M2 Mac Mini Storage: 256GB vs 512GB single NAND?

[marstan]

Going from dual-channel storage to single-channel on the base M2 unfortunately leads to slower bandwidth, but is the target audience really going to notice a difference if there wasn't benchmarks pointing it out?

No, not on the sequential speed, but, as has been pointed out by foo2 and others, the random r/w performance is better and that is what matters.

When this issue first appeared I, too, thought "I was robbed." But then real empirical data and experience emerged and I changed my view of the issue . Now I don't like Apple's fees for upgrades but unless there is real competition for Apple and you want to stay within the Apple environment there isn't too much choice. Apple does offer a unique experience of ease-of-use and integration of hardware and services that compensates somewhat for the high fees. But you can push back by only buying what you really need and be willing to wait for the BTO order rather than walk out of the store with that overpriced machine you don't really need. (I know the allure as I am only a 10 minute drive from an Apple store).

 

[racoop]

And around and around we go with the same excuses about what entry level users are doing. It doesn't matter what they're doing, the base M2 deserves the same SSD configuration as the base M1 Mini.

I think you may be projecting a bit too much. My main machine is a fully spec'd 2016 16" 64GB RAM 1TB MBP. I will likely buy the M2 or M3 PRO Mini with 1TB but that doesn't mean that entry level buyers should be robbed of performance because Tim Cook needs a new vacation house.

Even the base M2 is probably overkill for entry level buyers, who are laying down a whopping $499/$599 here in the US. They will also be 100% unaware and unconcerned by the horse that has been repeatedly beaten dead here....

 

[MacDaddyPanda]

I just bought Mac Mini M2 256G SSD with 16GB RAM. Other than some odd Display stuttering that only seemed to be happening with sidecar enabled I've been streaming music for last 3 hrs and surfing the net and I notice no real performance issues whatsoever. No page file happened. And the chassis is shockingly cool to the touch. I'm impressed. I had a 2018 Mac MIni i5. That thing was scorching hot doing the same activities. I still use my Windows Rig for gaming. But that thing is noisy and hot when I'm just doing general Streaming of music or youtube. So far so good.