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Avoiding the M2 Mini slow SSD's - what to do

Z

ZipZilla

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 7, 2003
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So from what I am reading and seeing from YouTubers, it seems the 256GB and 512GB SSD's are slower and to be avoided. That leaves me thinking of buying:

M2 Mini 16GB/1TB - $1199

M2 Mini Pro 32GB/1TB $1899

(I know the Studio is $100 more and is an option, but is back to 512GB)

What is everybody doing?
 
IngerMan said:
I try to go at least 5 years for a desktop, anything extra is bonus.

I did read a comment recently here that makes some sense. Upgrading from base to supposed future proof makes you hang on to them longer than you really want. Spend less and upgrade more frequently.
Click to expand...
That's a point of view I had not considered.

I'm a Youtuber and will also be doing voiceover work, so I'm glad I held off on the base configs. Also waiting to hear if the BT issues are fixed.
 
On the M2 Mac mini get at least 512 GB. On the M2 Pro Mac mini, if you get 512 GB you get 2 256 GB NAND chips with speeds about 3000 MBps sequential. If you get 1 TB you get 4 256 GB NAND chips which should get you close to the 6000 MBps sequential write. To get all 8 NAND slots filled, you need to go to 2 TB on the M2 Pro MM. It isn't clear if that gives a substantial speed increase though.

If you are on a budget, get the 256 GB M2 Mac mini and then buy a good Thunderbolt/USB4 external SSD drive that will get about 2700 MBps. Use the internal 256 GB SSD to boot and launch applications and the external for anything that needs a speed boost.
 
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I would definitely recommend going for the 1Tb no matter the situation. It's the only thing I upgraded on my M1 Air and I'm glad I did. It's been just over a year and I'm already at 600Gb. I know I could clear some stuff off if I had to, but I love not having to worry about it.
 
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now i see it said:
It’s doubtful anyone would notice the difference in speed between the smaller SSD & bigger ones. Yeah - drive benchmarks will show it… but will an actual person using the computer normally really notice anything significant?
Doubtful.
Click to expand...
I happily disagree. My base model M2 Mini is faster than my 2018 15 Mini with the faster SSD by 50%. I am blown away by how overblown this whole debate is about the slowpoke SSD in the 256GB Mini. Boot times are insane where my 2018 i5 Mini boots in under 19 seconds and my slowpoke base model Mac Mini could do that in under 10 seconds and how Apps open 50% faster just using a stopwatch.

The base Mac Mini is the best $499 I have ever spent on Apple gear. My advice to the OP is don't overthink it. Max out your configuration so you don't lose sleep. /s
 
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I was also waiting for M2 Mini to buy one. I was going to buy base model but upgrade to 16 GB of RAM. If I understood correctly, slow SSD thing might be an issue if one A) transfers a lot of big files and/or B) has only 8 GB of RAM and swap is used, which slow SSD makes slower. Now, I don’t transfer big files, in fact I transfers files rarely. So case A shouldn’t be an issue for me. And if I go for 16 GB of RAM there shouldn’t be issues with memory swap because I won’t be pushing the 16 GB. So please correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe I’m gonna be good with base storage if I go for the 16 GB of RAM?
 
256GB on M2 and 512GB on M2 Pro are to be avoided.

512GB on M2 is fine.

If you are going to spend more than $1,500 on a Mini just go for the Studio. You mentioned keeping your desktop for a decade or so. I would go for the Studio if that is your goal. Other option is just set yourself a budget of $1,200, get the M2 Mini and plan to upgrade to a new base chip Mini in 5 years.
 
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Apple_Robert said:
Unless a person is copying or moving very large files on a regular basis, the slow down is merely academic and won’t be noticed in regular day to day use. The only people stressing over this are regs on MR and other Apple nerd sites.
Click to expand...

No.....this is not true.....

Because of the shared memory of the M series as well as the memory swap, it makes a very noticeable difference, especially on systems with just 8GB of RAM. Just scrolling through a batch of photos in Preview and you will see the lag difference….let alone doing any kind of exporting….

This has been discussed over and over again though.
 
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SpotOnT said:
No.....this is not true.....

Because of the shared memory of the M series as well as the memory swap, it makes a very noticeable difference, especially on systems with just 8GB of RAM. Just scrolling through a batch of photos in Preview and you will see the lag difference….let alone doing any kind of exporting….

This has been discussed over and over again though.
Click to expand...
I am talking SSD and you reply about RAM. Two different issues.
 
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IngerMan said:
I try to go at least 5 years for a desktop, anything extra is bonus.

I did read a comment recently here that makes some sense. Upgrading from base to supposed future proof makes you hang on to them longer than you really want. Spend less and upgrade more frequently.
Click to expand...
In addition to this, the upgrade prices are a massive rip off.
 
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I don't think folks understand exactly what file transfer means. Most folks aren't just taking 30GB files and copying them to new folders on their internal drives. Transfers also refers to the max number of video layers that can play in real time. It's how fast can the computer get and read data off of the drive. It makes a difference in video editing and 3d work for sure.
 
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ZipZilla said:
So from what I am reading and seeing from YouTubers, it seems the 256GB and 512GB SSD's are slower and to be avoided. That leaves me thinking of buying:

M2 Mini 16GB/1TB - $1199

M2 Mini Pro 32GB/1TB $1899

(I know the Studio is $100 more and is an option, but is back to 512GB)

What is everybody doing?
Click to expand...
My understanding is that the standard M2 Mini is limited to 2 NAND chips which means that even a 1TB SSD upgrade will be capped at around 3000mbps. The M2 Pro Mac Mini has 8 chips, with 4 x 256GB apparently used in a 1TB configuration on the M2 Pro Mini, resulting in around 6000mbps. So, if you really want 6000mbps then you need to go for an M2 Pro Mini with at least 1TB...
 
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SpotOnT said:
No.....this is not true.....

Because of the shared memory of the M series as well as the memory swap, it makes a very noticeable difference, especially on systems with just 8GB of RAM. Just scrolling through a batch of photos in Preview and you will see the lag difference….let alone doing any kind of exporting….

This has been discussed over and over again though.
Click to expand...
Most folks find it acceptable and won’t notice a difference. Some may prefer savings over obsessing what YouTubers are putting out there for clicks.
 
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grandoflex said:
My understanding is that the standard M2 Mini is limited to 2 NAND chips which means that even a 1TB SSD upgrade will be capped at around 3000mbps. The M2 Pro Mac Mini has 8 chips, with 4 x 256GB apparently used in a 1TB configuration on the M2 Pro Mini, resulting in around 6000mbps. So, if you really want 6000mbps then you need to go for an M2 Pro Mini with at least 1TB...
Click to expand...
3000 mbps is plenty fast.
 
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