Similar to the instore only Harvery Norman Deal
Mac mini (M4) 10 Core CPU 10 Core GPU 16/512
$1167 ($1 less than H/N Offer)
https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/mac-mini-m…
Mac mini (M4 Pro) 12 Core CPU 16 Core GPU 24/512GB
$1978 (Same price as H/N Deal)
https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/mac-mini-m…
Available for purchase online & instore
Has higher specs too. More cpu & gpu cores as well as 24GB RAM & 512GB SSD on base Pro Model.
Mac Mini only makes sense as a base spec. For the Pro price tag, you can build a beast Bill Gates computer for around $2000. Only thing you will give up is single core performance. But within 1 year you can upgrade to a new Ryzen / Intel cpu and balance that off and sell your old CPU. Everything else on the $2000 Bill Gates computer will rip the Mac Mini 4 Pro apart especially loading it up with a 4060Ti, 9700X Ryzen, 64GB Ram, 4TB ultra fast 7000MB/s SSD, etc. Yes power usage will be more but the new Ryzen 9000 series and a 4060Ti is very efficient so it's not like the old days.
100% understand where you're coming from. Used to spec PCs from the early 90s when the Green Guide was a thing. I lived and breathed "Bill Gates"' stuff, from MS-DOS 4.0 to NT to 95/98/XP/2000 etc. Then I bought a Mac around 2006ish and liked it. Not really for gaming, but it was a pleasure to use despite some serious teething problems — mine not the Mac's. We still have a 2008 iMac that works just fine 😂 But seriously, Windows has gone a long ways since then.
I think the most important question is: What software do you need to use? Then find the best machine within your budget that will allow you to get the most from that software.
I think you are right about the base mini as far as actual purchasing goes. In fact I would be concerned about heat in the pro and there is good reason an M4 max isn’t in there. And most people don’t buy TB4 let alone TB5 peripherals.
But as a demonstration of what Apple has made possible the pro has one hell of a lot of power in a very tiny device and it is amazing it is in the ball park (not really rip apart) of the monster setup you describe.
Which would be awesome too, btw.
From videos that i watched, heat doesn't seem to be such as issue. Fan normally doesn't even turn on and if you stress it then yes fan kicks in and is fairly effective from what i can gather.
@Redsin: The early video reviews showed 4k video editing and reviewers crowing about it but if you look at the work flow, you can do that on a 3 year old iPad so it's not high praise.
Only macmini ?
Have been following mac mini prices so not sure about others
Nice, looks edu a bit cheaper ?
But now we cant price beat Harvey's 10% off
Yeah luckily I managed to do it before Officeworks dropped these prices.
It is now sitting on my desk unopened. My M4 with upgraded ram ordered from AOC is arriving today so have to decide if it is worth paying extra $773 for the Pro. Honestly for my use M4 is good enough but i dont upgrade my computer much so maybe M4 Pro is the way to go. i think that is how I am trying to convince myself anyway lol.
Wow, very few votes on the deal, I guess no one on Ozbargain cares for the Mac Mini M4 even at 10% off. On Youtube most videos after 2 weeks of hype is 'I am returning the base Mac Mini M4'.
Reasons? Going for Pro or upgrading storage/ ram?
Most are the 'creative types' and they are realising after all the earlier hype of the huge M4 single core geekbench scores, that everything else about the M4 base spec is weak. They are noticing that there is no substitute for 64GB of Ram, GPU cores and 4TB internal super fast SSD's in 2024 for 'creative work'. And those specs will bankrupt you on a Mac Mini. No one wants to get an external drive because they cant afford the internal storage on the Mac Mini and then going the external storage route having to change the home folder and muck around with the settings and install Apps on an external drive and all that hoopla.
After seeing how much they have to really spend to get it up to a basic Windows computer video editing 'creative work' spec, they would have to cut off their left arm and sell it on the black market. Mac Mini only makes sense as a base spec machine at $815 - $999 student / retail price and it is too gimped for 'creatives' to be fully functional. The price ladder of upgrades ruins it for most people and the shortcomings of the base spec is showing.
Fair enough for the creative folks. I still can't understand the need to go to X TB with storage as external storage with home drive moved there is prob ok with drive reads and writes close to 3000 when you use TB4 enclosures. Can't beat the 5000 on built in storage but I doubt it is going to be that much of a difference and in a few months time TB5 enclosures will be more prevalent and will deliver the 5000 speed.
As for Window machines, most of these creative folks are on Mac platform and the only reason they would go Windows if they want creative work and gaming usage on the same machine. I think most of these folks are waiting for mac studio m4 max or whatever top Apple silicon that will be released with the next upgrade.
Yeah the hype is for the base model as nothing in the Windows space comes near at that price. It becomes really expensive once you upgrade the ram and ssd. However at $1016.30 to have M4 24/256 is not too bad if you can live with external storage. Not for gamers of course as you would want a specced out PC for that.
You don't need to change your home folder, just change the boot drive to the external and everything goes on it by default. (I tried this out the other day with my M1, still tossing up whether to get an M4.)
Everyone already bought with Edu pricing and discount gift cards. Probably cheaper than this deal.
Worth noting the base model is a whole 2 dollars cheaper than the Apple retail price - or $184.90 more than the AOC (Education Union store) price.
Guys, guys, please.
Check out this, much cheaper. And give us an upvote while you're at it.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/874044?
Thanks!
+1
Is the Pro version so much more because it is claimed to be configured for ,, AI tasking??