Apple Mac mini (Early 2009) vs Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMac mini (Early 2009) | AppleMac mini (M4 or M4 Pro) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | March 2009 | November 2024 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 or Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 | Apple M4 or Apple M4 Pro |
| CPU cores | 2 | 10, 12 or 14 |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M (shared memory) | 10-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU |
| AI engine (NPU) | – | 38 TOPS |
| Memory | 1 GB, 2 GB or 4 GB | 16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB (better) |
| Storage | 120 GB to 320 GB | 256 GB to 8 TB (better) |
| CPU | 2.0 GHz dual-core Core 2 Duo P7350, configurable to 2.26 GHz P8400; 3 MB shared L2 cache and 1066 MHz frontside bus. Exact identities are cross-checked with EveryMac; optional unpublished chip thread and launch figures are omitted. | M4: 10-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 6 efficiency cores; M4 Pro: 12-core CPU with 8 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores, or 14-core CPU with 10 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics shares at least 128 MB DDR3 memory with a 1 GB system configuration, or at least 256 MB with 2 GB; available system memory varies with graphics use. | M4: 10-core GPU; M4 Pro: 16-core or 20-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing |
| AI engine | – | 16-core Neural Engine |
| Memory bandwidth | – | M4: 120GB/s; M4 Pro: 273GB/s |
| Memory type | Two SO-DIMM slots for 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, with 1 or 2 GB standard and maker factory upgrades up to 4 GB | – |
| Storage type | 120, 250 or 320 GB 5400 rpm Serial ATA hard drive and slot-loading 8x SuperDrive with double-layer DVD support. The launch press release also mentions an 80 GB order option, which the current support sheet omits; that conflicting option is not listed in configurations. | 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 |
| Expansion slots | No internal PCI Express expansion slot | – |
| Display | ||
| Screen | None built in | None built in |
| Connections | ||
| Ports | DisplayPort, 5 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack | 3 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, HDMI, Ethernet, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 1 Gb/s | 1 Gb/s |
| External displays | Up to 2 | Up to 3 (better) |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11n | Wi-Fi 6E |
| Bluetooth | 2.1 + EDR | 5.3 |
| 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 | Five USB 2.0 ports up to 480 Mb/s, FireWire 800, Mini DisplayPort, Mini-DVI, Gigabit Ethernet and combined optical digital/analogue audio input and output minijacks. The main DisplayPort count represents Mini DisplayPort; Mini-DVI, FireWire and audio input are described here because the main port list has no fields for them. Optional external Apple USB Modem. | M4: 3 × Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 (up to 40Gb/s) and DisplayPort; M4 Pro: 3 × Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) with Thunderbolt 5 (up to 120Gb/s), USB 4 and DisplayPort; HDMI with multichannel audio output; Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45), configurable to 10Gb Ethernet |
| External displays | Extended desktop and mirroring; Mini-DVI up to 1920 × 1200 for DVI/VGA, Mini DisplayPort up to 2560 × 1600 using an optional dual-link DVI adapter. Mini-DVI to DVI adapter included; VGA and Mini DisplayPort adapters optional. | M4: up to three (two at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt, plus one at up to 5K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K 60Hz over HDMI), or two (one at up to 5K 60Hz plus one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz); M4 Pro: up to three at up to 6K 60Hz over Thunderbolt or HDMI, or two (one at up to 6K 60Hz plus one at up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz) |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker; combined optical digital audio output/headphone minijack and optical digital audio input/line-in minijack | Built-in speaker |
| Microphones | – | None built in |
| Keyboard and mouse | Display, keyboard and mouse purchased separately; Apple Remote optional | – |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Compact | Compact |
| Weight | 1.31 kg | 0.67 kg (better) |
| Width × depth × height | 165.1 × 165.1 × 50.8 mm | 127 × 127 × 50 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Power supply | External 110 W adapter; AC input 100–240 V, 50–60 Hz single phase; maximum continuous power 110 W | Built-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous power |
| Power use | – | M4 with 16GB and 256GB: 4W idle, 65W maximum; M4 Pro with 64GB and 8TB: 5W idle, 140W maximum |
| Noise | – | 5 dBA sound pressure at idle (operator position) |
| Colours | – | Silver |
| Materials | Recyclable aluminium and polycarbonate enclosure; BFR-free and PVC-free internal cables | – |
| In the box | Mac mini, Mini-DVI to DVI adapter, 110 W power adapter and cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation. Mac OS X Leopard and iLife '09 included. | Mac mini, power lead (1.8 m) |
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