Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro) vs Apple Mac mini (Mid 2010)
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| AppleMac mini (M4 or M4 Pro) | AppleMac mini (Mid 2010) | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | November 2024 | June 2010 |
| Performance | ||
| Processor | Apple M4 or Apple M4 Pro | Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 or Intel Core 2 Duo P8800 |
| CPU cores | 10, 12 or 14 | 2 |
| Graphics | 10-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU | NVIDIA GeForce 320M (shared memory) |
| AI engine (NPU) | 38 TOPS | – |
| Memory | 16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB (better) | 2 GB, 4 GB or 8 GB |
| Storage | 256 GB to 8 TB (better) | 320 GB to 1 TB |
| CPU | 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 | Consumer model has a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo P8600, configurable to 2.66 GHz P8800. Server model has a 2.66 GHz P8800. Both have two physical cores, 3 MB shared L2 cache and a 1066 MHz frontside bus; exact identities are cross-checked with EveryMac. Individual current Intel pages were unavailable, so optional chip launch dates and thread figures are omitted. |
| GPU | M4: 10-core GPU; M4 Pro: 16-core or 20-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing | NVIDIA GeForce 320M integrated graphics with at least 256 MB DDR3 memory shared with main memory |
| Memory type | – | Two SO-DIMM slots for 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM. Consumer configuration has 2 GB, configurable to 4 or 8 GB; server has 4 GB and supports up to 8 GB. Removable bottom cover provides memory access. |
| AI engine | 16-core Neural Engine | – |
| Memory bandwidth | M4: 120GB/s; M4 Pro: 273GB/s | – |
| Storage type | SSD | Consumer models offer a 320 or 500 GB Serial ATA hard drive and an 8x slot-loading SuperDrive supporting double-layer DVD writing. Server has two 500 GB 7200 rpm Serial ATA hard drives (1000 GB total in configurations) and no internal optical drive. No unsupported storage/processor cross-pairings with the server are listed. |
| Expansion slots | – | No internal PCI Express expansion slots; bottom cover permits memory access |
| 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 | 3 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, HDMI, Ethernet, headphone jack | DisplayPort, 4 × USB-A, HDMI, Ethernet, SD card slot, headphone jack |
| Ethernet | 1 Gb/s | 1 Gb/s |
| External displays | Up to 3 (better) | Up to 2 |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6E | 802.11n |
| Bluetooth | 5.3 | 2.1 + EDR |
| 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 | 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 | One Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, four USB 2.0 ports up to 480 Mb/s, one FireWire 800 up to 800 Mb/s, SD card slot, Gigabit Ethernet with jumbo frames and separate digital/analogue audio input and output minijacks. The main DisplayPort count represents Mini DisplayPort; FireWire and line input are described here because the main port list has no fields for them. |
| External displays | 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) | Extended desktop and mirroring across Mini DisplayPort and HDMI; Mini DisplayPort up to 2560 × 1600, HDMI up to 1920 × 1200. HDMI to DVI adapter included; Mini DisplayPort VGA/DVI adapters optional. |
| Speakers | Built-in speaker | Digital/analogue headphone output, multichannel audio over HDMI and support for an Apple iPhone headset with microphone |
| Keyboard and mouse | – | Display, keyboard and mouse purchased separately; Apple Remote optional |
| Microphones | None built in | – |
| Design and power | ||
| Type | Compact | Compact |
| Weight | 0.67 kg | – |
| Width × depth × height | 127 × 127 × 50 mm | 197 × 197 × 36 mm |
| Operating system | macOS | macOS |
| Size and weight detail | – | Consumer model weighs 1.37 kg; server page gives 1.29 kg. Actual weight varies by configuration and manufacturing process; a shared weight is omitted. |
| Power supply | Built-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous power | Internal power supply; AC input 100–240 V, 50–60 Hz single phase; maximum continuous power 85 W |
| 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) | Consumer page's headline gives 14 dBA idle, while its model-specific table gives 13 dB for 2.4 GHz and 15 dB for 2.66 GHz at idle, 14/15 dB during hard-drive access and 20 dB during optical access on the 2.4 GHz model. The server page gives 15 dBA idle. No single value is selected across configurations. |
| Materials | – | Recyclable aluminium enclosure; BFR-free and PVC-free internal cables. Server page says external cables are PVC-free in North America only. |
| Colours | Silver | – |
| In the box | Mac mini, power lead (1.8 m) | Mac mini, HDMI to DVI adapter, power cord, install/restore DVDs and documentation. Consumer includes Mac OS X Snow Leopard and iLife; server includes Snow Leopard Server with an unlimited-client licence. |
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