The more I use the mini, the more I like it. tiny but powerful enough to finish my work, plus, it's so quiet!
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Anyone return the base M4 for M4 Pro?
- Thread starter MrGimper
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Wonder how many have gone the other way. Purchased a Pro and returned it for an M4
I was tempted to make a poll of M4 to Pro and vice versa. But didn't lol.
Yes I returned the Base M4 for a M4 Pro with 10Gig Ethernet, 12 Core CPU 1TB Storage 24GB RAM. I loved it so much I had to return the Base Model because it’s gonna be a main Computer for a while since I decided to s
i loved the Base M4 Mac Mini So much I returned it.
and got the
M4 Pro 12 Core with 24GB RAM 1TB storage, and 10Gig Ethernet.
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I just returned by M4 24GB/1TB. I have ordered a full Pro with 48GB/2TB and 10Gbps ethernet.
This system is a keeper and will be in my hideaway "study" with all the music keyboards. My main driver is still an M1 ULtra Studio with 64GB/4TB. I thought I was crazy buying that, but it is still marvelous after four years.
It pays to buy up if you do not replace systems frequently.
Previous minis have been underwhelming this one blows you away.
This system is a keeper and will be in my hideaway "study" with all the music keyboards. My main driver is still an M1 ULtra Studio with 64GB/4TB. I thought I was crazy buying that, but it is still marvelous after four years.
It pays to buy up if you do not replace systems frequently.
Previous minis have been underwhelming this one blows you away.
Actually… I am thinking about doing this.
The M4 Pro is awesome but I still don’t know if, in the long run, I will take a better advantage of an M4 with 32GB of RAM instead of my new M4 Pro with 24GB of RAM. The difference between both machines is 300€.
I decided I'd value the 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD over the Pro chip.
The extra RAM could be useful for better local LLMs (it is usually said that for LLMs the more RAM the better) but at the same time the bigger bandwidth of the M4 Pro memory may make it a better option for this use case.
On the other hand, the much improved graphics make it really attractive especially for gaming, but I plan to get a PS5 slim or pro next year so… I don’t see myself gaming on the Mac. Although there are so many indie/niche cool games on Steam that I could play via Crossover, that I’m not sure if the extra 50-60% extra graphics will come in handy for those. The regular M4 GPU is actually quite capable… so maybe the most sensible decision is to return the M4 Pro and get the 1TB/32GB M4 mac mini. It also lacks Thunderbolt 5 and has a slower SSD but hey, At least it is 60g lighter and 300€ cheaper.
The SSD is slower, but how that represents itself in real world is what counts.... I don't notice a difference between the 1TB SSD on my M4 which is 3000 r/w vs the 2TB on my 16" M3 Max which is 6700 w and 5400 r.
For gaming I either use my Xbox Series X or I use Geforce Now for Elite Dangerous:Odyssey which is what I play most often.
realistically unless you know you need a lot of memory, or want a fast gpu for 3d things and gaming, the base m4 is plenty. If you know you need/want a lot of RAM, you're kinda forced upwards in the stack though. Once you start adding RAM to the base M4, its a relatively cheap (well, vs. the rest of the upgrade costs) step to M4 Pro with the better GPU at the same time.
Although Mac OS makes anything "work," lower RAM means sub-optimal operation. Anyone running images apps will be much more optimal running under 32 GB RAM or preferably more. In my experience with M2, 64 GB is plenty in 2024 but as always I expect OS/apps to like even more RAM as time goes on.
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I got the base M4 and tested it - all was fine
Then I got the M4 Pro and tested it - didn't like the noise under load so I'm returning it and I have base M4 with 24gb RAM on the way.
Then I got the M4 Pro and tested it - didn't like the noise under load so I'm returning it and I have base M4 with 24gb RAM on the way.
Yours is a tough choice; computing today is largely about the RAM. Personally on the Pro chip version I would find the +US$400 for 48 GB RAM or the +US$600 for 64 GB RAM worthwhile. But once you get into that price range waiting to see the M4 Studio becomes enticing.
Yep. I’ve decided to not spend more than 1.500€ which is approximately the price (discount included) that can buy me either an M4 1TB/32GB, or an M4 Pro with 512GB/24GB. If it was worth it, I could stretch my budget 250€ more to have a 1TB/24GB M4 Pro but… I don’t know if it’s worth it.
I definitely need 1TB of internal storage. I’m used to that internal storage, and I don’t like to mess with external SSDs for the next 8 years.
However, the faster SSD on the M4 Pro may offer a benefit in performance in a few years… or maybe not. It is almost twice as fast so, I don’t know.
I have a M1 Pro and M3 Pro MBP.
With the Mini, i decided to go vanilla and base config (16/256) and I am glad I chose that.
I did have a spare 2TB SSD and a thunderbolt enclosure so that was free in a way and helps the cause.
else 256GB would not have sufficed - so far the external storage seems to be as good as native and in fact benchmarks better.
Granted its been just a few days but nothing that I have thrown at it so far (including crossover games ) has made it skip a beat - and subjectively speaking, it seems to be as good if not better than the M3 Pro
I guess that apart from the generational improvement, The bigger enclosure and fans also help it with heat dissipation relative to the M3P and M1P
I paid just over $600 equivalent incl taxes (52K INR)
PS: For those circumspect about external storage, the newer Thunderbolt enclosures connect over the PCI-Express link as opposed to the relatively unstable USB bus. I used said enclosure on and off (mostly on) with the older M1P for a year and had zero issues (unlike older USB 3 drives which would inevitably have some or the other minor glitch)
With the Mini, i decided to go vanilla and base config (16/256) and I am glad I chose that.
I did have a spare 2TB SSD and a thunderbolt enclosure so that was free in a way and helps the cause.
else 256GB would not have sufficed - so far the external storage seems to be as good as native and in fact benchmarks better.
Granted its been just a few days but nothing that I have thrown at it so far (including crossover games ) has made it skip a beat - and subjectively speaking, it seems to be as good if not better than the M3 Pro
I guess that apart from the generational improvement, The bigger enclosure and fans also help it with heat dissipation relative to the M3P and M1P
I paid just over $600 equivalent incl taxes (52K INR)
PS: For those circumspect about external storage, the newer Thunderbolt enclosures connect over the PCI-Express link as opposed to the relatively unstable USB bus. I used said enclosure on and off (mostly on) with the older M1P for a year and had zero issues (unlike older USB 3 drives which would inevitably have some or the other minor glitch)
I bought the base M4 mini.
Being a heavy multitasker/power user with a ton of apps running simultaneously and lot of browser tabs open at any given time, the memory pressure is constantly orange in the Activity Monitor.
So, I ordered a M4 Pro 12/16 48GB 512GB. I'll return the base mini in the coming days.
I am coming from a 64GB M1 Max MBP.
24GB or 32GB RAM should probably be fine, but wanted to give myself a present.
Being a heavy multitasker/power user with a ton of apps running simultaneously and lot of browser tabs open at any given time, the memory pressure is constantly orange in the Activity Monitor.
So, I ordered a M4 Pro 12/16 48GB 512GB. I'll return the base mini in the coming days.
I am coming from a 64GB M1 Max MBP.
24GB or 32GB RAM should probably be fine, but wanted to give myself a present.
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Yeah, I haven’t had a 16GB Apple Silicon but I suspect I would be in your situation as I’m a heavy multitasker as well. That’s why I’m aiming for the 1TB/32GB M4 Mac mini.
Such an awesome present! An M4 Pro paired with 48GB of RAM should be a beast. Enjoy it!
I purchased a base m4 pro and decided to try the base m4 model with 512gb storage and I have decided to keep the m4 pro version. Performance for me seems much better on the pro.