Building a simple but powerful Mac mini M4 setup for family use

If it’s for a simple family computer a new iMac could be the simplest option. Saves space, speaker, screen, comes with keyboard and mouse I believe so saves you time and energy and you could just have an external SSD.

Otherwise if wanna go all out would suggest:

• Mac Mini
• Screen: LG Dual Up, or LG Ergo series
• Keyboard and Mouse: Logitech MX Master
• Hub with SSD: Might want to look at Orico
• Speakers: IK multimedia iLoud Micro Monitors

I would recommend getting a minimum of 512 GB of internal storage.

As a data point, I'm using a Mac Studio that has that amount of internal storage. The internal SSD is about half-full. That's with all of my music, movies, and TV shows stored on an external SSD; and about 40 GB of photos stored on the internal drive. If it had been possible to order this Mac with only 256 GB of internal storage, and I had done so, I would be nearing the point (90% full) where it would not be wise to store anything more on the internal drive.

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As far as the recommendation to get a Mac mini with at least as much internal storage as your iMac goes, that won't be possible unless you purchase a Mac mini with a M4 Pro chip. Your iMac had 3 TB of internal storage. The "plain M4" version of the Mac mini can be ordered with at most 2 TB of internal storage.

On the M4 Pro Mac mini, upgrading from 512 GB of internal storage to 4 TB will set you back $1200 USD. Although the internal SSD is very fast, you can get a 4 TB external USB-C (USB 3.1 Gen 2) SSD that is plenty fast enough for storing music, movies, and TV shows for something like $250 USD, plus or minus. If you are watching your budget, you might find that the combination of a 512 GB or 1 TB internal SSD and a 4 TB external SSD would do the trick.

With respect to monitors …

The built-in screens on the 24" iMacs, and Apple's standalone 27" 5K Studio Display are both very nice. There are not a lot of third-party monitors out there that have similar PPI and sharpness. However, the Apple Studio Display costs $1599+. Even competing 27" 5120x2880 displays from LG, Samsung, Asus, BenQ, and ViewSonic are likely to cost $800 or more.

27" – 32" 4K monitors do not have the same pixel density and sharpness as the Apple 5K Studio Display, but there is a huge selection of them, and most of them are much cheaper than the Apple display. You can get some basic – but decent – 27" 4K monitors for as little as $300 – $400.

Things to look for in a display:

• IPS panel (for good viewing angles)
• 100% or near-100% coverage of sRGB. If the manufacturer's description of a non-Apple monitor is missing this specification, that is usually a bad sign with regards to basic color accuracy.
• [Optional] 100% or near-100% coverage of wide gamuts: DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB.
• Modern inputs: DisplayPort, HDMI, and/or USB-C (DisplayPort). Most good monitors have two or more inputs of two or more types, which lets you share them between two computers and may make it more likely that they will be compatible with your next computer.

Well keyboards are keyboards, you can have Mac compatible keyboard for as low as $10 if you want, they simply are not expensive. Mice the same and displays start at $100 but for about $300-400 a nice one can be found. You can very easily move large libraries such as music, photos and movies to external drives and still access them. I’ve been doing that for at least the past 15 years.

How much do you have stored on your 27" internal drive currently.

If it's between 500 GB and 1.5 TB a 2 TB SSD should be adequate.

I use a 4TB drive as Time Machine for my 1 TB Mini and four 1 TB external SSDs. The backups go back 9 months.

You can add additional external storage when needed easily.

What do you mean by "powerful"?

What type of use will your family be doing?

I have a Mac Mini M4 with 16 GB RAM and a 1 TB SSD and a 32" 4K monitor. It's a great combination.

Look and see how much storage you are using on the old iMac, then simply purchase an iMac with the same or more storage. Yes, you can buy a Mac mini with less storage however setting it up and maintaining it can be a nightmare.

Yes, we know that storage purchased on Macs is expensive however buying it is the right thing to do. These forums are full of similar posts to yours where users buy MM's with insufficient storage and then become extremely frustrated. Remember long after you spend the money on the new Mac. you will not be thinking about how much you spent you will be thinking of your user experience. In short, make your experience a good one by purchasing a correctly spec'd Mac mini!!! Once the new computer has arrived, please follow the steps in Setup Assistant and Migration Assistant for a seamless migration.

If you don't have adequate funds now then I recommend that you:

1. Use one of Apple's 12 month no interest financing options or
2. Save up more cash.