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Samsung’s ‘T’ series of SSDs have been the go-to for creative professionals as they are fast and reliable. And the T7 is no exception. The second reason is that, while the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro’s designs have been outclassed by competitors like Dell and HP, the Mac mini remains one of the nicest small-form-factor PCs ever made. We’re not sure that the MacBook designs fit the “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” ethos, but the Mac mini’s certainly does. You have several options to configure the Mac mini M2. For the base M2 model, you can upgrade to 16GB or 24GB of Unified memory, and you can opt for 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB of storage space. You can also add 10 Gigabit Ethernet over the standard Gigabit Ethernet port.
It's by far the best value mini PC you can buy right now, with other compact PCs either more expensive, such as the Intel NUC, or nowhere near as powerful. The closest Windows-based mini PC out there is the Geekom Mini IT11, which is slightly cheaper, but does not offer the same sleek design, nor does its quad-core Intel Core i7-1195G7 processor and integrated graphics come anywhere close to rivaling the M2 chip. Obviously this machine isn't built for gaming, but my hands-on testing suggests you can play a lot of the latest Mac-compatible games at 1080p or higher on the Mac mini M2, and you can get decent performance from one upgraded with a maxed-out M2 Pro chip and 16GB of memory. If you care more about how fast you can crunch video or launch Adobe apps, I've got good news for you: the Mac mini with an M2 Pro is plenty fast enough at both. We timed how fast it took for our review unit to transcode a 4K video down to 1080p using Handbrake, and it managed the task in a speedy 4 minutes and 26 seconds. That's nearly twice as fast as the 2020 Mac mini with M1 (8:11) and just a bit faster than the 2021 MacBook Pro with M1 Pro (4:51). Results are compared to previous-generation Mac mini systems with Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB of RAM, and 2TB SSD. Upgrade to the Mac mini M2 Pro and you get double the Thunderbolt 4 ports, for a total of four. You also get improved external display support thanks to the added power of the M2 Pro.
The M2 and M2 Pro Mac mini are wondrously powerful little computers but they could do with a visual update
For this review, I was supplied with the 12-core M2 Pro rather than the 10-core model, so you will see slightly less impressive results from the 10-core chip, but nonetheless it’s obvious that it’s a pretty big step up from the M2 to the M2 Pro.
If you love to travel, work from home, go to school, or simply need a convenient way to carry your laptop and other gadgets, the KROSER Premium Briefcase Case for Mac Mini could be the perfect fit. This laptop briefcase is made of water-repellent poly fabric, has roomy compartments for your laptop, files and notebooks, and can accommodate an iPad as well—perfect for all of your on-the-go needs! There are tons of options out there, but I’ve narrowed it down to five of my favorites. 1 RLSOCO Hard Case for Apple Mac Mini Similar to the MacBook Air M2, Apple went cheap on the SSD for the 256GB model. It uses a single NAND chip for storage, resulting in up to 50% slower SSD performance. The MacBook Pro M2 Pro has this same issue, which is a big reason why reviewers are saying to avoid the 256GB model. Brandon Geekabit/YouTube
Small, but with big ambitions
If you’ve seen a Mac mini at any point in the past few years, you’ll know everything there is to know about the new Mac mini. Despite all the upgrades, the physical case of the mini hasn’t changed significantly since 2010. Just in case you didn’t know, though, the M2/M2 Pro Mac mini’s body is carved from a single chunk of aluminium measuring 197 x 197 x 36mm and it weighs either 1.18kg for the M2 or 1.28kg for the M2 Pro.
Testing conducted by Apple in November and December 2022 using pre-production Mac mini systems with Apple M2 Pro, 12-core CPU, 19-core GPU, 32GB of RAM and 8TB SSD, pre-production Mac mini systems with Apple M2, 8-core CPU, 10‑core GPU, 24GB of RAM and 2TB SSD, production Mac mini systems with Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB of RAM and 2TB SSD, and production 3.8GHz 8-core Intel Core i7–based iMac systems with AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT with 8GB of GDDR6, 8GB of RAM and 512GB SSD, as well as production 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7–based Mac mini systems with Intel Iris UHD Graphics 630, 64GB of RAM and 2TB SSD. Tested with Pixelmator Pro 3.1.1 using a 216KB image. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac mini and iMac. Testing conducted by Apple in November and December 2022 using pre-production Mac mini systems with Apple M2 Pro, 12-core CPU, 19-core GPU and 16GB of RAM, pre-production Mac mini systems with Apple M2, 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU and 24GB of RAM, and production Mac mini systems with Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU and 8GB of RAM. Performance measured using selected industry‑standard benchmarks. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac mini. Another thing to note is that with previous models of the Mac mini you could connect up an external graphics card (eGPU), to add extra graphical firepower, and this was a popular choice with video editors and 3D animators; however, you can't use eGPUs with the Mac mini (M1, 2020).That doesn’t signify, however, that the M2 Pro Mac mini is better than the Mac Studio for creative tasks that require GPU processing. Turning to the GeekBench Compute tests, you can see that the Mac Studio is clearly a few steps ahead in both the OpenCL and Metal tests. With M2 Pro, Mac mini users can run high-performance workflows that were previously inconceivable in such a compact form factor. Musicians can produce music with incredibly powerful plug-ins and effects without missing a beat, while photographers can adjust huge images in an instant. Creators can seamlessly work in multicam with multiple camera formats, including ProRes video, and gamers can play demanding titles in console quality. Gaming performance is up to 15x faster than the fastest Intel-based Mac mini. 3 When compared to the 27-inch iMac with Intel Core i7 and Radeon Pro 5500 XT, 4 Mac mini with M2 Pro offers: In addition to newer Thunderbolt and wireless protocols, the M2 Pro Mac mini comes with four Thunderbolt 4 ports as opposed to the two featured on the base M2 Mac mini. You can also add more storage and memory to the M2 Pro model. Slow storage is a bad buy on the Mac mini Testing conducted by Apple in November and December 2022 using pre-production Mac mini systems with Apple M2 Pro, 12-core CPU, 19-core GPU, 32GB of RAM and 8TB SSD, pre-production Mac mini systems with Apple M2, 8-core CPU, 10‑core GPU, 24GB of RAM and 2TB SSD, production Mac mini systems with Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16GB of RAM and 2TB SSD, and production 3.8GHz 8-core Intel Core i7–based iMac systems with AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT with 8GB of GDDR6, 8GB of RAM and 512GB SSD, as well as production 3.2GHz 6-core Intel Core i7–based Mac mini systems with Intel Iris UHD Graphics 630, 64GB of RAM and 2TB SSD. Tested with a selection of tasks using Microsoft Excel v16.67. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of Mac mini and iMac.
With macOS Ventura, Mac mini delivers even more performance and productivity. Powerful updates like Continuity Camera bring videoconferencing features to any Mac, including Desk View, Centre Stage, Studio Light, and more. Handoff in FaceTime allows users to start a FaceTime call on their iPhone or iPad and fluidly pass it over to their Mac, or vice versa. And tools like Stage Manager automatically organise apps and windows, so users can concentrate on the task at hand and still see everything in a single glance.
Still, this is all very impressive. Not to mention that the Mac mini, even the pricier Pro version, is a LOT cheaper than the Mac Studio after all. Once again, the Mac mini has quietly won us over without having to hog the limelight. Apple Mac mini (2023) review: Price and availability
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