I'm holding out for an M2 Ultra Studio, or if that doesn't come, an M3 Ultra Studio. I have no need for PCIe slots (should they be forthcoming on the ASi Mac Pro) and I like the Studio's form factor. The GB6 CPU result for the M1 Ultra is 17373 whereas the M2 Max is 14600. There would be absolutely no way I would buy the M1 Ultra at this point in time. At the very least, Apple should release the M2 Max Studio even if they're not going to release the M2 Ultra Studio. I don't need a laptop form factor.
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Mac Mini vs. Mac Studio Buyer's Guide
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Dang it - another older article reposted as new.
I know there is a lot happening this week - but these repost are slightly confusing. The previous 400+ posts are somewhat dated. 😜
I know there is a lot happening this week - but these repost are slightly confusing. The previous 400+ posts are somewhat dated. 😜
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Can we laugh at it again? A desktop computer selling in 2023 is starting at 8GB of non upgradable RAM and whopping 256GB of non upgradable internal storage 😂 just like my Macbook Pro from 2010 (which afaik could be upgraded) 🤣.
Weird pricing. A well-equipped mini with M2 pro costs the same as the entry level Studio with M2 max. Not really a hard choice.
Purchase what meets your needs and requirements. The Mini, Studio, MacPro gives you wide range of capabilities and performance to meet whatever needs/requirements you may have.
Yep. If you up the ram on the M2 pro mini to 32 Gb it's only 300 less than the entry Studio, or 200 if you factor in the additional 100 for the 10 Gbe. That model is kinda pointless.
So is only 16 Gb for work, one browser for docs plus one ide and one work comms app is already getting close to the 16 Gb or exceeding it.
Why laugh? Simply purchase what meets your needs. Easy.
I always thought I’d get the Mini M2 Pro, but that Studio M2 Max is looking pretty at not a whole lot more money. I hesitate to spend $2000+ on a laptop because of batteries, but the desktop will last YEARS and it makes a ton of sense to spend the extra money and get the Max
If you start upgrading the mini with M2 pro basically at all the Studio quickly becomes the smarter buy...
After almost a year of a Mac Mini M2 Pro w/ 32Gb RAM and daily use using cloud apps like Google sheets and Excel processing data locally ... I'm totally happy with my purchase. When things slow down it's always a cloud-based issue … a Mac Studio wouldn't help with that.
I'm not sure there's really a middle-road need between my machine and the Mac Pro except that the Studio might be a good choice for businesses where multiple users/accounts are involved, serving as a server, among other uses.
I'm not sure there's really a middle-road need between my machine and the Mac Pro except that the Studio might be a good choice for businesses where multiple users/accounts are involved, serving as a server, among other uses.
Bought a studio ultra, I work about 8-10 hours a day on these damn things, if the extra cost helps keep things snappy and the flow going, well worth it.
"Buyer's Guide" for Mini or Studio? LOL. C'mon. These machines serve totally different markets. No one considering one is considering the other.
I am - I was looking at a 12 core Mini with 32 Gb Ram and a 1Tb drive this week, but now I'm going with the Studio instead, It's actually cheaper than the mini in that spec!
Mac Mini - small footprint with Apple's intentional limitation ceiling put in place. Mac Studio - a Mini where the ceiling is raised in the height of a Mini footprint, available RAM, memory bandwidth speed, and more. To me, they are really the same systems with the Studio being a more advanced or capable version of the Mini.
All the silicon chips are more capable than most of us need right now. What you have to ask yourself is how much storage you will need and/or if you are prepared to buy fast, external drives.
The biggest factor is how soon Apple will stop supporting anything you buy, even before its hardware is genuinely challenged.
It will be interesting to see when Apple stops supporting the amazing M1 Minis when, potentially, they might be good to last many more years.
If you need more power than the Mini, buy the Studio. If you need more expandability, buy the Pro.
Just replace the battery when it needs it. Apple even went back to adhesive pull tabs to make that easier to do.
At the top and bottom of their range, yes, they are quite different in price and performance.
If you start with a mini and upgrade it to th eM2 Pro and then start adding RAM, the price gets right up there with the low end Studio. It’s a pretty smooth progression so it’s easy to see someone with intermediate range needing to decide between them.
If you checkout the comments here you will see plenty of people who are making exactly that decision, now.
So an
M2 Pro Mini 12/19/16, 32 Gb, 1 Tb at $2099
is only $60 cheaper than the
M2 Max Studio 12/38/16, 32 Gb, 1 Tb at $2159.
Around $2000 is a decent position for a medium to long term pc purchase.
M2 Pro Mini 12/19/16, 32 Gb, 1 Tb at $2099
is only $60 cheaper than the
M2 Max Studio 12/38/16, 32 Gb, 1 Tb at $2159.
Around $2000 is a decent position for a medium to long term pc purchase.
They do, but when I wrote that 13 months ago, the Mac Pro was expected to have an SoC with core counts equivalent to two Ultra SoCs.
In order to make more sense, you really have to compare similar memory and storage configurations:
Mac Mini
Mac Mini
- M2 pro (12 core CPU, 19 Core GPU, 16 core neural engine)
- 32GB memory
- 512GB SSD
- $1999
- M2 max (12 core CPU, 30 Core GPU, 16 core neural engine)
- 32GB memory
- 512GB SSD
- $1999
Ha!They do, but when I wrote that 13 months ago, the Mac Pro was expected to have an SoC with core counts equivalent to two Ultra SoCs.
I didn’t look at the date of the comment
I assumed I was responding to a comment from a new article
That was foolish of me!
Many would choose the mini as it is physically smaller. Easier to hide behind your monitor. Smaller is also popular with colocation companies as more can fit on a rack shelf.