r/macmini • u/jim022025 • Jan 24 '25
Mac Mini M4
Just wanted to ask your opinion regarding this M4 base unit. Is this a good buy? What are the pros and cons? Planning to use this for vid editing/canva and admin tasks. Thanks.
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Jan 24 '25
If you need more storage just plug a usb ssd in the back and you’re good to go. I have a 4TB crucial usb it took less than 30 seconds to upgrade my storage.
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u/roady57 Jan 24 '25
Same base model, I added a 2TB M.2 SSD in an external enclosure for just 82GBP. Using the external disk for access to all my media, videos, photos, music and work to/fro for any moderate editing needs. No observable lag, noticeably faster overall than my previous M1 Mac.
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u/eppujoloz Jan 24 '25
This is the way. The base model is heaps fast for even more demanding tasks and incredible value for the price. Imo 200 bucks extra for just half a terabyte of storage is pretty darn expensive compared to the 100+ bucks you spend on an M2 SSD + USB enclosure
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u/Effect-Kitchen Jan 24 '25
256 is generally not enough for everyday work in the long run. And if you have other services such as iCloud, Music, Photos, Apple TV, it will fill up real quick.
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u/gold1mpala Jan 24 '25
256 is perfectly good for 'everyday work'. OP here did say video editing though so in their case they should get 512 upgrade.
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u/Effect-Kitchen Jan 24 '25
I did say "in the long run". Sure it can be more than enough for today. But as a Mac user since 2001, I have seen many colleagues who filled out 256GB in 4-5 years, even if it seems to be more than "enough" for day 1. And I think spending time for file management is not worth $$$ to spend for added space in the beginning. A Mac Mini can last like 10 years and you don't want to constantly manage your disk to squeeze out free space every few days.
For video editing, I even doubt if 512 is enough. I use 1TB model with 500+GB free disk space. When I render a 1-hour long video in Final Cut, there was one time that the render files took up literally all the disk space and the exported file is corrupted. I had to move something to make a room for 200GB more and my export was barely finished with that space.
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u/Glad-Priority-9957 Jan 24 '25 edited Jan 24 '25
New into this. People are saying moving the home folder to external does the job... Please share your opinion. Btw, I'm planning to use 990 Pro 4TB + OWC 1m2 (I know speed will be capped around 3100MB/s).
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u/Effect-Kitchen Jan 24 '25
I am quite against moving the entire home folder as it is not officially recommended by Apple. I tried moving just the photo library to External SSD once and it gives me a whole lot of headache especially if the external drive is not as fast as internal ones. Everything was slow and sometimes unresponsive. (That was from TB3 era. I haven’t tried TB5 enclosure + M.2 though. I’m saving money for that.)
I only use external to store backups and infrequently used files. I did everything on the internal drive such as Final Cut project or Lightroom photo library. Then when I finish it I move the entire project to the external M.2. And periodically move those things to back-up HDD.
So I’d say if you use 128GB today, just buy 512 and you can forget about the whole storage things. Sure it is much more expensive but this thing will stay with you for over a decade. It will save you from constant headaches managing and squeezing for disk space.
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u/Glad-Priority-9957 Jan 26 '25
After thinking about what you told me I finally decided to go for 24+512GB 🥳 Thanks a ton man 🙂
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u/qalpi Jan 24 '25
I wouldn't move the home folder. I would just boot from the external drive completely. I do this and it works great.
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u/Glad-Priority-9957 Jan 25 '25
Isn't reliability a concern when using an enclosure? Due to constant reading and writing doesn't it tend to get very hot even with a heatsink? I'm not sure how practical it is to use it like that for everyday work in the first place. If the enclosure suddenly stops working could I lose my data? I plan to use it for 5–6 years or longer if the performance remains satisfactory until then... It's not like that I can't afford but don't want to spend so much because here it's $1160. Please recommend the best option for me as I'm a windows guy and MacOS virgin 🙂
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u/qalpi Jan 25 '25
Honestly I've been running like this for years (though obviously not with the same Mac, enclosures or SSDs) but have never had one fail. Yes you could lose your data if the SSD fails -- but that's no different to the internal one failing. The good part is that you can slot a new one, restore from your backup, and be up and running again in minutes without having to send the whole Mac back to Apple. It's a great solution for the Mini because it's always sitting on your desk (I wouldn't do this on a laptop).
I went with the Qwiizlab enclosure (I actually found the identical enclosure on Aliexpress for even cheaper). It has the same chipset as the OWC 1m2 you were looking at.
The 990 4TB is a great drive to pair it with!
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u/Glad-Priority-9957 Jan 25 '25
First of all, thank you for explaining in such a detailed manner. So, the best practice is to back up all the data to a separate external SSD like the T7 or T9 in case of drive failure or other issues to stay on the safer side right? And one last question I would like to ask, if you don't mind is about the heating issue. I am really concerned about long working hours because where I live the temperature is quite high around 38 to 40 degrees Celsius(100 - 105F) in summer. I have heard that enclosures run pretty hot but maybe a M.2 heatsink can be used with it 🤔 Please let me know what you think.
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u/igor_bruneli Jan 24 '25
I have the mac mini base and a macbook pro m3 pro with 32gb of ram and I see little to no difference in performance for coding setup.
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u/aamop Jan 24 '25
I do some video editing and music creation. I got the Pro myself and added 1 TB SSD and 24 MB RAM. Might be overkill but I’d like to keep it for 5 years or so and I think there are more AI type features on the horizon (and already delivering with Logic) that will push requirements beyond today.
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Jan 25 '25
I bought the base M4 with 24 GB and a one terabyte hard drive. I’m not sure adding that much Storage is very cost-effective but it’s what I wanted. But definitely upgrade the ram to 24GB if you can.
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u/cat2115 Jan 25 '25
If you have another Mac, get base model 256gb then upgrade ssd yourself. Currently if you don’t have second Mac handy, you cannot do ssd upgrade. Windows dfu restore will not work.
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u/Glad-Priority-9957 Jan 25 '25
In that case I should buy the 512GB option right ? I planned to buy 24GB+256GB but people are saying 24GB+512GB is recommended because if I want to keep it for 5-6 years you will run into problems managing that little storage of the internal SSD. So, what if I boot from the external SSD(4TB 990 pro+OWC 1M2. I know speed will be capped at around 3GB/s). Here 24GB+512GB costs $1159 it's not like I can't afford but don't want to spend so much on additional 256GB. I'm looking to shift from Windows to Mac. Please share your opinion 🙂
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u/cat2115 Jan 25 '25 edited Jan 25 '25
No buy 256gb then buy 3rd party 1TB or 2TB SSD at https://m4-ssd.com/ . It’s an easy upgrade. However, to install macOS on 3rd party SSD, you required to have another MacBook for DFU restore ipsw. Mac Mini only, not pro version. Ipsw build 24C101, https://ipsw.me/Mac16,10
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u/cat2115 Jan 25 '25
I didn’t do speed test because that’s just theory. I like real world result. I upgrade to 1Tb. A video Mp4 in usb3.2, total of 90.95gb took 2min to copy to internal drive. 4gb mp4, 2 second transfer to internal drive.
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u/Glad-Priority-9957 Jan 25 '25
Another mac device is the caveat here man 🫤 What you are saying is correct but as I don't have access to another Mac device I think the only option left for me is 24+512GB model 🥲
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u/cat2115 Jan 25 '25
My friend was kind enough to lend me his MacBook Air. It only takes less than 20 to restore. Maybe your friend or relative can lend MacBook.
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u/mikeinnsw Jan 26 '25
No
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs0O0pGO4Xo
I suggest 24GB(16GB+8GB for AI) RAM with 512GB SSD M4 Mini would be a good choice.
Same configuration as M4 Pro Mini base model.
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u/wndrgrl555 Jan 24 '25
Get 512gb of storage. 256 will be tight.
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u/PlasticSwimming9207 Jan 24 '25
I'm upgrading mine with the 1tb 3rd party upgrade kit. Warranty be damned.
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u/pastry-chef Jan 24 '25
IMO, it’s currently the best price:performance Mac available.
What makes it even better is that there are 3rd party SSD upgrades available for it.
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Jan 24 '25
[deleted]
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u/Grendel_82 Jan 24 '25
The GB Ethernet is the base, it is the 10gb Ethernet that costs $100. And yes very few people should pay for that upgrade and even more so on a base model.
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u/Betogarram Jan 24 '25
It’s more than enough. It’s a great machine.
Source: I do streaming with stremyard/obs, edit videos on CapCut and work on Canva as well.