I’m leaning towards it being essentially a pro mac mini due to its lack of user expansion ie fixed ram and hd space , your thoughts ?
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Mac studio : is it a Pro Mac Mini or a Mini Mac Pro ?
- Thread starter George Dawes
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It’s definitely a pro Mac mini in the sense that it’s the exact same footprint, just taller, and it doesn’t have the modularity of a Mac Pro.
Either way, I freaking love this machine.
Either way, I freaking love this machine.
Definitely Mini pro. However Im not 100% sure as my assessment depends on what Apple brings up with a new Mac Pro
The “pro” moniker has lost all meaning. When it comes to Apple products, “pro” only means expensive.
What the hell is an iPhone Pro?
The Mac Studio has very little in common with the Mac Mini except the case profile is the same (yet the height isn’t). I wouldn’t call it a Mac Mini anything, and it certainly has nothing in common with the big expensive Mac Pro.
I think it’s safe to say that the Studio is in a class of its own.
What the hell is an iPhone Pro?
The Mac Studio has very little in common with the Mac Mini except the case profile is the same (yet the height isn’t). I wouldn’t call it a Mac Mini anything, and it certainly has nothing in common with the big expensive Mac Pro.
I think it’s safe to say that the Studio is in a class of its own.
The GPU and the screen itself (ghosting) are starting to fail on my my late 2015 27" iMac, so replacement is imminent. I don't want to spend the $'s on the Mac Studio (nor do I realistically need that much horsepower), so I'm considering a M1 Mac Mini 16gb / 1TB and a Studio Display totaling $2800 OR a "certified" 2017 iMac Pro 8core Xeon / 32gb / 1 TB for $2260 on Ebay. Brand new vs refurb is worth that cash to me, but my question to anyone in-the-know: Is the M1 Mac Mini an equal performer to this spec iMac Pro? Thanks!
An eBay certified anything means nothing.
The M1 is faster than that iMac but the iMac has twice the RAM
The M1 is faster than that iMac but the iMac has twice the RAM
The problem with the current Mac Mini is still the max ram of 16GB. The M1 in the Mini should outshine the iMac Pro CPU as well as the SoC GPU is likely faster.
You've
The two processors are close to the same ultimate performance in multicore, but the M1 wins hands down in single thread, so the whole operating system responsiveness and day-to-day experience will be so much more fluid with the M1 Mini.
You've not expressed any single use scenarios that would seem to require the benefits of the iMac Pro over the Mini (x86 Virtualisation, more than 2 screens, numerous TB3 or USB3 devices etc) or anything that demands lots of memory.
I wouldn't get too hung up on the "mere" 16GB RAM. Apple Silicon is way more memory efficient than Intel and you'll get a lot more done with 16GB in an M1 than you would with the Xeon (if it had 16GB) (close to twice in some scenarios). I've got an M1 Mini with 16GB as my primary workstation (and 2 others for computational duties) and it copes without issue with 40+ Safari tabs, Mail, MS Office etc ie. general workstation duties without breaking into a sweat. There's even scope to run a virtual Win11 machine (though I only turn it on if and when I need it, it can take the memory pressure just into the yellow if I've got a 4K video transcoding in the background)
I'd certainly not look at a second hand 5 year old machine that's only 2 years younger than the failing one I'm replacing for that sort of money. I'd also consider getting the M1 Mini from the Apple Refurb site and saving the $200+. Your investment will be in the Studio Display, and that should give you easily 7+ years of trouble free usage, who's to say that the iMac Pro won't suffer the same problems as your current iMac in 2 years time. The Mini can also always be replaced with something yet to be released in time for less costs (not that I think you'll need to) and the M1 Mini will still have significant % value in resale (especially if got off the refuirb site)
Oh, and to add another modern concern to the equation, the iMac Pro (here in the UK) would use an additional £400 worth of electricity per year over the M1 and Studio Display combined (and getting worse as prices go up) for what is in general use situations a slower computer.
The two processors are close to the same ultimate performance in multicore, but the M1 wins hands down in single thread, so the whole operating system responsiveness and day-to-day experience will be so much more fluid with the M1 Mini.
You've not expressed any single use scenarios that would seem to require the benefits of the iMac Pro over the Mini (x86 Virtualisation, more than 2 screens, numerous TB3 or USB3 devices etc) or anything that demands lots of memory.
I wouldn't get too hung up on the "mere" 16GB RAM. Apple Silicon is way more memory efficient than Intel and you'll get a lot more done with 16GB in an M1 than you would with the Xeon (if it had 16GB) (close to twice in some scenarios). I've got an M1 Mini with 16GB as my primary workstation (and 2 others for computational duties) and it copes without issue with 40+ Safari tabs, Mail, MS Office etc ie. general workstation duties without breaking into a sweat. There's even scope to run a virtual Win11 machine (though I only turn it on if and when I need it, it can take the memory pressure just into the yellow if I've got a 4K video transcoding in the background)
I'd certainly not look at a second hand 5 year old machine that's only 2 years younger than the failing one I'm replacing for that sort of money. I'd also consider getting the M1 Mini from the Apple Refurb site and saving the $200+. Your investment will be in the Studio Display, and that should give you easily 7+ years of trouble free usage, who's to say that the iMac Pro won't suffer the same problems as your current iMac in 2 years time. The Mini can also always be replaced with something yet to be released in time for less costs (not that I think you'll need to) and the M1 Mini will still have significant % value in resale (especially if got off the refuirb site)
Oh, and to add another modern concern to the equation, the iMac Pro (here in the UK) would use an additional £400 worth of electricity per year over the M1 and Studio Display combined (and getting worse as prices go up) for what is in general use situations a slower computer.
Great. Thanks for the advice. I was leaning toward brand new, but wanted to run it by others. I'm seeing that the M1 Mini is giving iMac Pros and current Mac Pros a run for their money. It's great to finally see such a huge jump in desktop performance after what seemed like years of marginal improvements, and that for a relatively affordable price tag.
My main workload is in FCP, Logic, Photoshop and InDesign (I'm a freelance media guy). So far none of my FCP projects are super lengthy or complicated, so no massive renders, huge storage needs (other than a dedicated SSD for video that I also back up regularly) or an array of displays. I think the M1 Mini will do be just fine for quite a while, and will still drive an XDR display should I decide to upgrade/indulge in such semi-frivolous and sweat-inducing expenditures down the road.
Yeah I thought about that but my usage, 16gb should be fine. I had bumped up my current 2015 iMac to 32gb recently, (manly because it was affordable, so why not?) it was really not that noticeable of an improvement in Logic or FCP tasks.
Yeah, I had thought about that, but for my usage 16gb should be fine. I recently bumped up my current 2015 iMac I7 to 32gb (mainly because it was affordable, so why not?) but the improvement in Logic and FCP was not that noticeable.
My main workload is in FCP, Logic, Photoshop and InDesign (I'm a freelance media guy). So far none of my FCP projects are super lengthy or complicated, so no massive renders, huge storage needs (other than a dedicated SSD for video that I also back up regularly) or an array of displays. I think the M1 Mini will do be just fine for quite a while, and will still drive an XDR display should I decide to upgrade/indulge in such semi-frivolous and sweat-inducing expenditures down the road.
Ah, for professional media it's not that I wouldn't recommend the M1 over the iMac Pro (I still would) but I'd seriously look at the Studio Max instead.
If there's one thing I've learnt over the decades with computing ... s**t expands to fill the space available and the same goes with exploiting capabilities you never imagined were possible. I've found myself undergoing media projects I ever imagined since getting my 1st M1 at launch back in 2020 that simply wouldn't have been possible on my old Mac Pro 5,1, and it's quite possible the same will be true for yourself. I'm not saying specify for longevity or the future or the like, I'm saying you'll find the M1 so much more capable than your iMac you're not even aware of the possibilities & capabilities.
If you could (and you can't) spec an M1 Mini with 32Gb and 1Tb, it'd be £1699 here in the UK (£1799 with 10Gb ethernet). The base Studio Max with 1Tb is "only" £400 more (it comes with 10GB as default) at £2199 (US/UK pricing is 1:1 but the UK price includes 20% VAT/Tax, I realise US doesn't include sales tax)
I'm not saying that a 16Gb M1 wouldn't fill your immediate needs (cause it will and will perform so much better than your current iMac), but I do think you'd very quickly wish you'd gone for the Studio Max. I'd give it 9 months max (less if you get the opportunity to compare the two back-to-back). 70% extra CPU performance and double the media engines (as well as the extra memory) will see you through the new expanded capabilities heading your way (for only £400 extra, yes I realise technically it's £800 but for professional media I think you'll be on the limit with 16Gb and be very soon wishing you'd have gone for more)
I'd still stay away from the iMac Pro
PS. If your short term cash flow allows, you could always order both an M1 16gb and Studio Max (though you'd have to be careful with delivery times to get the two to be available simultaneously what with the Studio Max having a 12 week lead time) and utilise the 14 day return policy to send one of the two back after you've compared them. I got a base Studio Ultra delivered last Friday with an eye to replacing 1,2 or all 3 of my Minis depending on how it worked for me, or sending it back after evaluation ... 3 days in, I'm still uncertain what to do. It's certainly as quick (if not quicker) than all 3 combined for my uses but I'm not sure that 2 x base Studio Max's wouldn't be more effective and flexible (though £199 more expensive, but that's a whole different story)
sorry everyone for the waffle
I'm considering this exact thing. Here in the US the base Mac Studio would be $900 more than a 16gb M1 Mini. That's twice the ram, far more ports, SD card reader, and a wicked CPU/GPU … seems like an easy choice for better future proofing.
Yeah, IMO, it's too big (as in not 'mini') and highly spec'd to be a Mac mini Pro IMO, and it's too non-upgradable to be a mini Mac Pro. It's more an in-between device.
That's why I hold out hope for a higher end Mac mini, that would replace the Intel Mac mini. It would have the option of at least the M1 Pro (or M2 Pro next year) with a 32 GB RAM option (but not mandatory 32 GB), for prices similar to the Intel Mac mini (which is in a very different price class vs the Mac Studio).
At the US$1299 price point, such a hypothetical 'high-end' Mac mini would be configured with 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, and M1 Pro 8-core CPU / 14-core GPU, but would retain a much smaller size than the Mac Studio.
Its nature is more akin to mini in my eyes:
1) It is BTO from the get go and not meant for (easy if at all possible) upgrades down the years
2) It has no meaningful expansion outside of the usual Thunderbolt cabling
3) The chassis design clearly prioritize minimizing footprint above most else
So while its price point, covered performance range, class of default I/Os all exceed the traditional mini, but it is even further from the Mac Pro all things considered. If one must, I guess the Studio can be called a headless iMac Pro instead.
1) It is BTO from the get go and not meant for (easy if at all possible) upgrades down the years
2) It has no meaningful expansion outside of the usual Thunderbolt cabling
3) The chassis design clearly prioritize minimizing footprint above most else
So while its price point, covered performance range, class of default I/Os all exceed the traditional mini, but it is even further from the Mac Pro all things considered. If one must, I guess the Studio can be called a headless iMac Pro instead.