Apple finally update the Mac miniskirt , with the new high - ending M2 Pro version put back an absolutely ancient Intel model .
It fills an important gap in Apple ’s Mac screen background lineup . The M1 Mac miniskirt was flash and get down even cheaper with its M2 upgrade and the Mac Studio is hefty but expensive , starting at $ 1,999 . Then there ’s thegoodiMac for $ 1,499 , which is really just an M1 build into a colourful 24 - in presentation .
So if you want a screen background Mac , you were forced to go down in the mouth - oddment or high - end . With the M2 Pro Mac mini , there ’s ultimately something in - between . It lead off at $ 1,299 for a trend - back version of the M2 Pro with a 10 - core central processor and 16 - essence GPU . Upgrade to the full M2 Pro with a 12 - core C.P.U. and a 19 - core GPU , and add a little RAM or storage , and you chance yourself expend as much as the $ 1,999 entry - storey Mac Studio .
So who should buy the upgraded M2 Pro Mac mini and who should just get the ledger entry - level Mac Studio ? After using both for the past workweek , the answer is n’t very clear .
Apple Mac mini (M2 Pro, 2023)
M2 Pro vs. M1 Max: It’s complicated
The $ 1,599 Mac miniskirt with a full M2 Pro chipping often delivers CPU bench mark scores about 15 to 20 percent high than the M1 Max , thanks to two additional high - efficiency CPU cores and high clock speed . But the $ 1,299 Mac mini has an M2 Pro with the same 10 cores as the M1 Max Mac Studio .
Unless you start the kind of task that hammer on the processor for minutes at a time while you stare at a progress legal community , you ’re unlikely to acknowledge the difference . Both machines have such libertine memory and memory that everyday undertaking – email , entanglement browsing , productivity work , photograph redaction , even light-headed consumer - course video redaction – feel similarly fast and responsive .
The M1 Max in the fundament - framework Mac Studio descend with 32 GB of RAM , while the M2 Pro starts with 16 GB . Frankly , 16 GB is fine for most things , but if you need to run a raft of software at once or really braggy contentedness creation work load , the extra Aries will make a difference . And if you plan on hold on it for five yr or so , the extra RAM is nice to have .
When liken the GPU in the M2 Pro to the M1 Max , it gets complicated . The M1 Max in the base manikin Mac Studio has 24 burden , with 32 center usable for an spare $ 200 . The M2 Pro has 16 cores , with 19 core for an spare $ 300 . The Mac Studio will usually outperform the Mac miniskirt here since it ’s got 50 pct more cores and double the memory bandwidth .
In other words , for everyday browsing and such you ’re not probable to mark much difference with either machine . For nourish intensive CPU mathematical process , the M2 Pro Mac minicanoutperform the Mac Studio somewhat , but even then only if you spend $ 300 on a processor rising slope . There are n’t a circumstances of chore whose chokepoint is the Neural Engine , but it ’s well faster in the M2 Pro , at least on paper .
At the end of the 24-hour interval , I ’d take even the ingress - level M1 Max with 24 CPU sum and 32 GB of RAM over the full - persuasiveness M2 Pro , but it ’s close .
It’s not just the processor
But there ’s more to these machines than the difference in processor power . The Mac Studio is plain bigger – it ’s about 2.5 Mac minis stacked on top of one another . But both machine have the same footmark . They ’re justtinyby modern screen background computer standards and nearly dumb .
Design - wise , I opt the Mac Studio . The spare peak does n’t annoy me … in fact , it create a great monitor stand for the Studio Display . But it ’s the two USB - C ports and SDXC card slot on the front that make me love the Mac Studio . I used them regularly , and I immediately missed having them on the Mac miniskirt .
Those front port make the Mac Studio a much more drug user - well-disposed design .
Roman Loyola / IDG
The Mac mini has Wi - FI 6E , which might weigh if you ’ve got a Wi - Fi 6E router or project to bribe one soon , though the Wi - Fi 6 on the Mac Studio is by no substance tiresome . The mini also has HDMI 2.1 , a serious game - changer if you want to hook your Mac up to an 8 K monitor or a 4 K monitor at greater than 60Hz .
While the HDMI 2.0 porthole is a piffling bothersome on such an expensive computer , it ’s the front ports that make me incline toward the Mac Studio . You might finally notice the performance boost of Wi - Fi 6E or on uncommon occasions need an HDMI 2.1 porthole , but you ’ll apply those front USB - C and SDXC slots almost every day .
Mac Studio (M1 Max, 2022)
Apple’s pricing is the problem
If you necessitate to pass no more than $ 1,500 , the base example Mac mini with a storage upgrade to 1 TB is n’t bad . It ’s a bit overpriced , but it ’s still far enough below the Mac Studio toll to be deserving it .
But the more you upgrade the Mac mini to match the Mac Studio , the worse the match-up gets . While the Mac Studio ’s upgraded 32 - core GPU be $ 200 , you ’ll need to append $ 300 for the full M2 Pro . Add $ 400 to rise to 32 GB of RAM to match the Studio and you ’re at $ 1,999 . look at the fact that you ’ll need to pass $ 100 to upgrade the Mac mini ’s Gigabit Ethernet port to the 10Gb Ethernet port that ’s received on the Mac Studio and the Mac mini technically costs more . Oh , and do n’t draw a blank those front - face USB - C ports and SDXC card slot .
So , which wouldyourather have for $ 1,999 : an M2 Pro with 32 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD , Wi - Fi 6E and HDMI 2 , or an M1 Max with 32 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD , and front - face USB - cytosine ports and an SDXC card slot ? The Mac mini with M2 Pro should really start at $ 1,099 like the Intel modelling it displace , and of course , Apple ’s long - bear ridiculous monetary value on upgraded random memory and storage are to fault here , too .
And then there ’s the next generation of the Mac Studio . We have n’t heard much about an upcoming M2 Max M2 Ultra - basedMac Studio , but the M1 interlingual rendition is almost a twelvemonth old , and with the M2 Max now available in the MacBook Pro , we ’re only waiting on an M2 Ultra . take for granted the Mac Studio update this spring with the Mac miniskirt ’s HDMI 2.1 and Wi - FI 6E upgrades , and Apple does n’t increase the price , there will be no ground whatsoever to urge an upgraded M2 Pro Mac mini at all .
But for now , if you ’re face for a Mac desktop a flake more powerful than the regular M2 theoretical account , grit your tooth and grab the $ 1,299 Mac mini , mayhap with a 1 TB storage rise if you could sway the $ 200 . But if you moot upgrading anything else — the processor or the RAM — I remember most user would be happier and get more for their money , with the $ 1,999 Mac Studio .
For Mac mini accoutrement options , scan our lineament onHow to upgrade the M2 and M2 Pro Mac miniskirt .
