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Why I Bought an M4 Pro Mac Mini [u]

Posted on November 2, 2024 by Larry

[ Updated Nov. 24, 2024, with a note on CPUs & GPUs. ]

Over the weekend, I bought the newly-announced M4 Pro Mac Mini. I want to tell you what I bought and why.

Clearly, there are less expensive systems, but I had four specific goals in mind:

  1. Upgrade a 2018 Intel i7 Mac mini, with 8 GB of RAM, used as a web server.
  2. Get a system supporting Thunderbolt 5. None of my other computers provide that option.
  3. Get a high-performance unit for testing and comparison to other M-series Macs.
  4. Get a unit that would serve as a high-performance web server for an Axle AI media asset management system. (I’ll cover how I used this in a future article.)

RELEVANT ARTICLES

Click to see larger image.

This is the system I bought. Here’s why.

NOTE:  Here’s an earlier review of the 2022 M2 Pro Mac mini so you can see what that older unit can already do. The new system will do more – faster.

RAM

RAM cannot be upgraded later. So, deciding how much RAM to buy is always a crap-shoot. If all you are doing is media editing, 24 GB is fine. If you are editing significant numbers of large frame size multicam clips, more RAM is better, but not required.

As an example, a 24 GB M2 Pro Mac mini was able to stream 25+ angles of ProRes 422 4K media. So, really, 24 GB on the M4 would be sufficient even for major multicam projects. Actually, the speed of your storage is a greater factor in determining multicam editing performance than the amount of RAM.

I bought 48 GB of RAM because, um, I didn’t need it, but I wanted it. Your budget may say differently.

CPUs vs. GPUs

Based on my recent testing of different NLEs running on the M4 Pro, I’ve discovered that increasing the number of GPUs has a greater impact on performance than increasing the number of CPUs.

I’ve also discovered that no NLE uses all the CPUs, while all three NLEs maximize use of available GPUs.

Based on these tests, if I were to buy this system again and I wanted to maximize performance without totally breaking the bank, I’d get the M4 Pro chip with 14 CPU cores and 20 GPUs for $200 more.

NOTE: You can see all my tests in the Performance Tests linked at the top of this article.

STORAGE

Any internal storage above 2 TB is an indulgence. All my media and projects are stored externally, on an 8 TB NVMe SSD RAID. As I write this, my internal drive – with over 135 applications and the latest macOS, is using less than 500 GB of internal storage.

So, while 512 GB is too small for media work, either 1 or 2 TB of internal storage is just ducky. If you are pressed for cash, 1 TB is fine. Truly.

THUNDEBOLT 5

Thunderbolt 5 requires a computer with an M4 Pro or M4 Max chip.

This is the main reason I got this unit. I can’t review or test Thunderbolt 5 devices if I don’t have a computer capable of supporting Thunderbolt 5. Not that I have any Thunderbolt 5 gear… yet. Let not reality interfere with your storage plans.

ETHERNET

My office network is optimized for 10G – mainly because I wanted to learn how to create a network with bandwidth that fast. I regularly get 600 – 700 MB/second data transfers between my local system and the server. (A 1G Ethernet network transfers data about 100 MB/second.)

However, while those speeds are great for file transfers and backups, I’ve not been able to successfully edit media directly from my Synology server. I’ve been told the Synology operating system is not optimized for media playback and editing. Every time I attempt to edit directly from the server, I get playback stutters and dropped frames.

If I need to edit, I transfer files from the server to my local SSD RAID. I use the server for long-term storage. So, my initial thoughts of using the server for editing didn’t work out. BUT, I have a really fast backup system.

SUMMARY

Now you know what I bought and why. The unit arrives the end of November. I’ll provide in-depth performance details when I can test it in person.

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39 Responses to Why I Bought an M4 Pro Mac Mini [u]

Newer Comments →
  1. Kevin Stirling says:
    November 4, 2024 at 3:17 am

    Hi Larry,

    Great review and very interesting.
    On a side note —

    Can you offer any monitor recommendations?

    Larry — as always — thank you.

    Best,
    Kevin

    Reply
  2. Ed Waldrup says:
    November 4, 2024 at 3:54 am

    I am sure you are aware of the speed of Apple SSDs. Have you compared it to speeds on external SSDs? That speed difference might justify the added cost for some users.

    Reply
    • Larry Jordan says:
      November 4, 2024 at 4:11 am

      I haven’t tested M4 systems – yet – but for existing M-series computers, Internal Apple SSDs are the same speed as Thunderbolt 5 and double that of Thunderbolt 3/4.

      I should also mention that no current NLE – FCP, Premiere or Resolve – renders or exports media fast enough to fully fill a Thunderbolt 3/4 pipe. AT BEST, FCP exports at 2 GB/second, one-third the speed of the internal Apple storage. Premiere and Resolve are slower. No current NLE will come close to saturating Thunderbolt 5. Pending tests, my assumption is that file transfers using Finder or other third-party file transfer software will come close to filling a Thunderbolt 5 pipe – assuming the storage hardware is fast enough to support that speed.

      Larry

      Reply
  3. Dick Osso says:
    November 4, 2024 at 4:53 am

    Hi Larry…you did what I was thinking…..Mac Mini Pro. Thinking 32 Gb ram and 2 TB storage. Looking to but a gaming curved 34 inch monitor at a price point I can afford but is a gateway (chip) to new toys down the near road in 2025. Looking to buy in April. Thanks for holding my hand, wondering which upgrade path to go….your path is mine….thank you

    Reply
  4. Eric Hvisc says:
    November 4, 2024 at 8:08 am

    I am thinking of replacing my present system iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) with a newer system. My present business is converting Legacy video(Super a film VHS tape) two more modern format. In fact I just started converting homemade DVDs to flash drives and cloud finally formats. I’m thinking a Mac mini with two 4K monitors might do the trick for me what is your opinion?

    Reply
    • Larry says:
      November 4, 2024 at 9:06 am

      Eric:

      Given your current system, you’d probably see a 4- 5X performance increase in saving and converting media. The actual capture, because it happens in real-time would remain the same.

      Larry

      Reply
  5. Clayton Moore says:
    November 4, 2024 at 9:33 am

    I always appreciate your thoughts in these areas – it always represents perspective for me.

    Reply
  6. Bob Hirsch says:
    November 4, 2024 at 10:21 am

    Hi, Larry,
    Your comment “The M4 Mac mini is roughly double the performance of an M2 Mac mini from 2023 and the equal of an M2 Ultra Mac Studio” Is that the M4 Mac PRO Mini or just the
    M4 Mini? Just wondering since the M2 Ultra Mac Studio is about twice the price, Thanks

    Reply
  7. H. Nelson says:
    November 4, 2024 at 10:23 am

    So glad to see the prices coming down on new Macs. I’ve held off buying a new one because I traditionally have used Mac Pro’s (mainly for audio editing, with a modicum of video editing) and altho I will probably segue to the Mac Studio, it least it won’t break the bank.

    Reply
    • Larry says:
      November 4, 2024 at 10:43 am

      Just to make your decisions harder, the new M Pro Mac Mini is more powerful than the M2 Mac Studio Ultra or the M2 Ultra in the Mac Pro.

      For a fraction of the price. Yes, the next Mac Studio will be faster, but it won’t be out for several more months.

      Larry

      Reply
      • H. Nelson says:
        November 5, 2024 at 9:22 am

        I have the patience of Job 🙂

        (Appreciate the add’l info! I won’t be buying until sometime next year at the earliest)

        Reply
  8. HAPPY DECAY says:
    November 5, 2024 at 2:38 am

    Thanks for sharing these insights. It tipped me to go with the MM Pro version. I mostly do graphics/digital illustration work so might be a bit over the top but rather have the ability to have more power if need be. Having more is not a problem only when you don’t it is.

    Reply
  9. Gene K says:
    November 13, 2024 at 7:52 pm

    Purely for FCP Editing … M2 Studio or M4 iMac? Your suggestions, please.

    Reply
  10. David J. Smolar says:
    November 17, 2024 at 7:49 am

    Excellent information as always. And ditto on the Synology issue. My last job used Synology for the server, then switched to Microsoft Azure, which is a “blob”-based MAM and can’t be used for edit. But Synology is always going to be too latent for editing use. Hoping for the day I’m in a place where I can successfully edit from a server and not have to pull things down locally.

    Reply
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