Apple Mac mini (Late 2006) vs Apple Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro)

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Mac mini (Late 2006) compared with Mac mini (M6 or M5 Pro)

	AppleMac mini (Late 2006)	AppleMac mini (M6 or M5 Pro)
Overview
Released
Released	September 2006	September 2026
Performance
Processor
Processor	Intel Core Duo T2300 or Intel Core Duo T2400	Apple M6 or Apple M5 Pro
CPU cores
CPU cores	2	12, 15 or 18
Graphics
Graphics	Intel GMA950	12-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU
Memory
Memory	512 MB, 1 GB or 2 GB	16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB, 48 GB or 64 GB (better)
Storage
Storage	60 GB to 160 GB	256 GB to 8 TB (better)
CPU
CPU	1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo T2300 or 1.83 GHz Core Duo T2400, both dual-core, with 2 MB L2 cache and 667 MHz frontside bus; exact identities cross-checked with EveryMac	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
GPU	Intel GMA950 shares 64 MB DDR2 with main memory; maker footnote specifies minimum 80 MB graphics/setup usage, leaving 432 MB available from a standard 512 MB configuration	Neural Accelerators; hardware-accelerated ray tracing
AI engine
AI engine	–	Dual 16-core Neural Engine (M6); 16-core Neural Engine (M5 Pro)
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	–	M6: 153GB/s with 16GB, 170GB/s with 24GB or 32GB; M5 Pro: 307GB/s
Memory type
Memory type	512 MB standard as two modules of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300); factory options 1 or 2 GB and maximum 2 GB	–
Storage type
Storage type	1.66 GHz model has a 60 GB 5400 rpm SATA hard drive, configurable to 80, 120 or 160 GB; 1.83 GHz model has 80 GB, configurable to 120 or 160 GB. Lower model Combo drive reads DVDs and burns CDs; higher model 8x SuperDrive burns DVDs with 2.4x double-layer support.	SSD
Media engine
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
Screen	None built in	None built in
Connections
Ports
Ports	4 × USB-A, Ethernet, headphone jack	3 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, HDMI, Ethernet, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	2.5 Gb/s (better)
External displays
External displays	Up to 1	Up to 3 (better)
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	802.11g	Wi-Fi 7
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	2.0 + EDR	6
Front ports
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
Back ports	Four USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 400 port at 8 W, DVI output, Gigabit Ethernet, combined optical digital/analogue audio input and combined optical digital/headphone output. DVI, FireWire and audio input described here because the main port list has no fields for them; no HDMI or DisplayPort.	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
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
Speakers	Built-in speaker	Built-in speaker
Microphones
Microphones	–	None built in; Apple says an external microphone or headset is needed for calls
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	Apple Remote and DVI-to-VGA adapter; display, keyboard and mouse sold separately	–
Design and power
Type
Type	Compact	Compact
Weight
Weight	1.31 kg	0.67 kg (better)
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	165.1 × 165.1 × 50.8 mm	127 × 127 × 50 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Power supply
Power supply	Maximum continuous power 110 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz single phase	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous power
Power use
Power use	–	M6 with 16GB and 256GB: 4W idle, 70W maximum; M5 Pro with 64GB and 8TB: 6W idle, 145W maximum
Noise
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
Materials	–	100% recycled aluminium enclosure; 50% recycled content overall
Colours
Colours	–	Silver
In the box
In the box	Mac mini, Apple Remote, power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation. Mac OS X Tiger, iLife '06 and Front Row; Rosetta translates compatible PowerPC applications.	Mac mini, power lead (1.8 m)