Apple Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro) vs Apple Power Mac G4 (FW800)

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Mac mini (M4 or M4 Pro) compared with Power Mac G4 (FW800)

	AppleMac mini (M4 or M4 Pro)	ApplePower Mac G4 (FW800)
Overview
Released
Released	November 2024	January 2003
Performance
Processor
Processor	Apple M4 or Apple M4 Pro	PowerPC G4 1000 MHz (Power Mac FW800), 2 × PowerPC G4 1250 MHz (Power Mac FW800) or 2 × PowerPC G4 1420 MHz (Power Mac FW800)
CPU cores
CPU cores	10, 12 or 14	1 or 2
Graphics
Graphics	10-core GPU, 16-core GPU or 20-core GPU	NVIDIA GeForce4 MX (64 MB) or ATI Radeon 9000 Pro (64 MB)
AI engine (NPU)
AI engine (NPU)	38 TOPS	–
Memory
Memory	16 GB, 24 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB (better)	256 MB, 512 MB or 2 GB
Storage
Storage	256 GB to 8 TB (better)	60 GB to 120 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	Single 1 GHz, dual 1.25 GHz or dual 1.42 GHz PowerPC G4; each physical processor has 256 KB on-chip L2 cache. L3 cache is 1 MB on the single 1 GHz, 1 MB per processor on dual 1.25 GHz and 2 MB per processor on dual 1.42 GHz. Bus is 133 MHz on the single model, 167 MHz on dual models.
GPU
GPU	M4: 10-core GPU; M4 Pro: 16-core or 20-core GPU; hardware-accelerated ray tracing	Single 1 GHz: NVIDIA GeForce4 MX with 64 MB DDR. Dual 1.25/1.42 GHz: ATI Radeon 9000 Pro with 64 MB DDR. Optional NVIDIA GeForce4 Titanium and ATI Radeon 9700 Pro, each 128 MB DDR; independent CTO options stay in details.
Memory type
Memory type	–	Single 1 GHz: 256 MB PC2100 DDR at 266 MHz; dual 1.25 GHz: 256 MB PC2700 DDR at 333 MHz; dual 1.42 GHz: 512 MB PC2700. Four DIMM slots support up to 2 GB. Configurations retain stock drives and GPUs at base and maximum supported memory.
AI engine
AI engine	16-core Neural Engine	–
Memory bandwidth
Memory bandwidth	M4: 120GB/s; M4 Pro: 273GB/s	–
Storage type
Storage type	SSD	Stock 60/80/120 GB 7200 rpm Ultra ATA/100 drives on 1/1.25/1.42 GHz respectively. Lower models have Combo DVD-ROM/CD-RW; top model has SuperDrive (DVD-R 4x, CD-R 16x). Four bays support two ATA/100 and two ATA/66 drives; two optical bays, one occupied. Optional 180 GB drive, SuperDrive on lower models and second Combo drive are not assumed in every configuration.
Expansion slots
Expansion slots	–	Four open full-length 64-bit 33 MHz PCI slots and AGP 4x graphics slot.
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, headphone jack
Ethernet
Ethernet	1 Gb/s	1 Gb/s
External displays
External displays	Up to 3 (better)	Up to 2
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	Headphone minijack and built-in speaker.
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	One FireWire 800 and two FireWire 400 (15 W total), two chassis USB 1.1, Gigabit Ethernet, V.92 modem, ADC/DVI, audio line-in/out and Apple Pro Speakers minijack. Maker four-port USB total includes two ports on the keyboard. Optional AirPort Extreme 54 Mbps 802.11g card and Bluetooth 1.1 module.
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)	Two displays in extended desktop or mirroring modes. ADC and DVI connectors with included DVI-to-VGA adapter; digital up to 1920 × 1200, analogue up to 1600 × 1200. A second ADC display needs a separately sold adapter.
Speakers
Speakers	Built-in speaker	Built-in speaker; optional Apple Pro Speakers.
Keyboard and mouse
Keyboard and mouse	–	Apple Pro Keyboard, Apple Pro Mouse, USB keyboard extension, DVI-to-VGA adapter and modem cable.
Microphones
Microphones	None built in	–
Design and power
Type
Type	Compact	Tower
Weight
Weight	0.67 kg (better)	19.1 kg
Width × depth × height
Width × depth × height	127 × 127 × 50 mm	227 × 468 × 432 mm
Operating system
Operating system	macOS	macOS
Size and weight detail
Size and weight detail	–	Maker reference 19.1 kg varies with configuration and manufacturing. Height 43.2 cm, width 22.7 cm, depth 46.8 cm.
Power supply
Power supply	Built-in; 100–240V AC; 155W maximum continuous power	100–125 V or 200–240 V AC, 50–60 Hz; maximum current 6.5 A at low voltage or 7.5 A at high voltage. No wattage is supplied by this sheet.
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)	–
Colours
Colours	Silver	–
In the box
In the box	Mac mini, power lead (1.8 m)	Mac OS X with Classic environment rather than native Mac OS 9 boot; iLife and productivity software. Single 1 GHz and dual 1.25 GHz were available on 28 January 2003; dual 1.42 GHz was announced for the following month and subsequently reviewed. Its later availability does not change the generation’s first on-sale date.