Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro) vs Apple Power Mac G4 Cube

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Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro) compared with Power Mac G4 Cube

	AppleMac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)	ApplePower Mac G4 Cube
Overview
Released
Released	November 2024	August 2000
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M4 or Apple M4 Pro	PowerPC G4 450 MHz (Power Mac G4 Cube)
CPU cores
CPU cores	10, 12 or 14	1
Graphics
Graphics	10-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU	ATI RAGE 128 Pro (16 MB)
AI engine (NPU)
AI engine (NPU)	38 TOPS	–
Memory
Memory	16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB (better)	64 MB, 128 MB or 1.5 GB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 8 TB (better)	20 GB
CPU
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	450 MHz PowerPC G4 with Velocity Engine, 100 MHz system bus and 1 MB backside L2 cache running at 225 MHz. Apple offered a 500 MHz processor option; its complete launch memory/storage configuration is not established by the pages used, so it is described here rather than assigned an assumed configuration.
GPU
GPU	M4: 10-core GPU; M4 Pro: 16-core or 20-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing	ATI RAGE 128 Pro with 16 MB SDRAM in a dedicated AGP 2x slot. The retained maker sheet also lists optional NVIDIA GeForce2 MX with 32 MB SDRAM and ATI Radeon with 32 MB DDR; these later options are not presented as launch stock.
Memory type
Memory type	–	Original launch base: 64 MB PC100 SDRAM. February 2001 CD-RW base: 128 MB. Three DIMM slots support up to 1.5 GB, using low-profile DIMMs up to 1.38 inches (35 mm). Retained maker options: 128, 256, 384, 512 and 768 MB, 1 GB and 1.5 GB.
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	M4: 120GB/s; M4 Pro: 273GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD	Original 20 GB Ultra ATA/66 hard drive and top slot-loading DVD-ROM. The 22 February 2001 available-now base has 20 GB and CD-RW. Retained options include 20/40 GB at 5400 rpm or 60 GB at 7200 rpm, CD-RW or DVD-ROM; independent processor/drive/GPU options are not expanded into unsupported combinations. One internal hard drive; external USB and FireWire storage supported.
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	–	Dedicated AGP 2x graphics slot; no PCI slots. Lift-out electronics core provides access to DIMMs and optional AirPort card.
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	3 × Thunderbolt 4, 2 × USB-C, HDMI, Ethernet, headphone jack	2 × USB-A, Ethernet
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s (better)	0.1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 3	–
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6E	–
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	5.3	–
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	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	Underside: two 12 Mbps USB ports, two 400 Mbps FireWire ports (12 W total), 10/100BASE-T Ethernet, 56K V.90 modem, ADC and VGA. Optional 11 Mbps IEEE 802.11b AirPort card; no standard wireless networking. The headphone minijack is on the separate USB amplifier, not on the Cube chassis.
External displays
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)	ADC carries video, USB and power; 15-pin VGA output. Maker graphics support reaches 1920 × 1200 at millions of colours. A display is sold separately; the source does not establish simultaneous dual-display operation.
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker	Bundled digital USB amplifier and Harman Kardon speakers: total 20 W, stated 80 Hz–20 kHz response. One USB cable carries power and audio; amplifier includes headphone minijack.
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	–	Apple Pro Keyboard with two additional USB ports, optical Apple Pro Mouse, USB digital amplifier and speakers.
Microphones
Microphones	None built in	–
Design and power
Type
Type	Compact	Compact
Weight
Weight	0.67 kg (better)	6.4 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	127 × 127 × 50 mm	195 × 195 × 248 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	–	Maker reference weight approximately 6.4 kg varies by configuration and manufacturing process. Published height 24.8 cm, width/depth 19.5 cm. Separate external power adapter.
Power supply
Power supply	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous power	External power supply; maker maximum continuous power 205 W. 115 V AC (90–132 V) or 230 V AC (180–264 V), 47–63 Hz.
Power use
Power use	M4 with 16GB and 256GB: 4W idle, 65W maximum; M4 Pro with 64GB and 8TB: 5W idle, 140W maximum	–
Noise
Noise	5 dBA sound pressure at idle (operator position)	Fanless vertical cooling channel; no fan added to this original factory specification.
Colours
Colours	Silver	–
In the box
In the box	Mac mini, power lead (1.8 m)	Original launch includes iMovie 2. Maker July 2000 announcement promised early August availability; Macworld’s later history confirms shipping a month after the July launch, so first sale uses August 2000 with no claimed first day. February 2001 CD-RW configuration is labelled in the storage and memory details.