What would you buy if you were me?

[ayaka19]

Current machine: Mac Mini M1, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD.

I’m a really big cheap ass. The last few Mac’s I’ve bought are either heavily discounted, refurbished, or used.

My current use case is general photo editing and spreadsheet and browsing. Currently I feel quite limited by the RAM and slightly limited on the storage too. I use an external portable ssd to store an extra 2TB of storage.

I’m thinking about upgrading since last week, I got pretty blocked on my photo editing as the Photos app and Pixelmator chokes so bad when I have a few safari windows and spreadsheets open. Perhaps I’ve lost a good 20-40 minutes of productivity that day due to just waiting around the computer.

Now as I am a cheap ass, I’m thinking there’s no way I’m getting a new machine. So with my price point (below $2,000 AUD), I think I can get either:
- Refurbished M4 Mac Mini with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage.
- Used M1 Max Max Studio with 32GB RAM and 1TB storage.

What machine would you get if you were me. I’m hoping this will last me at least 4 years.

EDIT: Thanks for those who suggested me to check my RAM and CPU usage. I ran iStatMenus and have gathered the 30 days history. At this time it seems to be a CPU bottleneck to me.

 

[MBAir2010]

keep the Mac mini, I have the same one and that aint going anywhere.
just use less programs if you are only Photos app and Pixelmator ing, that eats RAM even M ram.
I would buy ssd drives and other non-computer things like lenses and other photographic equipment.
heck get a MacBook Pro 2012 for under 100 and Photos app and Pixelmator on that since that still really kicks big ass.

this computer game is designed for people to buy un-needed computers every several years.
I have 2 road racing bicycles one from 2024 and 1993 that provide the same speed and distance results.

hope this helped

Spoiler: well... inside joke

your really big cheap ass.

 

[SalisburySam]

Of your two choices, I’d prefer the M4 Mac mini, 16GB RAM, 1TB storage. I have almost the same, only diff is 24GB RAM, purchased from Apple’s refurbished store. I also have about 20TB of rotating disk attached storage, and 8TB more in SSD storage attached within this inexpensive and very handy dock, something that also helps with the Mac mini’s absolutely annoying and imho stupid placement of the on-off button. Love this setup…no slowdowns for any of my workflows which albeit may differ from yours.

 

[QuarterSwede]

How often do you hit your RAM ceiling versus the CPU hitting the ceiling? That’s the answer to your question.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Foremost:

Check if your Mac needs more RAM in Activity Monitor

Use Activity Monitor on your Mac to see if memory is being used efficiently and if you need more memory (RAM).

support.apple.com

Presumably, if during the most involved point of your workflow, the graph is consistently in the red, 16GB of RAM will probably become another bottleneck.

The M1 is still very capable. The M1 Pro/Max/Ultra are especially still solid workhorses, having the heaviest handed serving of performance to efficiency core ration. Additionally, the M1 Max memory throughput is up to 400GB/s vs the 120GB/s on the (base) M4. Again, that’s not saying the M4 is in anyway bad.

But there are caveats with M1 series in 2025 and beyond. I’m guessing M1 will still be supported in macOS 27, although, thereafter is a genuine question mark. Even if macOS 27 is the last for the M1 series, most third-party software compatibility typically extends a few years. So, basically, The Mac Studio should still feel current(-ish) for at least the next four years. Despite the pat on the back for M1, it is missing stages of improvement/optimization.

Put simply, in other words, the M4 is the fit young adult whereas the M1 Max has respectable muscle though is preparing for retirement.

 

[Mousse]

I’m thinking about upgrading since last week, I got pretty blocked on my photo editing as the Photos app and Pixelmator chokes so bad when I have a few safari windows and spreadsheets open.

If I understand you, you have stuff running in the background while photo editing? If so...

16GB would be the bare minimum if you edit several MP photos. Even then, you would be best off not doing anything in the background that would cut into your RAM.

If you need to multitask, you might be better of getting something with at least 16GB RAM for photo editing and using your current machine for web browsing and spreadsheet.

 

[ayaka19]

But there are caveats with M1 series in 2025 and beyond. I’m guessing M1 will still be supported in macOS 27, although, thereafter is a genuine question mark. Even if macOS 27 is the last for the M1 series, most third-party software compatibility typically extends a few years. So, basically, The Mac Studio should still feel current(-ish) for at least the next four years. Despite the pat on the back for M1, it is missing stages of improvement/optimization.

Put simply, in other words, the M4 is the fit young adult whereas the M1 Max has respectable muscle though is preparing for retirement.

What I also failed to mention is that I sometimes work on my casual iOS app with the Mac. Unfortunately this means that I always need the latest OS in order to have Xcode work. I am leaning more towards the M4 now.

The other thing that made me think here is. When macOS 27 (or 28, 29, etc) drops support for the M1 chip, I wonder if it'll be all of the M1 chip altogether, or would they still support the Max/Ultra variant a bit longer. The Max/Ultra variant comes approximately 12-18 months after the regular variant, so I think it'll make sense to support them a bit longer.

 

[MarineBand5524]

Current machine: Mac Mini M1, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD.

I’m a really big cheap ass. The last few Mac’s I’ve bought are either heavily discounted, refurbished, or used.

My current use case is general photo editing and spreadsheet and browsing. Currently I feel quite limited by the RAM and slightly limited on the storage too. I use an external portable ssd to store an extra 2TB of storage.

I’m thinking about upgrading since last week, I got pretty blocked on my photo editing as the Photos app and Pixelmator chokes so bad when I have a few safari windows and spreadsheets open. Perhaps I’ve lost a good 20-40 minutes of productivity that day due to just waiting around the computer.

Now as I am a cheap ass, I’m thinking there’s no way I’m getting a new machine. So with my price point (below $2,000 AUD), I think I can get either:
- Refurbished M4 Mac Mini with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage.
- Used M1 Max Max Studio with 32GB RAM and 1TB storage.

What machine would you get if you were me. I’m hoping this will last me at least 4 years.

Get the 32GB 1TB M1 Max.

 

[MarineBand5524]

What I also failed to mention is that I sometimes work on my casual iOS app with the Mac. Unfortunately this means that I always need the latest OS in order to have Xcode work. I am leaning more towards the M4 now.

The other thing that made me think here is. When macOS 27 (or 28, 29, etc) drops support for the M1 chip, I wonder if it'll be all of the M1 chip altogether, or would they still support the Max/Ultra variant a bit longer. The Max/Ultra variant comes approximately 12-18 months after the regular variant, so I think it'll make sense to support them a bit longer.

my M1 Max laptop is still screaming. It's insanely fast, zero issues since I've had it from when it came out.

 

[photogeekbg]

If you buy the refurbished Mac mini, you could test it and return it if inadequate? Also, it may be worth prioritizing extra RAM on the mini over extra storage.

 

[tk111]

Plenty of new M4 Pro 24GB RAM 512GB SSD Mac Minis are on eBay within your budget. I'd get one.

 

[ayaka19]

Plenty of new M4 Pro 24GB RAM 512GB SSD Mac Minis are on eBay within your budget. I'd get one.

This is another reason why I was initially leaning towards Studio, I think I need 1TB internal SSD and there's not a lot on eBay with this specs. I think I would get what you mentioned if the 1TB version shows up on eBay.

 

[Howard2k]

- Refurbished M4 Mac Mini with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage and reboot it every morning, or before starting any significant tasks. It'll take 5 minutes or less.

You could also do some memory management by checking Activity Monitor as mentioned, which is a great idea, but ultimately the more memory you have the more you will use anyway.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

- Refurbished M4 Mac Mini with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage and reboot it every morning, or before starting any significant tasks. It'll take 5 minutes or less.

You could also do some memory management by checking Activity Monitor as mentioned, which is a great idea, but ultimately the more memory you have the more you will use anyway.

Correct, "the more memory you have the more you will use anyway," which is a good thing. Using RAM is a superb way to compute, and we buy these things to compute with. Buying 16 GB RAM intending 2026~2031 images work would be a mistake.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Current machine: Mac Mini M1, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD.

I’m a really big cheap ass. The last few Mac’s I’ve bought are either heavily discounted, refurbished, or used.

My current use case is general photo editing and spreadsheet and browsing. Currently I feel quite limited by the RAM and slightly limited on the storage too. I use an external portable ssd to store an extra 2TB of storage.

I’m thinking about upgrading since last week, I got pretty blocked on my photo editing as the Photos app and Pixelmator chokes so bad when I have a few safari windows and spreadsheets open. Perhaps I’ve lost a good 20-40 minutes of productivity that day due to just waiting around the computer.

Now as I am a cheap ass, I’m thinking there’s no way I’m getting a new machine. So with my price point (below $2,000 AUD), I think I can get either:
- Refurbished M4 Mac Mini with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage.
- Used M1 Max Max Studio with 32GB RAM and 1TB storage.

What machine would you get if you were me. I’m hoping this will last me at least 4 years.

The Mini is usually a poor value for images work. Between those two the 32 GB RAM Studio is a far better choice. Buying 16 GB RAM for 2026~2031 images work would simply be a bad decision. The slowdowns you observe with your existing box are likely RAM-related.

 

[AlixSPQR]

A bona fide cheap ass would stop surfing on the Internet while being productive. But, since you’re not, go for the Studio.

 

[leifp]

If you can handle it, I’d consider waiting on a refurb M5 Mac mini with more RAM. Which, obviously, does not exist yet. And I’ll tell you why… kinda 😉

I had a fully loaded M1 Mac mini (16GB RAM and 2TB SSD) but doing photography work on it made it choke. So I got myself a 32GB RAM M1Max MBPro when they were announced, and it absolutely rocks. To this day I’ve never managed to choke it even once. Because photo apps require two things: RAM and GPU. Not CPU.

To actually answer the question you posed: I’d suggest the M1Max with 32GB RAM rather than a base M4 with 16GB RAM. The base M4 has a superior CPU to the M1Max in all ways: both single core and multi core, but as I said that doesn’t really matter for your use case. The M1Max GPU and RAM are both double what the M4 configuration you propose has and both of those things matter the most. You will be giving up: macOS updates (at some point that M1Max will be discontinued and probably long before the M4), faster/more efficient RAM, mesh shading and raytracing. If you don’t know why they matter, they probably don’t - for you.

Hope this helps!

 

[ayaka19]

If you can handle it, I’d consider waiting on a refurb M5 Mac mini with more RAM. Which, obviously, does not exist yet. And I’ll tell you why… kinda 😉

I had a fully loaded M1 Mac mini (16GB RAM and 2TB SSD) but doing photography work on it made it choke. So I got myself a 32GB RAM M1Max MBPro when they were announced, and it absolutely rocks. To this day I’ve never managed to choke it even once. Because photo apps require two things: RAM and GPU. Not CPU.

To actually answer the question you posed: I’d suggest the M1Max with 32GB RAM rather than a base M4 with 16GB RAM. The base M4 has a superior CPU to the M1Max in all ways: both single core and multi core, but as I said that doesn’t really matter for your use case. The M1Max GPU and RAM are both double what the M4 configuration you propose has and both of those things matter the most. You will be giving up: macOS updates (at some point that M1Max will be discontinued and probably long before the M4), faster/more efficient RAM, mesh shading and raytracing. If you don’t know why they matter, they probably don’t - for you.

Hope this helps!

Thank you, this is quite insightful. What apps did you use in your old Mac Mininthat made it choke? I might have made it sound like I’m a super professional photographer in my original post, but really 90% of what I do are just cropping photos, adjusting colours, and creating albums for my family and friends. My camera is a 24MP camera and when I open those photos, I can tell it’ll have a bit more lag than the smaller iPhone photos. I use Photos app most of the time.

I can wait for M5 for sure, it isn’t a dire need at the moment. I do feel that I don’t want to sacrifice MacOS updates but as I mentioned above I have a feeling that Max/Ultra variant will have slightly longer macOS updates than the regular M1s.

I’ve now mapped out from this thread that I probably need at least a 24GB RAM, whatever machine I end up getting. With the GPU, I am still tossing between M4, M4 Pro, M1 Max, or M2 Max now.

 

[ForkHandles]

Account vacated.

 

[wonderings]

Whatever you do I would prioritize RAM over hard drive space. You can always add external hard drive space cheap. RAM you are stuck with. I use an M1 Max 32 gigs of RAM with Adobe CC and it is great. If that is the cheapest option you will not be disappointed.

 

[Abydos]

you have 2000 aud (1330 or so usd) the ppi (purchasing price index) suggests that you can afford a m1 machine with more memory using your current monitor (rough estimates), tough problem: whether to continue with your current rig and save more cash for a future buy (with the usual exchange rate uncertainty) or buy now - that is your call

 

[EdwardC]

If you have a Micro Center near you they have base M4 mini's for $399.00 right now (brand new).

 

[Fishrrman]

Get the m4 Mini with a 1tb SSD, BUT...
Consider 32gb of RAM instead of 16.

I predict that within three years, 16gb of RAM will feel as constrained, as does 8gb of RAM TODAY...

 

[Imperial926]

There is something wrong with your machine. Is your hard drive full? This affects performance.

I have a similar config and it’s speedy as light.

I’d be sorely tempted, if you don’t like spending cash, to find out why your machine isn’t capable of doing everything it could do four years ago.

Totally agree. I have used a M1 Mini with 16Gb of RAM for reasonably complex 4K video editing in Final Cut which is much more demanding than the minimal photo editing the OP describes. I also use Pixelmator Pro and Affinity and have no issues. These M1s are still more than enough for even quite demanding users.

 

[Howard2k]

Correct, "the more memory you have the more you will use anyway," which is a good thing. Using RAM is a superb way to compute, and we buy these things to compute with. Buying 16 GB RAM intending 2026~2031 images work would be a mistake.

I agree, but the longevity of the M1 series vs M4 series would push me to M4.