All right, how's it going everyone? My name is RJ, and today we're talking about the brand new M4 Mac Mini, the base model that starts at just $599. You get 16 GB of RAM, Apple's new M4 chip, and it's got

people losing their minds over the value it brings to the table, but here's the thing: everyone seems to be hyping it up, but not many tech reviewers are really putting it through its paces with a proper stress test. So that's exactly what we're going to be doing today. We're

not talking about synthetic benchmarks; we're talking about real-world, everyday usage. I've been using this base model Mac Mini for the past 7 days, and I have thrown everything I could at it: photo editing in Lightroom, heavy Photoshop work, learning Blender, which is a struggle, let

me tell you, and editing this very video on a 4K timeline. Now, the big question is: should you save your money and stick with the base model, or are you better off upgrading the RAM to 24 GB or even 32 GB? For context, I'm coming to the Mac

Mini from a maxed-out 2019 Intel MacBook Pro, which cost me over $3,000 at the time. It's been a solid machine, but it's definitely starting to show its age. The idea of upgrading to a desktop that costs a fraction of the price, just $599,

almost sounds too good to be true, but Apple has done something wild here with the new Mac Mini, and we're about to see if it lives up to the hype. Before we dive into it, if you're new here, hey, my name is RJ, and if you find any value in

this video go ahead and hit that subscribe button we are on the verge of hitting 50,000 subscribers and it would mean the world to me if we can get there before Christmas let's make it happen all right let's kick things off with

what I spend doing most of the time video editing I've got a 4K timeline loaded up in Final Cut Pro packed with color grading heavy effects and multiple video layers now this is where I expected the base model M4 Mac Mini to stumble a little bit but I was actually blown away

scrubbing through the timeline is incredibly smooth no lag no stutter even when I turned on voice isolation which usually brings my Intel MacBook Pro down to its knees now here's the kicker exporting a 5 GB video in h.264 codec

took about 4 minutes and 30 seconds that's not lightning fast but it's still impressive for a base model machine if you are someone who exports multiple projects per day you might want to consider the M4 Pro for faster render times but for a majority of creators out

there this is more than fast enough I also tried rendering a ProRes video which is usually more efficient on Apple silicon it shaved off about a minute of export time coming in at just over 3 minutes this really shows how optimized Apple's hardware and software ecosystem

is even on the base model all right moving on to photo editing I loaded up Adobe Lightroom with a massive catalog of raw images shot on my Canon EOS R I applied batch edits to about 500 photos and I hit export now I was expecting this to take

a while but it completed in less than 2 minutes, that is absolutely insane. My Intel MacBook Pro would have at least taken twice as long for the same task in Photoshop. I pushed the machine even harder, or at least I tried. I was working with a multi-layered file with a ton of

adjustments, masks, and smart filters. The base model handled it without even breaking a sweat. Zooming in, applying filters, and switching between layers was seamless. I even tried some AI-based features like content-aware fill and it performed just as well as the higher-end

models. Now moving on to something I'm still learning, Blender. I am new to 3D modeling, but I figured this would be a great way to test the M4 Mac Mini's GPU. I loaded up a complex model, this monkey right here, and navigating the viewport

was super smooth. I expected some lag, but nope, it was buttery smooth. I attempted to bake a render, but I'll be honest, I messed it up. Blender Pros, if you're watching, drop some tips in the comment below because I clearly need them.

Despite my noob mistakes, the Mac Mini handled it well. The fan didn't even kick in and the temperature stayed relatively cool. This is where the efficiency of the M4 chip really shines, even during a heavy GPU task like this, it remains quiet and cool, which is pretty useful if

you are planning on using it in a quiet workspace. All right, let's dive into some coding. I fired up Xcode, spun a local server, and compiled a full app project. The build times were fast and the Mac Mini didn't break a sweat, but I wanted to push it a little bit further.

so I ran a stress test that involved heavy multi-threaded calculations. The test maxed out the CPU usage to 100%, but even then the fan stayed quiet. The temperature hovered around 44° C, which is impressive given the workload. This really showcases the efficiency of the

M4 chip. Apple's new architecture allows the machine to handle complex tasks with that ramping up the fan or overheating it. It's clear that they optimized the silicon to be both powerful and efficient, and it really shows based on the specific test alone. Now for the

gaming test, which I know, I know the Mac Mini isn't exactly a gaming machine, but I had to test it out anyways. I started with War Thunder since this game is native to the Mac, and I ran it on high settings. The performance was all

right there. There were a few frame drops and the occasional freeze. I did drop down the settings to medium, and the game ran much smoother. So take that however you will. Next, I fired up League of Legends. I used to grind this game back in the day, so it was a bit of a nostalgia trip. The

Mac Mini did handle League of Legends well, even at high settings. I was getting a solid frame rate with no major hiccups. So if you're into casual gaming or even esports titles, the M4 Mac Mini can definitely handle it. Now if you're in

the market for the new M4 Mac Mini and you want to trade in some of your old devices that are just lying around, I want to put you guys on to Phobio. Phobio has got the best way to get paid for your old gadgets. You could get up to

$665 for your old smartphone or $1,575 for your old laptop, that is more than what most carriers or manufacturers are offering. The process is super simple: answer a few questions about your device's condition, get a quote, and ship it for free. After inspection, you'll

receive fast payment. No waiting for carrier credits, just straight cash. The great thing is Phobio has been doing this for over 15 years and they run multiple trading programs in North America, including Costco, US Amazon, Canada, and several carrier programs. So you know that they are reliable. And hey, if you're

really thinking about picking up the new Mac Mini, Phobio makes it even easier to trade in your old devices. I always say the worst thing you can do is let your old unused tech sit around. You can turn it into cash today. Head to my custom

portal to get started. The link is in the description below. And major shout-out to Phobio for sponsoring this video. Now, this is the part of the video where things get wild. The question that's on everyone's mind is: can the M4 Mac Mini handle heavy multitasking or does it

start to sweat under pressure? So I decided to throw the kitchen sink at it. We're talking about 10 different apps open at once: Final Cut Pro, Lightroom, Photoshop, Blender, Xcode, and it had Legal Vengeance menu in the background. And because I really wanted to stress it out,

I had Firefox running with 50 tabs open. If this test doesn't push the Mac Mini to the limits, nothing will. So right off the bat, we hit 85% memory pressure with all of these apps running. The base model has 16 GB of unified memory, which is

great for a lot of tasks, but here's where things get interesting when you hit that limit. The Mac Mini starts using swap memory, essentially it's borrowed space from the SSD to act as extra RAM. In this case, about 4.5 GB of swap memory

was being used. Now here's what you need to know: using swap memory is awesome in the short term because it keeps your system running smoothly, but in the long term, it's not ideal because it can wear down your SSD even faster. Apple's SSDs are fast, but you don't want to rely on

it for swap memory every single day if you are a heavy user. So if you are the type of person who always has a bunch of apps open, you might want to consider upgrading to 24 GB or even 32 GB of RAM. It's an investment that could save you

from potential slowdowns and extend the lifespan of your machine. Now for the CPU load, here's where the M1 chip flexes its muscles. Even with all of these apps open and video rendering in the background, the CPU stayed cool at 44°C. That's

ridiculous, right? I expected this thing to heat up like a gaming laptop under load, but it barely broke a sweat. The secret here is the efficiency cores. The M1 chip uses a combination of efficiency cores and performance cores. In this stress test, the efficiency cores were

doing about 70% of the work, handling all of the background tasks and the lighter processes. The performance cores only kicked in when I needed some serious power, like during video rendering and 3D modeling. This kind of power management is what Apple silicon is known for, and

It's why the Mac Mini stays so quiet and cool even when you push it to the max. Now let's talk about the GPU for a second. This is where things get a little less exciting for most of the test. The GPU was idle except when I fired up Blender for 3D modeling and played a quick game of League of Legends. This tells me one thing: the M4 Mac Mini is definitely more CPU oriented, and that's by design. Apple knows their audience here: creatives and developers who need strong CPU performance for video editing, 

coding, and multitasking rather than heavy gaming or intense 3D rendering. If you're someone who's into gaming or plans on doing a lot of GPU-heavy tasks, you might want to look into the M4 Pro version. The base model's integrated GPU is fine for casual use, but if you're 

pushing it with high-end graphics work, you'll start to feel the limitations. The best analogy I can come up with is kind of like taking a Prius to a drag race. It's efficient, but it's not built for that kind of speed. Here's the part 

that surprised me the most: even with everything running at once – 4K video rendering, 50 tabs open, photo editing, 3D modeling, and gaming – the system didn't stutter once. I was expecting at least a little bit of lag, but nope, the unified 

memory architecture here really shines. I kept switching between apps, switching between Firefox tabs, scrubbing through my Photo Pro timeline – everything was smooth. It's not just about the raw specs, it's about how well everything works together, and this is a perfect example of that. So if you're a regular user who 

needs a powerful and efficient machine, the M4 Mac Mini is definitely worth considering. 

maybe edits a few photos, watches Netflix, and does some light browsing. The base 16 GB model is more than enough. It handled everything I threw at it like a champ, but if you're more of a power user, like you've got 50 tabs open at once, you're

rendering videos while editing photos and playing a game on the side, then you're going to want to upgrade that RAM. One area though where the base model falls short is the storage. The 256 GB SSD fills up fast, especially if you're working with large files. My

advice is to get an external SSD, like the Samsung T7. You can get 2 TB of storage for way less than what Apple charges for an upgrade. I'll leave some links for you guys in the description below. So here's the final verdict: should

you buy the base model M2 Mac Mini? Absolutely! For most people, it's the best value desktop out there. It's powerful, it's efficient, and it's insanely good for the price. But if your workflow is more demanding, consider upgrading that RAM. Either way, you're getting a great

machine. All right, if you guys made it till the end of this video, drop a 👍 emoji down in the comments below. I would love to know who my true supporters are. Make sure you do give this video a thumbs up and hit that subscribe button. Let's get to 50K subscribers before

Christmas. That is the goal. Make sure you check out Phobio if you want to trade in your own devices. As always, thank you so much for watching and don't forget to flex with your base model Mac Mini. Tech, this thing is absolutely insane value.

M4 Mac Mini 1 Week Later - REGRETTING 16 GB RAM on the Base Model..?(STRESS TEST!)

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