Apple Mac mini (2005) vs Apple Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMac mini (2005) | AppleMac mini (M6 or M5 Pro) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | January 2005 | September 2026 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | PowerPC G4 7447A (1.25 GHz) or PowerPC G4 7447A (1.42 GHz) | Apple M6 or Apple M5 Pro |
| CPU cores | 1 | 12, 15 or 18 |
| Graphics | ATI Radeon 9200 | 12-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU |
| Memory | 256 MB, 512 MB or 1 GB | 16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB, 48 GB or 64 GB (better) |
| Storage | 40 GB to 80 GB | 256 GB to 8 TB (better) |
| CPU | 1.25 or 1.42 GHz PowerPC G4 with Velocity Engine, 512 KB L2 cache and 167 MHz system bus; EveryMac identifies the single-core 7447A processor, cross-checked with the Freescale fact sheet hosted by NXP | M6: 12-core CPU with 2 super cores, 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores; M5 Pro: 15-core CPU with 5 super cores and 10 performance cores, or 18-core CPU with 6 super cores and 12 performance cores |
| GPU | ATI Radeon 9200 with 32 MB dedicated DDR SDRAM and AGP 4X support | Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing |
| AI engine | – | Dual 16-core Neural Engine (M6); 16-core Neural Engine (M5 Pro) |
| Memory bandwidth | – | M6: 153GB/s with 16GB, 170GB/s with 24GB or 32GB; M5 Pro: 307GB/s |
| Memory type | One slot for 333 MHz PC2700 DDR SDRAM, up to 1 GB. Original January models had 256 MB standard; Apple raised standard memory to 512 MB on 26 July 2005. Configurations include original and later memory options. | – |
| Storage type | 1.25 GHz model has a 40 GB Ultra ATA hard drive, configurable to 80 GB; 1.42 GHz models have 80 GB. Combo drive reads DVDs and burns CDs; optional 4x SuperDrive writes DVDs. July 2005 added a standard SuperDrive model at 1.42 GHz. | SSD |
| Media engine | – | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; video decode engine; video encode engine; ProRes encode and decode engine; AV1 decode |
| Display | ||
| Screen | None built in | None built in |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | 2 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack | 3 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, HDMI, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 0.1 Gb/s | 2.5 Gb/s (better) |
| External displays | Up to 1 | Up to 3 (better) |
| Wi-Fi | Optional 802.11g | Wi-Fi 7 |
| Bluetooth | Optional internal Bluetooth | 6 |
| Front ports | – | 2 × USB-C with USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s); 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones |
| Back ports | Two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 (8 W), DVI, 10/100BASE-T Ethernet and headphone/audio line output. No audio input. Modem standard on original models; July 2005 lower model retains it, higher models make it optional. | M6: 3 × Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) and DisplayPort; M5 Pro: 3 × Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 5 (up to 120Gb/s), USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) and DisplayPort; HDMI with multichannel audio output; 2.5Gb Ethernet (RJ-45), configurable to 10Gb Ethernet |
| External displays | DVI digital output up to 1920 × 1200; included VGA adapter supports up to 1920 × 1080. Optional Apple DVI to Video Adapter provides S-video/composite output. | M6: up to three (two at up to 6K 60Hz or 4K 165Hz, plus a third at up to 5K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K 60Hz over HDMI), or two (one at up to 8K 60Hz, 5K 120Hz or 4K 240Hz, plus one at up to 5K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K 60Hz over HDMI); M5 Pro: up to three at up to 6K 60Hz or 4K 165Hz, or two (one at up to 8K 60Hz, 5K 120Hz or 4K 240Hz, plus one at up to 5K 120Hz or 4K 200Hz); VRR and HDR supported |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker | Built-in speaker |
| Microphones | – | None built in; Apple says an external microphone or headset is needed for calls |
| Keyboard and mouse | Display, keyboard and mouse sold separately; DVI-to-VGA adapter included | – |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Compact | Compact |
| Weight | 1.32 kg | 0.67 kg (better) |
| Width × depth × height | 165.1 × 165.1 × 50.8 mm | 127 × 127 × 50 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | Maker weight 1.32 kg; Apple notes variation by configuration and manufacturing process | – |
| Power supply | Maximum continuous power 85 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz single phase | Built-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous power |
| Power use | – | M6 with 16GB and 256GB: 4W idle, 70W maximum; M5 Pro with 64GB and 8TB: 6W idle, 145W maximum |
| Noise | – | 5 dBA sound pressure at idle (operator position); declared to ECMA-109 as 1.3 B sound power and 4 dB sound pressure at idle and wireless web (M5 Pro, 18-core CPU, 20-core GPU) |
| Materials | – | 100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 50% recycled content overall |
| Colours | – | Silver |
| In the box | Mac mini, power adapter, install DVDs and documentation. January models ship with Mac OS X Panther and iLife '05; July configurations use Tiger. AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth optional at launch, standard on the July 1.42 GHz models. | Mac mini, power lead (1.8 m) |
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