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M2 Pro Mac Mini Review: Game Changer!
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- Published on Jan 23, 2023 veröffentlicht
- This tiny computer out-benchmarks the base Mac Pro... and the price went down.
M2 Max MacBook Pro Review: • M2 Max MacBook Pr...
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Computer provided by Apple for review.
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Science & Technology
Love hearing you speak about the "normal user" instead of just video export speeds and other creator uses. This seems like a great deal for those who need an Apple product for classes / etc.
@Some_One_001 you just described you want a machine that runs excel 🤦🏻
@Juce some software is apple exclusive. Windows has assassins creed mac had exclusive software (usually the best option available too)
If I was a regular user, I'd skip the Pro version and I would go with the base Mac Mini model.
@Milkyy 😂😂😂 awkkkk
@Juce unfortunately your comment was placed right below comments that gave courses that require macos 😂
I normally clown on Apple products but this is super impressive. Powerful, well priced, portable, recycled materials, and the ability to select your own peripherals. Great upload
@lopwidth every computer in every classroom at my school (music) is an iMac and its really not a big or rich school at all
@catboy thank you
@Baaska Ulziibileg
Definitely, you might need a bit more RAM if you’re working on multiple projects at the same time or working on a really big project. But if you’re not, maybe extra storage instead, but the M2 will run photoshop like it’s nothing.
noob here, will this be enough for photoshop and illustrator
@DerKaiser iMacs are too expensive. I have seen one in my entire lifetime
One of the first apple products in years that makes actual sense for regular costumers
Oh it makes far more than sense. this literally APPEALS to customers
This is good news after the WTF moments with the new iPad
@steve steve lose ≠ loose. Important.
Also, lose market share? The M1 transfer is one of the most successful launches in decades. I'd love to see your numbers.
Loose?
@Winstan points made:0
The reason for my appreciation of this individual is his consistent delivery of high-quality content. He never fails to meet our expectations.
After watching so many of your videos over the years, today I realize ten years ago I watched your series on fastest Mini, which I eventually replicated. Come 2023 and I'm still using that 2012 Mini with 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD; still holding up, but guess why I'm watching today's video hahaha... Cheers
Wow that is amazing story.
You'd probably be blown away with an upgrade. I'm not a Mac user nor do I think I will be. But things like this are just so... tempting
They’re so stable. Happy upgrade!
Your Fastest Man Mini (2012) video was the first piece of content which, brought you and your channel to my attention. I replicated the project a year later but subscribed right away. Just want to say thank you for creating and sharing great tech content for over a decade. Wishing you and your team many more years in this space, peace!
Cool! An OG fan! 🤩 Had you pegged since day one. Thanks for the support! 🤝
A truly great documentary about about the childhood of Usain Bolt.
Same for me
dont tell apple its a good deal
True that!
Marques has really done well for the community
M1/M2 mac mini are the first apple computers in a looooong time which I would actually consider owning. It's really hard to argue against it as a portable workstation. Almost everywhere I go I can probably find a monitor, and bring a keyboard/mouse along, and for the money I save over speccing out an ultrabook I can probably throw in a luggable screen for coffee shop use too. Also asahi has been making huge strides forwards. Watching with interest.
Now i want one…
This is my first Mac ever
Was going to buy the M1 a year and a half ago and then heard rumors the M2 was right around the corner. After holding off for a year and a half I finally got this one. So excited.
It's crazy the number of options we have these days! We used the "trash can" Mac Pro at my old videography job -- this would KILL now!
Sadly these Mini PCs, including Mac Minis and Studio just serve a SPECIAL PURPOSE.
In general the average person is still better served with a MacBook of any kind used with external Screen, KB and mouse, like this the whole mac is portable and independent from anything on the desk and by using AlDente you can control the battery very good to mainain its performance and for best longevity.
I've had my M1 Mac Mini for a couple of years now and it has been incredible. I run Zwift on it (a cycling game/simulator) that is notoriously taxing on hardware, a bit of video and photo editing and other normal stuff. I was able to pair it with a keyboard and mouse I actually like and a 32" display (1080p resolution). The end result is an easy to use and comfortable set up that is always ready to go. Obviously you could go with a 4k display and a name brand keyboard to make it even nicer but I think my whole set up was less than $1000. Plus if something gets damaged it doesn't necessarily take down the entire system (like when a dog threw his chew toy into my mac book screen in 2009.
The M2 Pro Mac Mini is a game changer! It's powerful, sleek and perfect for both work and play. The upgrade to the M2 chip makes a significant difference in performance and the compact design makes it easy to take on the go. Overall, a fantastic device that I highly recommend. Thanks, Marques.
I don't know how MKBHD does it, but his videos are never boring. He knows exactly what I want to hear and exactly how to say it. Pure genius!
He's good at explaining everything in details and analyzing what's good and not so good for the customers.
@Juce Also the thing about the limitations is what make Apple, Apple. never really competing with others rather outdoing others. e.g the recent A.O.D, It might have seems like they were wrong for not having a A.O.D like android at first, but yet they still managed to make a screen use 1Hz refresh rate to show all that information, which is an incredible accomplishment whether we like it/ know it or not. yet they had to listen to users and see the battery drain and do better, because they are Apple and the demands of a perfect phone outweighs innovation.
I long to see such innovation with android devices like 10 years ago. only thing we get nowadays are camera bumps in res and yes we can say form factor changes are innovative, but even there, copies are popping up everywhere....
I was a big fan of the 2012 Mac Mini which if I remember correctly was the only upgradable Mac Mini available and at the time, it was a killer machine with its Intel i7 and maxed out ram, etc. I still run that machine in my basement for basically just web surfing and light video editing and it still eats up whatever task I throw at it. It's definitely an overlooked product and now with everything that I learned from this video about the new product lineup.... I might be putting my 2021 16" MacBook Pro in the backseat to make room for a maxed out Mini. Thanks for the great video!
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This video has got me absolutely convinced to get one of these. I'm on a 2015 Mac Air and I've been wanting to upgrade since the M1 chips came out but they were just a little over the edge for me in terms of price. This fits right in. Thanks Marques!
I’ve used an M1 Mac Mini for the past couple years now and it’s been a blast. I love that they’ve upgraded it to M2 and it’s cheaper! And yeah, I don’t have to upgrade my monitor and keyboard every time I get a new one. It’s become my favorite Apple product (favorite computer even) after my iPad which I use alongside the Mac Mini every day.
Hello, what monitor r u using? Also, can I connect a Mac mini to a 2015 27” iMac? Thanks.
Dang... The size of that makes me want one for the portability and space saving, but I'm personally not a Mac user. I do hope we get some PC equivalents in this size and price range (assuming it doesn't exist already, which it certainly might and I just don't know about it)
Apple upgrade pricing aside, you really can't beat the entry level base model for price and performance equivalent on a PC prebuilt...
The size is so nice I put in my backpack and go to my friends house and just connect it to his tv
This man’s ability to make incredibly technical & complex subjects easily digestible without diluting the excitement of the products he’s reviewing makes him an absolute GEM of a creator. A once in a lifetime talent. Salute, Marques. 🫡
Marques is the kind of guy who’ll subtly show you how dope he is with his little action figure while doing a dope tech review. Well done!
Wonder where is it from, is it 3D printed?
Do you or anyone you know has "little action figure" of themselves?
It's absolutely insane at a really good price.
8GB of ram is not enough for the types of workloads can do on this mac - it will essentially be a bottleneck. The 256GB SSD is insultingly slow. Technically, the price of this is $1000 - to get functional ram and storage. The $600 price tag is almost a marketing gimmick
The only downside is that you can’t expand the memory and the storage…
Nothing Apple is 'a really good price' 😅
@twoc The Entry Level Mac Mini M2 isn't supposed to be used for intensive tasks, it's a day-to-day entry level machine meant to be used for basic computing/web/productivity work, hence Apple's decision to price the base model low and make higher margins on the upgrades. 8 GB is plenty on MacOS due to being more streamlined than Windows and having better memory management, especially if this is just a computer you use for writing documents or Excel sheets or something.
By contrast, the M2 Pro products come with 16 GB ram by default and M2 Max products come with 32 GB. Apple believes the amount of RAM needed for each SOC they produce is this amount (8 GB = basic computing/productivity, 16 GB = more intense workloads/development/media, 32 GB = heavy workloads) and as such they "optimize" for the common case. Note that the "double price" Mac Mini with 16/512 is actually a M2 PRO mac mini, and also comes with a hefty boost in CPU and GPU performance.
As for storage, you can always buy an external SSD. New Macs all have Thunderbolt 4 so the performance of external SSDs are essentially identical to an internal one.
Hi! I primarily use After Effects for rigging and animating many layers, sometimes high res. As much as shorter render times are a blessing I am more concerned about viewport playback and timeline scrubbing, so I can manually view my animations. I was considering the Mac Mini M2 Pro, with upgraded processor, 32GB memory and possibly a 4TB SSD. With these added costs would I be better purchasing the base Mac Studio, which still costs a lot more?
If you spec out a Pro mini with comparable RAM, SSD, and ethernet it is about the price of the M1 Max Studio. It will be interesting to see what happens to the pricing once the M2 (or M3 studio is released). It is the Apple way to ladder/tier their prices but these two items actually seem TOO close once the generation gap is closed.
I'm still using my Mac mini M1 base model and it runs smoothly. I recommend the model I have for students or home use. The only complaint is the few ports, but most of my stuff is wireless now so I just end up using 1 of the thunderbolts and 1 of the usb ports for my camera.
Same here. I got my M1 Mini back when they first came out and it still handles everything I throw at it with ease. Supposedly it has a cooling fan inside but I’ve never once heard it running 😂
I have had quite good experience over the years with Dell monitors on Macs, specifically the U (ultrasharp) line. I am currently running one Dell U2717 and one U2414 on a 2014 Mac Mini each, and I am quite happy. I will upgrade one of the Mac Minis to the 2023 M2 Pro Mac Mini.
I love how this video addresses different points of views in terms of its users, It dosen't just talk about exporting or importing videos as a creator. + Marques if your reading this man you've really inspired me to push myself and try to make the best youtube videos I can. Keep it up bro!
Yes, excellent video by Marques
That's exactly what I was thinking bro, its literally the worst when a review just talks about "importing and exporting films" instead of users in general
The speed of improvement and performance-affordability always fascinates me every time I think about it. Think back like 10 years ago, something like a HD video recording or a terabyte of storage was something incredibly impressive and expensive, while nowadays you wouldn’t even be impressed by a camera with 4K recordings because tech got so affordable. Truly an amazing era to live in!
Meh, y'all also forget that while 1tb was impressive at one point, that was during a time when the footage/apps/games didn't take up 300gb each. None of this is really as impressive, more so necessity. I still don't get 4k. Like yeah, it's nice if you have a home theater but my average screen? Unless i am drawing something on my wacom where I have to get upclose for extra precision, it's barely noticeable. It's just useless, marginal improvements atm that are only impressive to average people who barely have any clue about the subjects (like cameras) at all. That being said, tech getting smaller is something I hugely enjoy, makes my desk less cluttered and more the stuff I engage with more enjoyable.
@Px_works I still can't afford 4TB tho. 1TB however has been in the reach these days
@Kaktus Goreng Well, Microsoft still creates Arm products. It's not that focused not because Microsoft doesn't want. But because, porting would be difficult. Even to this day, Apple Silicon devices still aren't ready for gaming yet thanks to lack of native games.
whaaaat? my 12 yo 8 thread machine could rip HD as fluent as you like on resolve, having 4TB of drives there from day one, your statement would be true for 4K video and and 1PB storage.... but we still are far ahead of that in home setup.
Computer memory hasn't really had a lot of progress in ten years, but smartphone cameras were still improving in like 2013-2018 for sure. Lots of performance/affordability worsening innovation in the name of "consumer wants these buzz words so let's make them cheaper to include" as well though, SSDs started cutting DRAM cache more commonly and my Samsung Galaxy S4 Active from 2013 had IP67 water resistance and a battery I could easily replace.
The Mac Mini has been the biggest sleeper in Apple's lineup for a while, great to see them continue to invest in updates to it and I'll keep recommending it to family as well who like using Mac OS, but aren't doing the kind of work requiring a $2,000 Macbook.
Exactly! Gave my 2014 mini With an upgraded 1TB SSD to my mom when her display went out on a 7-year-old MBP. Still runs like a champ
Definitely appreciate the review! You mentioned GPU and I’m looking to get into Photoshop and video animation in the near future. I won’t be tackling any extremely huge projects as I’ll be learning but obvi the more I learn the more I’ll do. Trying to decide if I should just skip this and get the Studio or would this do for a while. That said, how do you think the GPU on this holds up in the aforementioned scenario?
Just got the MBP M2 and it is insane. Love the Mac Mini too! Great review as always!
Your reviews are my favorites, and there are SO many to choose from. Your presentation is honest, thorough, clearly spoken and easy to listen to. I have a 2016 MB Pro and seldom use it - no need to upgrade. I have a top tier iMac with 40 gigs of RAM. I am a Realtor and photographer and need a great screen, hence the Macs. Mac mini looks great, but I'd love more than a 27" screen with hi-res and great color. 5K for the Apple 32" and 1K for the stand would be great, but . . . that's a lot of money. Thanks for another great review!
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Great info presented at a nice calming steady pace, highlighting not just the features and benefits but also which options in the range are the best value for money. One of the best presentations we have come across for a long time.
From a almost-ignored back trail in the Apple Mac line, to an actual important upper-mid level performer. Very cool!
I'd argue that the iMac has become the more niche almost-ignored Mac in Apple's Mac lineup. It tries to serve the "family computer" role, but it's too expensive, too impractical (with the port selection), and too much e waste for that role anymore.
👍 Wow, that's amazing! 🤯
Almost a whole year after I purchased my Mac Studio on pre-order day last year and hearing rumors about Mac Studio possibly not being a supported computer anymore by Apple. This Mac Mini is 🔥for the price and small form factor compared to the Mac Studio as well.
I love this Mac mini! I already have an external keyboard and mouse for my 2017 MacBook Pro (which is aging significantly). If I got this plus a monitor, I would have a way faster computer and then I could turn my iPad into my “laptop” if I need a portable setup. I’m glad Apple has decided to revamp the Mac mini because it’s actually a sensible option.
These Apple silicon chips are still blowing my mind in the performance per dollar ratio. I'm a photographer and my 2020 M1 with 16GB RAM is still blowing through my workload at an amazing pace for the price, and I'm sure this new Mac Mini would too.
A most excellent revue.. I have an iMac M1 and have been a little disappointed with it.. more to do with the smaller screen size. I've previously had four 27" Intel Macs and loved the screen size. I've been with Apple since 1991, Mac OS 6.0. I was sorry to see the newer M1 iMac's with a smaller 24" screen. This new Mac mini with the M2 chip looks good, and you can buy whatever monitor size you want. An excellent revue from someone who knows there Apples.. My old favourite was the Apple Cube.. should have kept it..
If this is the entry level mac mini, I can't wait to see whats to come with the mac pro... I think my current video editing rig can go home as a beefy gaming rig and the mac mini will be the new office computer.
Another shockingly concise and to the point review man, thank you for continuing to improve the channel with good and useful content every single day, just love it ❤️
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Shockingly?
absolutely. thank you very much, let's talk about that 📞👆
Imagine if apple made a motherboard capable of having two M2 ULTRAs and idk like a whole ass thing where you could use it as a server and it'd have a modified debian that you could install on it and use it as a server I'll just say it if they tried they'd turn into the biggest server provider with those incredible power usages these chips have damn.
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My last Mac was a 5th gen i5 MacMini and I'm definitely buying a M2 model, insane deal.
@Mark Anthony Li 🎉congratulation you have been selected as our shortlisted winner🎁
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Agree! I bought the m2 mac mini recently to replace my old iMac
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Dude, thanks for the sustainability notes! I love following tech, but find sometimes balancing my interest in the space with the business always pushing for a new phone every year leaves a weird taste in my mouth
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I had a Late-2014 Intel Mac Mini that I used for work for many years, and a couple of months after the M1 Mac Mini came out I upgraded. I still have it, of course - use it every day. And back then for $699 it was the best bang for the buck, computing-wise. (Although I did upgrade the RAM from 8GB to 16BB, so I paid $899 for mine). Now at $599 with an even *better* CPU? It's even *MORE* of a bang for the buck! I might upgrade just because I can get 10Gb Ethernet for $100. Sure would be nice to be able to talk to my NAS at 10Gb instead of 1Gb.
I’ve never daily driven a Mac, but this Mac mini is really enticing. It actually seems like a good value proposition from Apple.
@catboy integrated graphics you mean?
Look fam, up there somewhere I put my 3600 next to the m2. Sure the m2 is quite abit better. But not so much that you'd have to go down on your knees for.
@catboy what good is a processor, when everything else is lacking
@Daniel
How is that “quite a lot” for a $600 computer with one of the most power processors on the market? You clearly don’t know the impact this Mac Mini has, when a PC that is equivalent in processing & graphics performance is easily $1,000 more.
@Daniel
And do you know how much you have to spend on an AMD processor with an integrated processor is in order to match the M2?
Even the M1 model was great value.. 100USD off is crazy. You could probably even sell it for minimal loss even if you don't want to use Mac OS after all.
It would be great to see a deep dive that compares two possible buys for an “average” user: 14” MacBook Pro for $2k-2,500 vs M2 Pro Mini + MacBook Air or iPad for similar total expenditure.
One of the best out there when you do these reviews and providing “ideas” and “options”. Appreciate the hard work.
The base model has a great sticker price, but an extra 256GB of storage for £200 extra, or doubling the ram to 16GB for £200? Insane mark up.
I still got a late 2012 Mac Mini i7 being used as a Jellyfin/Plex/Kavita server with ~65TB of content. Upgraded the ram from 4GB to 16GB and no issues to speak of in the 10+ years that I've had it. I'm glad to hear that the base product still offers so much value but the lack of DIY upgrades is a bummer. Two steps forward one step back is the Apple way.
You speaking more about normal users and actually explicitly making recommendations for students and so forth, it adds the value that I have been feeling like most reviewers lack, and what you sometimes also lack lately.
Like we get it, you work with 8k and staff so obviously things like that should impress you, but the percentage of your viewers who care about that, even understands or can even watch it in their own device, it is so small that at no point should it ever become the main focus of your video.
I truly appreciate this balanced review, and it has been a minute since I got this feeling.
Lol funny part is that I am a software engineer intern at a FAANG company, so personally I do understand the very technical aspects and so forth, but as a long time subscriber, I think your value proposal is mainly in your balanced review, and not in catering for a niché. That's just my take.
4:43 MKBHD’s performance per dollar ‘dumb Apple chart’ is priceless 😂
I was sold as soon as I saw how much higher that line was
"It's better. The line is higher." LOL
“Its higher!” 😂😂
It is literally price-less lmao
This will be killer for offices and schools at that price point. Dell SFF has dominated the corporate office space scene. That might change with how much more powerful the base mac mini is for the same price.
I've had the M1 mini with 16gb ram and 1tb ssd for maybe a year now which i don't think is a long time at all but i really want the m2 pro...i was always hoping that apple would continue to pack more power into the mac mini and they totally are. i want one so bad.
I just had to comment - I bought a Mac Mini as a refurbished in 2012. It was actually a 2011 model which hasn't had support since 2017. It's the only computer I own. You've convinced me to finally go to the M2 soon. I just don't know how to transfer the old, out-dated files and programs from my old 2011 mini to the new one (when I get it). Great review.
I am always impressed with your analyses and recommendations. They get to the point and have sensible justification. Keep it up. Many thanks.
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I got 2 of these. I got the M1 a bunch of months ago when Costco had a sale, and now just got an M2 with another Costco sale. They are definitely the fasted CPUs in my house and I've had a few gaming PCs between me and my son. I always buy a USB Type C SanDisk SSD for extra storage. I swing my Photos and some larger apps to that storage to keep the main OS drive at max space. And with a nice 2K or 1440 or more monitor, you can beat these.
@Kenneth Stewart I got a Samsung J791 Series 34-Inch Ultrawide QHD (3440x1440) monitor connected by the USB-C cable and the other is a Lenovo Q27h-10 27-Inch Monitor, QHD (2560x14440) IPS monitor. Both work with no issues.
What monitors do you use?
📞📤
My base model M1 Pro MBP 14” is honestly so ridiculously good for my workflow as a data scientist and developer, even though it’s technically a binned-down SKU at only 8 cores. I’m really impressed with how much Apple improved the architecture on the pro end for what would normally be a very incremental upgrade. It makes me excited for what’s to come in the third generation, which may be enough of a gap to justify an upgrade from M1 Pro, particularly if the rumors about a 3nm manufacturing process are true
@Smart Learning It's brilliant.
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I wanna go into machine learning , is m1 pro mac book pro , good ?
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You could get an base m1 air for on the go AND and the $799 Mac mini plus still have 400 bucks left over for a display and peripherals and it would cost the same as just getting the base level 14” MacBook pro alone. Apple has actually really been impressing me with the value on their newer stuff even since they introduced silicon.
Really love the way you discussed how to think about the line up and navigating from what you might have today, and which option you choose to upgrade to. Personally I don’t have a great screen set up as I have old iMac so I think I’m going to go to the laptop route. 🙏🏾
How about the SSD speed on the base model (256Gb) ?
It seems to be a problematic point on this Mac mini as presented on Max Tech's review.
Thanks for the nice video as usual. Cheers from France 👍
I think that the higher refresh rate for displays is also great, but unfortunately, that’s only for M2 pro.
It looks like a very interesting offer . If you expand Mac mini’s SSD storage a lot pricier unfortunately.
@Cameron Bosch Yeah, cost vs performance fallacy again.
@crfyi I would upgrade the RAM to 16 GB and storage to at the minimum 512 GB (to avoid the single NAND issue on the base models). SD card requires a dongle.
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I think a smarter option would be to use the SD port for additional storage
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It's honestly insane how powerful these machines are. I've been using an 8GB M1 for a long while now for video editing, and I haven't had to create any proxies at all for anything. Not my 5k 422 10 bit 400Mbps footage, not my multicam videos, nothing.
I'm for sure going to upgrade when the Ultra comes out, but for now, I'm pretty good.
Really surprised by how much power these things pack TBH
@ThinLineMedia true, but I don't do any of that, so that's irrelevant.
As it stands, the 8GB M1 Mac Mini is utterly amazing for my needs. Insane performance, WAAAAAAAAAY better than my higher speced Intel Mac. Not even close.
@Night the moon Good thing none of my work requires any of that then lol
It is not pure performance. It is a matter of codec encoding support. If you throw at it a codec that it doesn't support the performance will go out the window. That is why these machines don't perform well in 3D programs
@Siam Hossain in EFFICIENCY, learn to read before commenting, please.
@Vicinity yeah all companies do it, but when actual influencers like mkbhd do it, it's just lying, or he's clueless about the market
One thing that came to my mind instantly is that the base Mini is a very good deal if u have a gaming Windows PC but want to work on a Mac. The quality monitor(s) are already there. It also uses so little power it can be a home server at the same time - buy the version with more ram, plug in an external drive if you need it, install a Linux VM, boom done
makes a setup look so clean! What a powerful little machine!
Can’t wait to get one! I’ve never had a Mac computer. The mini fits what I need. That price point is very attractive!
You’ll love it, my old 2013 mini with i7 processor 16gig ram is still performing like new.
Putting the M2Pro in the Mac mini was a master stroke. I hope Apple sells a lot of them!
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It’s hard to image how fast these m2 pro’s are, I’m still using base model m1 macbook air for my graphic design studies and have’t had any problems with it’s performance
Ok, now we need a video on the best $600 display options for the Mac Mini. 😊
@LadyEmily i was saying anything past 120hz, because i love the step from 60 to 120, thats huge, but anything past that is almost meaningless
@Brad Haines 120hz isn't only for gaming. It's a game changer for scrolling, and really anything involving motion.
@RoastBeefSandwich have had a fair bit of trouble pairing Apple silicon laptops with my cell S2722qc - ended up sending it back and getting an LG, no issues so far
The LG ultrafine 4k display
LG C2 4K OLED 42" is probably the best option currently, but a little more than that price. You might think it's big for a monitor but it's actually the perfect size, sitting 2.5ft away you can't see pixels and feels like an IMAX theater when watching movies since the FOV is so big
I have the M1 version of it. It’s just awesome. Never ever failed, i use it for graphic design, light video work and music production.
📤📤📤
I know these are pretty great, along with the new Macbook Pro M2 max, but like you were saying about desktops, i'd love to be able to have a workspace where my monitor and mini would live, and if i bring my macbook to it, all performance is connected and boosted.
Hey, just wanted to tell you that Geekbench is not very representative of cross architecture performance between x86 and ARM (even when not accounting for major OS and driver differences). Since those are two different instruction sets there are certain applications where one outperforms the other only due to being more specialized for a particular use case. Sometimes having a certain specialized instruction is an advantage if it fits the current work load. On the other hand being less specialized reduces overall complexity and hence can be advantageous for simple operations. So technically it is impossible for an ideal synthetic benchmark to exist between those two platforms. In my opinion Geekbench has a tendency to favor ARM systems over x86 which doesn't necessarily reflect in other benchmarks or real performance. I'm not trying to discredit the insane performance of Apple ARM here, but Geekbench overexaggerates this difference. Modern x86 mobile processors especially from AMD offer very similar performance if not higher in some cases (although this is not easy to compare). Hence it would be best to compare those machines in more real world use cases against each other since this directly reflects how the actual machine will perform for the user.
I've seen some people render an adobe video, or do big compiles and i thought that was an interesting way to test the differences and give it a "score". Although yet again that reduces the test to those specific functions
Man, I loved your "fastest Mac Mini in the world"-project back in the days. This was one of my favorites!
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Fun fact.... I'm not even interested in Apple products but I still watched this video from start to finish, hit the like button and commented. All because of the high quality production. 👍
Nice to know I'll have something great to upgrade to when my 2017 iMac finally starts showing its age. (Guessing later this year when it likely won't be supported by the new MacOS... so dumb, should be at least one more year. Hope I'm wrong.)
Also, I'm probably gonna hold out until Apple gets a little more serious about 120hz, both in their software and large displays. By then I think I'll feel like I've had a good enough run with my trusty iMac... meh, I could probably run this thing another 4 years ha.
EDIT: Heck, if I make 4 more years with this iMac (say about Dec 31st 2026), I may as well push it to summer 2027 so I can say I've used it a full decade! Then the upgrade I go with will be that much sweeter! BTW, its specced out, so it won't be quite as painful as trying to run some slow base model 2014 iMac through to 2024 would be.
Yes... I'm actually kind of excited now to see how long this guy can hold out. Apple would make it A LOT easier if they would give me just one more major update this fall (not just security stuff).
Love the camera shake shots. I've been using a gimbal but I love the camera shake. Theirs something aesthetic about them
Great review and I'm glad you pointed out sustainability, as this is more important to us all in the long run than anything else.
The main benefit of an external display is choice and longevity. Monitors often last through multiple upgrade cycles, and display features have plateaued enough for everyday, non-HDR use-cases that there's little reason to buy a device with an integrated display (unless portability is a hard requirement). Having no display also makes future upgrades more affordable (not to mention better serviceability since the display can be replaced or repaired instantly, to keep people working).
To a certain extent, the Mini invalidates many laptop purchases, the iMac's existence, and even the Studio for many users. This is a good thing, because every company should produce products that are so good they disrupt their own ecosystem.
I have been waiting for the Mac "Mini" Studio to come out with the M2 Ultra mainly cause I want to future-proof myself. But now I'm thinking maybe this M2 Mac Mini is more than enough. The Mac Mini M2 fully loaded for me is $2600 vs the Mac Studio fully loaded was like $6700. I'm having a hard time justifying the $4100 difference. Why does the Mac Studio cost so much?
Beefier power supply, much more capable cooling, more ports, larger body. I still don’t think the Studio is $4,100 better than Mini, but there are reasons for it to cost at least $1,500 more.
If this company ever goes bust, that'll be a day I'll be interested in anything they do.
Still killing it with my 2020 MacBook Air M1. It's still the best laptop/computer I have ever owned and is still blowing my mind to this day. I can't imagine having anything faster, and yet, here we are. Love your content MKBHD!
@46I37 Same experience, feels like a sub-standard product, even lags many a times just with a browser window, worse touch-ID than 10 years old Android phones, got its motherboard changed yet nothing changed and colleagues having it have same experience. Apple is good but it's far far away from perfect, and I also don't like its software which is counter-productive just to be quirky and different than windows, to prevent people from switching so easily out of its ecosystem.
Ironic that when I clicked edit on this comment, it lagged, lol.
@46I37 sounds like you have a defective machine then.
@Theflyingdog No. My wifes previous computer was a 27" 2015 imac with core i5/512G HDD/16G RAM, the motherboard slowly died with freezes. She wanted a 27" imac to replace it, but Apple don't make them anymore, thus She went a M1 macbook and the advice was 8G RAM was enough because the M1 was more efficient in memory use and swaps to the HDD were super fast. But it has been a miserable computer. Her 7 year old i5 was a better experience. eg. Start recording with a Rode video mic and there are jitters and stutters. Browser hangs for no reason. UI become unresponsive. My daily driver is a Win10 Dell XPS, and I don't get any of the issues She has.
@46I37 I think apple has some quality control issues. My M1 Air was quicker than my M1 Pro 16” I got.
@TreeLeaf Then not all Macs are good
Always love your reviews, Marques! I'm one of those still working on an intel Mac (21.5", 2019, 1tb, 32gb ram) and am thinking about an upgrade. My side hustle is video editing, and I'm a FCP enthusiast. I was thinking about upgrading to the Mac Studio, but now I'm not sure after watching your review of the mini. What's the diff between those two, and for video editing, which would you recommend?
Until the Mac studio is refreshed, the Mac mini is a much better choice. M2 pro Mac mini sounds like a good choice for you: it comes with 16GB of ram as the minimum option, which Apple charges an extra $200 for on the base model (and is essentially a requirement in 2023). It also comes with the 512GB ssd. the 256GB ssd in the base model is extremely slow, it’s another $200 in the base model to upgrade to 512.
I love the SFF of the mac mini, it's honestly a perfect computer hardware wise. Not a macOs fan but its genuinely the way to go for budget performance.
Apple has fully redeemed themselves with this marvels of tech, some things I still despise but they regained my interest in their products for a while now, great video btw!
Loving my M1 Pro gets every bit of job done as I also need to travel a lot with my laptop... So happy with my Macbook Pro...
In the long run like 3-4 years once my M1Pro starts getting outdated...
Getting a Mac Mini with a pro chip and adding a BenQ display monitor will serve my purpose while working at home...
Nice! I just purchased the M2 Pro 12 core with 32GB RAM & 1TB SSD. I'm so psyched to edit on this machine. I have been using my Late 2012 iMac i7 Intel for 9 years now and I'm soooooo looking forward to more power and smooth sailing across my 4k footage.
Love how you mentioned compile times as a use case! It can make such a workflow difference (probably even more than rendering) if the chip is able to render a new live view immediately. 4:30
my pleasure! let's talk about that ☎️👆
Can’t wait to see the M2 Studio and what that can do.
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Crazy how Apple now has the highest value product, who would've thought 🤯
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I had an old Mac mini from 2009, in early 2022 I bought a 2020 iMac (intel) with the 27” 5K display. I really wanted to get a M1 iMac but apple discontinued the 27” so I went with the older intel model. I’m pretty happy with it though just a few months after buying it I had to get the fan replaced under warranty.
I replaced a bulky mid tower PC with M1 Mac Mini when it came out, have absolutely loved it. For my needs it will last me a lot longer, so not ready to upgrade yet.
When I do upgrade it will still be good enough for me to pass on to family who just use Internet.
It is fantastic to see Mac Mini receive regular updates now Apple are away from Intel.
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This is great to hear from you. I have away liked the the mac mini and always thought they should have done more with it. I have had 3 previously. Held off from buying the new ones for now. and you can hookit up with a great non mac monitor. currently have a 27" iMac and not impressed with it. Line down the screen after 28 montths and now keeps cchuting down for no reason....
Can we pause very briefly, please, and give the team a shoutout. The production quality is, as always, fabulous. You can see how much love has gone into the setup on the monitor, which is exactly in line with the window frame. It's always great to see how much attention is paid to even the smallest details. My eyes and my inner "Monk" say thank you!
Love and hugs from the "Monk" international club mate! I felt exactly the same 😁
Thanks for the concise review touching on the right things for people who aren't necessarily (recovered) gaming addicts or plasma flow calculation professionals.
Nice to see the Mac mini going back to its roots. The affordable machine. Me like.
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Very through and thoughtful Mac Mini M2 review. Thanks for the great work, MKBHD! :)
i love my M1 Mac Mini as daily driver alternative to my gaming rig. it's got great performance for my everyday needs, is basically silent, is energy efficient, and i greatly prefer macOS to Windows. just wish the base storage option was 512gb, 256gb feels pretty small in 2023
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I bought a Mac Studio a few months back and it's been outstanding. I wonder how this M2 Pro Mac Mini holds up to the current baseline Mac Studio?
The Mac Mini is faster and better designed.
Excellent video as always. I had just looked at these and was wondering about them, so I’m glad you gave us the rundown on it.
@TJ_Fox25 Yeah at this price level it is just an Apple thing.
@herman stokbrood that’s not just an Apple thing. If it is something you really need as opposed to just wanting, then the price will not matter as much.
@TJ_Fox25 Sure Apple let you choose anything. For you know it the price has doubled or even trippled.
@Vulcānus those are options that you can select yourself. It’s on the Apple Store. My main concern was baseline performance so that I could determine my own ram and storage needs from there. I’m sure that’s why he didn’t dive into those, because they are subjective to the individual needs of each person.
disappointed he didn't mention storage or ram configurations
PERFECT AND clearly said, Well done. I got an M1 Max refurb for the time being and will wait for the m3 if I ever do need to upgrade in the future .saved myself over £1000
I received my Mac mini yesterday afternoon. It's SUPER QUIET. Which is the main thing I wanted in a new Mac (of some kind). Everything was going on smashingly at first. Then I did a huge update that was needed. After that, my old wireless / bluetooth Apple Mouse would no longer work. Thanking I have more than one keyboard/mouse combo in my office. I still can't get the blue-tooth adapter to work with the mouse it came with, but I'll keep trying. Thank You for this video. My new Mac mini cost about the same as my 2006 Mac Pro. It's so SNAPPY! I've got a couple of external G-Drives plugged into it, and they're doing FANTASTICALLY. Ventura (the most current version, I gather), is very clean, and very very nice. Thanks for the recommendation. Your video showed me the way!
One thing I would like to point out as a long-time mac-mini owner. The mac-mini is a TANK of a machine. Small solid aluminum chassis, exhaust fan is the only moving part. If you add that with the insane heat efficiency of the m2 and you get a system that you most definitely will replace before the end of its lifespan.
I’m tempted to go fora M2 Pro even though I’ve been happy with my M1 mini. I’d spec it out a bit and be done with it for years. Really, for most home users, it’s more than enough.
Wait for at least 3nm
Great review. Hate the fact that non upgrade storage or ram options can be had. Apple should have made options to send back unit for upgrades