Mac mini M4 16GB vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super
For running models locally, priced in the UK. At 8k context the first runs 13 models fully in memory, the second 13.
In short
The Mac mini M4 16GB has more memory for models: 16 GB against 12 GB. At 8k context both run the same 13 models we track fully in memory. On the models both run fully in memory, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super is about 4.0× as fast as the Mac mini M4 16GB (estimated, median across models). In the UK the Mac mini M4 16GB costs £765 at eBay and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super £874 at eBay: the Mac mini M4 16GB is £109 cheaper.
Updated . Speeds are estimates; how they are worked out.
Specifications
| Spec | Mac mini M4 16GB | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M4 (10-core GPU) | – |
| Memory bus | 128-bit | 192-bit |
| Memory bandwidth | 120 GB/s | 504 GB/s |
| FP16 compute | 3.76 TFLOPS | 71 TFLOPS |
| Software | Metal | CUDA |
| Unified memory | 16 GB | – |
| GPU can use by default | 10.7 GB | – |
| GPU can use, tuned | 10.666666666666666 GB | – |
| Operating system | macos | – |
| Processor | M4 10-core | – |
| Storage | 256 GB | – |
| GPU | – | GeForce RTX 4070 Super |
| Memory | – | 12 GB GDDR6X |
| Board power | – | 220 W |
| PCIe generation | – | Gen 4 |
| PCIe lanes | – | x16 |
What each runs
Estimated decode speed with the most precise quant that fits each one est.
| Model | Mac mini M4 16GB | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super |
|---|---|---|
| Gemma 4 12B | 8tok/sQ6_K | 31tok/sQ6_K |
| Qwen 3.5 9B | 8tok/sQ8_0 | 32tok/sQ8_0 |
| Ministral 3 14B | 8tok/sQ4_K_M | 29tok/sQ5_K_M |
| Qwen3 14B | 8tok/sQ4_K_M | 30tok/sQ4_K_M |
| DeepSeek R1 0528 Qwen3 8B | 8tok/sQ8_0 | 32tok/sQ8_0 |
| Qwen3 8B | 8tok/sQ8_0 | 32tok/sQ8_0 |
| Phi-4 14B | 7tok/sQ4_K_M | 30tok/sQ4_K_M |
| Qwen 3.5 4B | 16tok/sQ8_0 | 65tok/sQ8_0 |
| Ministral 3 8B | 8tok/sQ8_0 | 31tok/sQ8_0 |
| Granite 4.2 8B | 7tok/sQ8_0 | 29tok/sQ8_0 |
| Gemma 4 E4B | 9tok/sQ8_0 | 37tok/sQ8_0 |
| LFM2.5 8B-A1B | 32tok/sQ8_0 | 128tok/sQ8_0 |
| Llama 3.1 8B | 10tok/sQ6_K | 41tok/sQ6_K |
| Qwen 3.8 27B | won't run | offload |
| Qwen 3.6 27B | won't run | offload |
| Gemma 4 31B | won't run | offload |
| Qwen 3.5 27B | won't run | offload |
| Qwen 3.6 35B-A3B | won't run | offload |
| Gemma 4 26B-A4B | won't run | offload |
| Devstral Small 2 24B | won't run | offload |
| GLM 4.7 Flash | won't run | offload |
| Qwen 3.5 35B-A3B | won't run | offload |
| Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B-A3B | won't run | offload |
| Kimi Linear 48B-A3B | won't run | offload |
| Qwen3 Coder 30B-A3B | won't run | offload |
| gpt-oss 20B | won't run | offload |
| Qwen3 32B | won't run | offload |
| DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B | won't run | offload |
| Gemma 3 27B | won't run | offload |
| Mistral Small 3.2 24B | won't run | offload |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | won't run | won't run |
| GLM 5.3 Flash | won't run | won't run |
| Qwen 3.8 Flash Next | won't run | won't run |
| MiniMax M2.7 | won't run | won't run |
| Qwen 3.5 122B-A10B | won't run | won't run |
| Nemotron 3 Super 120B-A12B | won't run | won't run |
| Qwen3 Coder Next | won't run | won't run |
| gpt-oss 120B | won't run | won't run |
| Mistral Small 4 119B | won't run | won't run |
| GLM 4.5 Air | won't run | won't run |
| Qwen3 Next 80B-A3B | won't run | won't run |
| Llama 3.3 70B | won't run | won't run |
Questions
- Which is better for local AI, the Mac mini M4 16GB or the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super?
- Choose the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super for speed. Choose the Mac mini M4 16GB to spend less.
- Which can run bigger models, the Mac mini M4 16GB or the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super?
- At 8k context both run the same 13 models we track fully in memory.
- Which is faster for local AI, the Mac mini M4 16GB or the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super?
- On the models both run fully in memory, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super is about 4.0× as fast as the Mac mini M4 16GB (estimated, median across models).
- What is the price difference between the Mac mini M4 16GB and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super?
- In the UK the Mac mini M4 16GB costs £765 at eBay and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Super £874 at eBay: the Mac mini M4 16GB is £109 cheaper.
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