Let’s first address the mini elephant in the room. The new Mac Mini is adorable. It’s like my Mac Studio and one of my Mac Minis came together and had a child. It’s just so cute!

But I don’t buy my computers for their cute factor. I buy computers because of their balanced price-performance ratio.

Also: The 13 Mac Studio peripherals I can’t live without – and why

Don’t get me wrong. A $599 Mac Mini with 16GB of RAM is an ideal Mac purchase for regular computer users who already have a keyboard, monitor, and mouse. But for me?

Well, it’s close. But no cigar.

My daily driver is an M1 Max Mac Studio with 64GB RAM and 4TB internal storage. I have 3.46 TB now, so I better reduce the amount I keep on this machine. As I’ve mentioned before, my Mac Studio has performed well over the last few years, but recently it’s started to wheeze under some of the CAD workloads I’ve been putting it through.

Aside from daily writing, CAD, 4K video editing, and programming are my most common uses for my machine (along with virtual machine simulation of networks for programming).

Also: I bought a Mac Studio: Here are the specs I chose and why

I make my computers sweat.

Still, the M4 Pro Mac Mini is close. While I’d like to reclaim some desk space, it’s not ideal. So let’s look at the four reasons why a maximum mini Mac Mini mimics a mediocre Mac Studio.

1. Missing front SD card port

It may seem like a small detail, but I constantly use the SD card port that has become iconic on the front of the Mac Studio. When I heard the rumors that the Mac Mini would have front-facing ports, I was hopeful, but the SD card slot is missing.

Also: The Mac Studio feature is keeping me from buying a new M4 Mac Mini this fall

Sure, I could use one SD to USB-C converter donglebut that’s nowhere near as elegant as a slot on the front of the machine. It’s also a two-handed operation, which can be inconvenient at times.

The new Mac Mini also has a headphone jack. Frankly, I’m not convinced it’s a good trade for that SD port, especially given the popularity of AirPods and the good performance of AirPods Max for editing video and audio over Bluetooth.

2. Not enough ports

On the new Mac Mini – as on my Mac Studio – these two front-facing ports are USB C. On the Mac Studio Ultra, these ports become Thunderbolt ports. That’s a win, except the Ultra brings the Mac Studio to almost double the price I paid for mine. It’s a very expensive upgrade.

The Mac Mini’s port selection is pretty impressive, especially on the M4 Pro. While there are only three Thunderbolt ports on the Mini compared to four on the Studio, those Thunderbolt ports jump from Thunderbolt 4 to twice-as-fast Thunderbolt 5 if you go for the M4 Pro. Nice.

Unfortunately, you lose the USB-A ports. I see the appeal for Apple in foregoing this form factor, but I’m taking full advantage of my USB-A ports.

It’s nice to see an Ethernet port on the back of the device, which can be upgraded to 10GB for $100. And the HDMI port is always at hand.

But here’s the thing. In order to run all 13 devices connected to my Mac Studio from an M4 Mac Mini, I would need to add something like this CalDigit Thunderbolt 4 dock. That’s an additional $379.

I also find the headphone jack on the front of the new Mac Mini annoying. I would much prefer it to be on the back and not protruding into my personal desk area.

3. More CPU cores but fewer GPU cores

The M4 Pro has a total of 12 CPU cores, while the M1 Mac Studio I use only has 10. That’s not as big of an advantage for the M4 over the M1 Max as you might think (aside from the processor’s native speed, which is about twice as fast as the M1). The two additional cores that the M4 Pro Mac Mini offers are efficiency cores, which are essentially low-power workhorses.

The M4 Pro Mac Mini offers hardware-assisted ray tracing, a graphics feature that my Mac Studio doesn’t have. However, gaming relies heavily on ray tracing, and I built a dedicated PC for gaming. It’s a feature that will never really interest me.

Also: How I Built the Ultimate Low-Profile Starfield Gaming PC for Under $1,200

The problem is that the M1 Max in my Mac Studio has 32 GPU cores. That’s twice as many as in the M4 Pro Mac Mini (although you can get four additional cores for $200, bringing the total to 20). As an active Final Cut user, I would notice the difference.

4. Not that much bang for the buck

I paid $3,799 for my Mac Studio. These included upgrades to the chip, 64GB of RAM and 4TB of storage. A similarly equipped M4 Pro Mac Mini costs $3,499, just a $300 difference.

Yes, the CPU is faster and Thunderbolt 5 is nice, but the price difference is only $300. For that $300 on the Mac Studio, you get an additional Thunderbolt port, two USB-A ports, 12 more GPUs, and a front SD card slot. Add in the cost of an external dock and the $300 difference disappears. You would actually pay more for the Mac Mini.

I love the form factor of the new Mac Mini, but you just don’t get that much for the money.

Not my new daily driver

I’m holding off on replacing my Mac Studio with the M4 Mac Mini, even though it’s so cool. It’s entirely possible that if I replace some of my secondary machines I’ll buy one or more M4 Mac Minis, especially considering how attractive the starting price is now that it ships with 16GB of RAM.

Also: MacBook Pro vs. MacBook Air: How to decide which Apple laptop is best for you

What’s wrong with you? Are you planning on getting one of these new little beasts? Are you currently running Mac Minis or Mac Studios? Let us know in the comments below.

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