I purchased a Mac Mini with 16GB Ram, the M2 Pro processor, and 512GB SSD. How long will this system last, generally? I am currently running MacOS Sonoma.
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How long is the M2 Pro Mac Mini expected to last?
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Generally:
Expect new macOS updates to support your device for 5-7 years. Plus 2-3 years of security of security patches following that. In total some 7-9 years until the operating system on the mac Mini Pro is end of life.
The Apple Silicon platform is closing in on year 3 since launch and has yet to report any systemic issues. Combined with the proven track record of the mac Mini platform, the overall hardware package should last you until end of life of the operating system.
16GB/512 SSD and the m2 Pro CPU/GPU is a good baseline to keep your mac "safe" from the general software bloat, and requirements creep over the next 5-6 years.
Only concern might be the SSD, but most data on the Apple silicon macs, so far, shows 'normal usage' should keep the SSD well within its lifetime maximum write expectancy even 10 years from now.
Standard caveat: if your computing needs change drastically, or if you're already pushing the system towards its limit, above is all N/A 😆.
Expect new macOS updates to support your device for 5-7 years. Plus 2-3 years of security of security patches following that. In total some 7-9 years until the operating system on the mac Mini Pro is end of life.
The Apple Silicon platform is closing in on year 3 since launch and has yet to report any systemic issues. Combined with the proven track record of the mac Mini platform, the overall hardware package should last you until end of life of the operating system.
16GB/512 SSD and the m2 Pro CPU/GPU is a good baseline to keep your mac "safe" from the general software bloat, and requirements creep over the next 5-6 years.
Only concern might be the SSD, but most data on the Apple silicon macs, so far, shows 'normal usage' should keep the SSD well within its lifetime maximum write expectancy even 10 years from now.
Standard caveat: if your computing needs change drastically, or if you're already pushing the system towards its limit, above is all N/A 😆.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
You should be good for the traditional norm of 7-9 years. The added RAM was especially important as you can't increase RAM for life of the device. I'm doubtful that 8GB standard will not be a hinderance 4+ years out for those who buy base model. Personally, I think 8GB in 2023 is only Apple beancounters being Apple. That base level ship has sailed several years ago.
Of course, we have no history of Apple Silicon Macs. So the 7-9 is based upon how things were with Intel Macs. Silicon Macs are more like iDevices and iDevices- particularly phone- tends to struggle to get even close to 7 years of active use. If Apple Inc decided to speed up the vintaging process with Silicon Macs, the traditional estimate may not apply. Only Apple would know.
My guess is that it will still be useful in 7-9 but you might replace it in about 5 because certain additions to macOS will only work with the new Macs at the time (much like certain new iPhone features require a more regular purchase of a new phone to fully use).
That shared though: M2 Pro Mac Mini with upgrades above the minimal stock model seems like a great purchase. Enjoy it.
Of course, we have no history of Apple Silicon Macs. So the 7-9 is based upon how things were with Intel Macs. Silicon Macs are more like iDevices and iDevices- particularly phone- tends to struggle to get even close to 7 years of active use. If Apple Inc decided to speed up the vintaging process with Silicon Macs, the traditional estimate may not apply. Only Apple would know.
My guess is that it will still be useful in 7-9 but you might replace it in about 5 because certain additions to macOS will only work with the new Macs at the time (much like certain new iPhone features require a more regular purchase of a new phone to fully use).
That shared though: M2 Pro Mac Mini with upgrades above the minimal stock model seems like a great purchase. Enjoy it.
@HobeSoundDarryl
This makes sense. The lifespan of most computers seems to be around 5 years in most cases.
To give you a bit of history for the machines I have used over the years - of the ones that I remember:
- I had a 2010 HP Computer that lasted until 2015. I do not remember why I replaced it. I kept the original monitor that came with it and used it up until around the same time frame. Used Windows 7 on it.
- 2015 HP Pavilion with the monitor from the 2010 Model, then I replaced that monitor with a 2013 Samsung Monitor that I still have, but no longer use. The 2015 HP Pavilion came with a stock 8GB of Ram, and I upgraded from Windows 8, 8.1, then to Windows 10 in the lifespan of that computer up until 2020.
- 2020 Skytech Archangel PC. Pre-Built Gaming computer from Amazon. Came with stock 16GB Ram, I replaced the CPU cooler and front case fan. Two other case fans had various issues to the point where I had to remove one of them from the unit, no model numbers were displayed on the Unit. I sold this computer recently. I also had a 2020 Samsung Monitor along with it as well, that I used with my Mac Mini for a bit until I replaced it with a 2011 Apple Cinema 27" display. Upgraded from Windows to 11 in 2021.
- I switched from Windows 11 to MacOS for the reason that I was simply tired of Windows and wanted a new experience, and Apple was always good to me. I had an Iphone 6 from 2019-2022 and replaced it with a Samsung A53. I made a mistake in that purchase, I have come to feel, and plan on getting the Iphone 15 or Iphone 14 within the next year or so.
This makes sense. The lifespan of most computers seems to be around 5 years in most cases.
To give you a bit of history for the machines I have used over the years - of the ones that I remember:
- I had a 2010 HP Computer that lasted until 2015. I do not remember why I replaced it. I kept the original monitor that came with it and used it up until around the same time frame. Used Windows 7 on it.
- 2015 HP Pavilion with the monitor from the 2010 Model, then I replaced that monitor with a 2013 Samsung Monitor that I still have, but no longer use. The 2015 HP Pavilion came with a stock 8GB of Ram, and I upgraded from Windows 8, 8.1, then to Windows 10 in the lifespan of that computer up until 2020.
- 2020 Skytech Archangel PC. Pre-Built Gaming computer from Amazon. Came with stock 16GB Ram, I replaced the CPU cooler and front case fan. Two other case fans had various issues to the point where I had to remove one of them from the unit, no model numbers were displayed on the Unit. I sold this computer recently. I also had a 2020 Samsung Monitor along with it as well, that I used with my Mac Mini for a bit until I replaced it with a 2011 Apple Cinema 27" display. Upgraded from Windows to 11 in 2021.
- I switched from Windows 11 to MacOS for the reason that I was simply tired of Windows and wanted a new experience, and Apple was always good to me. I had an Iphone 6 from 2019-2022 and replaced it with a Samsung A53. I made a mistake in that purchase, I have come to feel, and plan on getting the Iphone 15 or Iphone 14 within the next year or so.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Not much to offer here. You must have your reasons for wanting an ancient Apple monitor with relatively low resolution. Getting it working is likely a matter of finding the right combination of adapters and cables. Where there's a will... there's a way.
The modern Mac generally "wants" a 5K monitor, for retina and because macOS basically needs an oddball resolution for perfect pixel scaling. Because it is oddball, there is not a lot of competition at 5K and that makes it more expensive than the nearby commodity resolution of 4K. Too bad that macOS doesn't easily scale to any resolution like Windows, but it is what it is.
If price is driving much of your thinking about trying to make that old Apple monitor work, I'd put the money towards a new 4K monitor. That will buy you much higher resolution and many people go that way with Mini. Even if the old monitor could be purchased for near nothing, I'd instead put the near nothing towards a modern monitor. There's no special advantage there to having an all Apple setup (in fact, it's probably a disadvantage).
If price is not a big driver, Samsung just rolled out an Apple Studio Display clone for pretty close to the (IMO- too high) price of ASD. However, unlike Apple, Samsung MSRP tends to soon see many discounts in the retail chain. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see that S9 monitor down at $1299 fairly quickly and probably valley-ing down around $999 at some point. That one would get you a 5K monitor much like Apples, minus Apples (too high) price.
Since you have long history with PCs and reference gaming, if you may still want or might add a PC to the mix in the next few years (gaming on Mac is limited), you might want to seek out a good monitor with 2+ inputs so it can double as BOTH a Mac and PC monitor (without having to switch cables). I went 40" ultra wide 5K 2K from Dell with 4 such inputs and then hooked a Fat Mini (Studio) plus a Mac Mini-like PC to it.
It can even split screen, giving chunks of screen to each computer and has a pretty good built-in-hub so both computers can optionally share the same keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc. That price moves around a lot between about $18XX and about $21XX but some retailers may do better and refurbs have been purchased for about 25% off that. Since I do need both Mac and PC, this "one monitor for both" seems ideal to me. And I could never go back to a more square monitor typical of all Apple monitors. Once a person experiences UW screen RE, it's hard to return to near square.
Bottom Line: If you don't already own the ancient Apple monitor, I wouldn't be trying to make that work. Instead, I'd be seeking out a higher resolution monitor that better fits what is intended for Mac in 2023. Apple pushes 5K or more themselves but 4K is a popular compromise if budget is tight.
The modern Mac generally "wants" a 5K monitor, for retina and because macOS basically needs an oddball resolution for perfect pixel scaling. Because it is oddball, there is not a lot of competition at 5K and that makes it more expensive than the nearby commodity resolution of 4K. Too bad that macOS doesn't easily scale to any resolution like Windows, but it is what it is.
If price is driving much of your thinking about trying to make that old Apple monitor work, I'd put the money towards a new 4K monitor. That will buy you much higher resolution and many people go that way with Mini. Even if the old monitor could be purchased for near nothing, I'd instead put the near nothing towards a modern monitor. There's no special advantage there to having an all Apple setup (in fact, it's probably a disadvantage).
If price is not a big driver, Samsung just rolled out an Apple Studio Display clone for pretty close to the (IMO- too high) price of ASD. However, unlike Apple, Samsung MSRP tends to soon see many discounts in the retail chain. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see that S9 monitor down at $1299 fairly quickly and probably valley-ing down around $999 at some point. That one would get you a 5K monitor much like Apples, minus Apples (too high) price.
Since you have long history with PCs and reference gaming, if you may still want or might add a PC to the mix in the next few years (gaming on Mac is limited), you might want to seek out a good monitor with 2+ inputs so it can double as BOTH a Mac and PC monitor (without having to switch cables). I went 40" ultra wide 5K 2K from Dell with 4 such inputs and then hooked a Fat Mini (Studio) plus a Mac Mini-like PC to it.
It can even split screen, giving chunks of screen to each computer and has a pretty good built-in-hub so both computers can optionally share the same keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc. That price moves around a lot between about $18XX and about $21XX but some retailers may do better and refurbs have been purchased for about 25% off that. Since I do need both Mac and PC, this "one monitor for both" seems ideal to me. And I could never go back to a more square monitor typical of all Apple monitors. Once a person experiences UW screen RE, it's hard to return to near square.
Bottom Line: If you don't already own the ancient Apple monitor, I wouldn't be trying to make that work. Instead, I'd be seeking out a higher resolution monitor that better fits what is intended for Mac in 2023. Apple pushes 5K or more themselves but 4K is a popular compromise if budget is tight.
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6-7 years, minimum.
Probably longer than that (but you might begin to hunger for something newer first).
Re the post above that mentions the life of the SSD:
I assert that the biggest "killer" of Apple SSDs right now is the VM system which writes enormous amounts of data to the SSD (as has been discussed elsewhere).
The "cure" for this is easy:
Buy a little more RAM than you need, and TURN OFF VM disk swapping permanently (as I have done).
Compared to other folks here, the internal SSD on my 2018 Mini (bought Jan 2019) has very little "wear" on it at all. Same for my 2021 MacBook Pro (bought new Feb 2022).
Probably longer than that (but you might begin to hunger for something newer first).
Re the post above that mentions the life of the SSD:
I assert that the biggest "killer" of Apple SSDs right now is the VM system which writes enormous amounts of data to the SSD (as has been discussed elsewhere).
The "cure" for this is easy:
Buy a little more RAM than you need, and TURN OFF VM disk swapping permanently (as I have done).
Compared to other folks here, the internal SSD on my 2018 Mini (bought Jan 2019) has very little "wear" on it at all. Same for my 2021 MacBook Pro (bought new Feb 2022).
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