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

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 IIsi
Overview
ReleasedNovember 2024October 1990
Performance
ProcessorApple M4 or Apple M4 Pro68030 20 MHz (Macintosh IIsi)
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 GB1 MB
Storage256 GB to 8 TB–
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 cores20 MHz Motorola 68030 with integrated memory management and 0.5 KB L1 cache; 68882 floating-point coprocessor optional through an expansion adapter
GPUM4: 10-core GPU; M4 Pro: 16-core or 20-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracingBuilt-in 8-bit colour video supports 512 × 384 and 640 × 480 using 64–320 KB of system RAM
Memory type–1 MB soldered to the logic board plus four 30-pin SIMM slots in one matched bank; 100 ns memory and 1–17 MB total supported by Apple; 512 KB ROM
AI engine16-core Neural Engine–
Memory bandwidthM4: 120GB/s; M4 Pro: 273GB/s–
Storage typeSSDInternal 1.44 MB floppy drive with SCSI hard-drive options of 40 or 80 MB; Apple does not document the paired RAM and drive configurations on its support sheet
Expansion slots–One processor-direct slot can be used directly or with an optional NuBus adapter; no built-in NuBus slot or L2 cache
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 EthernetOne Apple Desktop Bus port, DB-15 video, DB-19 external floppy, DB-25 SCSI, printer and modem serial ports, sound output and microphone input; no built-in 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)Built-in video supports an Apple colour display at 640 × 480 with 8-bit colour; a compatible expansion graphics card can extend display options
SpeakersBuilt-in speakerInternal speaker, stereo 8-bit sound output and mono audio input
MicrophonesNone built in–
Design and power
TypeCompactCompact
Weight0.67 kg4.5 kg
Width × depth × height127 × 127 × 50 mm315 × 378 × 102 mm
Operating systemmacOSmacOS
Size and weight detail–Apple's 4 × 12.4 × 14.9 inch and 10 lb reference dimensions; metric fields are rounded conversions
Power supplyBuilt-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous powerMaximum 160 W; 100–240 V AC, 50–60 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 6.0.7. Apple lists 15 October 1990 as the introduction date; no separate first-sale day was found

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