iMac M4 vs macMini M4 Pro

[temp676]

Maybe someone has experience with this. We are a small architecture firm with only 3 people and most of our work is renovating old buildings, many of them without straight walls. So most of the time we only use 2D drawings and rarely 3D models. Now we are evaluating new machines because the old ones, which are still iMacs from 2015 (Core i5, 16 GB RAM, Radeon R9 M390 2 GB), are at the end of their service life in terms of support from Apple. The question for us now is whether the new iMacs are sufficient or do we need more performance for VectorWorks?

 

V1: iMac M4 10-Core CPU (4 P / 6 E-Cores), 10‑Core GPU, 24 GB RAM (alt. 32 GB)

V2: macMini M4 Pro 12-Core CPU (8 P / 4 E-Cores), 16-Core GPU, 24 GB RAM (alt. 48 GB) + Standalone Displays

 

[michaelk]

Wow.  You're coming up on 10 years on those machines!

 

Vectorworks likes RAM.  I'd go for the max.  That will probably be the limiting factor on how long you can keep these new computers.  And for another $200 you can jump the Mac mini Pro up to 64GB. 

 

For me a 24" display feels too small for graphic work.  And 1 monitor never feels like enough.  If it were me I'd max out a mini Pro.  (Except the storage.  Those prices are ridiculous.)

 

 

[zoomer]

8 hours ago, temp676 said:

which are still iMacs from 2015 (Core i5, 16 GB RAM, Radeon R9 M390 2 GB)

 

If you can still get along with these, a M4 upgrade would be a great experience.

 

But ...

do you use current versions of VW ?

I ask because your current machines are quite below minimum specs for current VW. M4 Macs  will come with macOS 15 Sequoia and the last supported VW is 2024 and older VWs may or may not run well or at all.

 

Do you have 27" or 20" iMacs ?

As 24" M4 from a 27" might be a bit of regression.

 

24 GB memory is a bit on the low side for VW in general, especially if you run lots of other Apps beside VW or plan to use these again for 9 years. 24 GB is not impossible for your workflow though.

 

I think the M4 Pro Mini with 48 GB is a solid future proof option but as said you will also need Displays and your old input devices. But it would also be suited for increasing 3D work and rendering.

 

But if applicable (24" only, M4-non Pro) I think the iMac would be pleasant.

32 GB memory, SSD (1 TB (?) for me here) as needed. I would not order Nano-texture Glass (price/cleaning sensitivity)

I would also upgrade Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad if not already included.

Maybe also the Touch Pad upgrade as Magic Mouse is not very exciting and usually already present.

 

Edited November 20 by zoomer

[E|FA]

I think the M4 Mac Mini will be a huge improvement over your current machines.  I use a similar 24GB M2 MacBook Air connected to a 27" 4K monitor, and don't have any real issues other than making sure I don't keep too many browser tabs open.  I would have increased the RAM had it been available, but upgrading to the MacBook Pro in order to do so seemed like overkill for my needs.  I work mostly on single family residences with 3D models and don't do any rendering other than Shaded and Hidden Line.  Having spent many years working entirely in 2D on Intel Macs without issues, I can't imagine that the M4 Mini would have any problems at all.  

 

I had been concerned about moving from my 27" iMac Retina display to a 4K 27" external display.  I started by using the Luna Display (https://astropad.com/product/lunadisplay/) to turn the Intel iMac into an external display.  It worked well, but setup was a little fussy, so in the end I got a BenQ PD2705U (it's a USB-C model, for Thunderbolt look at PD2725U), and my older eyes can't really tell the difference.  I have two Luna dongles available if you want to make an offer. 

 

Since you're in an office setting, I assume you use external storage, so you can minimize the amount needed for each machine and spend the money on maximizing RAM.  SSDs will be a big improvement if you're working with spinning HDs.  

[temp676]

15 hours ago, michaelk said:

For me a 24" display feels too small for graphic work.

 

15 hours ago, zoomer said:

Do you have 27" or 20" iMacs ?

As 24" M4 from a 27" might be a bit of regression.

Thanks for the hint, didn't realise that yet. We use the 27" iMacs. A smaller screen really makes no sense.

 

15 hours ago, zoomer said:

do you use current versions of VW ?

We are currently using version 2024, which is not really a problem for our small files in daily use.

 

14 hours ago, E|FA said:

SSDs will be a big improvement if you're working with spinning HDs.  

The (old) iMacs are already equipped with SSDs.

 

14 hours ago, E|FA said:

I had been concerned about moving from my 27" iMac Retina display to a 4K 27" external display.  I started by using the Luna Display (https://astropad.com/product/lunadisplay/) to turn the Intel iMac into an external display.  It worked well, but setup was a little fussy, so in the end I got a BenQ PD2705U (it's a USB-C model, for Thunderbolt look at PD2725U), and my older eyes can't really tell the difference.  I have two Luna dongles available if you want to make an offer. 

How is your experience with the non retina resolution respectively the scaling for the macOS UI with a 4K display?

[zoomer]

3 hours ago, temp676 said:

How is your experience with the non retina resolution respectively the scaling for the macOS UI with a 4K display?

 

I have a 24" 4k for a PC that would work best at 175% UI wise,

but many App GUI don't like that. So I have to use 200% instead and waste some real estate.

 

I see that it is exactly a 150 % scaling to get native 27" resolution.

This is much better than any really uneven scaling.

So like all 4k Monitors, which usually need some scaling (beside being 21" small at 200% or 42" native 4k), they will never be as perfect as a Retina Display with double resolution - but still look better than any Display with native Size/Resolution.

[E|FA]

8 hours ago, temp676 said:

How is your experience with the non retina resolution respectively the scaling for the macOS UI with a 4K display?

Here are my Display settings.  It feels equivalent to the 27 iMac, but I never had them set up side by side to compare.  The BenQ has a "CAD/CAM" setting, but I can't tell if it really makes much of a difference.

 

[Leandrovsk]

i'm also in this doubt, i was determined to buy a mac mini pro to replace my current imac m1, but i'd have to buy a screen, and if i were to sell the imac, i'd have to buy a new keyboard and mouse as well. 

so i've been thinking of just upgrading the imac to the m4, i find the screen very good, few cables, and in my case i've been doing small projects, i don't need ultra fast rendering, i need it to run the projects in 3d and be able to render when necessary. 

in your case where you only work in 2d I think either the imac or the mac mini would be enough. 

 

Edited November 23 by Leandrovsk