In 2023, Apple up to date the Mac Studio with the M2 Max and M2 Extremely chips. Apple has now refreshed the Mac mini with the M4 and M4 Professional chips, that means that the Mac Studio faces a formidable competitor that gives “Professional” capabilities at a considerably cheaper price level.
There are actually two desktop Macs and 4 Apple silicon chip choices for customers who don’t want the expandability of the Mac Professional. The Mac Studio begins at $1,999, overshadowing the $599 beginning value of the M4 Mac mini and even the $1,399 beginning value of the M4 Professional Mac mini, so do you want the efficiency of the Mac Studio, or is the common-or-garden Mac mini adequate in your wants? Our information helps to reply the query of resolve which of those two desktop Macs is greatest for you.
The Mac mini and the Mac Studio share some basic options, together with a well-recognized, boxy silver aluminum design, two front-facing USB-C ports together with HDMI and ethernet on the rear, and Apple silicon chipsets. That being stated, the 2 machines have far more in distinction than they do in frequent, together with totally different chip choices, reminiscence capacities, ports, and exterior show assist capabilities.
| Mac mini (2024) | Mac Studio (2023) |
|---|---|
| M4 or M4 Professional chip (made with TSMC’s enhanced 3nm (N3E) course of) | M2 Max or M2 Extremely chip (made with TSMC’s enhanced 5nm (N5P) course of) |
| 4.30 GHz most CPU clock pace | 3.50 GHz most CPU clock pace |
| M4: 10-core CPU (4 carry outance cores + 6 effectivity cores) M4 Professional: 12- or 14-core CPU (8 or 10 carry outance cores + 4 effectivity cores) | M2 Max: 12-core CPU (8 efficiency cores + 4 effectivity cores) M2 Extremely: 24-core CPU (16 efficiency cores + 8 effectivity cores) |
| M4: 10-core GPU M4 Professional: 16- or 20‑core GPU | M2 Max: 30- or 38-core GPU M2 Extremely: 60‑ or 76-core GPU |
| Up to date GPU structure with improved effectivity | |
| {Hardware}-accelerated ray-tracing | |
| Dynamic caching | |
| LPDDR5X reminiscence | LPDDR5 reminiscence |
| M4: 120GB/s reminiscence bandwidth M4 Professional: 273GB/s reminiscence bandwidth | M2 Max: 400GB/s reminiscence bandwidth M2 Extremely: 800GB/s reminiscence bandwidth |
| M4: 16GB, 24GB, or 32GB unified reminiscence M4 Professional: 24GB, 48GB, or 64GB unified reminiscence | M2 Max: 32GB, 64GB, or 96GB unified reminiscence M2 Extremely: 64GB, 128GB, or 192GB unified reminiscence |
| M4: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB storage M4 Professional: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB storage | M2 Max: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB storage M2 Extremely: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 8TB storage |
| 16-core Neural Engine, 38 trillion operations per second | M2 Max: 16-core Neural Engine, 15.8 trillion operations per second M2 Extremely: 32-core Neural Engine, 31.6 trillion operations per second |
| Video decode engine, video encode engine, and ProRes encode and decode engine | M2 Max: Video decode engine, two video encode engines, and two ProRes encode and decode engines M2 Extremely: Two video decode engines, 4 video encode engines, and 4 ProRes encode and decode engines |
| AV1 decode | |
| Devoted show engine | |
| Help for as much as three exterior shows | M2 Max: Help for as much as 5 exterior shows M2 Extremely: Help for as much as eight exterior shows |
| M4: Three rear Thunderbolt 4 ports M4 Professional: Three rear Thunderbolt 5 ports | 4 rear Thunderbolt 4 ports |
| Two entrance USB-C ports | M2 Max: Two entrance USB-C ports M2 Extremely: Two entrance Thunderbolt 4 ports |
| Two rear USB-A ports | |
| Gigabit Ethernet or 10Gb Ethernet port | 10Gb Ethernet port |
| SDXC card slot (UHS-II) | |
| Backside energy button | Rear energy button |
| M4: Begins at $599 M4 Professional: Begins at $1,399 | M2 Max: Begins at $1,999 M2 Extremely: Begins at $3,999 |
Following the Mac mini’s redesign this yr, the size of the 2 gadgets are actually radically totally different, with the Mac Studio dwarfing the Mac mini in each method.
| Mac mini | Mac Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Peak | 2.0 inches (5.0 cm) | 3.7 inches (9.5 cm) |
| Width | 5.0 inches (12.7 cm) | 7.7 inches (19.7 cm) |
| Depth | 5.0 inches (12.7 cm) | 7.7 inches (19.7 cm) |
| Weight | M4: 1.5 kilos (0.67 kg) M4 Professional: 1.6 kilos (0.73 kg) | M2 Max: 5.9 kilos (2.7 kg) M2 Extremely: 7.9 kilos (3.6 kg) |
To some extent, buying selections needs to be pushed by price range, however it’s value taking into consideration that any financial savings on the desktop laptop itself might be put towards a superb exterior show reminiscent of Apple’s Studio Show, which begins from $1,599. For instance, an M4 Professional Mac mini paired with a Studio Show involves $2,898, which is simply $899 greater than a lone base mannequin Mac Studio and $1,101 lower than the M2 Extremely Mac Studio with no show.
It is best to solely contemplate the Mac Studio if in case you have knowledgeable workflow that may leverage the acute energy of the M2 Max or M2 Extremely, in addition to its extra ports and reminiscence choices. If you happen to want the Mac Studio, you’ll doubtless know that you’re on the lookout for a extremely highly effective machine that’s able to supporting particular intense workflows. Most clients ought to select the M4 Professional Mac mini over the M2 Max Mac Studio, saving $700 when wanting on the base fashions. There’ll doubtless nonetheless be substantial financial savings in relation to customized configurations.
The Mac mini can also be a better option for many customers on the present time since its chip expertise is 2 generations forward of the Mac Studio, providing greater clock speeds, a lot quicker single-core efficiency, a redesigned GPU structure, AV1 decode, a markedly extra highly effective Neural Engine, and extra. In consequence, these trying to purchase an M2 Max Mac Studio could also be higher served by the M4 Professional Mac mini. Those that can benefit from the efficiency of the M2 Extremely Mac Studio should be higher off with that high-end machine.
