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Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro) vs Apple Macintosh IIfx

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

AppleMac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)AppleMacintosh IIfx
Overview
ReleasedNovember 20241990
Performance
ProcessorApple M4 or Apple M4 Pro68030 40 MHz (Macintosh IIfx)
CPU cores10, 12 or 141
Graphics10-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU–
AI engine (NPU)38 TOPS–
Memory16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB4 MB
Storage256 GB to 8 TB80 MB to 160 MB
CPUM4: 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 cores40 MHz Motorola 68030 with integrated memory-management unit and 68882 floating-point coprocessor; 0.5 KB L1 and 32 KB L2 cache
GPUM4: 10-core GPU; M4 Pro: 16-core or 20-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracingNo built-in video; a compatible NuBus video card is required for a display
Memory type–Eight 64-pin SIMM slots in banks of four, using 80 ns or faster memory; Apple lists 4–128 MB and a 512 KB ROM. The 64-pin modules are specific to the IIfx.
AI engine16-core Neural Engine–
Memory bandwidthM4: 120GB/s; M4 Pro: 273GB/s–
Storage typeSSDOne or two internal 1.44 MB floppy drives, with optional 40–160 MB SCSI hard drives; 4 MB floppy-only, 80 MB and 160 MB configurations are represented here
Expansion slots–Six NuBus slots and one processor-direct slot
Media engineHardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAW; video decode engine; video encode engine; ProRes encode and decode engine; AV1 decode–
Display
ScreenNone built inNone built in
Connections
Ports3 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, HDMI, Ethernet, headphone jackHeadphone jack
Ethernet1 Gb/s–
External displaysUp to 3–
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6E–
Bluetooth5.3–
Front ports2 × USB-C with USB 3 (up to 10Gb/s); 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones–
Back portsM4: 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 EthernetTwo Apple Desktop Bus ports, DB-25 SCSI, printer and modem serial ports and sound output; no built-in video or Ethernet
External displaysM4: 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)A NuBus video card is required; resolution and colour depth depend on the fitted card
SpeakersBuilt-in speakerInternal speaker and sound output
MicrophonesNone built in–
Design and power
TypeCompactCompact
Weight0.67 kg10.9 kg
Width × depth × height127 × 127 × 50 mm475 × 366 × 140 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detail–Apple's 5.5 × 18.7 × 14.4 inch and 24 lb reference dimensions; metric fields are rounded conversions
Power supplyBuilt-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous powerMaximum 230 W; 100–240 V AC, 48–62 Hz; 3.6 V lithium clock battery and keyboard soft power
Power useM4 with 16GB and 256GB: 4W idle, 65W maximum; M4 Pro with 64GB and 8TB: 5W idle, 140W maximum–
Noise5 dBA sound pressure at idle (operator position)–
ColoursSilver–
In the boxMac mini, power lead (1.8 m)Original System Software 6.0.5. Apple lists 19 March 1990 as introduction; a separate maker first-sale date was not established.

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