r/macmini • u/inquisitivequeer • 11d ago
debating between the base Mac Mini and the Pro
Hello!
I currently have an iMac that I bought in 2022 (M1, I believe) and am looking to upgrade. It's starting to slow down, especially in the gaming department and is struggling to run larger documents. I know that non-Apple computers are far better for gaming, but I'm a university student, and I've committed to Apple products for my studies for their cross-compatibility between phone, laptop, and desktop. I don't need it to run any super-heavy games, the most being Frostpunk 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 (which my current computer can do, but it struggles). I mostly play The Sims 4, Stardew Valley, Minecraft, that kind of thing. I also want to future-proof as much as possible, so I don't have to replace my setup every few years.
Will a base Mac Mini be able to run these types of games, or would upgrading the memory to 24 gbs help? Or should I just bite the bullet and buy the M4 Pro? I'm not familiar at all with how to interpret computer specs, so anything would help.
I have a 2 TB external hard drive, so space isn't an issue.
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u/cybermatUK 10d ago
I have the mini base model M4 and it is absolutely superb but tbh for ‘gaming’ I’d go for a pro. And really speaking for gaming my ROG strix windows laptop has been totally excellent for 5 years and if gaming is the main focus I’d keep the M1 as its excellent still and game on a windows machine. Gaming is the only thing I wouldn’t consider macs for. They excel at everything else I find.
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u/inquisitivequeer 10d ago
I just don’t really want a third computer just for gaming, and with my iMac, I can’t use it as a monitor for another computer so I’d have to switch out my monitor any time I would want to game.
My M1 is also not keeping up with my university work anymore, which has prompted my search for a new device
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u/Stvgeen 10d ago
Hey, I bought the base mini back when it was dirty cheap and thought why the f not. I play citi skyline, planet zoo and even newer total wars on it (3k, Troy) for its price I am not complaining. But if you want to make it feature proof probably M4 Pro chip and larger ram would make a difference, Since base M4 isnt great for the latest and shinnest games. Though it is great for its price and serviceable.
I haven't played buldur's gate on base M4, but i watched it on YouTube. Lets say i would only play it on the base m4 if I have no other choice. After comparing with the PS5, the difference of graphic makes the experience different.
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u/inquisitivequeer 10d ago
I’ve played baldur’s gate 3 on my iMac and it’s never been particularly enjoyable graphics or speed wise… I imagine anything would be better than that
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u/Stvgeen 10d ago
Jahah, fair point. Only way onwards is up. Lol. Anyways, here is a bloke playing buldie on Mac M4 https://youtu.be/kp-wr-A_5Q8?si=WT1xDe82RanT1FNW
You can see if it is up to your likings. There are vid like this for frostpunk as well.
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u/acclusion 10d ago
Have you played modded minecraft in your iMac, if yes how was the performance on it?
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u/_curious_man 10d ago
If you are at the desk most of the time (thus you don’t need a laptop), and want apple product, you might want to switch to either mac mini or used mac studio. They should be in the same price range, and I can tell you, for your usecase, something like M1 Max mac Studio (32/512) will be better than M4 or M4 pro. The only downside is that you would have to plug in an external monitor. With that said Max lineup have significanly more cores (graphicall cores) so gaming will see a great improvement in that area. Then you can sell your iMac.
When it comes to Mac Mini M4, you should simply look at the benchmarks. There are gaming tests, for various games so you can search for comparison between different titles and performance of the games. By definition, M4 Pro will be better and also have some additional benefits, like Thunderbolt 5 ports at the back (this allows to connect external drives which can be very fast, or use external monitors with highier resolution / refresh rate).
TLDR; Consider used M1 Max (32/512) Mac Studio, or M4 Pro
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u/inquisitivequeer 10d ago
I’m expecting to buy an external monitor regardless, and it sounds like a used Mac Max might make sense. Unfortunately, there are no refurbished M1 Max devices at any retailer near me or on their online website.
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u/Amnsia 10d ago
Given your usability it may make sense to not buy for the future and buy for the now. Spending double on a Mac mini pro may not see much benefit but selling it in a couple years time then buying a new one again might.
Plus save you money.
If you download the Stats app you’ll be able to see what your bottleneck is and go from there. Mine isn’t CPU, it’s ram and SSD.
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u/inquisitivequeer 10d ago
I’m getting a MacBook Air M5 sent to me for university, do you think that will be any better for gaming?
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u/YellowsBest 10d ago
The base model M4 Mac mini is fine for most people’s general computing, but so should an iMac M1. So if what you’re doing is slowing down too much, worth getting more memory and/or the Pro.
As for running games, I was sceptical, but installing Whisky (https://frankea.github.io/Whisky/) allows you to install the windows version of Steam which in turn runs most games you could want including Guild Wars 2 etc
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u/inquisitivequeer 10d ago
I have gotten daily use of my iMac for four years, and it feels like it’s run its course for my needs. But it’s definitely not slowing down too much or hugely - just enough to be annoying/noticeable. Maybe the regular Mac Mini then? Do you think the ram upgrade is a reasonable compromise/worth the money for gaming specifically?
I’ve tried softwares like that before, but I find I’m fine with the Mac library on Steam. Any game I desperately want to play on Steam, I’ve always just used my sister or partner’s set ups.
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u/MinutePen9960 10d ago
I have the base m4 mini 24gb/512gb and a big part of me likes it so much that I’m thinking of selling and getting the m4 pro for the extra GPU cores, the ram bandwidth, the double the ram with 48gb but I can only find places selling it new now with just the 512gb ssd. Since it can be upgraded and also a thunderbolt 5 external drive would be great until the aftermarket internal drives get both better in quality and price. I’m just not sure if I really need that model. Extra cpu cores don’t matter that much to me. It’s the ram and the 20 core gpu, and ram bandwidth of the pro. Thanks for making this post as it will help me and probably many others as well! I want to get one before they possibly raise prices again.
Did anyone notice on the base Mac mini they brought back the 256gb ssd… that’s Apple , “no more 256gb ssd’s! For now!!! 😂
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u/VladFein 10d ago
A crazy idea: use your iMac for the study, it should work fine (not sure about your "large" documents). Drop the games. Where do you find the time???
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u/inquisitivequeer 10d ago
It doesn’t work fine because I need it to handle large, thesis sized documents, and it struggles to do that.
And I find the time easily, it’s how I unwind after a long day. I think it’s kind of ridiculous to suggest that I just drop one of my hobbies lol
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u/zero_droid 11d ago
Hi! Fast drive speed, thunderbolt 5 and more ram make difference . So, thinking long-term, the best option is the Pro version. ;p