Mac Mini M4 over M1 for Software Testing and Development Engineer
A great machine for software engineers (executing automated E2E tests and compiling code)
Medium readers: I’ve shifted to publishing more content on Substack.
The new Mac Mini M4 is generating a lot of buzz, with numerous introductions and reviews available online. I published an article titled “M4 Mac Mini: A Perfect Build Machine for E2E Test Automation Labs” to share my excitement following its announcement on October 30, 2024. But it was just a prediction based on the specs.
M4 Mac Mini: A Perfect Build Machine for E2E Test Automation Labs
My daughter preordered one and did a benchmark test for E2E Testing (automated, of course). She then shared the results in an article. The set-up part might be of some interest to test automation engineers.
With her permission, I’ll be incorporating some of her content here and adding my own quick benchmarks for code compilation.
Interestingly, my daughter’s job title is Software Development Engineer at a FAANG company, while I’m a Test Automation Coach. But hey, both of us work with coding and test automation!
Executing E2E Automated Tests
My daughter ran the same End-to-End Tests (a real test for a real App) in BuildWise Agent on three different Mac Mini machines.
Test Case: WhenWise Booking (Client and Business, on 2 Chrome Windows)
Test Automation Framework: raw Selenium WebDriver + RSpec
(BTW, this test is not feasible with Cypress, which is limited to a single browser window)
1. Mac Mini M4 (2024)
Time: 21.7 seconds
Video:
2. Mac Mini M1 (2020)
Time: 20.9 seconds
3. Mac Mini Intel (2012)
Time: 26.4 seconds
Check out this article for an analysis of the above benchmark by my daughter.
Code Compilation
Code compilation is likely the most common task that software engineers wish could be faster.
I will use compiling my TestWise IDE app (C++ in Xcode) as the benchmark.
M1 Mac Mini:
M4 Mac Mini:
Saved over 41% of the time. I was hoping for a bit more, but I’m still quite satisfied.
Further reading: