Let’s address the mini-elephant in the room first. The new Mac Mini is adorable. It’s as if my Mac Studio and one of my Mac Minis got together and had a kid. It’s just so cute!
But I don’t buy my computers for their cute factor. I buy computers for their properly balanced price/performance.
Also: The 13 Mac Studio peripherals I can’t live without – and why
Don’t get me wrong. A $599 Mac Mini starting with 16GB of RAM is an ideal Mac purchase for mainstream computer users who already have a keyboard, monitor, and mouse. But for me?
Well, it’s close. But no cigar.
My daily driver is an M1 Max Mac Studio running 64GB RAM and 4TB of internal storage. I’m at 3.46TB now, so I better trim down what I keep on this machine. As I’ve mentioned previously, my Mac Studio has stood up well for the past few years, but it’s recently started wheezing under some of the CAD workloads I’ve put it through.
Beyond my daily writing, my heaviest uses for my machine are CAD, 4K video editing, and programming (along with virtual machine simulation of networks for the programming).
Also: I bought a Mac Studio: Here are the specs I chose and why
I make my computers sweat.
Even so, the M4 Pro Mac Mini is close. As much as I’d love to regain some desk space, it’s not ideal. So let’s look at the four reasons why a maxed-out mini Mac Mini makes a mediocre Mac Studio mimic.
1. Missing front SD card port
It may seem like a small detail, but I constantly use the SD card port that’s now iconic on the front of the Mac Studio. When I heard the rumors that the Mac Mini would have front-facing ports, I was hopeful, but the SD card slot is missing.
Also: The Mac Studio feature keeping me from buying a new M4 Mac Mini this fall
Sure, I could use an SD to USB C converter dongle, but that’s not nearly as elegant as having a slot in the front of the machine. It’s also a two-handed operation, which can be inconvenient at times.
The new Mac Mini adds a headphone jack. Honestly, I’m not convinced it’s a good trade for that SD port, especially given the popularity of AirPods and how good AirPods Max are for editing video and audio over Bluetooth.
2. Not enough ports
On the new Mac Mini — as well as my Mac Studio — those two front-facing ports are USB C. On the Mac Studio Ultra, those ports become Thunderbolt ports. That’s a win, except the Ultra pushes the Mac Studio to almost exactly twice the price I paid for mine. It’s a very expensive upgrade.
Where’s the power button on the Mac Mini?
Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET
The Mac Mini’s port selection is pretty impressive, especially for the M4 Pro. While there are only three Thunderbolt ports on the Mini vs four on the Studio, if you pony up for the M4 Pro, those Thunderbolt ports jump from Thunderbolt 4 to the twice-as-fast Thunderbolt 5. Nice.
Unfortunately, you lose the USB A connectors. I can see the appeal to Apple in dropping that form factor, but I use the heck out of my USB A ports.
It is nice to see an Ethernet port on the back of the machine, which can be upgraded to 10GB for $100. And the HDMI port is always handy.
But here’s the thing. To be able to run all 13 devices connected to my Mac Studio off of an M4 Mac Mini, I’d have to add something like the CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 dock. That’s an additional $379.
I also find the headphone jack on the front of the new Mac Mini annoying. I’d much prefer it to be on the back and not sticking out into my personal desk space.
3. More CPU cores but less GPU cores
The M4 Pro has a total of 12 CPU cores while the M1 Mac Studio I’m running has only 10. That’s not as big an advantage for the M4 compared to the M1 Max as you might think (other than the processor’s native speed, which is about twice as fast as the M1). The two additional cores that the M4 Pro Mac Mini offers are efficiency cores, which are basically low-power workhorses.
The M4 Pro Mac Mini does offer hardware-assisted ray-tracing, a graphics feature that my Mac Studio doesn’t have. But the ray-tracing feature is heavily relied upon for games, and I have a dedicated PC I built for game playing. It’s a feature I’ll never really care about.
Also: How I built the ultimate low-profile Starfield gaming PC for under $1,200
The gotcha is that the M1 Max in my Mac Studio has 32 GPU cores. That’s twice as many as found in the M4 Pro Mac Mini (although for $200 you can get an extra four cores, bringing it up to 20). As an active Final Cut user, I’d notice the difference.
4. Not as much bang for the buck
I paid $3,799 for my Mac Studio. That included upgrades of the chip, 64GB RAM, and 4TB storage. A similarly equipped M4 Pro Mac Mini prices out to $3,499, just a $300 difference.
Yes, the CPU is faster and Thunderbolt 5 is nice, but the price difference is only $300. For that $300 in the Mac Studio, you get an extra Thunderbolt port, two USB A ports, 12 more GPUs, and a front SD card slot. Add in the cost of an external dock and that $300 difference is gone. You’d actually pay more for the Mac Mini.
I do love the form factor of the new Mac Mini, but you just don’t get as much bang for the buck.
Not my new daily driver
I’m skipping replacing my Mac Studio with the M4 Mac Mini, despite how cool it is. It’s entirely possible that — as I replace some of my secondary machines — I’ll pick up one or more M4 Mac Minis, especially given how attractive the entry-level price is now that it ships with 16GB RAM.
Also: MacBook Pro vs. MacBook Air: How to decide which Apple laptop is best for you
What about you? Are you planning on getting one of these new little beasts? Are you currently running Mac Minis or Mac Studios? Let us know in the comments below.
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