In 2023, Apple updated Mac Studio with M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips. Apple has now updated the Mac mini with the M4 and M4 Pro chips, which means the Mac Studio faces a formidable competitor that offers "Pro" features at a much lower price.
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There are now two desktop Macs and four Apple chips to choose from for users who don’t need the expandability of a Mac Pro. The Mac Studio starts at $1,999, which far outstrips the M4 Mac mini's $599 starting price and even overshadows the M4 Pro Mac mini's $1,399 starting price, so whether you need the performance of the Mac Studio, or whether the humble Mac mini will suffice Your needs? need? Our guide helps answer the question of how to decide which of these two desktop Macs is best for you.
Mac mini and Mac Studio have some basic features, including a familiar boxy silver aluminum design, two front USB-C ports and HDMI and Ethernet ports on the back, and Apple silicon chipsets. That being said, the two machines have a lot more to compare than they have in common, including different chip options, memory capacity, ports, and external monitor support capabilities.
M4 or M4 Pro chip (manufactured using TSMC enhanced 3nm (N3E) process) M2 Max or M2 Ultra chip (manufactured on TSMC's enhanced 5nm (N5P) process)
4.30 GHz maximum CPU clock speed 3.50 GHz maximum CPU clock speed
M4: 10-core CPU (4 performance cores 6 efficiency cores)
M4 Pro: 12 or 14-core CPU (8 or 10 performance cores 4 efficiency cores)
M2 Max: 12-core CPU (8 performance cores 4 efficiency cores)
M2 Ultra: 24-core CPU (16 performance cores 8 efficiency cores)
M4: 10-core GPU
M4 Pro: 16 or 20-core GPU
M2 Max: 30 or 38-core GPU
M2 Ultra: 60- or 76-core GPU
Updated GPU architecture to improve efficiency
Hardware accelerated ray tracing
Dynamic caching
LPDDR5X memory LPDDR5 memory
M4: 120GB/s memory bandwidth
M4 Pro: 273GB/s memory bandwidth
M2 Max: 400GB/s memory bandwidth
M2 Ultra: 800GB/s memory bandwidth
M4: 16GB, 24GB or 32GB unified memory
M4 Pro: 24GB, 48GB or 64GB unified memory
M2 Max: 32GB, 64GB or 96GB unified memory
M2 Ultra: 64GB, 128GB or 192GB unified memory
M4: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB or 2TB storage
M4 Pro: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB storage
M2 Max: 512GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB storage
M2 Ultra: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB storage
16-core Neural Engine, 38 teraflops
M2 Max: 16-core neural engine, 15.8 teraflops
M2 Ultra: 32-core neural engine, 31.6 teraflops 2nd
Video decoding engine, video encoding engine, ProRes codec engine
M2 Max: Video decoding engine, two video encoding engines, two ProRes encoding and decoding engines
M2 Ultra: Two video decoding engines, four video encoding engines, and four ProRes encoding and decoding engines
AV1 decoding
Dedicated display engine
Supports up to three external monitors
M2 Max: Supports up to five external monitors
M2 Ultra: Supports up to eight external monitors
M4: Three rear Thunderbolt 4 ports
M4 Pro: Three rear Thunderbolt 5 ports
Four rear Thunderbolt 4 ports
Two front USB-C ports
M2 Max: Two front USB-C ports
M2 Ultra: Two front Thunderbolt 4 ports
Two rear USB-A ports
Gigabit Ethernet or 10Gb Ethernet port 10GBEthernet port
SDXC card slot (UHS-II)
Bottom power button Rear power button
M4: Starting at $599
M4 Pro: Starting at $1,399
M2 Max: Starting at $1,999
M2 Ultra: Starting at $3,999
After this year's Mac mini redesign, the two devices are now completely different sizes, with the Mac Studio dwarfing the Mac
2.0 inches (5.0 cm) 3.7 inches (9.5 cm)
5.0 inches (12.7 cm) 7.7 inches (19.7 cm)
5.0 inches (12.7 cm) 7.7 inches (19.7 cm)
M4: 1.5 pounds (0.67 kg)
M4 Pro: 1.6 pounds (0.73 kg)
M2 Max: 5.9 pounds (2.7 kg)
M2 Ultra: 7.9 pounds (3.6 kg)
2.0 inches (5.0 cm)
3.7 inches (9.5 cm)
5.0 inches (12.7 cm) 7.7 inches (19.7 cm)
5.0 inches (12.7 cm)
7.7 inches (19.7 cm)
M4: 1.5 lb (0.67 kg)
M4 Pro: 1.6 lb (0.73 kg) M2 Max: 5.9 lb (2.7 kg)
M2 Ultra: 7.9 lb (3.6 kg) In a way, the purchasing decision should is driven by budget, but it's worth remembering that any savings on the desktop computer itself can be put toward a quality external monitor, such as Apple's Studio Display, which starts at $1,599. For example, the M4 Pro with Studio Displayo At $2,898, the Mac mini is only $899 more than the single base model Mac Studio and $1,101 less than the M2 Ultra Mac Studio without a display. You should only consider Mac Studio if you have a professional workflow that can take advantage of the power of the M2 Max or M2 Ultra and its additional ports and memory options. If you need a Mac Studio, you probably know you're looking for a powerful machine capable of supporting a specific, intensive workflow. Most customers should choose the M4 Pro Mac mini over the M2 Max Mac Studio, saving $700 when looking at the base model. Significant cost savings are still possible in custom configurations. The Mac mini is also a better choice for most current users, as its chip technology is two generations ahead of the Mac Studio, offering higher performance. Clock speeds, faster single-core performance, redesigned GPU architecture, AV1 decoding, a significantly more powerful Neural Engine, and more. Therefore, those looking to buy an M2 Max Mac Studio may be better suited to the M4 Pro Mac mini. Those who can take advantage of the M2 Ultra Mac Studio's performance may still be better off with that high-end machine.
That’s the Mac Mini vs. Mac Studio Buying Guide: Comparison of 25 Differences in detail. For more information, please pay attention to other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!
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<p style="display: inline-flex;float: right; color:#333333;">Source: macrumors.com</p>
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