$1699: M2 Pro or Mac Studio?

[psymac]

I thought I had my M2 Pro ready to purchase, then I saw this Mac Studio for $1699 at Costco. Configured both with 32GB of RAM and 512GB SSD, they're both the same price (with the exception of M2 education discount).

I don't do a lot of graphics editing, mostly windows machine virtualization. So not sure which one would be the best in the long run, I'm guessing the M2 pro, since it's a newer machine that is more focused on CPU tasks rather than GPU as for the Mac Studio. Darn you Apple!

 

[icemantx]

Apple has a lot of people scratching their heads right now. I ended up going with the Mac Mini M2 Pro 10-16/16GB/2TB for $1899. Is that a better option than the $1699 512GB Max Studio? Very subjective to answer that. I wanted more internal storage so for me to get 2TB on the Studio would cost $2599 which is why I went with the Mini.

If internal storage is not a big consideration, then the Studio is the better value but may end up with one less year of OS support if that matters to you. Performance in many ways will be close in real world situations.

Not sure I helped, but good luck with your decision!

 

[IngerMan]

I thought I had my M2 Pro ready to purchase, then I saw this Mac Studio for $1699 at Costco. Configured both with 32GB of RAM and 512GB SSD, they're both the same price (with the exception of M2 education discount).

I don't do a lot of graphics editing, mostly windows machine virtualization. So not sure which one would be the best in the long run, I'm guessing the M2 pro, since it's a newer machine that is more focused on CPU tasks rather than GPU as for the Mac Studio. Darn you Apple!

I looked at that, tempting, 90 day return window and 2 year warranty from Costco. Bypass Apple care and plenty of time to try it out. I purchased an intel Macbook air a few years back and after about 80+ days decided I liked the iPad Pro with keyboard Better. Returned it no questions asked.

The most striking advantage is the Studio GPU. Geekbench Compute 64,000 metal M1 Max compared to 40,000 M2 Pro

 

[now i see it]

My opinion is — once a Mini configuration gets into Studio prices, the Studio is the way to go.

 

[gentlefury]

I looked at that, tempting, 90 day return window and 2 year warranty from Costco. Bypass Apple care and plenty of time to try it out. I purchased an intel Macbook air a few years back and after about 80+ days decided I liked the iPad Pro with keyboard Better. Returned it no questions asked.

The most striking advantage is the Studio GPU. Geekbench Compute 64,000 metal M1 Max compared to 40,000 M2 Pro

Three year apple care on a Mini is $99...so not a big deal to get on site service.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Studio at $1699, for sure.

 

[Juicy Box]

ince it's a newer machine that is more focused on CPU tasks rather than GPU as for the Mac Studio.

I have seen multiple posts in other threads say that the base model Mac Studio has a lot better GPU than the M2 Pro, but the base model Mac Studio with the M1 Max (24c GPU) isn't that much faster than the 12c M2 Pro (19c GPU).

They are almost on par, probably due to better scaling on the M2 Pro. This is something that all the M1 chips suffered with, and it is more apparent as the number of GPU cores goes up. It looks like Apple fixed this issue on the M2.

 

[eelpout]

I have seen multiple posts in other threads say that the base model Mac Studio has a lot better GPU than the M2 Pro, but the base model Mac Studio with the M1 Max (24c GPU) isn't that much faster than the 12c M2 Pro (19c GPU).

the M1 Max also has twice the number of video encoding and ProRes engines if that matters to your workflow.

 

[NeonNights]

Studio at $1699, for sure.

But why?

I admit, I almost cancelled my M2 Pro Mini order with 16GB/1TB to go with the $1699 Costco base Mac Studio, then I stopped and thought about the following:

-M2 Pro 10-core benchmarks at about the level of base M1 Max Mac Studio.
-M2 Pro Mini and base Mac Studio have same four Thunderbolt 4 ports. The extra two front ports on the Mac Studio are just USB-C and the SD Card reader is reportedly slow.
-With US Apple Education Store pricing, the M2 Pro 16/1TB is $1379 while the Costco base Mac Studio is $1699. With $270 I can upgrade the M2 Pro to 12-core, exceed the M1 Max Mac Studio performance, and still cost less and have more internal storage over the Mac Studio.
-Sure, the base Mac Studio has 10GbE but I can add that for $90 on the M2 Pro Mini.
-Mac Studio is also HDMI 2.0 while M2 Pro Mini is HDMI 2.1

The Mac Studio does have 32GB RAM and the extra GPUs certainly make a difference but I don't feel either will have much impact in my daily workflow. I am still thinking it over but leaning more towards keeping my M2 Pro order. Tough decision and definitely isn't a slam dunk in favor of the Mac Studio.

 

[psymac]

"With US Apple Education Store pricing, the M2 Pro 16/1TB is $1379 while the Costco base Mac Studio is $1699. With $270 I can upgrade the M2 Pro to 12-core, exceed the M1 Max Mac Studio performance, and still cost less and have more internal storage over the Mac Studio"

That is really a great point.

 

[BeatCrazy]

But why?

I admit, I almost cancelled my M2 Pro Mini order with 16GB/1TB to go with the $1699 Costco base Mac Studio, then I stopped and thought about the following:

-M2 Pro 10-core benchmarks at about the level of base M1 Max Mac Studio.
-M2 Pro Mini and base Mac Studio have same four Thunderbolt 4 ports. The extra two front ports on the Mac Studio are just USB-C and the SD Card reader is reportedly slow.
-With US Apple Education Store pricing, the M2 Pro 16/1TB is $1379 while the Costco base Mac Studio is $1699. With $270 I can upgrade the M2 Pro to 12-core, exceed the M1 Max Mac Studio performance, and still cost less and have more internal storage over the Mac Studio.
-Sure, the base Mac Studio has 10GbE but I can add that for $90 on the M2 Pro Mini.
-Mac Studio is also HDMI 2.0 while M2 Pro Mini is HDMI 2.1

The Mac Studio does have 32GB RAM and the extra GPUs certainly make a difference but I don't feel either will have much impact in my daily workflow. I am still thinking it over but leaning more towards keeping my M2 Pro order. Tough decision and definitely isn't a slam dunk in favor of the Mac Studio.

Because OP originally told us he was comparing them at the same price :-/

He you mentioned virtualization as a primary use case. Mac Studio has 2X the RAM.

 

[NeonNights]

Because OP originally told us he was comparing them at the same price :-/

He you mentioned virtualization as a primary use case. Mac Studio has 2X the RAM.

True, I missed the VM use, but if he's happy with the 512GB Mac Studio and needs 32GB RAM then the base M2 Pro with 32GB RAM is still cheaper at equivalent performance (unless you really need the additional GPUs).

I actually like the base Mac Studio at $1699, but it's still really tough to convince myself to go for the Mac Studio because the M2 Pro Mini is newer and so similar in many regards.

 

[BeatCrazy]

True, I missed the VM use, but if he's happy with the 512GB Mac Studio and needs 32GB RAM then the base M2 Pro with 32GB RAM is still cheaper at equivalent performance (unless you really need the additional GPUs).

I actually like the base Mac Studio at $1699, but it's still really tough to convince myself to go for the Mac Studio because the M2 Pro Mini is newer and so similar in many regards.

For me, the the 10GbE is a must-have so the prices are within a few dollars of $1699. And the Studio has a better GPU, and more performance cores regardless. Also 5 displays supported vs. 3 on the mini. (Likely) a faster SSD on the Studio.

Mini M2 Pro has better Wi-Fi, HDMI and single core speeds.

But not everyone values these these things the same.

 

[Juicy Box]

True, I missed the VM use, but if he's happy with the 512GB Mac Studio and needs 32GB RAM then the base M2 Pro with 32GB RAM is still cheaper at equivalent performance (unless you really need the additional GPUs).

I am looking forward to some real comparisons, but the GPU on the 19c GPU M2 Pro MM might be about on par with the 24c GPU base model M1 Max Mac Studio.

With the Geekbench Metal scores, the 24c GPU of the M1 Max is about 10% faster than the 19c GPU on the M2 Pro, which is really not that much, but with the improved scaling on the M2 Pro, the real world results might have the M2 Pro almost equal to the 24c GPU of the M1 Max.

 

[Juicy Box]

the M1 Max also has twice the number of video encoding and ProRes engines if that matters to your workflow.

This is true, and definitely worth factoring for people that do HW encoding. I hardly ever do HW encoding, but a lot of SW encoding, which multi-core CPU performance matters a lot more for.

SW encoding is a lot slower, but the result is a lot smaller file size at the same video quality, which matters more to me than the speed of the encode.

I guess transcoding might be something that I could benefit from the HW encoders, but I suspect that the encoders on the M2 Pro would be overkill for my needs.

And the Studio has a better GPU

I haven't seen any direct comparisons beside Geekbench Metal scores, but I suspect that there will be little difference in real world performance between the base model Studio and the 19c M2 Pro GPU.

 

[BeatCrazy]

I haven't seen any direct comparisons beside Geekbench Metal scores, but I suspect that there will be little difference in real world performance between the base model Studio and the 19c M2 Pro GPU.

But now you're talking about going up to the 19C GPU, which is now more than $1699 price point.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

M1 Studio is a known piece of tech now. It's been in objective hands for nearly a year and been pounded by reviews. There should be no new surprises about it.

M2 Mini is barely known, only just getting into the hands of objective reviewers who can then pound it to see if very positive things shared by the "friends of Apple" pre-launch "reviewers" is actually true and there are no known negatives of consequence. Already, there are threads about fan noise, an apparent ethernet jack issue and the half speed SSD for the 256GB and 512GB versions. Are those broad issues or just a few bad 'apples'? Is there anything else to be discovered?

If I had to choose now, I'd go with that Studio. If I could have patience for maybe a week or two, I'd wait for more truly objective reviews to put them through their paces and see what we really have. Then I could make a more informed decision.

Option 2 (cake and eat it too): if money is burning a hole in my pocket and I really want a new Mini ASAP, I can get my 2 weeks to reconsider the MBG way, because Apple offers the 14-day return policy. So I could order the Mini, do some objective evaluation myself AND consider reviews by those who buy one for reviews out of pocket and share genuine opinions. Then I could make a FINAL decision on day 13 or 14 with much more information than available today.

Either should be a GREAT Mac to own: powerful, capable, runs "latest & greatest" macOS, has "latest & greatest" security updates, runs any Mac apps for Silicon, etc.

 

[Juicy Box]

But now you're talking about going up to the 19C GPU, which is now more than $1699 price point.

Very true.

But, I was thinking of my own point of view, versus the OP's configuration.

I haven't decided yet, but I am leaning towards 12c,19c upgrade, 32GB RAM, can't decide on the storage yet, and no 10Gb Ethernet upgrade. If I pick the 512GB storage like the base Studio deal the OP posted, and factor in my Veteran discount, I can get the the above configuration for $1,799, just $100 more.

Originally I was thinking of getting the 10Gb Ethernet upgrade, but there have been some people reporting problems with the 10Gb Ethernet port on multiple Macs when using it on CAT5e, that it is only getting a 100Mbps link speed.

Since I don't have a 10Gbps network, and the only reason I was going to upgrade was for future proofing, I am not including that as a factor.

Besides, I can always get an 10Gbps network adapter later on if I end up needing one.

I wasn't going to factor it in here, but I could also get another discount (3%) using my Apple Card on the Apple Store.

Between the discounts, that would drop the price within less than $50 of the base Studio deal that the OP listed. Between all the improvements of the M2 Pro, I think it would be a better deal for myself.

 

[Juicy Box]

an apparent ethernet jack issue

This is not just with the new Mini, but with all Macs in the past few years with the 10Gb Ethernet, and seems to only happen with CAT5e cable. Some people using 1Gbps backbone networks using CAT5e cable with Macs that have the 10Gb Ethernet are having the link speed drop to 100Mbps on their Macs.

While it shouldn't require it, a "fix" for the issue is upgrading to CAT6a or high cable. This is what Apple Support is having people try.

The thing is, CAT5e is designed for Gigabit speeds and can even be used for 10Gbps in short runs. There is no reason that people should have to upgrade to CAT6a.

M2 Mini is barely known, only just getting into the hands of objective reviewers who can then pound it to see if very positive things shared by the "friends of Apple" pre-launch "reviewers" is actually true and there are no known negatives of consequence.

This is true, and a reason I have been waiting to order a new Mini.

I know hit gets a lot of crap on here, mostly due to their clickbait thumbnails, but I like Maxtech on YouTube. They do comprehensive real world testing on new Apple (and non-Apple) products,

They are clearly fans of Apple products, but they point out when Apple screwed up something and they don't make the usual excuses for when Apple cheaps out on stuff like many others do on YouTube and on MR.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

One of the threads about the ethernet issue on this site does not mention the 10Gb version, but doesn't exclude it either.

The "rewire" option sounds very Apple-lish (and Apple defender-ish) as that shifts blame to a non-Apple thing. However, for many using wired, it is probably not easy at all to re-wire their network cables.

I can enjoy those MaxTech reviews too. However, he seems to be quick with "but...", as in "here's something wrong with an Apple whatever... BUT..." and then what follows is often some defense or softening of the issue. I'd rather have objectivity than biased and that kind of review can be biased. Perhaps if those "buts" could also follow: "Here's something great about this Apple whatever, but..." so that it doesn't seem so one-sided. Positives are very positive. Negatives are not so bad.

Of course, it can be the other way too with other reviewers, where EVERYTHING is wrong with the new Apple whatever.

Finding those who straddle the fence between the extremists are often where one can get the best information. Since that's not always obvious, often the best option is simply to watch A LOT of them and taking cumulative insights.

Nevertheless, that guy does demonstrate great knowledge and often has some good insights. Taken with a group of others that are NOT in the pre-release, "friends of Apple marketing" group can add some value to interested consumers shopping for new Apple stuff.

 

[Boil]

Everyone pointing out the benefits of the M1 Max Mac Studio over the M2 Pro Mac mini, nobody mentioning the UMA bandwidth difference; M1 Max with 400GB/s versus the M2 Pro with 200GB/s...

As to 10Gb Ethernet & the call for CAT6a cabling, not really anything to do with Apple, just look up 10Gb Ethernet on the internet and you will see that CAT6a is highly recommended...

But I suppose it would be the fault of Apple if I tried to plug my Gigabit Ethernet into a 100BaseT network and did not get the high transfer rates I was hoping for...?

Tanking speeds of 10GbE on CAT5e is to be expected; and no matter what one might think from my avatar, I am not an Apple apologist...

 

[GDF]

I just prefer the size of the Mac Mini too. Also it is so portable or could be used to hook up to a tv. Probably most versatile Mac product.

Or could also get the Studio at Costco and it has a 90 day return policy. If new Studio’s are announced, then can see what they might offer differently.

 

[Juicy Box]

As to 10Gb Ethernet & the call for CAT6a cabling, not really anything to do with Apple, just look up 10Gb Ethernet on the internet and you will see that CAT6a is highly recommended...

But I suppose it would be the fault of Apple if I tried to plug my Gigabit Ethernet into a 100BaseT network and did not get the high transfer rates I was hoping for...?

Tanking speeds of 10GbE on CAT5e is to be expected; and no matter what one might think from my avatar, I am not an Apple apologist...

No one is complaining about not getting 10Gbps on CAT5e.

The complaint is that people are not getting 1Gbps on CAT5e cable on their Macs with the 10Gb Ethernet port.

The point I brought up about 10Gbps working on short runs of CAT5e is that it is silly that Apple Support is blaming the lower 100Mbps link speed on a 1Gbps network on not having at least CAT6a cabling when CAT5e is rated to 1Gbps and even works for higher link speeds on short runs.

Needing CAT6a is clearly bull, but it appears to be their only "fix".

 

[Boil]

No one is complaining about not getting 10Gbps on CAT5e.

The complaint is that people are not getting 1Gbps on CAT5e cable on their Macs with the 10Gb Ethernet port.

The point I brought up about 10Gbps working on short runs of CAT5e is that it is silly that Apple Support is blaming the lower 100Mbps link speed on a 1Gbps network on not having at least CAT6a cabling.

This is clearly bull, but it appears to be their only "fix".

My mistake...

I will say though, when I was putting in a small office network for an architectural studio in the early 2000s, I used CAT6 even though it was overkill at the time; but I bet whoever is in that building now appreciates it...?

 

[Santabean2000]

My opinion is — once a Mini configuration gets into Studio prices, the Studio is the way to go.

Agreed. I've ordered the base M2 mini Pro. Considered upgrading things, but (keeping the eye-watering upgrade prices in mind) I feel adding anything to it sees the value proposition drop off a cliff pretty quickly.

I would love a Studio, but it's more than I need and I know it. 😆