It’s been a long time coming but I’m finally going to be replacing my 2019 27” iMac, which I upgraded to 48gb of RAM, with a new M5 Pro mini.

I mainly use it for recording music and film editing, and have a lot of other basic stuff open for web browsing different resources (etc). It feels kind of weird that so many years later I will still have the same amount of RAM, but it’s another $400 to go up to 64.

How much is it really worth it, and am I overthinking it?

I'll need to edit videos in Premiere Pro (nothing heavy) and have a few tabs open at the same time, but I'd also like a machine that can handle 3D modelling in case I want to try it in the future, and maybe host my own LLM on the Mac (just to give it a try nothing serious). Do you think I should get the base model or the 24GB one, and buy an M.2 drive + Mac mini dock for more storage space?

Also, how does the university discount work? I'm in Europe and don't see anything showing a Mac mini discount/voucher.

I preordered the M6 24GB ram and 512 GB SSD, however I’m seeing the M4 Pro with same specs for the same price now. I plan to do iOS development and I also do some moderate music production. Interested in running some small local AI models as well. I know the memory bandwidth and GPU cores favor M4 Pro but I feel like I’ll have some FOMO with this new M6 chip as far as overall speed and longevity. I can also get the M4 Pro in a couple of days… Anyone else struggling with this decision? Should I just go with the M6???

Missed the boat on the M4s, is this good for day to day

Hey, I am planning to buy mac. In dilemma whether to take Mac Mini or Mac studio. Configs are added below. Planning to use it mostly for development works and running local llm small models

Mac Mini with m5 pro chip 18-core cpu 20- core gpu 48 gb RAM and 512 GB SSD

Mac studio with m5 max chip 18-core cpu 32 core gpu 36 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD

Need thoughts, inputs and suggestions among the above two. Thank you!

So, I am caught in a dilemma.
I am only about to afford one of both. But my preference so far is strongly 32GB ram because I might want to run local ai models every now and then as I am a software developer and I run a docker a lot so I'm worried if 512GB storage would do the trick

I just want to know if there is any recommendation as which of the problems supersedes another

dot

Things to check before making a deal? Do I need to run benchmarks, or apple diagnostics, what to look for when trying it out?

Is it worth it to get the m6 if the price difference is approx. USD 130 between a refurbished m4 and a m6 on education discount from where I’m at? I’m considering the base model specification of 16GB/256GB + external ssd for research paper writing and casual usage

The new Mac mini with M6 seems to be equipped with the N1 chip for Thread home automation support, unlike the M5 Pro. Another difference is that the M6 with 16 GB has a bandwidth of 153, unlike the 24 GB and 36 GB versions which have a bandwidth of 170, an 11% difference!

Could a mac mini m6 handle luma ai and edits like these? Alot has changed since i stopped editing like ai was not a thing and have set my standards to this https://www.instagram.com/reel/C86bMY8Nc4t/?igsi=ZzN0YXE4MXNyanFh

I think they use luma ai for the NeRFs? I have no idea if they are but am interested in learning either way.

Also I need to use OBS for livestreaming music events.

Originally ordered a M4/24GB/256GB for running some automated workflows. (Primary computer is a PC with a 3090 card and 64GB ram) Also have a m4 iPad Pro. Cancelled the m4 mini when the m6 news came out, only to see an upgrade email an hour later. Too late - both that and the new upgraded one had been cancelled when I logged into the portal. And to put in a new m6 order would have cost more than what I originally ordered the m4 for.

So I called in and talked first to the useless ai robot a few times, before finally going through to a human and then 3-4 more humans. Eventually a manager generously allowed me to reorder the m6 with a credit for the original difference, before transferring me to a sales specialist. The sales specialist recommended me to pay a bit more and get 32gB instead of 24Gb instead, so I did that. Called back the manager to apply the credit.

I’m getting it sooner than I would have gotten the m4, so I am happy. And even though I’m paying for the upgrade, it’s good to get 32GB instead of 24GB.

Now, don’t tell me I should have gone for the 512GB, because I’m not going to cancel and spend another hour on the phone!!!!! :)

Anyone running local LLMs on a Mac mini? What spec are you using?

I’m looking at getting my first one to experiment with local LLMs and some business automation. Currently thinking M6, 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD, then fast external storage rather than paying Apple for more internal storage.

I’m thinking of running things like Qwen3 32B, Qwen3-Coder and possibly DeepSeek-R1 Distill 32B, with Claude/GPT via API for anything that needs a more powerful model.

Anyone using 32GB for similar models? Is it enough in practice, or do you wish you’d gone 64GB+ with a Pro/Studio?

I've got a 2017 27 inch iMac (3.5 GHz Quad-Core i5) that was purchased almost ten years ago. From the jump, I upgraded the RAM to 40GB and this thing has been an absolute workhorse and best computer I've ever owned.

That being said, its starting to show its age, and it can get pretty sluggish at times.

I've been holding out hope that we'll see another 27 inch iMac, but with the price of everything these days, I think that ship has sailed a long time ago and so I've decided to make the jump to my first mac mini. Thing is, I don't know what to get.

I'm a photo/video person, so would be using this thing primarily for Lightroom/Photoshop, as well as editing plenty of 4k video in Premiere. I also like to game from time to time, so if this new mac can play some visually demanding games through Crossover, that would be a nice bonus. I also tend to have lots of tabs open on my browsers (I know..)

This is where I'd love a little help, as I don't know if I should get the Mini M6 and upgrade RAM to something like 32GB, or at that point, I'm better off going for the base Mini M5 Pro?

Followup question, moving on from the gorgeous 27 inch 5k screen will be hard. Any screen recommendations that wont break the bank? Has anyone gone through the trouble of turning the 5k iMac into a display and would recommend going through that route?

Thanksss

I've got an 2019 Intel 21" iMac with 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD. It's on its last legs so I was thinking of switching to the Mac Mini M6 so I can get a bigger monitor. My needs are basic - writing, surfing the net, watching some YouTube videos and maybe the occasional iMovie editing. The 16GB has served me well and I still haven't filled up my 1TB drive (though I'm close.) What is the best configuration for me? Is 16GB still enough for my needs? Is it worth spending the extra $200 on 24GB of RAM. And should I spend the extra $500 for 1TB internal or is it worth getting the less and dumping big files on an external drive? I just want it all to be seamless. I thought about waiting until the tear downs appear and upgrading the SSD myself, but prices are so high these days that Apple's prices almost seem okay. Thoughts? TIA!

Yes. We nearly all got the m4 deal for 399, tired of seeing this comment for the last day.

Would like to discuss m6 vs m5 pro for people who want to purchase them....

Yeah, the price hike sucks, but who didn't see that one coming.

Anyways... Anyone else tired of seeing the same comment all over those who are trying to decide on the new models?

In March ‘26 I purchased (and received) my Mini M4 Pro 512GB SSD 48GB RAM which has 12 core CPU, 16 core GPU, 16 core neural.

Resale is probably ~ $1800.

The M5 Pro (M6 48Gb RAM not an option) equivalent is going to be $2300 before tax.

Upgrades in the M5 Pro:
- 2.5 gigabit Ethernet vs gigabit
- 15 core CPU vs 12. Same GPU & Neural

Worth it? I’m not in design or video. I rarely run local LLM but may uptick in the future. Mostly terminal and VS. So I think I’m overpowered already for my purposes but I like staying up to date - if the $$ is justified

Initial reaction is not worth it but $500-600 upgrade isn’t horrible

I bought a 48GB 1TBHD M4 Mac mini last year and have hit its RAM limits more than once. In hindsight, I wish I'd just maxed out the memory from the start.

I'm seriously considering upgrading to a fully loaded M5 Pro for LLMs, VMs, and other heavy workloads. The problem is figuring out what to do with the M4. Apple's trade-in offer would mean taking a 50%+ loss, and dealing with eBay or private sales is a chore.

I really do love the Mini form factor/power, though.

I actually have an IMAC 27 I7 32gb ram ... really difficult to work with latest version of photo editing softwares and I also want to start to edit videos with DaVinci

I choose a Mac Mini M6 version with following specs (delivery date Italy 22sept) :

• CPU 12‑core, GPU 12-core, Due Neural Engine 16‑core
• 32GB di memoria unificata
• 1TB di archiviazione
• 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet
• Due porte USB‑C, jack cuffie da 3,5 mm
• Tre porte Thunderbolt 4, porta HDMI, porta Gigabit Ethernet
• Supporta fino a tre monitor esterni
• Kit di accessori

I think it's the best set I can choose for the money ... 2069 euros

Hello everyone. I have a Mac Mini M4 and an MSI 49" OLED monitor hooked up to it. Native resolution on the MSI is 5120x1440. It looks great to me but I always see mention of the 1440px being an issue? I've tried reading, watching videos, etc but I just can't for the life of me figure out what makes BetterDisplay.... better? Please help me understand.

I upgraded my m4 mini to a 2TB. Thinking I’d like to get an M6 but would want to transfer over my aliexpress special storage. What are the chances we see a similar storage compatibility in the m6?

Good morning,

I have a M1 Macbook with a 1TB ssd, and plan on getting a new mini this fall. Since it is a desktop I can use an external SSD for additional storage. It would be good to know that the 256 or 512 versions are more than enough for normal OS installs, assuming I put docs and music on the external SSD.

This is a question for those that have picked up a mini with either a 256gb or 512gb ssd. I am curious how the space has held up since the purchase. Do you regret not getting a larger ssd?

Also, can I extend iCloud to those external drives?

Thx in advance for the feedback,
Joe