New 256GB Mac Mini and 512GB MacBook Pro Have Slower SSD Speeds Than Previous Models

[GLTirebiter]

What performance issue most frustrates the lower-end user? Waiting for file transfers and for files to open. This SSD problem hits them exactly in the area most important to them. Not the only factor of course, but SSD speed is not irrelevant to casual users.

 

[Bustycat]

So base models of the Apple products released this month are all slower somewhere…

 

[soitgrows]

So base models of the Apple products released this month are all slower somewhere…

Not just base, but the ones with one more storage tier upgrade too, and the issue seems to affect the “pro” machines as well.

 

[unrigestered]

fast forward -> M3 Pro/Max release:
get full speed if you're buying the 8TB version, otherwise suck the 1.5GB/s up... it's still plenty fast after all!
....compared to the best selling laptops...

Spoiler

of 2010

 

[ddhhddhh2]

Is this weird? No, not at all! This has always been Apple's specialty, at least since 20 years ago, Apple has been very good at playing the role of a recycling plant, and it's a recycling plant that turns stones into gold, it's just that many people have never believed it. 🤣🤣🤣

 

[chetzar]

It’s so weird to have specs go in reverse. One would think Apple would not do that.

Or maybe they should stop putting flash chips in a Raid 0 configuration and make their SSD’s user replaceable.

 

[kkk123kkk123kkk]

Or maybe they should stop putting flash chips in a Raid 0 configuration and make their SSD’s user replaceable.

If you count M.2 SSD with multiple NAND chips as having Raid 0 built-in, then I guess you could say that.

And I totally agreed Apple should made the NAND replaceable. Throwing away the whole motherboard if SSD go bad is just stupid.

 

[svish]

Disappointing to see lower speeds. Looks like Apple is no longer using 128GB chips.

 

[threesixty360]

I’m not sure it will effect the paging/swap file speeds because you’re only going to notice the speed difference on long writes. Typically the swap file is writing smaller amounts of data but more frequently.

The major bottle neck in general system performance would be the ram. Which is what I notice with the 8gb m1 256mg MacBook I have. You just end up being very careful with how many things you run at once.

Also, with such a small hard drive, how many huge files are you copying to the main drive anyway? If your editing video most of you are going to edit off an external SSD anyway. I suppose you really have to add up how many times a day your system is copying large files around. But I’d rather worry about the ram first in my opinion.

It’s a shame apple do this but when you think about it, suppliers are offering 1 chip with the primary use case of offering an amount of storage. Having multiple chips to make up the memory was probably the only way to do this for a while. But it’s probably not what the optimal solution for manufactures.

Multiple chips means more power usage, more chance of something going wrong as well. Also wondering how much of the ongoing chip shortage in general mean this is an inventory issue?

The scam for me (and apple ALWAYS do this) is that they know what’s happening and don’t tell anyone. So as a buyer you’re expecting better in ALL aspects with an upgraded machine and you actually in practise get worse. Even if you’re not using the feature you don’t expect it to be worse than the previous model.

Apple don’t want to get that reputation for their base model machines as over time reputation sticks and people will be hesitant to buy some of their products just on suspicion that they are cutting corners somewhere.

 

[MiloCody]

M2slow

 

[sam_dean]

I can't imagine using 256GB for a 4K video editing project.

 

[Rychiar]

Any computer made with less than a terabyte in 2023 is a crime and apple love to rob people with this basic update…. Remember when a terabyte was standard on macs? SSDs have come down drastically in prices the last couple years and are standard now. Yet apple still treats them like they’re some special prize .

 

[sam_dean]

Any computer made with less than a terabyte in 2023 is a crime and apple love to rob people with this basic update…. Remember when a terabyte was standard on macs? SSDs have come down drastically in prices the last couple years and are standard now. Yet apple still treats them like they’re some special prize .

1TB before were spindle HDD and not SSD.

How does other PC OEMs handle their SSD pricing at the same write/read throughput?

To me all currently priced base model M2 should have 16GB memory & 512GB SSD

 

[corinthos]

what's the big deal here? just buy the maxed out versions and you won't have to worry about getting ripped off on performance.

 

[Zest28]

While I agree with you, do other aspects of the new machine's architecture make up for that? Disk read/write speed is just one factor, not the end-all-be-all.

I'm not defending Apple except to say that people need to keep perspective. If the M1's never had the faster speeds, this would be a non-issue today. Apple _did_ lower the price of the M2 mini, so that matters, too. It's not like they are doing shrinkflation with it. It still outperforms the M1 mini in every other aspect.

Bruh, even my 5-year old Intel MacBook Pro has a faster SSD.

 

[FriendlyMackle]

So long as Cook keeps posting "record profits" he'll see himself as a success and to shareholders too. He doesn't care that the iPad lineup is convoluted and hard to explain to someone which one they should get. He doesn't care that their services are only remotely competitive because of device lock-in, not on the merits of a great service itself. He doesn't seem fussed that we have a double decker camera bump, stagnant hardware language shipping with buggy software year in, year out.

It's such a shame Apple has lost its soul under Cook. Time to get someone who is passionate about products, who has the spark in their eye for what Apple used to stand for.

Unfortunately, I don’t think that person exists, or if she does…would not be promoted by Apple Corporate to CEO. They have been completely subverted by Wall Street and the almighty profit margin which disregards quality goods for just high-value ‘sales.’

 

[FriendlyMackle]

Wow I thought I would get around the SDD fiasco by getting the 512GB but turns out it is affected too…

Seems like 1TB is the minimum now to assure the full 6000MB/s read/write speeds.

Is there any benefit (in terms of SSD speeds) from the 4TB or 8TB sizes?

 

[Chancha]

Seems like 1TB is the minimum now to assure the full 6000MB/s read/write speeds.

Is there any benefit (in terms of SSD speeds) from the 4TB or 8TB sizes?

The M2 Pro mini teardown shows a total of 8 soldering spaces for NANDs, the same as 14” 16” even the 2021s. It means for really large configs, all 8 will be populated, but, there is probably a diminishing return in going from 4 to 8 NANDs so we are never seeing a literal double speed bump like we see from 1 to 2 or 2 to 4.

 

[Chancha]

You can pump 3000 MB/sec thru PCie x 4 which is what is used typically thru one 256 GB chip. Constricting this to 1500 suggests that Apple is using only 2 PCIe lanes. In an earlier post I mentioned you can buy a 1500 MB/sec enclosure for $70. That enclosure uses only 2 PCIe lanes, not 4. I am very curious if anyone has tested a regular M2 mac mini with 512GB. I bet it is also 1500 MB/sec, and if true, it means that all these people telling everyone to buy the 512GB are dead wrong.

The M2 Pro may use all 4 PCie lanes to get a 3000 MB/sec speed. The regular M2 may not.

The M2 mini logic board layout is almost identical to the M1, and its NAND arrangement follows the same as the M2 Air. Since there are only 2 NAND “spaces”, and Apple refuses to use 128GB modules, so the base 256GB model can only use one NAND and thus getting only 2 PCIe lanes. We have not see actual test yet but by conjecture we can safely assume the 512GB config will use 2x256GB modules, since this 256GB module is what Apple buys bulk of. 2NANDs with 4 PCIe lanes is the highest you can get on M1/M2 boards, until you move to M1 Pro / M2 Pro boards, the teardowns show a total of 8 soldering “spaces”.

 

[Chancha]

I haven't seen any 1TB tests yet for Mac Mini but good to know about the 512gb, but it seems like the 512GB speeds match the M1 Mac Mini 256/512GB speeds though it would have been nice to get the 6000 speeds on the M2 Pro... I think for me I will give myself 13 days to think about it because I avoided the 256gb and got 512gb to get the higher speeds (3000) was not expecting the 6000 though it would have been nice on the base M2 Pro.

It is not possible for M2 models to achieve the 6000MB/s speed since it requires 4 NAND configuration where the M2 board only has space for 2. So 3000MB/s is already the best the M2 can do, and if the 512GB model can reach that then you can say choosing 512GB avoids the 1500MB/s issue in the base, this was already the case with the M2 Air in fact.

 

[whodiini]

The M2 mini logic board layout is almost identical to the M1, and its NAND arrangement follows the same as the M2 Air. Since there are only 2 NAND “spaces”, and Apple refuses to use 128GB modules, so the base 256GB model can only use one NAND and thus getting only 2 PCIe lanes. We have not see actual test yet but by conjecture we can safely assume the 512GB config will use 2x256GB modules, since this 256GB module is what Apple buys bulk of. 2NANDs with 4 PCIe lanes is the highest you can get on M1/M2 boards, until you move to M1 Pro / M2 Pro boards, the teardowns show a total of 8 soldering “spaces”.

Tear downs on line show that the M2 512GB uses a single module, not 2 x 256. That makes me very suspicious of guesses that the speed doubles with a single module.

 

[Chancha]

Tear downs on line show that the M2 512GB uses a single module, not 2 x 256. That makes me very suspicious of guesses that the speed doubles with a single module.

Please link us to the M2 512GB model teardown.

(the front page M2 Pro mini teardown was mistakenly reported by macrumors, there are actually 2 NAND modules soldered on each side of the board, but the writer saw one side only having one NAND)

 

[whodiini]

Please link us to the M2 512GB model teardown.

(the front page M2 Pro mini teardown was mistakenly reported by macrumors, there are actually 2 NAND modules soldered on each side of the board, but the writer saw one side only having one NAND)

It was not a tear down, but a quote, perhaps wrong due to macrumors error. I think it is worth waiting for someone to run a test of their 512GB regular M2 and see what the speed really is. Otherwise we are all just guessing.... Even if it was 3000, you can get double the storage (1 TB @ 3000 MB/sec) for the same price as 512GB from apple by using external storage.

 

[Chancha]

It was not a tear down, but a quote, perhaps wrong due to macrumors error. I think it is worth waiting for someone to run a test of their 512GB regular M2 and see what the speed really is. Otherwise we are all just guessing....

It seems so far only the base M2 mini with 256GB has been shipped, the 512GB or higher BTOs have yet arrived to anyone thus the wait. Yes an actual teardown or at least a speedtest of the 512GB model will clear things up.

 

[Prorege1]

I received the base Mac Mini M2 with 512GB yesterday (in Denmark), so it's definitely being shipped.