Mac Mini M2 Standard model

[thebart]

I have an M1 mini with 16gb. With the same workload as my PC, I'm at 11gb vs around 7gb on the PC. The PC has only 12GB. That's chrome with about 12 tabs, sublime text with bunch of tabs, terminal, ssh, git kraken, plus a few services retuning in background. On the PC i also run windows subsystem for Linux. I'm not doing any VM or docket on the Mac (yet). I'm not running any photo or video editing on either. Windows 10 vs Ventura

So what does this mean? Macos uses more memory? Not necessarily. The OS will use up memory it has since there's no point leaving memory empty. But i imagine Windows also has the same strategy of using up memory for cache and compressing less. Windows could be using around 10gb on my PC but it's not. Maybe windows is more conservative.

What my experience tells me is that Mac is not somehow doing more with less, that 8gb on Mac is like 16 on windows. Not buying it. Apps on Mac use as much memory as their counterparts on PC. And all my apps are silicon native, too, except one. The one app i use a lot that is Mac only is warp terminal, and it uses like 700mb. Kind of nuts for a terminal, even a fancy one

Now, does the M1 with unified memory and fast SSD really fast at swapping so you won't notice slow down as much? That i will buy. But you know what is even faster? Not swapping

 

[Kelvinsin]

I have an M1 mini with 16gb. With the same workload as my PC, I'm at 11gb vs around 7gb on the PC. The PC has only 12GB. That's chrome with about 12 tabs, sublime text with bunch of tabs, terminal, ssh, git kraken, plus a few services retuning in background. On the PC i also run windows subsystem for Linux. I'm not doing any VM or docket on the Mac (yet). I'm not running any photo or video editing on either. Windows 10 vs Ventura

So what does this mean? Macos uses more memory? Not necessarily. The OS will use up memory it has since there's no point leaving memory empty. But i imagine Windows also has the same strategy of using up memory for cache and compressing less. Windows could be using around 10gb on my PC but it's not. Maybe windows is more conservative.

What my experience tells me is that Mac is not somehow doing more with less, that 8gb on Mac is like 16 on windows. Not buying it. Apps on Mac use as much memory as their counterparts on PC. And all my apps are silicon native, too, except one. The one app i use a lot that is Mac only is warp terminal, and it uses like 700mb. Kind of nuts for a terminal, even a fancy one

Now, does the M1 with unified memory and fast SSD really fast at swapping so you won't notice slow down as much? That i will buy. But you know what is even faster? Not swapping

Thanks for the input. My concern is never how fast and how capable of 8gb m2 handle the tasks including swapping. But if 8gb is enough to support these web tabs and “light jobs” as mentioned without turn the pressure bar to yellow or even red. For my requirement, as long as the normal usage will activate the swapping means the memory is not enough.
Hence i will go for 16gb instead.

 

[sracer]

Thanks for the input. My concern is never how fast and how capable of 8gb m2 handle the tasks including swapping. But if 8gb is enough to support these web tabs and “light jobs” as mentioned without turn the pressure bar to yellow or even red. For my requirement, as long as the normal usage will activate the swapping means the memory is not enough.
Hence i will go for 16gb instead.

I've been confused by this whole sub-thread regarding concern of the pressure bar.

I have an 8GB/256GB M2 Mini. I'm running an iMovie encode, have a dozen tabs open in Chrome, streaming music, have my word processor and presentation software open and the activity monitor shows 6.14GB of RAM used out of 8.0GB.

(edit to add: that includes a bunch of Microsoft background tasks related to OneDrive)

If you want 16GB, then get it, no need to justify it. 👍

I've owned this M2 Mini for a little over 2 weeks and I've been throwing some heavy tasks at it and I'm quite satisfied with 8GB.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I've been confused by this whole sub-thread regarding concern of the pressure bar.

I have an 8GB/256GB M2 Mini. I'm running an iMovie encode, have a dozen tabs open in Chrome, streaming music, have my word processor and presentation software open and the activity monitor shows 6.14GB of RAM used out of 8.0GB.

(edit to add: that includes a bunch of Microsoft background tasks related to OneDrive)

If you want 16GB, then get it, no need to justify it. 👍

I've owned this M2 Mini for a little over 2 weeks and I've been throwing some heavy tasks at it and I'm quite satisfied with 8GB.

I have only once seen a swap file and that was only 10.2MB because I was running a bunch of FF tabs with videos with a bunch of Microsoft Edge tabs also running in the background playing more videos as I was earning Microsoft Rewards points. The Mini was still very fast and no indication a small swap file was created. The base Mini has been an overkill for my needs. The fact I got it for around $465, tax included made the deal even sweeter.

 

[LeeW]

For the OP 8GB of Ram is likely fine. Sure it will SWAP, and might even start to thrash it over time but the fears of wearing down the SSD and reducing the life of the machine are overstated. You would really need to go at it 24/7 for years to cause a significantly noticeable issue. For the majority of fairly light users which the OP appears to be, it would be fine.

I come at this as someone who has spent 20 years managing Linux servers in data centres where even consumer-grade SSDs in servers are being thrashed 24/7/365 for years without issue. Workloads that will never be seen on a Mac Mini at home.

 

[Kelvinsin]

For the OP 8GB of Ram is likely fine. Sure it will SWAP, and might even start to thrash it over time but the fears of wearing down the SSD and reducing the life of the machine are overstated. You would really need to go at it 24/7 for years to cause a significantly noticeable issue. For the majority of fairly light users which the OP appears to be, it would be fine.

I come at this as someone who has spent 20 years managing Linux servers in data centres where even consumer-grade SSDs in servers are being thrashed 24/7/365 for years without issue. Workloads that will never be seen on a Mac Mini at home.

Thanks for the convincing fact!

 

[zer0ed]

However, unlike LeeW, when your system drive goes belly up your machine will be dead in the water. The Mac Mini M1/M2's design won't allow you to boot off any other drive, external etc..., so you'll be left with either having Apple replace your motherboard (drive is part of it) or just retire your M2 and get a new machine! It will be sad to see what crazy pricing Apple will come up with to replace these M1/M2 motherboards when necessary! Can you say AppleCare +!

 

[LeeW]

when your system drive goes belly up your machine will be dead in the water. The Mac Mini M1/M2's design won't allow you to boot off any other drive, external etc...,

Failures happen. It could happen the day after you buy it or months after. It won't be due to overuse in the normal life of the device.

 

[Yebubbleman]

Hi guys,

I want to buy the standard model with 8Gb and 258Gb SSD but I need to know if it’s the right choice. I want to make the change from windows to macOS and I’m willing to use it just for social media, streaming services, movies, utorrent, music and with chrome having between 15-20 tabs opened; ohh and wired to 4k TV. Can I still do that without lag/stuttering or do I really need 16gb of ram? My old pc (almost 7y/o) is also has 8gb ram, i5-6500 cpu and a 1060 6gb gpu, and some outdated ssd, but lately it started to have some freezes and lags.

Thank you for your time and patience with me!

Get at least 16GB of RAM (24GB if you really want to give yourself some extra headroom). Get no less than 512GB of SSD (if the standard M2; 1TB if the M2 Pro version). You can't upgrade either components later, so you're best off spending a bit to give yourself extra headroom.

 

[Corefile]

However, unlike LeeW, when your system drive goes belly up your machine will be dead in the water. The Mac Mini M1/M2's design won't allow you to boot off any other drive, external etc.

How to start up your M1 or M2 Mac from an external drive

Need to boot your M-series Mac with an external drive? It's not as easy as it used to be, as it likely requires you purchase new hardware.

www.macworld.com

 

[Corefile]

Get at least 16GB of RAM (24GB if you really want to give yourself some extra headroom). Get no less than 512GB of SSD (if the standard M2; 1TB if the M2 Pro version). You can't upgrade either components later, so you're best off spending a bit to give yourself extra headroom.

Plenty of youtube videos on 24GB being wasted. Plenty of videos say get 16GB, and the base storage as external storage is not getting the 85% Apple tax added that internal does.

 

[Corefile]

Failures happen. It could happen the day after you buy it or months after. It won't be due to overuse in the normal life of the device.

Always run Time Machine as your data is more valuable than a lump of dead hardware.

 

[Yebubbleman]

Plenty of youtube videos on 24GB being wasted.

Depends entirely on workflow and what you're doing.

Plenty of videos say get 16GB, and the base storage as external storage is not getting the 85% Apple tax added that internal does.

External storage doesn't have the same benefits as internal storage (nor does it have the speed). Yes, it's Apple Tax; but you're buying an Apple; it's par for the course. Apple Tax is expected at this point.

 

[Corefile]

Depends entirely on workflow and what you're doing.


External storage doesn't have the same benefits as internal storage (nor does it have the speed). Yes, it's Apple Tax; but you're buying an Apple; it's par for the course. Apple Tax is expected at this point.

The experts at Max Tech covered who really needs 24GB of RAM already. It's generally not 99% of people so is 200$ of a waste and in fact folk who think they do should be buying next tier Mac systems given price point.

Most folk buying a standard Mac Mini are price conscious so paying 85% Apple Tax is not economical for most and shouldn't be recommended. Now, you spending /your/ money is entirely up to you but we should have people misleading those asking questions about the value proposition, even though it is "expected" (whatever that means).

 

[LeeW]

But you know what is even faster? Not swapping

Do you know who won't notice swapping or even know what it is to care? 96% of users.

 

[Corefile]

Do you know who won't notice swapping or even know what it is to care? 96% of users.

MacOS also uses compressed memory long before anything is swapped. In fact, MacOS does everything it can to avoid swapping due to the performance penalties. So a CPU with better compression support is way more valuable than the extra storage speed too in many situations.

 

[Fishrrman]

Re corefile's reply 35 above...

Yes, one can boot an m-series Mac from an external drive.
I do it myself with my MacBook Pro 14".

BUT...
You can boot externally ONLY if the internal drive is functioning (even if you're not booted from it at the moment).
If the internal drive fails, you CANNOT boot from an external drive. At all.
The computer is UN-bootable.

Got it...?

 

[Corefile]

BUT...
You can boot externally ONLY if the internal drive is functioning (even if you're not booted from it at the moment).
If the internal drive fails, you CANNOT boot from an external drive. At all.
The computer is UN-bootable.

Got it...?

Citation needed for your claim I think.

 

[zer0ed]

Re corefile's reply 35 above...

Yes, one can boot an m-series Mac from an external drive.
I do it myself with my MacBook Pro 14".

BUT...
You can boot externally ONLY if the internal drive is functioning (even if you're not booted from it at the moment).
If the internal drive fails, you CANNOT boot from an external drive. At all.
The computer is UN-bootable.

Got it...?

Yeah, thanks Apple, what a brilliant decision that was for you to implement! :-( Apple still hasn't fixed their ASR bug which stops one from making a fully bootable system backup using any of the 3rd party backup utils like Carbon Copy Cloner/Super Duper etc... for Silicon machines.

 

[Yebubbleman]

The experts at Max Tech covered who really needs 24GB of RAM already. It's generally not 99% of people so is 200$ of a waste and in fact folk who think they do should be buying next tier Mac systems given price point.

Most folk buying a standard Mac Mini are price conscious so paying 85% Apple Tax is not economical for most and shouldn't be recommended. Now, you spending /your/ money is entirely up to you but we should have people misleading those asking questions about the value proposition, even though it is "expected" (whatever that means).

First off, I never said that 24GB is a must. Only that it provides extra headroom. You cannot deny that it does (considering that Apple has often left its SoCs out of support due to not having enough RAM). A minimum of 16GB is a must for today. That much I did say. Neither you nor Max Tech have enough information to suggest that it won't matter down the road.

Secondly, There are plenty of folks out there buying M2 Pro and M1 Pro primarily due to needing more RAM (while otherwise being more than okay with the CPU and GPU prowess of the standard M1 and M2). I'm not about to assume which the OP is. That being said, if a large part of my day entailed using Parallels to spin up a Windows 11 for ARM64 VM, I'd absolutely go with 24GB of RAM if given the choice.

Thirdly, "price conscious" and "Mac" generally do not go in the same sentence. Macs are very expensive for what they are. Yes, Apple Silicon adds tremendous value. But there's no denying that it's foolish to spend $800 on a Mac mini without being open to spending another $200 to make it last a fair amount longer. That's just short-sighted economics right there.

 

[Fishrrman]

Corefile:
"Citation needed for your claim I think."

Don't believe me if you don't want to.

 

[zer0ed]

Corefile:
"Citation needed for your claim I think."

Don't believe me if you don't want to.

Fishrrman: When their internal system drive dies they'll have no choice but to believe you!

 

[Yebubbleman]

Citation needed for your claim I think.

No. He's 10000% right. You just need to do your homework more rather than asking others to do it for you.

But since I'm here wasting my time on this reply anyway, I'll help you out with some resources you ought to consider:

Startup Disk security policy control for a Mac with Apple silicon

To set security policy on a Mac with Apple silicon, Startup Disk has replaced Startup Security Utility.

support.apple.com

Beyond Bootable Backups: Adapting recovery strategies for an evolving platform - Bombich Software

bombich.com

How bad is the M1 Mac's SSD failure problem?

If your M1 Mac's SSD fails, you can't boot off an external drive, a change from past decades. Here's the problem and strategies to manage the risk.

www.zdnet.com

Rethinking recovery and re-installing macOS

How useful is the traditional panacea of re-installing macOS in Big Sur? And is it worth maintaining an external recovery disk to deal with problems?

eclecticlight.co

I found the above within 10 minutes of Googling.

Furthermore, for detailed knowledge on all things Apple Silicon Mac, you ought to peruse the following extensively: https://eclecticlight.co/m1-macs/

 

[Corefile]

No. He's 10000% right. You just need to do your homework more rather than asking others to do it for you.

But since I'm here wasting my time on this reply anyway, I'll help you out with some resources you ought to consider:

No. When somebody makes a claim then they need to provide evidence for it. I'm not there to do that because they're lazy or trying to be condescending.

 

[Yebubbleman]

No. When somebody makes a claim then they need to provide evidence for it. I'm not there to do that because they're lazy or trying to be condescending.

No one needs to provide citation to back up claims about common knowledge you are late to the party for. I did ten minutes of Googling and found literally everything anyone could possibly want to know about the topic you are demanding citation for when you could've easily done that research yourself. You demanding citation for things of that nature is the epitome of laziness.