That Mac mini case is sick! I commented a couple weeks ago asking you if I should get the base model Mac mini and when it was delivered, I haven't been happier. This thing rocks through 4K video and all the college work I do. Thank you for the help!!!
I’m 71 years old and working off a 2019 iMac 27-in. Been running into a few issues with FCP quitting and Lightroom glitches. So, after watching your video I ordered the same Mac Mini 4Pro that you ordered minus the 10GB ethernet. And that’s because I forgot to select that. I do upload a fair number of videos that I create for my farm and ranch brokerage business, so I wish I had asked for that. Oh well. Thanks for your great content and it helped me to select what is likely to be my last Mac. I subscribed and look forward to more of your well-presented contend. Jim in Oregon
It really depends on what you’re uploading to and what capabilities that has. Thunderbolt 4 or 5 USB C port could get you much faster speeds. If you’re uploading to cloud storage or UA-cam, you’d be bottlenecked with your ISP. The 10GB Ethernet would really only benefit with a local network storage that doesn’t have Thunderbolt or is physically far from your Mac mini
@@spaceghost3344 Thank you so much for taking the time to write this kind and informative reply. I know you didn't have to do this, and it was very helpful to me. Jim
I'm 78 and thinking this will be the last computer I buy also. I have a 2017 27" iMax that runs perfectly, but Photoshop is popping up messages saying it's too old and can't run all the new things they've added. Right now I'm suffering with analysis paralysis between the base model Mac Mini, a maxed out one or the new iMac. I'm leaning towards a Mac mini M4 Pro with 48 GB and 1 Tb. My iMac has served me for almost 8 years, and if my new Max Mini lasts as long, it will probably out live me.
Ah David, 78 is young these days. You have at least three more generations of silicon to go 💪😤. That pro M4 spec you mentioned will last you a long time.
4:02 “I’m not going to run any synthetic benchmarks” Followed immediately by back to back bandwidth and storage synthetic benchmarks after the sponsor reads. Just a little friendly roast. Very grateful for yor focus on the 64gb 14/20 Pro. Most other reviews are comparing that base M4 to the base M4 Pro; whereas I’m looking at this exact spec.
@@PatrickRambles The base M4 Mac mini might get thermally challanged with relatively heavy workloads, but NOT a custom upgrade , nearly fully spec'ed out variant of an M4 Pro Mac Mini 14 core CPU, 20 core GPU, which supports higher memory bandwidth and higher SSD bandwidth compared to the M4 Mac mini, in conjunction with RAM upgrades 48GB-64GB and SSD upgrades 1TB - 2TB. Further the 14 core CPU variant of the M4 Pro Mac mini with its 10 performance cores has performed much better than M3 Max and M2 Ultra in multiple CPU performance benchmarking tests with similar RAM and SSD capacity, and that's because of superior M4 Pro 14 core CPU (10P+4E) performance relative to M3 Max and M2 Ultra's CPU performance. However, on GPU performance, M3 Max / M2 Ultra were far superior owing to their higher GPU bandwidth.
@@sgtaneja the M3 Max and M2 Ultra have far more GPU cores, that's why they generally beat out the M4 Pro chip in GPU performance, not because of memory bandwidth.
I wrote a more detailed view on this matter further up concerning the heating up of the MM M4 Pro, which as a heavy Davinci Resolve user, who experiments with a ton of grading plugins, magic masks and effects, I do hear the fans come on fairly often because I rarely hold back, haha. I use the 14/20 core config, but I will say that the fans are actually soft, and the computer is more like a hand warmer. It's never gotten too hot so far, and I've pushed it to its max. The fans sound softer than a normal mac fan sound. As a wonderful surprise, the MM M2 Pro, it's earlier brother, heats considerably less and the fans are silent 90% of the time, with the same workload. Plus the MM M2 Pro base model refurbished costs only $550 more or less on eBay. It's the best deal I've ever seen on a mac that is a video mid-tier beast. And I'm talking base model, the 10/16 cores model. Mine handled everything in the same way the MM M4 Pro with a larger config handled in DR. If it weren't for the form factor I would've considered this a bit of a waste of money to be honest. The export times are nominally 5-8 minutes difference between the 2, but on an 1 HOUR timeline loaded with noise reduction on many clips, and over 20 effects not including color grading external plugins, spread out to every clip, which is hardly noticeable when I'm exporting for that long. So those are my two cents on the MM M4 Pro. I still love it, and the form factor is genius, and I absolutely love picking it up and putting it in my bag or big jacket pocket to carry it to a coffee house. For that I'm happy with this upgrade.
I do graphic design, motion graphics and photography and I'm about to get me one of these for Xmas, so... Thank you so much for the heads up. You rock.
As a DR user, who uses tons of effects, masking, cpu intensive plugins and transitions, and a lot of grading tools, I do run my machine hot, but never too hot, it just turns into an excellent hand warmer, on those cold days. Fans don't come on very often. but if they do, they're pretty soft decibel wise. The MM M2 Pro did a lot better in that dept. Because I work in RAW I have to often use the Render cache which works wonderfully on this machine, and downsize from a 4K to a 1080P timeline as my effects get out of control. For Davinci users, I recommend using the Cache Node rendering system in the color tab (not right-clicking on a clip to select the Render Cache Color Output in the edit page) particularly when using Relight, Deflicker, Noise Reduction (strong settings), and a ton of high cpu intensive effects, plus grading effects that use strong Halation and Grain Noise settings on default, if not the machine will be bogged down in the scrubbing even on a 1080P timeline. But overall both the MM M2Pro and the MM M4 Pro do very well with working with even 8K Red camera clips, as long as one knows how to use the cache system well, and the Render In Place which are huge time savers and make editing a lot smoother particularly for the 8k RAW or heavily loaded 4k RAW or Braw clips.
I think the M4 Studio will be more bang for the buck. The maxed out mini is a powerhouse for sure but gets really expensive when upgrades are added in.
I'm sure the studio will be insane! Honestly, it's mostly the storage that is super expensive, I think the TB5 solution saves a lot of money and a maxed out mini is enough for almost anyone. Still looking forward to that Studio though 😅
I agree, but if you need something now, I think this is a valuable option and quite frankly I’m not sure for me personally the studio would really be that much more of a value. I mainly do light video editing, but it’s gaming where I really desperately wanna get rid of my desktop PCand if if this like Patrick showed can play in a decent enough games I am excited about that as well.
Spot on! If you can wait until the M4 series Mac Studios are launched, I think they will provide much better value for money than a fully spec’s out M4 Mac mini. My suspicion is that a M4 Pro Mac mini spec’d out to have the same amount of storage and unified memory as an entry M4 Mac Studio will be similarly priced to the entry level Mac Studio, except for the entry-level M4 Mac studio will come with an M4 Max chip, as compared to the M4 Pro chip in the Mac Mini. In other words, you’ll get the upgrade from M4 Pro chip to M4 Max chip for free, as well as additional I/O and an even better cooling system. I could be wrong of course, however that’s my prediction, therefore I will be waiting for the new Mac Studios to launch next year. In the meantime, I may buy an entry-level M4 MaC Mini to keep me occupied in the meantime!
Depending on where you are in the world, there are quite a few online printing services. I've used a couple before and they've been great. I think Shapeways is one of the popular ones.
I recently found your channel and I’m enjoying the content so far. Keep it up! I’ve considered getting the exact specifications that you got, but I am pretty satisfied with what I have with the M2 Pro Mac Mini. Glad you made this video, though. Thank you for this!
I have my first mac that i purchased in July this year (2024). It's the MacBook pro 16 m3 max 16 core CPU, 40 GPU 64gb of ram and 2tb of storage in space black. This thing was massively expensive but I have been thinking of a mac since 2021 and have been saving just in case I might want one. Its a beast of a machine and while I like the fact the M4 is faster, this M3 max is no joke. I have NEVER heard the fans kick on not once since I have owned it. I don't do a lot of heavy usage on my machine but I wanted to future proof myself. I really like this computer. But I am still watching any video about any new chip mac computer.
I have a macbook pro 16-inch i9 8 core, 8gb GPU and 64g of ram from 2019 and it's still going well after all these years. I'm only now having problems w Premiere audio AI tools crashing my machine, but everything else i do is fine. These are solid machines that are expensive but last a long time. You made a solid investment for years to come (esp if you use for heavy workloads like video editing)
@@PatrickRambles I have always owned MacBooks and only have a basic Dell monitor (used an additional monitor) which means I would have get a new monitor if I were to buy a MacMini. The price point however makes these new MacMinis very attractive even if I were to buy a new monitor. So I leaning towards the MacMinis and may decide to get them soon.
Great review, as always. Apple really knocked it out of the park with their new Minis. I've got the base model, which meets my needs nicely, but that Pro is droolworthy.
Thanks for this review! I just ordered the same specs but @48G RAM. Replacing my 2017 MBP. It will be great since the video scrubs even on iMovie bog down, etc. and the render and export times are quite high also. Thanks for putting the mic to the computer. I will be doing some voiceovers and that helped to ally my worries for recording. ❤❤❤❤❤ Thank you! And subscribed!
I just wished that Apple would have stepped it up with their other products like the phone and iPad. That is crazy what they have done with the mini line. Thanks for the reviews. They are help a lot of people to make sound decisions.
Yes you can upgrade the SSD on the Mac mini M4 and M4 Pro. They each have different NAND board size footprints however it's been widely documented this is doable.
Of all things...the Thunderbolt 5 ports on your M4 Pro are VERY tempting to me... I wanna run one of those beauties with a Thunderbolt 5 drive... ...but...I'm still tempted by that $699 price point to buy a base M4 Mac and use that with my existing Thunderbolt 3 drive and see what happens. The Thunderbolt 4 ports on that machine should be happy to connect to my Thunderbolt 3 drive (I think the data transfer speeds are roughly the same for Thunderbolt 3 and 4). That $699 is just too good to pass up! UA-camrs are really enthusiastic over the topic of running Apple Silicon machines from external drives. I can tell you from personal experience that I've tried it with my 8GB/256GB M1 Mac MIni, an old Thunderbolt 3 enclosure and an old NVME drive from a dusty, old Acer desktop. It's LIBERATING to run the bootup, home folder, apps, and data from one of my base M1 Mac Minis WITHOUT having to even care about the 256GB onboard storage!!! Sure...the benchmarks say it's slower, but my 60+ year-old nervous system can't reliably PERCEIVE the difference under my very average suite of very average applications. To my old eyes and ears, web-browsing, UA-cam, music playing, video watching and such are not affected by essentially booting Apple Silicon off a Thunderbolt 3 drive. Try it for yourself with some of your old legacy Apple Silcon (Please...on not your day-to-day moneymaker machines! You and your dear and wonderful family have to eat!). CAUTION! I've heard that the new Apple Intelligence features in macOS 15.1.1 won't run with the external bootup system I use. By sheer accident...I may have dodged a bullet. One of my two Mac Minis is a dual-boot Asahi Linux machine, and the Apple Intelligence partition has no problem sitting alongside Linux. My SECOND M1 Mac Mini running the external bootup is STILL running the barebones (unintelligent?) macOS 15. Whew! For now, I'm still having fun with this "bigger" M1 storage, so I'm avoiding problems by ignoring that tiny, little red dot on the corner of the App Store icon...😆 Beware! No matter what, though...I agree it's a really exciting time for Apple Macs! Aloha!
Patrick, You should seriously do more gaming related videos. (With the new macs this is going to be an expanding aarea of interest, you may get a lot of views). One focusing on various ways of porting PC games to Mac, how to get the best performance. Massive potential audience for this, a whole new market could open up for Apple.
I got the MA270U to go with my new M4 Mini. Compared to the 27" 5k Retina display on the iMac it replaced, I am more than happy with text sharpness but UA-cam videos look 'softer' almost a bit blurry. I wonder if that's to do with the mat screen vs glossy? It looks like the soft lens that movie makers use for aging stars!!
Can you do an in-depth comparison between the m2 pro Mac mini and the new m4 pro Mac mini? I'm curious to see how much of a performance jump there is between the 2 generations
I got the m4pro with 512gb drive. Was $200 off, so just grabbed one. I dont know what people are putting on their OS drive and not offloading other things to external 🤷 but i got a 4TB external work drive and another 4TB sample drive. Also a 16TB NAS doe video storage. So only work drive holds files needed at a particular time locally. Just OS and apps. apps are limited to Luna, Digital Performer, Native Instruments, Resolve (and plugins). Drive isnt even half full. All video and audio reside on external drives which off these thunderbolt ports are faster than internal.
Hey dude! Great video! I am torn, I am considering the Mac Mini spec'd out to M4 Pro chip with the 64Gb ram. Do you reckon this machine will easily handle 4K video editing. (I am a videographer / editor by trade) This will be my main machine as my custom windows laptop is starting to throw the towl in. I can't justify the crazy price increase to get the M4 Max MBP. Any guidance would be much appreciated!
*One thing is clear Patrick, you have extremely deep pockets ! None of the equipment you've purchased and are testing for this post is all that affordable (Except the Regular iteration of the New M4 Mac Mini).*
This is the review I was looking for. Most of these M4 Mini reviews focus on the base model or compare the Pro to the base & brag on the $599 price tag. I need a machine that smoothly runs Davince Resolve for 8k video & can be a workhourse for a few years. I was especially glad to hear this doesn't run hot...how I don' t know at that size. Also...shout out for the 3:10 shot in the background of the '80's version grey scale Mac with it's floppy drive. I got through grad school on that thing...$300 used. 🤣
Haha that old Macintosh is a thing of beauty and nostalgia 😅. The M4 base model is great for the money, but as you said, when you need some more oomph, this Pro is the way to go 💪
"I'm pretty sure 40 tabs is more than most people would have open". Hahahahaha, yeah totally *glances at my 300ish Firefox tabs spread across 4 windows*. No one would EVER be insane enough to have more than a couple dozen tabs open 😅
Better yet if you have an 60"+ entertainment system with 5.1 Surround Sound or Even Atmos Set yoyr Computer next to it Connect an HDMI cable to the Sound Bay / Atmos system sit in your Recliner with a Blue Tooth KB/Mouse. I have 2 4k 60"UHDTV's so have 2 screens for Editing with Davinci. or one for U-Tube the other to Edit on.
that's exactly the Mac Mini m4 PRO that i bought. To the tee. When you say that your Mac Mini M4 PRO costs 1/3 of the MacBook PRO, did you add the display, keyboard and trackpad to the equation?
im really considering the mac mini maxed out. im just having hard time to build a pc for video editing or just get maxed out mini lol. heres my building plan, 9950x, 64gb ddr5, 4080 super, 6tb m.2 ssd
I guess it comes down to your preference for operating system and editing software. Also, if gaming is important to you, the PC would be a better option.
@@PatrickRamblesi dont do gaming, just trying to get the best bang for bucks. with m4 pro 64gb, 1tb. i will save 800$ if i go with mac mini, just wondering if i will get same or better performance lol
I see. Well I am slightly biased because I do prefer MacOS over Windows and I'm partial to Final Cut Pro for video editing, so I'd tell you to grab that Mac mini for a problem-free experience.
Patric, what calibrator and software are you using to color calibrate the Apple studio monitors for an Adobe 1998 color space? Apples displays are notoriously bright. I just wanna know if you’re bringing your screen brightness down to halfway or so for color calibration.
Hey great video .. I was just wondering .. since you can open this new " Thunderbolt 5 enclosure " Can you upgrade it with the GEN.5 m.2 product like...? SABRENT T705 4TB PCIe Gen5 NVMe M.2 SSD. .... Where nowdays they promote 14 000 mb/s speeds on SSD. The question is .. do you think this Thunderbolt 5 will be benefit from the 14gb/s and You gonna be able to run this fast on max..... or it's gonna happen bottleneck .. ??? Thank you
As a photographer editing the largest Nikon RAW files, with PS and LR running at the same time, do you think 24GB of memory is completely sufficient on the Pro, or do I need to spend $400 and jump up to 48GB? Thanks for your thoughts. Love your reviews!
Is it possible to connect the Mac mini to any of the older m series imacs using some cable (idk which would work)?? I love the imac and want to purchase one but I also wish to use the display in the future with a Mac mini once the imac gets old. Thank you! Love your videos!!
@@PatrickRamblesI just read their comment. With Intel imacs it seems to be possible, I have seen a few yt videos on it but I haven't come across any connecting the Mac mini to an m series chip imac. Hopefully someone does try it and share their insights. Thank you for your reply.
There are better monitors for less money than Apple Studio Display? Name one. There are some with OLED and/or “better” refresh rate but are 4K or less resolution with suboptimal scaling on Mac. Most have inferior max brightness, too.
Your opinions, please. Which of the following configurations would you choose? Please add your reasoning for making your choice. Thanks for your input. A. M4 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 10GB ethernet or B. M4 Pro 24GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 10GB ethernet.
You can play any game you want with GForce Now on a these Mac Mini... Just have a good connection. A i even use my T-Mobile Home Internet 5G. You can't tell the game is being hosted. Which I wondered about. but it seems NVIDIA spent money on their servers..
@@PatrickRambles That was my concern. so I used the service for 3 months. Something like $10.00 a month. The normal is 26 download and 64 upload.. But I am using a 5G network. People with Fiber would get better results I'm assuming. But the reason I use T Mobile 5G Home Internet it's mobile. As I live in an RV. So I move around from cell towers. But average is 900 Download and 100 Upload. All for $25.00.a month with auto pay. So I can't complain..
Perspective is everything. Every comparison and measurable parameter discussed is truly bizarre when you step back and realize you are talking about seconds and minutes between thousands of dollars that in the end won’t help you in anyway, it all seems silly. When Photoshop was in its v6 and PowerMacs had 2GB HDs with between 16-132 MEGABYTES of ram, you had to manage your time and know that your external ULTRA SCSI II 2GB scratch disks will get your hi res commercial printer bound files to save in about 15 - 20 minutes. Remember one undo also made you adapt in different ways like saving different versions, which still takes considerable time, making your workflow dependent on the ability to think several steps ahead within the limitations of the hardware. So maybe that’s why I’m blown away at the attention to rendering speed comparison within 2 minutes, since I remember 20 minutes.
We used to travel by horse too. Just because we had to find a way to make that work, doesn't mean today's travel options aren't more efficient. Times change, and so do workflows.
I saw a test of the OWC TB5 drive and it appears the speed falls off significantly when transferring large files almost not any faster than a TB4 drive. Kind of disappointing.
Hey, where did you see that? Can't say I've noticed the same. One of the most important things for me is being able to edit straight from the drive without slowdowns. So far it's excellent, but I'll definitely report back for my next review.
How did you get witcher3 to work at all? I have the MacBook Pro M3 pro Max and follow online advice for steam and crossover and it crashes every time even in direct 11.
It is great value for money, if not the best. But careful for design and print industry it’s not going to handle the large files, saying that I mean I will handle them but when you have large files and they needing colour correction etc it’s going to choke a little. It’s fast and it is a good, no excellent value for money computer. Just every tool for the job. One thing if you going to use it for professional design etc go for as much ram as possible, 16gb won’t do it.
@@PatrickRambles Thank you, I figure save the money, and if i need any heavy renders, just plug the ssd into my 4090 gaming rig. holding off for the m4 studio, or m4 mini with max a rough export test m4 base - 59s M4 pro - 29s 4090 - 18s
That Mac mini case is sick! I commented a couple weeks ago asking you if I should get the base model Mac mini and when it was delivered, I haven't been happier. This thing rocks through 4K video and all the college work I do. Thank you for the help!!!
Thanks man! The base model is absolutely fantastic value for money.
The case also solves the power button issue
I’m 71 years old and working off a 2019 iMac 27-in. Been running into a few issues with FCP quitting and Lightroom glitches. So, after watching your video I ordered the same Mac Mini 4Pro that you ordered minus the 10GB ethernet. And that’s because I forgot to select that. I do upload a fair number of videos that I create for my farm and ranch brokerage business, so I wish I had asked for that. Oh well. Thanks for your great content and it helped me to select what is likely to be my last Mac. I subscribed and look forward to more of your well-presented contend. Jim in Oregon
Thank you Jim, much appreciated!
It really depends on what you’re uploading to and what capabilities that has. Thunderbolt 4 or 5 USB C port could get you much faster speeds. If you’re uploading to cloud storage or UA-cam, you’d be bottlenecked with your ISP. The 10GB Ethernet would really only benefit with a local network storage that doesn’t have Thunderbolt or is physically far from your Mac mini
@@spaceghost3344 Thank you so much for taking the time to write this kind and informative reply. I know you didn't have to do this, and it was very helpful to me. Jim
I'm 78 and thinking this will be the last computer I buy also. I have a 2017 27" iMax that runs perfectly, but Photoshop is popping up messages saying it's too old and can't run all the new things they've added. Right now I'm suffering with analysis paralysis between the base model Mac Mini, a maxed out one or the new iMac. I'm leaning towards a Mac mini M4 Pro with 48 GB and 1 Tb. My iMac has served me for almost 8 years, and if my new Max Mini lasts as long, it will probably out live me.
Ah David, 78 is young these days. You have at least three more generations of silicon to go 💪😤.
That pro M4 spec you mentioned will last you a long time.
4:02 “I’m not going to run any synthetic benchmarks”
Followed immediately by back to back bandwidth and storage synthetic benchmarks after the sponsor reads.
Just a little friendly roast. Very grateful for yor focus on the 64gb 14/20 Pro. Most other reviews are comparing that base M4 to the base M4 Pro; whereas I’m looking at this exact spec.
I was surprised that you said the mini is nearly silent. I've heard so many people complain that they make a lot of noise when under full load.
I haven't heard it go over silent humming yet. I did max out the specs, maybe it doesn't need to work as hard for most things.
@@PatrickRambles The base M4 Mac mini might get thermally challanged with relatively heavy workloads, but NOT a custom upgrade , nearly fully spec'ed out variant of an M4 Pro Mac Mini 14 core CPU, 20 core GPU, which supports higher memory bandwidth and higher SSD bandwidth compared to the M4 Mac mini, in conjunction with RAM upgrades 48GB-64GB and SSD upgrades 1TB - 2TB.
Further the 14 core CPU variant of the M4 Pro Mac mini with its 10 performance cores has performed much better than M3 Max and M2 Ultra in multiple CPU performance benchmarking tests with similar RAM and SSD capacity, and that's because of superior M4 Pro 14 core CPU (10P+4E) performance relative to M3 Max and M2 Ultra's CPU performance. However, on GPU performance, M3 Max / M2 Ultra were far superior owing to their higher GPU bandwidth.
@@sgtaneja the M3 Max and M2 Ultra have far more GPU cores, that's why they generally beat out the M4 Pro chip in GPU performance, not because of memory bandwidth.
I wrote a more detailed view on this matter further up concerning the heating up of the MM M4 Pro, which as a heavy Davinci Resolve user, who experiments with a ton of grading plugins, magic masks and effects, I do hear the fans come on fairly often because I rarely hold back, haha.
I use the 14/20 core config, but I will say that the fans are actually soft, and the computer is more like a hand warmer. It's never gotten too hot so far, and I've pushed it to its max. The fans sound softer than a normal mac fan sound. As a wonderful surprise, the MM M2 Pro, it's earlier brother, heats considerably less and the fans are silent 90% of the time, with the same workload. Plus the MM M2 Pro base model refurbished costs only $550 more or less on eBay. It's the best deal I've ever seen on a mac that is a video mid-tier beast. And I'm talking base model, the 10/16 cores model. Mine handled everything in the same way the MM M4 Pro with a larger config handled in DR. If it weren't for the form factor I would've considered this a bit of a waste of money to be honest. The export times are nominally 5-8 minutes difference between the 2, but on an 1 HOUR timeline loaded with noise reduction on many clips, and over 20 effects not including color grading external plugins, spread out to every clip, which is hardly noticeable when I'm exporting for that long. So those are my two cents on the MM M4 Pro. I still love it, and the form factor is genius, and I absolutely love picking it up and putting it in my bag or big jacket pocket to carry it to a coffee house. For that I'm happy with this upgrade.
I love your aesthetic and explaining everything. Very enjoyable video.
Much appreciated 🙏🏻
I do graphic design, motion graphics and photography and I'm about to get me one of these for Xmas, so... Thank you so much for the heads up. You rock.
Thanks man!
That setup looks pretty nice ^^ a little power beast and the cutest mac ever
As a DR user, who uses tons of effects, masking, cpu intensive plugins and transitions, and a lot of grading tools, I do run my machine hot, but never too hot, it just turns into an excellent hand warmer, on those cold days. Fans don't come on very often. but if they do, they're pretty soft decibel wise. The MM M2 Pro did a lot better in that dept. Because I work in RAW I have to often use the Render cache which works wonderfully on this machine, and downsize from a 4K to a 1080P timeline as my effects get out of control. For Davinci users, I recommend using the Cache Node rendering system in the color tab (not right-clicking on a clip to select the Render Cache Color Output in the edit page) particularly when using Relight, Deflicker, Noise Reduction (strong settings), and a ton of high cpu intensive effects, plus grading effects that use strong Halation and Grain Noise settings on default, if not the machine will be bogged down in the scrubbing even on a 1080P timeline. But overall both the MM M2Pro and the MM M4 Pro do very well with working with even 8K Red camera clips, as long as one knows how to use the cache system well, and the Render In Place which are huge time savers and make editing a lot smoother particularly for the 8k RAW or heavily loaded 4k RAW or Braw clips.
Just bought mine! Top spec M4 Pro, 64Gb unified, 2Tb storage. It is going to replace my 2017 4.2Ghz i7 iMac. Going to MSI G32C4X monitor.
I think the M4 Studio will be more bang for the buck. The maxed out mini is a powerhouse for sure but gets really expensive when upgrades are added in.
I'm sure the studio will be insane! Honestly, it's mostly the storage that is super expensive, I think the TB5 solution saves a lot of money and a maxed out mini is enough for almost anyone. Still looking forward to that Studio though 😅
For video, 3D work, sure, the M4 Mac Studio configs will be great value. For audio work, definitely not worth it for me.
I agree, but if you need something now, I think this is a valuable option and quite frankly I’m not sure for me personally the studio would really be that much more of a value. I mainly do light video editing, but it’s gaming where I really desperately wanna get rid of my desktop PCand if if this like Patrick showed can play in a decent enough games I am excited about that as well.
Spot on! If you can wait until the M4 series Mac Studios are launched, I think they will provide much better value for money than a fully spec’s out M4 Mac mini. My suspicion is that a M4 Pro Mac mini spec’d out to have the same amount of storage and unified memory as an entry M4 Mac Studio will be similarly priced to the entry level Mac Studio, except for the entry-level M4 Mac studio will come with an M4 Max chip, as compared to the M4 Pro chip in the Mac Mini. In other words, you’ll get the upgrade from M4 Pro chip to M4 Max chip for free, as well as additional I/O and an even better cooling system. I could be wrong of course, however that’s my prediction, therefore I will be waiting for the new Mac Studios to launch next year. In the meantime, I may buy an entry-level M4 MaC Mini to keep me occupied in the meantime!
@@glennsan1998
Dude has a ~$9K MacBook. Apple loves him like family.
Perils of living in Europe. We pay premium
UA-camrs can afford it.
Great video Patrick. I got the base model and repurposed a IMAC 27 in as a monitor so I have a make believe studio display at 5k haha. Works great!😊
Haha nice! The base model is amazing
I have got a 5K retina 27inch iMac and would like to repurpose it. How did you do it ? Can you point me in the right direction?
Loved this video Patrick! Your energy and enthusiasm is contagious and we need that right now in the U.S. :)))))
Aw thanks Jane!
2:10 That MacMini case looks incredible! I really wish it was available for purchase online-not everyone has access to a 3D printer.
That would be great, I agree.
Usually u can find some offers to print out 3d cads. I guess u just gotta search
@@PatrickRambleswhere did you find the 3D file to print?
@ricarmig it's in the description.
Depending on where you are in the world, there are quite a few online printing services. I've used a couple before and they've been great. I think Shapeways is one of the popular ones.
The mac mini tower is wicked .
I recently found your channel and I’m enjoying the content so far. Keep it up! I’ve considered getting the exact specifications that you got, but I am pretty satisfied with what I have with the M2 Pro Mac Mini. Glad you made this video, though. Thank you for this!
Thanks man, I appreciate that 👊
I have my first mac that i purchased in July this year (2024). It's the MacBook pro 16 m3 max 16 core CPU, 40 GPU 64gb of ram and 2tb of storage in space black. This thing was massively expensive but I have been thinking of a mac since 2021 and have been saving just in case I might want one. Its a beast of a machine and while I like the fact the M4 is faster, this M3 max is no joke. I have NEVER heard the fans kick on not once since I have owned it. I don't do a lot of heavy usage on my machine but I wanted to future proof myself. I really like this computer. But I am still watching any video about any new chip mac computer.
I have a macbook pro 16-inch i9 8 core, 8gb GPU and 64g of ram from 2019 and it's still going well after all these years. I'm only now having problems w Premiere audio AI tools crashing my machine, but everything else i do is fine. These are solid machines that are expensive but last a long time. You made a solid investment for years to come (esp if you use for heavy workloads like video editing)
There will always be something newer and better on the horizon but your machine is a beast, should last you quite a few good years!
Thanks for doing this vid. I am just starting watching but I bought the top spec as well and curious how it performs. Here we go...
🤝
Amazing video!! One of the best reviews I've seen of this device!! I'm ordering this spec and the external OWC SSD
Thanks man 🙏🏻
@@PatrickRamblesthose OWCs are backordered until end of January already. Great video.
the mac mini pro enclosure is SICK!!!
👊
Awesome video Patrick 💪🏻 Great info and that mini case is stunning. Keep up the good work.
Thanks a ton!
I have been waiting for this kind of review🎉
❤️
Thank you for this review. I am thinking of getting this instead of the M4Pro MacBook Pro base model but am now undecided!
What's your pros and cons list?
@@PatrickRambles I have always owned MacBooks and only have a basic Dell monitor (used an additional monitor) which means I would have get a new monitor if I were to buy a MacMini. The price point however makes these new MacMinis very attractive even if I were to buy a new monitor. So I leaning towards the MacMinis and may decide to get them soon.
The Mx mouse so true! Best Bluetooth mouse available! Great video mate!
Thanks!
Great review, as always. Apple really knocked it out of the park with their new Minis. I've got the base model, which meets my needs nicely, but that Pro is droolworthy.
The base model is the best value for money and if it works for you, it's a killer purchase 👌
@@PatrickRambles Yep!
Thanks for this review! I just ordered the same specs but @48G RAM. Replacing my 2017 MBP. It will be great since the video scrubs even on iMovie bog down, etc. and the render and export times are quite high also.
Thanks for putting the mic to the computer. I will be doing some voiceovers and that helped to ally my worries for recording.
❤❤❤❤❤
Thank you! And subscribed!
Thanks!! That will be one heck of an upgrade for you, let me know how you like it!
40 Tabs LOL you clearly don't know my girlfriend ;)
You might want to start keeping tabs on her.
@@PatrickRambles 🤣
I just wished that Apple would have stepped it up with their other products like the phone and iPad. That is crazy what they have done with the mini line. Thanks for the reviews. They are help a lot of people to make sound decisions.
Thanks Steve! Yes I wish they'd made similar leaps for iphone and iPad. Perhaps next year 🤞
You can never not have enough studio displays! 😆😍 The setup is 🤌🔥
🙌🙌🙌
Love this video! Great channel and very nice to eye and ear! Really well done, Patrick! Subscribed and can't wait to see more! xx
Awesome, thank you!
Good Reviews...I am about to get one for myself...!
Nice!
Yes you can upgrade the SSD on the Mac mini M4 and M4 Pro. They each have different NAND board size footprints however it's been widely documented this is doable.
You can dismantle the device and physically remove the SSD, that doesn't mean it's meant to be replaced.
Great video mate. Insane set up. Just missing 6 screens! 😅
Haha
Subscribed and liked, excellent real world review. Thank you.
Thanks 🙏🏻
Of all things...the Thunderbolt 5 ports on your M4 Pro are VERY tempting to me...
I wanna run one of those beauties with a Thunderbolt 5 drive...
...but...I'm still tempted by that $699 price point to buy a base M4 Mac and use that with my existing Thunderbolt 3 drive and see what happens. The Thunderbolt 4 ports on that machine should be happy to connect to my Thunderbolt 3 drive (I think the data transfer speeds are roughly the same for Thunderbolt 3 and 4).
That $699 is just too good to pass up!
UA-camrs are really enthusiastic over the topic of running Apple Silicon machines from external drives. I can tell you from personal experience that I've tried it with my 8GB/256GB M1 Mac MIni, an old Thunderbolt 3 enclosure and an old NVME drive from a dusty, old Acer desktop.
It's LIBERATING to run the bootup, home folder, apps, and data from one of my base M1 Mac Minis WITHOUT having to even care about the 256GB onboard storage!!! Sure...the benchmarks say it's slower, but my 60+ year-old nervous system can't reliably PERCEIVE the difference under my very average suite of very average applications. To my old eyes and ears, web-browsing, UA-cam, music playing, video watching and such are not affected by essentially booting Apple Silicon off a Thunderbolt 3 drive.
Try it for yourself with some of your old legacy Apple Silcon (Please...on not your day-to-day moneymaker machines! You and your dear and wonderful family have to eat!).
CAUTION! I've heard that the new Apple Intelligence features in macOS 15.1.1 won't run with the external bootup system I use. By sheer accident...I may have dodged a bullet. One of my two Mac Minis is a dual-boot Asahi Linux machine, and the Apple Intelligence partition has no problem sitting alongside Linux. My SECOND M1 Mac Mini running the external bootup is STILL running the barebones (unintelligent?) macOS 15. Whew!
For now, I'm still having fun with this "bigger" M1 storage, so I'm avoiding problems by ignoring that tiny, little red dot on the corner of the App Store icon...😆
Beware!
No matter what, though...I agree it's a really exciting time for Apple Macs! Aloha!
Patrick, You should seriously do more gaming related videos. (With the new macs this is going to be an expanding aarea of interest, you may get a lot of views). One focusing on various ways of porting PC games to Mac, how to get the best performance. Massive potential audience for this, a whole new market could open up for Apple.
Great review / tests. For a monitor, BenQ MA320U is really, really hard to beat.
Thanks! PD series is great for Macs too.
I got the MA270U to go with my new M4 Mini. Compared to the 27" 5k Retina display on the iMac it replaced, I am more than happy with text sharpness but UA-cam videos look 'softer' almost a bit blurry. I wonder if that's to do with the mat screen vs glossy? It looks like the soft lens that movie makers use for aging stars!!
Does it handle 8K raw video well ?
The maxed out pro model can handle it, yes. Not as good as my M3 Max MBP.
Can you do an in-depth comparison between the m2 pro Mac mini and the new m4 pro Mac mini? I'm curious to see how much of a performance jump there is between the 2 generations
The chrome tab test would be nice to see if the M4 Pro Mini was using any more swap memory than the MacBook Pro.
Good point. Noted.
I got the m4pro with 512gb drive. Was $200 off, so just grabbed one. I dont know what people are putting on their OS drive and not offloading other things to external 🤷 but i got a 4TB external work drive and another 4TB sample drive. Also a 16TB NAS doe video storage. So only work drive holds files needed at a particular time locally. Just OS and apps. apps are limited to Luna, Digital Performer, Native Instruments, Resolve (and plugins). Drive isnt even half full. All video and audio reside on external drives which off these thunderbolt ports are faster than internal.
Nice!
Hey dude! Great video! I am torn, I am considering the Mac Mini spec'd out to M4 Pro chip with the 64Gb ram. Do you reckon this machine will easily handle 4K video editing. (I am a videographer / editor by trade) This will be my main machine as my custom windows laptop is starting to throw the towl in. I can't justify the crazy price increase to get the M4 Max MBP. Any guidance would be much appreciated!
*One thing is clear Patrick, you have extremely deep pockets ! None of the equipment you've purchased and are testing for this post is all that affordable (Except the Regular iteration of the New M4 Mac Mini).*
Well, as a reviewer, these are business expenses 🤷♂️
@@PatrickRambles Well, Sir, in that case you have one generous expense account.
@@markjob6354 ✔😎😎
Thanks, nice watches btw
Glad you like them!
This is the review I was looking for. Most of these M4 Mini reviews focus on the base model or compare the Pro to the base & brag on the $599 price tag. I need a machine that smoothly runs Davince Resolve for 8k video & can be a workhourse for a few years. I was especially glad to hear this doesn't run hot...how I don' t know at that size. Also...shout out for the 3:10 shot in the background of the '80's version grey scale Mac with it's floppy drive. I got through grad school on that thing...$300 used. 🤣
Haha that old Macintosh is a thing of beauty and nostalgia 😅. The M4 base model is great for the money, but as you said, when you need some more oomph, this Pro is the way to go 💪
"I'm pretty sure 40 tabs is more than most people would have open".
Hahahahaha, yeah totally *glances at my 300ish Firefox tabs spread across 4 windows*. No one would EVER be insane enough to have more than a couple dozen tabs open 😅
😂😂
Better yet if you have an 60"+ entertainment system with 5.1 Surround Sound or Even Atmos Set yoyr Computer next to it Connect an HDMI cable to the Sound Bay / Atmos system sit in your Recliner with a Blue Tooth KB/Mouse. I have 2 4k 60"UHDTV's so have 2 screens for Editing with Davinci. or one for U-Tube the other to Edit on.
“Lies of pee” lol 😂
that's exactly the Mac Mini m4 PRO that i bought. To the tee. When you say that your Mac Mini M4 PRO costs 1/3 of the MacBook PRO, did you add the display, keyboard and trackpad to the equation?
No, because I already owned the peripherals.
im really considering the mac mini maxed out. im just having hard time to build a pc for video editing or just get maxed out mini lol.
heres my building plan, 9950x, 64gb ddr5, 4080 super, 6tb m.2 ssd
I guess it comes down to your preference for operating system and editing software. Also, if gaming is important to you, the PC would be a better option.
@@PatrickRamblesi dont do gaming, just trying to get the best bang for bucks. with m4 pro 64gb, 1tb. i will save 800$ if i go with mac mini, just wondering if i will get same or better performance lol
I see. Well I am slightly biased because I do prefer MacOS over Windows and I'm partial to Final Cut Pro for video editing, so I'd tell you to grab that Mac mini for a problem-free experience.
@@PatrickRambles thanks so much. i will be making a decision as my current pc cant keep up with my workloads haha.
@mahirahmansphotography8117 I feel ya, nothing worse than a machine bottlenecking your workflow.
I’d love to learn about 3d printing.. can you point me in the right direction?
I'm just now getting into it myself. But Bambulabs seems to be a great prosumer choice. Trying to get them to collab with me :)
First time viewer here. Dude, it took you just shy of 7 min for you to start reviewing it...
Thanks for watching ✌️
Thank you so much!!!!
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
I would buy the xdr display for the mac mini
You can buy 10 base model Mac Minis for that (without the stand) 😅
Good video, very informative
🙏🏻
Fancy Setup
Fantastic video!
Thanks!
I'm considering same spec for mini for Pro Tools work
Fantastic video! Thank you. New Sub!
Welcome!
Nice video Patrick
Is that iMac also an M4?
Thanks! Its the previous model.
Awesome & Thanks :)
🙏🏻
At that level I’d be going studio, for better thermals if nothing else…. Roll on spring…
I'm looking forward to that one too 🔥
Is that an Alexa?😂😊 2:27
Yessir. We have a polyamorous assistant situation going on here in the studio.
You paid $3k for a machine, lol up to $4k with the accessories
Great Video!
Thanks!
Mac will be the gaming computer of the future
Patric, what calibrator and software are you using to color calibrate the Apple studio monitors for an Adobe 1998 color space? Apples displays are notoriously bright. I just wanna know if you’re bringing your screen brightness down to halfway or so for color calibration.
Hey! I find the colors out of the box pretty good. But for calibration, I use a calibrite color checker.
And what about mac mini m4 pro fan foise in regular working mode (not the maximum load), does it still hear or the fans normally off?
Either off or super quiet.
How do I purchase one of the 3d printed enclosures you showed from Dennis?
I don't think he sells them, but the link to the design is in the description!
@@PatrickRambles ok…I didn’t see the link.
Hey great video .. I was just wondering .. since you can open this new " Thunderbolt 5 enclosure " Can you upgrade it with the GEN.5 m.2 product like...? SABRENT T705 4TB PCIe Gen5 NVMe M.2 SSD. .... Where nowdays they promote 14 000 mb/s speeds on SSD. The question is .. do you think this Thunderbolt 5 will be benefit from the 14gb/s and You gonna be able to run this fast on max..... or it's gonna happen bottleneck .. ??? Thank you
where can I buy a 3D printed out of metal Mac Pro case for this Mac mini ?
The link to the design is in the description. It's not metal though :)
As a photographer editing the largest Nikon RAW files, with PS and LR running at the same time, do you think 24GB of memory is completely sufficient on the Pro, or do I need to spend $400 and jump up to 48GB? Thanks for your thoughts. Love your reviews!
Thanks John! 24 should do for most things but personally I'd upgrade, especially if you plan to keep it for some years to come.
@@PatrickRambles Thanks for the tip!
Is it possible to connect the Mac mini to any of the older m series imacs using some cable (idk which would work)?? I love the imac and want to purchase one but I also wish to use the display in the future with a Mac mini once the imac gets old. Thank you! Love your videos!!
@rtacher down in the comments seems to have made this work. I haven't looked into it myself.
@@PatrickRamblesI just read their comment. With Intel imacs it seems to be possible, I have seen a few yt videos on it but I haven't come across any connecting the Mac mini to an m series chip imac. Hopefully someone does try it and share their insights. Thank you for your reply.
@inquisitive2098 I didn't think it would be possible. Now I'm cusious 😂
@@PatrickRambles if you do give it a go please do let us know!
Will do
thanks!
There are better monitors for less money than Apple Studio Display? Name one. There are some with OLED and/or “better” refresh rate but are 4K or less resolution with suboptimal scaling on Mac. Most have inferior max brightness, too.
I think he was just throwing people a bone.
Any of Dell Ultrasharp / Eizo on IPS Black with 4k & Auto Brightness sensor
@hvasya for graphic designers/editors they're great. Wouldn't recommend an IPS panel for content consumption or gaming.
Definitely can buy a top of the line OLED for that kind of money. Of Course, nothing will be as optimized as apples own
Samsung infinity 9 is Apple Mac Monitor clone for $600 less $999
Your opinions, please. Which of the following configurations would you choose? Please add your reasoning for making your choice. Thanks for your input.
A. M4 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 10GB ethernet
or
B. M4 Pro 24GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 10GB ethernet.
Would you know if the 512ssd has slower read/write speeds than the 1tb, etc?
You can play any game you want with GForce Now on a these Mac Mini... Just have a good connection. A i even use my T-Mobile Home Internet 5G. You can't tell the game is being hosted. Which I wondered about. but it seems NVIDIA spent money on their servers..
how’s the latency?
@@PatrickRambles That was my concern. so I used the service for 3 months. Something like $10.00 a month.
The normal is 26 download and 64 upload.. But I am using a 5G network. People with Fiber would get better results I'm assuming.
But the reason I use T Mobile 5G Home Internet it's mobile. As I live in an RV. So I move around from cell towers. But average is 900 Download and 100 Upload. All for $25.00.a month with auto pay. So I can't complain..
I'll give it a try!
Did U try live video editing via the 10 Gbit LAN port?
Not yet!
For photo editing (not video) large files 47-60mb will 48ram be enough and should I upgrade the chip?
If you prefer Chrome over Safari, you’re a psychopath. Period. 😂
Hello, Clarice...
Who makes those Acoustic panels behind your desk?
GIK Acoustics.
@@PatrickRamblesthank you.
You’re expensive but I love the base model Mac mini m4
It’s $499 at Costco for entry 16Gb,256
My m1 still fine no need to upgrade
What happen with the mouse , can you add the link for the mouse
How is the fan noise?
Almost non existent. It's in the video ;)
Perspective is everything.
Every comparison and measurable parameter discussed is truly bizarre when you step back and realize you are talking about seconds and minutes between thousands of dollars that in the end won’t help you in anyway, it all seems silly.
When Photoshop was in its v6 and PowerMacs had 2GB HDs with between 16-132 MEGABYTES of ram, you had to manage your time and know that your external ULTRA SCSI II 2GB scratch disks will get your hi res commercial printer bound files to save in about 15 - 20 minutes. Remember one undo also made you adapt in different ways like saving different versions, which still takes considerable time, making your workflow dependent on the ability to think several steps ahead within the limitations of the hardware. So maybe that’s why I’m blown away at the attention to rendering speed comparison within 2 minutes, since I remember 20 minutes.
We used to travel by horse too. Just because we had to find a way to make that work, doesn't mean today's travel options aren't more efficient. Times change, and so do workflows.
Yes
I saw a test of the OWC TB5 drive and it appears the speed falls off significantly when transferring large files almost not any faster than a TB4 drive. Kind of disappointing.
Hey, where did you see that? Can't say I've noticed the same. One of the most important things for me is being able to edit straight from the drive without slowdowns. So far it's excellent, but I'll definitely report back for my next review.
@@PatrickRambles Does the disk get hot?
@@PatrickRambles Saw the test on two other UA-cam channels. They were moving 500GB file and after a few minutes time speed dropped below half.
what monitors do you have
Studio display 👌
How did you get witcher3 to work at all? I have the MacBook Pro M3 pro Max and follow online advice for steam and crossover and it crashes every time even in direct 11.
I don't know, it just worked fine straight away at those settings 🤷♂️.
Do you have a name for that computer stand you removed. I like it. Can you tell me what model it was? It was from time 2:32
It's also from Grovemade, just a different size and color.
@@PatrickRambles Thanks a lot.
Not the gray sweatpants!!!🥵🥵🥵
It is great value for money, if not the best. But careful for design and print industry it’s not going to handle the large files, saying that I mean I will handle them but when you have large files and they needing colour correction etc it’s going to choke a little. It’s fast and it is a good, no excellent value for money computer. Just every tool for the job. One thing if you going to use it for professional design etc go for as much ram as possible, 16gb won’t do it.
is base m4 a rip off? I ordered base m4 and base m4 pro and just factory setting the m4 pro...
Not at all, I think the base model is great value for money.
@@PatrickRambles Thank you, I figure save the money, and if i need any heavy renders, just plug the ssd into my 4090 gaming rig. holding off for the m4 studio, or m4 mini with max
a rough export test
m4 base - 59s
M4 pro - 29s
4090 - 18s
So Sir Jorah is a tech reviewer now??
Haha you're not the first one to say that
NO. WiFi 7. Massive mistake on apples part
Pros are not Max replacements, especially for anything involving graphics
M4 and M3 can't be compared pound for pound though.
What are those speakers ?
Which ones?
@@PatrickRambles I see on your desk those two white box speakers one was in left and another right 2:30
@@thesuperstar4470 Yamaha HS7 ?
Sorry, I missed your reply. It the Yamaha HS5
If you're looking for an alternative, I can also recommend the Rokit RP series. I use them as well and love both.