I found a used M2 mini (8GB/256) locally for $235. I was considering going for the $599 M4 mini but this looks like a considerable savings.
My use case is web browsing and working in google workplace / docs, sheets, video calls. I really don’t think there would be much of an difference in my workflow.
Should I grab this one used?
Sure, if budget is a concern. That’s a good deal and despite what some people claim, while not ideal, 8 GB is usually OK most of the time for your type of usage (as long as your spreadsheets etc. are not too complex and you keep Apple Intelligence turned off). However, if you discover it isn’t good for you, it should not be difficult to sell it again for what you paid for it.
For the record, I sometimes have similar app usage as you and found that with my 8 GB Intel Mac mini it was usually fine but would get a fair amount of swap file usage. On heavier work days it could cause a few pauses here and there albeit with old slow hardware including a low budget SSD without DRAM, but even so it was quite manageable. Apple Silicon paired with a native Apple SSD should run much, much better. Indeed, a friend of mine a while back had to temporarily run an 8 GB M1 for a few weeks for his much more memory intensive web design work and he said it worked just fine for him.
With my 16 GB M1, that swap file usage was vastly diminished. So, if you want no compromises in your workflow, 16 GB is what I would usually recommend, but that $235 8 GB deal is very enticing.
I now run a 24 GB M4 which is overkill for this type of usage. Surfing is a bit faster, but overall it is only a small incremental improvement in speed over the 16 GB M1.
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tl;dr:
8 GB is tight but should work fine most of the time regardless, for your business apps. For $235, it’s definitely worth giving it a shot is you’re on a tight budget. And if you find it doesn’t meet your needs, then you can sell it again for the same price, since that is a very good deal.
However, if your budget permits,16 GB is most likely the sweet spot for your usage, while 24 GB is probably overkill.
PS. In the US I would not buy the M4 base model at US$599. You can buy it on the Apple online education store for US$499. Apple does not check for edu credentials for online purchases in the US or Canada. With the base M4 16 GB at $499, that may affect your decision.
