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I've a late 2014 iMac 27 inch 5k Retina display
4GHz Intel Quad core i7 chip set
16 GB ram
AMD Radeon R9 M295x @ 4GB video card
What M4 mini can replace or better yet exceed my set up?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iMac 27″, macOS 11.7
The base MM with 16GB of RAM and at least 1TB of SSD storage. A 2014 is EXTREMELY slow compared to a current MM. By the way, when the new MM arrives please follow the steps below to migrate from the 2014 iMac.
· Always connect your old Mac's Time Machine External Hard Disk prior to startup, this will allow a migration from your TM backup and it will be dead simple! When you start the new Mac for the first time it will startup Setup Assistant (SA), SA will get to a point where it asks if you are migrating from another computer, select Yes and follow the on-screen prompts and it's done! It is that simple! This is the easiest, quickest and most reliable method to migrate from the old Mac to the new Mac is to simply connect the old Mac's Time Machine External Hard Disk to the new Mac using a USB cable before you turn on the new Mac.
· NOTE 1: You will likely need a USB A to USB C adapter, you can find them on Amazon for $10 or less.
· NOTE 2: If you have already done SA on the new computer then simply connect the Time Machine External Hard Disk using a USB cable and launch Migration Assistant (MA) which is located in Applications - Utilities - MA. Then follow the on-screen prompts.
· The ONLY difference between MA and SA is MA will create a new user account that you need to log into.
Both SA and MA migrate applications (not 32 bit apps), data files & settings. They do not migrate Mac OS itself. Some professional apps such as Adobe and Microsoft apps may require re-installing their apps as they will not allow them to be migrated. As long as you kept the security keys for installing their apps, it is not an issue.
Finally, never EVER use Wi-Fi when doing Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant. Why, it simply fails in most cases. Please read and follow the directions in Setup Assistant and Migration Assistant. If you do not have a Time Machine backup of the older Mac then create one! If you are not aware of Time Machine, please read Back up your Mac with Time Machine and finally if you need an External Hard Disk to use as a Time Machine External Hard Disk then many experience users on these forums prefer the OWC Mercury Elite Pro due to it's reasonable price, high level of quality and ease of use.
By the way, if you are wondering if you can use your 2014 27iMac as an external display for the new MM the answer is NO! So that means you will also need an external display too. If you want to stay with a 5K display your choices are:
If you are okay with a 4K display (most are more than satisfied with them) there are a large number available.
The base MM with 16GB of RAM and at least 1TB of SSD storage. A 2014 is EXTREMELY slow compared to a current MM. By the way, when the new MM arrives please follow the steps below to migrate from the 2014 iMac.
· Always connect your old Mac's Time Machine External Hard Disk prior to startup, this will allow a migration from your TM backup and it will be dead simple! When you start the new Mac for the first time it will startup Setup Assistant (SA), SA will get to a point where it asks if you are migrating from another computer, select Yes and follow the on-screen prompts and it's done! It is that simple! This is the easiest, quickest and most reliable method to migrate from the old Mac to the new Mac is to simply connect the old Mac's Time Machine External Hard Disk to the new Mac using a USB cable before you turn on the new Mac.
· NOTE 1: You will likely need a USB A to USB C adapter, you can find them on Amazon for $10 or less.
· NOTE 2: If you have already done SA on the new computer then simply connect the Time Machine External Hard Disk using a USB cable and launch Migration Assistant (MA) which is located in Applications - Utilities - MA. Then follow the on-screen prompts.
· The ONLY difference between MA and SA is MA will create a new user account that you need to log into.
Both SA and MA migrate applications (not 32 bit apps), data files & settings. They do not migrate Mac OS itself. Some professional apps such as Adobe and Microsoft apps may require re-installing their apps as they will not allow them to be migrated. As long as you kept the security keys for installing their apps, it is not an issue.
Finally, never EVER use Wi-Fi when doing Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant. Why, it simply fails in most cases. Please read and follow the directions in Setup Assistant and Migration Assistant. If you do not have a Time Machine backup of the older Mac then create one! If you are not aware of Time Machine, please read Back up your Mac with Time Machine and finally if you need an External Hard Disk to use as a Time Machine External Hard Disk then many experience users on these forums prefer the OWC Mercury Elite Pro due to it's reasonable price, high level of quality and ease of use.
By the way, if you are wondering if you can use your 2014 27iMac as an external display for the new MM the answer is NO! So that means you will also need an external display too. If you want to stay with a 5K display your choices are:
If you are okay with a 4K display (most are more than satisfied with them) there are a large number available.
I have a 2017 iMac 27" and last year bought the base model M2 mini with only 8 GB RAM.
It is at least twice as fast as the iMac and is really slick editing with Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve.
Take a look at how responsive it is in this one minute video I made.
Final Cut Pro Invisibility Effect
As the base model M4 (£599) has a more powerful processor and twice the RAM it will really fly!
You don't need anything upgraded although I would suggest getting a cheap (£60) 1 TB USB 3.0 SSD from Amazon as the internal SSD is too small for many people. An Apple upgrade to 1 TB will cost you a ridiculous £400 . . . very nearly the cost of the complete computer!
What do you use it for?
Primarily for home and some CRPG / RPG gaming.
How to upgrade from iMac to Mac mini M4?
