Is the M2 Mac mini Right for Me?

[42545]

Hi,
I'm torn between picking an iPad Air M2, Macbook Air M2, Mac mini M2 or a PC. Now the Mac mini choice stands out a bit for me. I normally do work related to websites and coding; on Chrome; I consume content; I have Apple TV and iTunes library. What about the game? I know this is limited on Mac. However, if I feel like playing games, I see that I can have some fun. Another thing I want to do, if I have the opportunity, is to buy the new iPhone 16 Pro and edit prores/log videos. I usually use Davinci Resolve. Another thing is that I have never used macOS personally. I think I can get used to it. I have a wireless logitetech mouse and bluetooth keyboard as USB. But I don't have a monitor. Frankly, very good monitors are too expensive for me. My current Windows laptop's screen is 156ppi and it is difficult to find a monitor accordingly. I will look into this too. I am planning to have a 24 inch monitor, but if I have the appropriate environment and a high ppi value, I can also get a 27 inch monitor. Mac mini M2 in Turkiye is 726 dollars. I use a program called Photofiltre on Windows a lot; does anyone knows? This is not available on Mac, but they show gimp as an alternative. Well. Honestly I don't know. It seems expensive to spend twice as much to build a PC system. Do you think it's worth the expense for the Mac mini for me? I also thought about buying an M1 Macbook Air, but I was hesitant because I'm mostly at a desk and it doesn't have a fan. More importantly, will the Mac mini M4 be released soon? Haha, I'll be sorry I bought it then.

Best.

 

[RezSeeker]

Hi,
I'm torn between picking an iPad Air M2, Macbook Air M2, Mac mini M2 or a PC. Now the Mac mini choice stands out a bit for me. I normally do work related to websites and coding; on Chrome; I consume content; I have Apple TV and iTunes library. What about the game? I know this is limited on Mac. However, if I feel like playing games, I see that I can have some fun. Another thing I want to do, if I have the opportunity, is to buy the new iPhone 16 Pro and edit prores/log videos. I usually use Davinci Resolve. Another thing is that I have never used macOS personally. I think I can get used to it. I have a wireless logitetech mouse and bluetooth keyboard as USB. But I don't have a monitor. Frankly, very good monitors are too expensive for me. My current Windows laptop's screen is 156ppi and it is difficult to find a monitor accordingly. I will look into this too. I am planning to have a 24 inch monitor, but if I have the appropriate environment and a high ppi value, I can also get a 27 inch monitor. Mac mini M2 in Turkiye is 726 dollars. I use a program called Photofiltre on Windows a lot; does anyone knows? This is not available on Mac, but they show gimp as an alternative. Well. Honestly I don't know. It seems expensive to spend twice as much to build a PC system. Do you think it's worth the expense for the Mac mini for me? I also thought about buying an M1 Macbook Air, but I was hesitant because I'm mostly at a desk and it doesn't have a fan. More importantly, will the Mac mini M4 be released soon? Haha, I'll be sorry I bought it then.

Best.

Since you use Resolve, I would get the Mini Pro with as much ram as you can afford.

I have the mini non-pro with 24gb ram and it’s great, but I don’t have a workflow that requires colour grading log footage.

 

[42545]

If I buy it, I will buy the 8GB base model. Isn't 8GB enough?

 

[leifp]

While you can certainly make do with a base Mac mini system, your proposed use cases point towards both the Pro version of the M2 chip as well as more than 8GB RAM, as RezSeeker suggests.

As you seem to be coming at this without immediate need for a new computer, I would wait until after you have purchased the iPhone and recorded some ProRes video that you want to edit. Then buy a Mac mini and see if the base model is good enough for your desired tasks. If it is, great! If not, you have two weeks (although perhaps Turkey has different laws?) to take it back and buy a more powerful system.

 

[Yebubbleman]

If I buy it, I will buy the 8GB base model. Isn't 8GB enough?

No. 8GB is barely enough for someone who doesn't do anything beyond e-mail and web browsing. Folks will argue that they do not feel sluggish performance from Apple Silicon Macs with 8GB of RAM, but the computer is still hitting high memory pressure that is not ideal.

Hi,
I'm torn between picking an iPad Air M2, Macbook Air M2, Mac mini M2 or a PC. Now the Mac mini choice stands out a bit for me. I normally do work related to websites and coding; on Chrome; I consume content; I have Apple TV and iTunes library. What about the game? I know this is limited on Mac. However, if I feel like playing games, I see that I can have some fun. Another thing I want to do, if I have the opportunity, is to buy the new iPhone 16 Pro and edit prores/log videos. I usually use Davinci Resolve. Another thing is that I have never used macOS personally. I think I can get used to it. I have a wireless logitetech mouse and bluetooth keyboard as USB. But I don't have a monitor. Frankly, very good monitors are too expensive for me. My current Windows laptop's screen is 156ppi and it is difficult to find a monitor accordingly. I will look into this too. I am planning to have a 24 inch monitor, but if I have the appropriate environment and a high ppi value, I can also get a 27 inch monitor. Mac mini M2 in Turkiye is 726 dollars. I use a program called Photofiltre on Windows a lot; does anyone knows? This is not available on Mac, but they show gimp as an alternative. Well. Honestly I don't know. It seems expensive to spend twice as much to build a PC system. Do you think it's worth the expense for the Mac mini for me? I also thought about buying an M1 Macbook Air, but I was hesitant because I'm mostly at a desk and it doesn't have a fan. More importantly, will the Mac mini M4 be released soon? Haha, I'll be sorry I bought it then.

Best.

An iPad Air will not help you with coding. If you want to edit ProRes and more than what is supported on Windows, you are forced to get a Mac. If an M2 model is what you're looking for, get as much RAM as you can (you cannot upgrade it later, and it sounds like, based on your needs, you'll want as much as you can get). The choice between MacBook Air and Mac mini is basically, do you want a 13-inch screen, a 15-inch screen, or a screen of whatever size you can get at the expense of portability. The Airs will thermal throttle at higher performance due to not having an internal fan. But it will otherwise be extremely similar performance across the board.

 

[splifingate]

but I was hesitant because I'm mostly at a desk

This is probably the determinate factor in your consideration . . .

Getting (and using) a Mini generally predicates "desktop" use.

Of course, you can move a Mini from there to here; but it's not as fluid as things would be if you were to have a 'laptop'.

Personally, I spend a great deal of my compute time sitting at a desk.

I also use PCs, and an assortment of "other" systems. I also have a lot of desktop displays on-hand.

I do not 'game' anymore.

Purchasing a Mini is a very frugal entry into the Mac OS System, and I would not think twice if I were to find myself in your situation

 

[42545]

According to this news, M4 mac mini may be released this year. It makes more sense to wait. Most likely this will happen after 16.

M4 MacBook Pro, iMac, and Redesigned Mac Mini Coming This Year

Apple will update its MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac lines with its latest M4 chip later this year, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman,...

www.macrumors.com

Is 8GB of RAM enough for video editing on the iPad Pro, but not enough on the Mac? Does macOS consume too much RAM? But you are right, if I can, I will try to buy the one with 16GB RAM. Another question: Can't I edit prores video on Windows?

 

[leifp]

According to this news, M4 mac mini may be released this year. It makes more sense to wait. Most likely this will happen after 16.

M4 MacBook Pro, iMac, and Redesigned Mac Mini Coming This Year

Apple will update its MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac lines with its latest M4 chip later this year, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman,...

www.macrumors.com

Is 8GB of RAM enough for video editing on the iPad Pro, but not enough on the Mac? Does macOS consume too much RAM? But you are right, if I can, I will try to buy the one with 16GB RAM. Another question: Can't I edit prores video on Windows?

You can edit ProRes videos on Windows, yes. It depends on the editor you use.

 

[bellflyer14]

OP, for your workflow, I would absolutely recommend more than 8gb ram. Resolve alone is much happier with 16gb memory. Base Macs do preform pretty good and don't feel sluggish, even thought they will be stressing the memory pressure at anything more than basic tasks