M2 Pro Mac mini Base Model - DON'T BE FOOLED!

For the first time, Apple is now putting its pro level M2 chip inside of the body of a Mac mini and now you can finally live the dream of buying a $1299 Mac that promises to carry with pro level performance. This mid-level desktop Mac has eluded us for years and years, so can the M2 Pro Mac mini finally live up to its promise, or did Apple cut too many corners?

[eyeque]

I got the pro with 512 and 16 gig. Bought a 2tb ext ssd. I do music production. The thing flies, 0 issues, and running everything.

[krusic]

Thanks for benchmarking the binned M2 Pro chip. Everyone has been benchmarking the non-binned

[SaschaPallenberg]

Mate.. bunch of things you might wanna update and correct in a pinned comment!

2:36 Nope, it's 6 high-performance cores not 4!
4:22 An SSD has no chipset and yes, the base-level 512GB M2 Pro SSD is much slower than the 1TB version of the M2 Pro which offers almost twice the speed!
11:57 Are you sure that you are comparing the 16 Core GPU with the 19 Core GPU? I don't think so!

[fitch]

I agree with you in general, but I'd get the base model with a 1TB SSD as the only upgrade. I've lived with 256 and 512 SSDs. Never again. Especially when they are slower. A lot slower.

[paulharrison]

In around 1988 I bought a Schneider PC/AT 10 MHz for around £700. It had a none standard slower 20 Mb hard disk which is why it was so cheap. It had on board EGA graphics. It revolutionised my gaming and word processing. It wasn't a proprietary system such as the Amiga where the base system was cheap but every upgrade cost a fortune. Over the next three years I upgraded to a 50 Mb hard disk, bought a VGA card and monitor and a bought a higher capacity floppy disk drive.

Modern Macs are even more restrictive than Amiga's were in 1988. You cant upgrade your storage for any money no matter how much you pay. A Mac Studio with a single plug in 512 Gb flash module cannot have a second one fitted even though this would be a simple plug in option. Linus Tech bought two 512 Gb Mac Studios but found that something in the firmware stopped the 512 Gb flash module from one being used to upgrade the other. Apple's only upgrade path is to buy a completely new system. The cost of extra flash or RAM chips in one of these "upgraded" systems costs around ten times the cost of the chips themselves.

[markalancirino]

Mine is currently "Out for Delivery"! It's weird that I bought my first Mac Plus exactly 34 years ago (8Mhhz CPU, 256K RAM, Floppy only) for the exact same price - $1, 299. Such a deal.

[DavidPinkus]

Good video. Could you test M2 Pro mac mini vs Mac Studio for Photoediting apps like PS and LR

[karlminehart]

This was really what I was looking for in a Mac Mini review. The base pro with the faster ssd on board looks like the best deal to me.

[MisterrBridge]

These new Mac Minis definitively are a game changer. Creatives have the freedom to buy a machine that offers the level of performance they need, instead of having to choose between a cheap low performance Mac or an expensive overkill one, there are these new middle grounds.

[keithwalls]

I'm holding out for an M2 generation of Mac Studio. The M2 Mac Mini Pro does sound like a good deal, though. Nice review!

[SirAmnesia]

on the m2 mini now and loving it, taking it back and getting the m2 pro version though as im convinced this is better than just a stopgap to the m2 studio i was waiting for
.

[yomango]

I think I will wait for the Mac Studio upgrade , hopefully this year . :)) I need a Mac Mini M2 pro with 32 Gb of Ram and 2 Tb ....Then I realize the price is too close to the Mac Studio, therefore I rather wait for the Mac Studio upgrade hopefully this year .

[idleman]

Very nice comparison, it is hard to find comparison between the 10 core and 12 core M2 Pro chip, and it is very helpful to see your tests that show the difference in performance between this two configurations.

[JoATTech]

This is good news. But I'm afraid it could not handle Davinci with some more demanding plugins (like Noise removal, Dehancer, deflicker or all of them together) with its 16GB of RAM.
And getting additional 16GB bumps the prices by 33% in Poland, and it's not worth it anymore. The problem with apple silicon is you are not able to upgrade later (memory or SSD).

[DanielS]

I went for the pro but added a 1tb ssd! Going great so far

[kevm]

So the base M2 pro Mac mini is about 30% more powerful than the base M2 Mac mini but cost over 50% more. I think I’ll go with the base M2 with upgrading the ram to 16gb and ssd to 512gb while still $300 less than the base M2 pro.

[MV-xolx]

Hi
Can i connect 3 monitors with mac mini m2 or i ho with pro version

[InstructorWest]

Where would you draw the line between a high level mini or a base level studio? What would the benefits of each be?

[HaloK]

I just bought the base M2 Pro from Best Buy for $1199 due to price matching. B&H had it for $1199 and Best Buy price matched it. I'm giving my Intel MM i7/64GB/512GB and Blackmagic eGPU Pro to my son and replaced it with the M2 Pro. So far I'm very impressed with its performance though I'm a casual user. I chose the M2 Pro to future proof my purchase and for the two extra Thunderbolt 4 ports.

[jorgiewtf]

The only 2 upgrades I’d want on it would be a 1TB hard drive and 32 gigs of RAM. I think the biggest comparison most prosumers would like to see would be how the M2 Pro holds up Vs an OG M1 with 16 gigs of ram will do as I can only imagine most of us early adopters wouldn’t upgrade to just a regular M2.