Mac Mini M4 Pro vs $1600 Small FormFactor Gaming PC

Summary

This video compares the performance and value of Apple's M4 Mac Mini (base and Pro models) against a custom-built $1,600 Intel-based gaming PC. The comparison focuses on CPU performance, GPU power, video editing, encoding, and gaming benchmarks. While the M4 Mac Mini excels in compactness and value for general tasks, the custom PC significantly outperforms it in gaming and GPU-heavy applications due to its RTX 4070 Ti graphics card. The video highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each system to help users decide which offers the best overall performance for their needs.

Takeaways

• 😀 The M4 Mac Mini offers a unique combination of form factor, performance, and price, making it a strong contender in its category.
• 😀 Despite the M4 Mac Mini's compact size and performance, there are no direct competitors in terms of this specific combination of form factor and pricing from AMD, Intel, or Qualcomm.
• 😀 The custom-built PC with an Intel 14600K and RTX 4070 Ti outperforms the M4 Mac Mini in terms of gaming, video editing, and general GPU-heavy tasks.
• 😀 The M4 Mac Mini base model includes a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16 GB RAM, and 256 GB SSD for $599, offering great value for general computing and content creation tasks.
• 😀 The M4 Pro Mac Mini is priced at $1,399, featuring a 12-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 24 GB RAM, and 512 GB SSD, offering a more powerful option for professionals who need more intensive capabilities.
• 😀 The custom PC features a 14-core Intel 14600K processor, 32 GB DDR5 RAM, 1 TB PCIe SSD, and RTX 4070 Ti Super GPU, costing around $1,580, making it ideal for 4K gaming and GPU-intensive tasks.
• 😀 Benchmark tests show that the custom-built PC outperforms the M4 Mac Minis in CPU-intensive tasks like encoding and video rendering, especially in Premiere Pro.
• 😀 While the M4 Mac Mini struggles with GPU-intensive applications like gaming and video rendering, the RTX 4070 Ti in the custom PC delivers significantly higher performance, particularly in 4K gaming.
• 😀 The M4 Mac Mini's SSD performance (3,000 MB/s read, 2,000 MB/s write) is slower than the M4 Pro's SSD (5,800 MB/s read, 4,400 MB/s write), and the custom PC's SSD (5,700 MB/s write) performs similarly to the M4 Pro.
• 😀 The custom-built PC delivers higher FPS in gaming benchmarks across several titles, including Rise of the Tomb Raider, Metro Exodus, and Cyberpunk 2077, making it a far superior option for gamers.
• 😀 Overall, the M4 Mac Mini is an excellent value for general-purpose users, content creators, and those needing portability, but for high-end gaming or GPU-heavy applications, the custom-built PC is the better choice.

Q & A

What are the key specifications of the M4 Mac Mini?

The base M4 Mac Mini comes with a 10-core CPU, a 10-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB SSD storage, priced at $599.

What are the main differences between the M4 Mac Mini and the M4 Pro Mac Mini?

The M4 Pro has a 12-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 24GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD, priced at $1,399. It also features Thunderbolt 5, compared to Thunderbolt 4 on the M4 Mac Mini.

How does the custom-built Intel PC compare in terms of specs to the M4 Mac Mini?

The custom-built PC uses an Intel 14600K processor with 14 cores (6 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores), 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. It also includes an RTX 470 TI Super GPU, which is significantly more powerful than the M4 Mac Mini’s integrated GPU.

What is the cost of building the custom gaming PC and what components are used?

The total cost of building the custom gaming PC is around $1,580 (not including taxes or a Windows 11 key). The components include an Intel 14600K CPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, and an RTX 470 TI Super GPU, housed in a Fractal Design Ridge case.

What performance differences were observed in CPU benchmarks between the M4 Mac Mini and the custom-built PC?

In CPU benchmarks, the custom-built PC scored around 1166 points in multi-core and 114 points in single-core, while the M4 Mac Mini scored 973 multi-core and 174 single-core. The M4 Pro scored the highest with 1400 multi-core and 173 single-core.

How do the SSD speeds compare between the M4 Mac Mini, M4 Pro, and the custom-built PC?

The M4 Mac Mini has a 256GB SSD with speeds of 3000 MB/s read and 2000 MB/s write. The M4 Pro’s 512GB SSD is faster, with 5800 MB/s read and 4400 MB/s write. The custom-built PC has a 1TB SSD with similar speeds to the M4 Pro, running at 5700 MB/s read and 5000 MB/s write.

How do the video encoding times compare between the custom-built PC and the Mac Minis?

The custom-built PC completed a video encoding task in 19 minutes and 39 seconds. The M4 Pro took 19 minutes and 50 seconds, and the M4 Mac Mini took 26 minutes and 20 seconds.

Which machine performs best in Premiere Pro exports?

In Premiere Pro exports, the custom-built PC was the fastest, completing the task in 3 minutes and 39 seconds. The M4 Pro took 9 minutes and 43 seconds, while the M4 Mac Mini took 10 minutes and 9 seconds.

What were the gaming performance results in the Valley benchmark at 4K Ultra settings?

In the Valley benchmark at 4K Ultra, the M4 Mac Mini averaged 21 FPS, the M4 Pro averaged 37 FPS, and the custom-built PC with the RTX 470 TI averaged 159.5 FPS.

How does the custom-built PC perform in gaming compared to the Mac Minis, especially with graphically demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077?

In Cyberpunk 2077, the custom-built PC with the RTX 470 TI performed significantly better, achieving 141 FPS on average at 1080p medium settings. In comparison, the M4 and M4 Pro achieved 30-40 FPS and 50 FPS respectively, when using Metal 3 translation for Windows games on macOS.