Mac Mini M4 VS Mac Mini M2 Pro for X-T5 (40mp)

Visible_Light said:

Visible_Light said:

bakubo wrote

Also, the M4 has 120gb/s memory bandwidth and the M2 Pro has 200gb/s memory bandwidth.

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The photographer and YouTuber who tested the Mac Mini, and whose video was shared here, mentioned that memory bandwidth isn’t really a limiting factor and is often just an empty spec. He literally said, “It’s a number you can technically ignore.”

is this true?

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I heard him say that. It was just his speculation though. To see if he truly believes it then you may ask him if he believes that if his M2 Ultra 24/76 Studio which has a 800gb/second memory bandwidth was somehow changed to 68gb/second memory bandwidth like his M1 8/8 Mini that there would be no difference?

Or if the M4 Max 16/40 which has a 512gb/second memory bandwidth was somehow changed to 68gb/second memory bandwidth that there would be no difference?

The more CPU, GPU, and NPU cores there are means there is more need for higher unified memory bandwidth.

Anyway, he was just making an offhand speculation and just because someone says something on the internet doesn't mean they are right. That goes for me too. But I think he is wrong in the general case, but he may believe based on his specific test cases that it may not matter. Even in that case I think it likely does, but it is probably a difficult thing to determine and just seat of the pants speculation probably won't get you there.

You might ask yourself why Apple would go to such trouble and expense to have 800gb/second, 512gb/second, etc. memory bandwidth when 68gb/second (or maybe 33gb/second or 10gb/second) would provide exactly the same performance even when lots of CPU cores, lots of GPU cores, lots of NPU (Neural Engine) cores are all accessing and using unified memory at the same time?

Probably the M4 Ultra when it comes out will be more like 1024gb/second.

These are just my thoughts. Maybe other people have things to add that we both can learn from.

[No message]

Neither of the above.

You want an m4 Mini, but get
32gb of RAM,
1tb SSD.

Yes, that will cost more.
Pay it.

With 16gb and 256gb SSD, you're going to reach "the edge of the envelope" 'way sooner than you think...

JPAlbert said:

Neither of the above.

You want an m4 Mini, but get
32gb of RAM,
1tb SSD.

Yes, that will cost more.
Pay it.

With 16gb and 256gb SSD, you're going to reach "the edge of the envelope" 'way sooner than you think...

Click to expand...

Not sure what most DPR ppl are doing on their Macs but my machine is handling everything beautifully. And yes I could have paid 4 times more for the machine your mentioned. But not every person is a pro in which every second they save is money.

JPAlbert said:

Neither of the above.

You want an m4 Mini, but get
32gb of RAM,
1tb SSD.

Yes, that will cost more.
Pay it.

With 16gb and 256gb SSD, you're going to reach "the edge of the envelope" 'way sooner than you think...

Click to expand...

My M1 Pro MBP and M1 Max Studio are equally fast at building 1:1 previews in Lightroom Classic and processing DeepPRIME noise reduction in DxO's PhotoLab. The MBP has 16GB RAM and the Studio has 32GB. 256GB SSD is too small, but 512GB is fine, and more storage means I don't have to streamline every few months.

The one area in which the Studio is much faster is processing Adobe's AI Denoise. This function seems to be directly linked to the number of GPU cores. I don't use it, though, because DxO's DeepPRIME is 2x-5x faster. Also, DxO doesn't require generating an intermediate DNG file.

At roughly similar current prices, a used stock M1 Max Mac Studio with 32GB and 512GB is still a very good option. It never overheats and it has more ports, including an SD card reader. I recently upgraded mine to a used 32-GPU version with 32GB and 2TB that cost just US$1000. The extra GPU cores help AI Denoise but not preview generation or DxO noise reduction. Coulda stuck with stock.

--
Event professional for 20+ years, travel & landscape enthusiast for 30+, stills-only.
http://jacquescornell.photography
http://happening.photos

JPAlbert said:

Neither of the above.

You want an m4 Mini, but get
32gb of RAM,
1tb SSD.

Click to expand...

I just got one with 32GB but only 512 SSD. I've never gotten more than 512 and it's never been more than half full. All my files are stored on external drives but of course everyone has their individual needs.

JPAlbert said:

Yes, that will cost more.
Pay it.

With 16gb and 256gb SSD, you're going to reach "the edge of the envelope" 'way sooner than you think...

Click to expand...