My 2017 iMac died and i want to buy a new Mac M4 Mini. Would the standard M4 Mac Mini be adequate to run Rhino or do you suggest getting the M4 Mini Pro? No one at Apple could offer any advice.
Hey @Larry_Benjamin we list the required specs here Rhino - System Requirements
And it looks like the lowest model would eclipse our requirements. It does depend how big and complex your models are of course, so if you’re working on larger models and time is quite critical, a higher end Mac will pay its way.
Thank you, that will save me $600.
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BTW, they just came out with new Mini’s.
newer than in the titles topic?
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Excited about the new machines, trying to figure out if Mac mini M4 pro, with upgrades will be satisfactory, or if should get laptop for the max chip, I prefer a desktop, but I want a machine that will run Rhino well for a number of years. Note also, I’m not a “power user” creating designs for furniture, nothing too complex. (for now)
From what I understand, the basic M4 Mac Mini (not the Pro) with 24 Gb RAM and a 512 Gb hard drive is more than adequate for Rhino.
the m1 was adequate already, maybe not a good render machine but for modelling purposes definitely alright.
Larry, did you end up purchasing this machine? I’m thinking of going with the same spec (regular M4 Mac mini - 512GB, 24GB ram). Care to share your experience with it?
Hi Ben, I bought the M4 Mac mini - 512GB and 24GB RAM, the ASUS 27" ProArt 5K monitor, and OBSBOT Tiny 2 Lite webcam from B&H Photo using their Payboo credit card to save on tax. And I bought the Kanto ORA4 powered speakers and Kanto SP9 stands from The Audio Connection in Seattle.
TBH, I’m just using the Mac mini to learn Affinity Designer right now. But Rhino assured me it has plenty of computing power for their software. No need to buy a M4 Pro mini unless you’re doing serious video work. The monitor is excellent, way better than the display in my 2017 iMac. This is the first time I’ve owned a matte display. The ProArt 5K doesn’t appear to compromise sharpness and resolution. It’s easy on the eyes and almost looks like paper printed at very high resolution. I’m guessing the Apple Studio Display is a bit brighter with a bit more vibrant colors but I don’t see the value in spending $1600+ on a monitor ($1900 for the ASD with Nano-texture glass), given the ASUS is $1K, the webcam is $143, and the speakers + stands are $480. True, the combined price is close to the base model ASD. But the Tiny 2 Lite is far superior to the ASD’s built-in webcam and the ORA4 blows any built-in speakers out of the water (including the ASD’s). I chose the Tiny 2 Lite because OBSBOT said it’s designed to work seamlessly with Mac and the reviews were positive. I also bought a 4TB 7200 RPM OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual with 3-Port Hub. My understanding is that mechanical drives are more stable (and far less expensive) than solid-state for use with Time Machine back-ups.
If you decide to buy the ORA4, also buy the Kanto SP6 or SP9 stands, whichever raises the tweeters closest to ear level. The ORA4 are rear-ported so the back of the speakers need to be 8" - 10" from the back wall and 5" - 6" from the sides of the monitor. If they’re too close to the monitor, the bass from the rear ports will reflect off the back wall against the back of the monitor, creating echo and distortion. The stands are very robust and minimize reflection from the desktop which also results in distortion. Angle the speakers so that an imaginary triangle comes to a point 1’ behind your head. They’re designed for nearfield listening and the soundstage is amazing. The ORA4 sounds awful straight out of the box but after 100 hours of break-in, they sound incredible for what they cost…and this is coming from an audiophile! This weekend I’m planning on using duct tape to cover the cable management ports and filling the stands with washed sand to improve the sound a bit. I have everything plugged into a Furman PST-8 power strip. It offers excellent surge protection and some degree of power conditioning.
Sorry for being so long-winded. Hope all this helps in making an informed buying decision.
Sounds like you’ve got a killer setup. Thanks for sharing. I’m just dabbling in Rhino myself to use for landscape architectural modeling in a professional setting. Glad to hear the Mac mini is working out for you so far.
Hi Larry, my 15 iMac still works fine, but not safe for internet anymore since not supported, I got an mini M4Pro, with 24 RAM and 512 ssd, I’m running apps/home folder from external to keep the small ssd free for RAM swap out (don’t know for sure if it works that way…)
The little mini is surprisingly quick, for my purposes, (I’m not a rhino power user)
I think you can return for like 30 days? so you could try the base model, and if you can figure it out quickly and get it back to apple you could upgrade if necessary.
That being said, my studio monitor and LG (which is very nearly just as good, 5k and 27") would still cost the same if I got the lower price machine…
that being said, the mini is peppy – I do wonder occasionally if the base model would have been fine?
You didn’t mention what apps you’re running. I’m using the Affinity software suite and want to learn Rhino. My Mac M4 mini (non-pro) with 24 MB RAM and 512 SSD + external drive is more than adequate. If I was to start doing serious video work (which I’m not) I’d want the Pro. But that would also entail buying a bigger internal HD and more RAM.
The two determinants for a monitor for me were color accuracy and 5K which is why I chose the ASUS 27" ProArt.
As a user of Rhino3D since v4, I started out on the Windows/Intel side (i7, 16GB RAM). I subsequently migrated to Rhino on OSX and found it to be smooth and uneventful. All this was still on Intel hardware (i9, 32GB RAM). The intention was to use the i9 MacBook Pro for a while longer until the new Apple Silicon MacBooks get an expected redesign in 2026ish.
All this changed when picking up a Canon R5m2 camera and observing the i9’s ability to handle 10-bit 4k RAW video. What an unexpected dumpster fire.
In hearing a lot of buzz about the new Mac mini, I was amenable to grab one to “hobble along” with until the next wave of MacBook Pros hit. I wasn’t overly concerned about the base model “only” having 16GB. The base M4 mini is so tiny in it’s price compared to a $5k MacBook Pro I was willing to experiment, the first thing I did after unboxing it was drop a 2TB SSD replacing the 256GB one. The other experiment was to see if it could drive a 49 inch 5120x1440 UltraWide 32:9 display. After 3 weeks using this, I couldn’t be happier.
This is my first foray in using Rhino8 on Apple Silicon (base M4). I loaded a dining room scene that previously made my i7 lag when just twirling it around. The M4 shows zero signs of lagging all the while driving this 5120x1440 (60hz) display. I can get it to achieve the monitor’s max 240hz display if I use up a USBC port rather than HDMI.
My i9 MacBook driving it’s 16" display can also twirl the scene without issues, but the more demanding 4k video workflow is where it falls woefully short.
All the Affinity products (Designer, Photo, Pub) launch into a ready-state WAY faster on the base M4 than the Intel i9.
I didn’t feel the need to go after a M4 Pro mini as its doubled entry price didn’t bring a doubling of ProRes Video Encoders on the chip – the priority part of this excursion for me. The Pro’s default ram starts at 24 versus 16, but previous experience showed Final Cut Pro was extremely efficient negating the need to throw excessive hardware at it like Adobe Premiere. The other reason was simply that after all these months, there’s no 3rd party SSD upgrade for the M4 Pro version.
Digging into the guts of a Mac mini to sidestep a $800 upcharge isn’t for everyone, but the countless video demonstrations made it a graspable challenge I was itching to try.
Being fully in the ecosystem with an iPad Pro to the left of me and the i9 MacBook on the right, the OSX feature of dragging my mini’s mouse to and from all three screens is all kinds of awesome.
Having a screen this wide (with the immersive 1000R curvature) allows the Rhino side panels to open up where everything can be read and simultaneously never having to give up modeling workspace. This wouldn’t be possible if the base M4 mini wasn’t up to the task.
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