Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

$1699: M2 Pro or Mac Studio?

IngerMan said:
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
Click to expand...
the GPU in M1/M2 macs really doesn't impact much the workflow I believe (that's the difference in GB scores doesn't result in large differences in real productivity, unless you do timeline video editing all the day.
 
Studio is a higher ranked Pro machine, best for its generation (M1).
MacMini Pro M2 is also current leader in the M2 generation.
Given similar prices, M2 Pro should be chosen. They are both quite limited machines in terms of internal expandability and both will require external accessories.
So M2 pro is no brainer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: randolorian and adamcarvell
The
psymac said:
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!
Click to expand...
i have a similar setup but with 1Tb hard drive. The Pro mini is 19 - 20% faster than the base studio. CPU focused processes.

shamless plug but we did a video project this weekend and compared some things against the studio.

Adding the link bc it gives more background for people comparing a maxed out mini pro to the studio.

 
  • Like
Reactions: psymac
George Dawes said:
It’s a known issue on the studio , seems the openings at the back combined with the fans make an annoying high pitched whine , lots of posts on here and YouTube about it
Click to expand...
And loads of posts saying they dont have it [like mine, which is totally silent at all times, even max load].

I wonder what the M2 mini is like though in that smaller chassis.........
 
It was too late to cancel my M2 Pro 16GB (I wanted to change it to 32GB but the 16GB had already shipped). While waiting for the M2 Pro to arrive so I can return it to Apple, I went and picked up the $1699 Mac Studio at Costco. I will be setting it up today and report back if there are is any undesirable fan noise or whine.
 
George Dawes said:
It’s a known issue on the studio , seems the openings at the back combined with the fans make an annoying high pitched whine , lots of posts on here and YouTube about it
Click to expand...
I have two Studio ultras absolutely no noise from either of them. Even at high workloads ...... silent. Your "Known issue" is rubbish in my experience. Does your Studio make a noise?
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Sad
Reactions: jb-from-fl, QuantumOfSouls, richinaus and 2 others
haddy said:
I have two Studio ultras absolutely no noise from either of them. Even at high workloads ...... silent. Your "Known issue" is rubbish in my experience. Does your Studio make a noise?
Click to expand...
Supposedly it’s more of an issue with the Studio with the Max processor.
 
KPOM said:
Supposedly it’s more of an issue with the Studio with the Max processor.
Click to expand...
Not with my M1 Max on the base Mac Studio.

I just picked it up from Costco yesterday and plugged it in a moment ago. It is not absolute silence but neither is there any irritating fan noise, coil whine, nor other annoying frequency emanating from it. I used a sound meter app on my phone to measure the following:

1. With nothing turned on in the room, I get a minimum reading of 27 dB and average of 30 dB

2. Windows 10 tower PC on the floor, idling at the desktop measures minimum of 35 dB and 36 dB average

3. Mac Studio 1-foot away from me on the desk measures minimum of 29 dB and average of 31 dB

I am the only one home, working from a bedroom with the door closed. I held the phone in front of me at the same height and position for each test and measured for at least 10 seconds. I don't doubt there were some noise issues with early Mac Studios but, IMO, it is far from a widespread problem and is very likely overblown.

I am still setting up the Mac Studio but have absolutely zero qualms bout it from a noise standpoint. If I put my ear right up to the case I can hear a gentle whoosh, not really a hum. From a foot away I have to stop and concentrate to discern the sound of the Mac Studio fan versus the sound of my own breathing, that's how quiet it is. Once I organize my desk and place the Mac Studio in its true location 2-3 feet from me then I'm sure to be even less likely to hear it, if at all. Even 1-foot away from me it is not an unpleasant sound in the slightest.

I really don't know if I'm gonna go through with ordering that 32GB M2 Pro Mini now. I've already grown quite accustomed to the front USBc and SD Card ports.

EDIT: Okay, ran into my first annoyance -- lack of storage. In my excitement I wanted to test the TB4 speeds transferring photos and videos from my 1TB Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD. The Sandisk was only half full but I forgot the Mac Studio only has 512GB storage (less so after the OS and installing a few apps). I really would be more comfortable with at least 1TB internal storage. Just not sure if I want to order an M2 Pro 32GB/1TB or base Mac Studio with 1TB. Adding storage really kills the $1699 deal on the Mac Studio. Since Costco has a 90-day return policy, I'm going to give it a few more weeks (or months) to see how much the limited internal storage bothers me. I suppose I could just permanently keep the SanDisk drive attached instead of upgrading the base Mac Studio. The SanDisk writes/reads at about 1GB/sec, not as fast as current NVMe drives but not too shabby.

Sidenote: The fan in my Windows 10 work laptop, also 1-foot away from me, easily drowns out any perceptible sounds coming from the Mac Studio. I am sure the M2 Pro Mini is quieter than the Mac Studio, but from first-hand experience it's not really a concern or differentiating factor.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: KPOM
There are a number of ways you can look at this.

1. The Studio will have greater resell value, in my opinion. Will this be important to you in the future? Your call.

2. Divide the specs into advantages over each product and work out whether you need/don’t need them.

Right now I would say the pros of the Mini are its tiny footprint and new M2 architecture with better GPU scaling and similar CPU performance to M1 Max.

The main pros of the Studio are better cooling, more video encoders, more I/O and overall better GPU performance (even if not scaled as well).

Also keep in mind that a refresh of the Studio could change these dramatically. But the price you’ve seen for the Studio currently is very good.
 
NeonNights said:
Not with my M1 Max on the base Mac Studio.

I just picked it up from Costco yesterday and plugged it in a moment ago. It is not absolute silence but neither is there any irritating fan noise, coil whine, nor other annoying frequency emanating from it. I used a sound meter app on my phone to measure the following:

1. With nothing turned on in the room, I get a minimum reading of 27 dB and average of 30 dB

2. Windows 10 tower PC on the floor, idling at the desktop measures minimum of 35 dB and 36 dB average

3. Mac Studio 1-foot away from me on the desk measures minimum of 29 dB and average of 31 dB

I am the only one home, working from a bedroom with the door closed. I held the phone in front of me at the same height and position for each test and measured for at least 10 seconds. I don't doubt there were some noise issues with early Mac Studios but, IMO, it is far from a widespread problem and is very likely overblown.

I am still setting up the Mac Studio but have absolutely zero qualms bout it from a noise standpoint. If I put my ear right up to the case I can hear a gentle whoosh, not really a hum. From a foot away I have to stop and concentrate to discern the sound of the Mac Studio fan versus the sound of my own breathing, that's how quiet it is. Once I organize my desk and place the Mac Studio in its true location 2-3 feet from me then I'm sure to be even less likely to hear it, if at all. Even 1-foot away from me it is not an unpleasant sound in the slightest.

I really don't know if I'm gonna go through with ordering that 32GB M2 Pro Mini now. I've already grown quite accustomed to the front USBc and SD Card ports.

EDIT: Okay, ran into my first annoyance -- lack of storage. In my excitement I wanted to test the TB4 speeds transferring photos and videos from my 1TB Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD. The Sandisk was only half full but I forgot the Mac Studio only has 512GB storage (less so after the OS and installing a few apps). I really would be more comfortable with at least 1TB internal storage. Just not sure if I want to order an M2 Pro 32GB/1TB or base Mac Studio with 1TB. Adding storage really kills the $1699 deal on the Mac Studio. Since Costco has a 90-day return policy, I'm going to give it a few more weeks (or months) to see how much the limited internal storage bothers me. I suppose I could just permanently keep the SanDisk drive attached instead of upgrading the base Mac Studio. The SanDisk writes/reads at about 1GB/sec, not as fast as current NVMe drives but not too shabby.

Sidenote: The fan in my Windows 10 work laptop, also 1-foot away from me, easily drowns out any perceptible sounds coming from the Mac Studio. I am sure the M2 Pro Mini is quieter than the Mac Studio, but from first-hand experience it's not really a concern or differentiating factor.
Click to expand...
Sounds good. I have an M2 Pro mini (16/512 base model) arriving tomorrow, though I will wait until Saturday for my Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad to arrive before setting it up. It’s the first desktop PC I’ve bought in 20 years (I’m a longtime MacBook Air/12” MacBook user). But more and more the MacBook Air stays at home and I remote connect to it from my iPad using Parallels Access when I’m not at home. Since I already have an Apple Studio Display the Mac mini was the cheapest ticket to the M2 Pro.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mr_jomo and NeonNights
KPOM said:
Sounds good. I have an M2 Pro mini (16/512 base model) arriving tomorrow, though I will wait until Saturday for my Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad to arrive before setting it up. It’s the first desktop PC I’ve bought in 20 years (I’m a longtime MacBook Air/12” MacBook user). But more and more the MacBook Air stays at home and I remote connect to it from my iPad using Parallels Access when I’m not at home. Since I already have an Apple Studio Display the Mac mini was the cheapest ticket to the M2 Pro.
Click to expand...
I moved my base M1 Mini behind the living room TV for HTPC duty and playback of H265 4K family videos that my old Windows PC couldn't handle.

Working from home now I notice I don't use my M1 MBA in the same way anymore and, ironically, prefer to sit at a desk with my 43" 4K TV/monitor. I tried using the MBA in clamshell mode but it's just not a good setup for me. I think I'm limited by the cheap USBc hub with slow HDMI because everything lags on the 4K display. I looked up Thunderbolt docking stations and balked at the ridiculous prices ($300-$400!). That's almost the price of a base M2 Mini through the Apple education site!

Anyways, instead of a TB4 hub I've opted to invest in an M2 Pro Mini or Mac Studio with extra desktop power to handle workloads beyond the capability of my MBA. When on the go I use TeamViewer to remote into all my computers from either my phone or MBA. Please share your M2 Pro experience after you have yours set up. I was a little disappointed to see issues with the M2 Pro Gigabit port but at least there's a workaround fix in one of the threads.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mr_jomo
Looks like Costco base Mac Studio is back at $1949. Slightly regret having returned the $1699 one. Maybe prices will go on sale again. I've since returned both a base Mac Studio and a 16GB M2 Pro Mini. Despite all the reviews and endless Youtube videos, I'm still not sure which one to get.

It's really nice having the front ports on the Mac Studio and it has stronger graphics performance overall. It is quiet enough for me and no weird noise issues. I should've kept the Mac Studio longer to test since I had 90-days through Costco. Sigh.

The 10cpu/16gpu M2 Pro can be perceived as "just as fast as the M1 Max" or "no faster than a Mac Studio while the studio still has more GPU power". They're both around the same price when configured with 32GB/1TB. The Mac Studio is larger but either will fit fine in my desk setup.
 
NeonNights said:
Looks like Costco base Mac Studio is back at $1949. Slightly regret having returned the $1699 one. Maybe prices will go on sale again. I've since returned both a base Mac Studio and a 16GB M2 Pro Mini. Despite all the reviews and endless Youtube videos, I'm still not sure which one to get.

It's really nice having the front ports on the Mac Studio and it has stronger graphics performance overall. It is quiet enough for me and no weird noise issues. I should've kept the Mac Studio longer to test since I had 90-days through Costco. Sigh.

The 10cpu/16gpu M2 Pro can be perceived as "just as fast as the M1 Max" or "no faster than a Mac Studio while the studio still has more GPU power". They're both around the same price when configured with 32GB/1TB. The Mac Studio is larger but either will fit fine in my desk setup.
Click to expand...
Interesting. So, you could not decided on either of them then? I almost bought the base Studio at Costco too and did get a M2 Mac mini M2 Pro 16gb/1TB and so far really liking it. I like the size of it compared to the Studio. Guess there are pluses and minuses in both.
 
GDF said:
Interesting. So, you could not decided on either of them then? I almost bought the base Studio at Costco too and did get a M2 Mac mini M2 Pro 16gb/1TB and so far really liking it. I like the size of it compared to the Studio. Guess there are pluses and minuses in both.
Click to expand...
Yea, when I had them both on my desk I also preferred the slim Mini. The Mini can slot into the 1.5" gap beneath my monitor whereas I'd have to turn the Mac Studio on its side to fit the space I reserved for it.

Now that the Costco price is back up to $1949 for the base Mac Studio, it's actually better to get the 1TB version through Apple Education store for $1979. When Costco had the base Mac Studio on sale for $1699 it was hard to justify almost $300 more for 1TB option.

Glad to hear you're happy with your new M2 Pro. Congrats on the decision!
 
PauloSera said:
Further complicated by the fact that there is no M2 Studio. I don't want to buy something now with an M1.
Click to expand...
It's funny how technology advances and we snub our noses on what used to be a great option not too long ago.

I know what you mean though. I would feel a little regret getting the base Mac Studio now, only for Apple to update it at WWDC. However, it will probably be more expensive than current Mac Studio prices. Then again, the M2 Mini went down in price. So much uncertainty.
 
NeonNights said:
It's funny how technology advances and we snub our noses on what used to be a great option not too long ago.

I know what you mean though. I would feel a little regret getting the base Mac Studio now, only for Apple to update it at WWDC. However, it will probably be more expensive than current Mac Studio prices. Then again, the M2 Mini went down in price. So much uncertainty.
Click to expand...
It's not entirely about what's "good enough", it's about value. The Mac Studio doesn't go down in price just because Apple hasn't updated it with the latest generation Apple Silicon. I'd like to get a studio with an M2 Max but they haven't offered one. And the problem with the Mac is there is no upgrade cycle at all. Apple could introduce an M2 Max studio next month, or not update the machine again for 2 more years, without a word to customers.
 
PauloSera said:
Apple could introduce an M2 Max studio next month, or not update the machine again for 2 more years, without a word to customers.
Click to expand...
This is the primary reason I buy my new Mac computers soon after introduction/refresh. Waiting until a while into the lifecycle gets frustrating wondering “Are they going to update (insert Mac here) soon? Am I buying a product that will soon be replaced”. Apple is very good at FOMO…
 
  • Like
Reactions: PauloSera
I was so certain of getting an M2 Pro 10c/16c, 32GB, 1TB Mac Mini for $1739 (U.S. Apple Education site), but some videos from the Art is Right YouTube channel have introduced doubts.

I initially felt the M2 Pro is newer and better than the M1 Max. Many reviews show the M2 Pro performing at, or slightly better, than the M1 Max in most tasks but almost 2x slower in video exports. Part of me now perceives the M2 Pro as a neutered M1 Max with weaker video editing and less encoders/decoders. Of course the Costco deal is no longer available but maybe the base Mac Studio will go on sale again at $1699.

At one point I had both the Costco base Mac Studio and a 16GB M2 Pro Mini on my desk. Part of me now regrets returning the $1699 Mac Studio because, at the time, I thought I really needed 1TB internal storage. I then returned the M2 Pro Mini with the intent to reorder a 32GB version. Yet here I am still unable to make a decision. At this rate the M3 will be out, perhaps then I'll have more clarity.

EDIT: Just had an epiphany -- I am going to replace my 16/512 M1 MBA with an M2 Pro MBP 14!

I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. I was so fixated on adding a desktop but also planned to keep the Air. Lately I've been using the MBA in clamshell mode and it's been almost a month since I've undocked it. Well, today I disconnected from the monitor to go work in the living room and really appreciated having all my data and apps at the ready. It dawned on me how the MBA is a waste if I get a more powerful desktop. Instead, I can sell my MBA and get a new MBP 14 with 32GB/1TB for equal-or-less cost than an equivalent specc'ed Mac Mini. I think this makes more sense for me, keeping the portability and docking option. Actually, I can probably return my CalDigit SOHO dock since the MBP 14 comes with plenty of ports, HDMI, and SD card!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: VaruLV and mr_jomo
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back