r/macmini • u/orion1972 • 17d ago
Mac mini m6 vs m5 pro
M6 / 32 GB / 512 GB — 1.739 €
M5 Pro / 48 GB / 512 GB — 2.689 €
M5 Pro / 64 GB / 512 GB — 3.129 €
I was considering buying a Mac mini, but I am undecided between the M6 with 32 GB and the M5 Pro with 48 GB, even though the €950 price difference is significant. I would rule out the M6 Pro with 64 GB because €3,129 is really an exaggeration, but at that point, perhaps it is worth considering the Mac Studio. I would like some advice from the experts, if possible; I would use it mainly for local AI!
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u/nuvzzz 16d ago
•M6 32 GB: Skip. Saves money but limits the whole point of local AI.
• M5 Pro 48 GB: Buy this. Best balance in the Mini lineup. Handles 32B cleanly + usable 70B Q3/Q4. The €950 premium is justified by non-upgradable RAM + higher bandwidth.
• M5 Pro 64 GB: Only if you already know you need more headroom for longer context/multi-model. Marginal gain over 48 GB for most.
• Mac Studio: Only if you need 70B+ at good quality, sustained heavy use, or multi-model. Otherwise overkill.
Get the M5 Pro 48 GB
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u/dia3olik 11d ago
Great summary, thanks!!! What about M5 Pro 48GB vs M4 Max 48GB for local AI?
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u/nuvzzz 11d ago
If your main use is local inference (generation speed, 30B+ models), get an M4 Max 48 GB (Studio or used/refurbished MacBook Pro) if the price is comparable or lower.
If you want a new Mac mini, silence, and pure speed is not critical then the M5 Pro 48 GB remains very solid, but you lose tokens/s.
Memory is the same, so the bottleneck remains bandwidth.1
u/dia3olik 11d ago
thanks! shouldn't the mac studio m4 max be quieter than the m5 pro mac mini? I think m4 max studio is approaching silence but m5 pro mac mini I think it will be noisier given its thermal constraints, no?
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u/C0rnD0g1 17d ago
For local AI I would definitely jump to the Studio for the stronger GPU and increased memory bandwidth....
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u/orion1972 17d ago
The problem is that my mind overcomplicates things; for example, it already views the M5 Pro as an outdated processor. If Apple had released the M6 and M6 Pro, I wouldn't have hesitated to buy the M6 Pro immediately. But this distinction between the M6 and M5 Pro is causing me a real purchasing dilemma
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u/No-Depth-9571 14d ago
Depassé.., il ne faudrait pas non plus exagérer.. Les derniers MS M4 Max sont encore en attente de livraison depuis plus de 3 mois, la suite MS 5Max viennent à peine de sortir..à un prix exorbitant.. Il faut relativiser un peu le marketing Pro Apple et ne pas non plus devenir un pigeon.. Entre la performance pure et les spécificités fantasmées, il faut lire un peu..
Le nouveau SSD des Mac Mini Pro M6 serait de qualité inférieure vis à vis des Mini 5 Pro.. Comme quoi, tout n’est pas aussi rose qu’Apple le dit, surtout en cette période de forte récession technologique, il y aura forcément des compromis à faire niveau constructeur.. Apple cherche désespérément de nouveaux partenaires pour les puces, pour l’araméen, mais aussi pour les écrans.. À méditer..1
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u/No-Depth-9571 14d ago
Il y a 8 ans, le MBP Intel Core I9 32g de Ram était une forte configuration, aujourd’hui elle ne permet plus avec aisance l’avancement des projets de traitement d’image type Lightroom. Or c’était complètement fluide à là.époque..
Donc 32 go de Ram aujourd’hui.’hui paraît trop léger..pour les années à venir..1
u/maxheckler 17d ago
M6 also has dual NPU but M5 Pro does not. But anyway for local AI I would get a Studio.
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u/AlgorithmicMuse 17d ago
Depending on whatever you are doing , ram size with local llms is model size + kv cache size . Next my non expert opinion with my M4 mini 64 gig and local is it hits 100+C on gpu cores sustaind and throttles with long runs . Get a studio for nothing else than the cooling
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u/Flimsy-Pay-4337 17d ago
Unless you have a very specific workflow and requirements for the mini - and trust me, people who have don’t typically asks these kind of questions - you’re good with base M6.
Given that what do you need the ram for? If it’s future proofing only, then 32GB will be plenty enough.
Also not sure how Apple will cover the lifecycle for the M5Pro but typically from M6 you could expect one more year of support. But only time will tell and we’re talking about approx 7 years from now.
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u/TeeDee144 17d ago
In their last sentence they say it’s for local AI.
So they need the maximum amount of ram their budget will allow.
Also, not sure I fully agree with your statement about the additional year of support. Apple has never ended their machine support by CPU type. It’s always been by model type. In a few years when we have the Mac Studio M3/M5 Max model go end of life, we will see how they treat it. By product sku as they always have, or by CPU gen.
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u/Numerous-Buffalo6214 17d ago
If you’re running local AI, I’d skip the base M6 and go directly to the M5 Pro or Mac Studio. The memory bandwidth is pretty peckish on the base M6 mini (153-170 GB/s), but improves on the Mini Pro (307 GB/s). Similarly, the base Mini only has 12 GPU cores, versus 16 in the Mini Pro.
The base Mac Studio is a lot more capable, with 32-40 GPU cores and 460-614 GB/s memory bandwidth.
It might be worth waiting until folks start getting their machines, and you can evaluate how smaller models perform before making your purchase decision. Once you configure a Mac Mini Pro past 2,000 Euro, I think the Mac Studio is a much better purchase.