark.
 
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picpicmac said:
Will not second that. Indeed, I think I'll flip the script:

If one is buying a laptop to carry, then get at least 1TB internal storage.

The internal storage is also used for swap, so don't slow it down with the base storage. Even for desktop (Mini, iMac) go to 512GB at least, though the 1TB option will be faster.

Beefing up a Mini instead of buying the base M4 Max Studio (to be had for $1699 if you shop around) makes no sense unless you absolutely have to have something as small as the Mini to fit into some niche.
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I'm speaking for desktop users and current gen. m4 pro mini with base storage, 64gb, is a rockstar machine for the price. Laptops are another animal. I should've clarified. Laptops aren't really on my radar.
 
Enjoyed the video. A few points to make...

1.) Comparing M4 to M4 Pro or Max, be mindful of Thunderbolt 4 vs. 5 for future proofing. It's not just an issue of a single peripheral (e.g.: an external Thunderbolt SSD), but that the user might use one port to a Thunderbolt dock with multiple peripherals attached.

2.) You mentioned using an M4 Max 14" MacBook Pro. From others (I don't have one), I got the impression the 16" MacBook Pro did a better job with heat dissipation, and the 14" MBP could get rather hot? I don't know what significant that is, or whether it just throttles the speed a little to compensate, but be aware.

3.) If you plan to use more than one display, make sure what you buy supports the number of displays you want to use.
 
dorsal said:
What's worse, is that when the fans are set to "auto", the CPU is blazing hot yet the fans run slow. Hence my comment: "Built to fail". The OS should be smart enough to "protect" the CPU from overheating, regardless of what I throw at it.
Click to expand...
What is "blazing hot"? What temperature will cause harm to the electronics? Have you measured the temperatures and the fan speed?

Generally, about 65°C is a reasonable limit. The fan should be spinning at a speed that keeps the chips at 65 C or below. But spikes up to 80 C acceptable.

Apple does not sell their M chips, so they don't publish specifications but 65C is a good high-end limit for normal operations.

The problem with words like "blazing hot" is that to one person, it means it feels uncomfortable to touch and to another, it means 105C and your finger is burned if you touch it. Best to use actual numbers
 
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