Which is a better alternative: mini M2 24GB/1TB or M2 Pro 16GB/512GB??

[Juicy Box]

M2 Pro MM runs a lot hotter than the M1. The fans are still low, and I can't hear them over the ambient noise, but temp are higher and the physical case is hotter as well.

While playing WoW, the M1 GPU stays in around the 60C, but the M2 Pro was getting close to 150C. This is with the fans at idle on both Macs.

A guess a downside is that I also tripled the temps.

Sorry all, I screwed up when reporting temps.

I couldn't believe how high the temps were reaching in the M2 Pro MM, especially with the fan staying at idle. It is because the temps on the M2 Pro MM's iStat Menu app was in Fahrenheit. I guess it is the now the default in iStat Menu. Either that, or I changed the settings on the M1 MM's iStat Menu to Celsius at some point and forgot that I changed it.

The actual differences in temps are not as big, but still a difference. The M2 Pro is a little bit hotter. I will do an actual comparison and report.

 

[Cham2000]

The Studio Display has 3 USB-C ports. It has no outgoing Thunderbolt ports. Just FYI.

Oh, yes, this is right. Thanks.

 

[foo2]

Yup, even better than a triple gain.

It’s about triple the available power, for a gain of double the previous benchmark M1 mini.

I think the M2 GPU cores have better scaling than the M1, boosting the performance a little more.

That’s the 20% uptick I added.

WoW is probably well optimized for AS compared to most big games. They were an early Metal adopter, and had the first AAA game that had native AS support.

So far, I am very impressed with the difference between the 12c M2 Pro and the 8c M1.

4 performance cores vs. 8 performance cores. I’d expect double the speed, plus that 10-20% uptick in going from M1 to M2.

Yeah, 16GB is good for WoW on both the M2 Pro and M1. Although, just from the POV of the OP wanting to keep this Mac for 10 years, 16GB might be good for now, but maybe not in a few years. Mix that with the fact that the OP stated that they like to multi-task, considering more RAM might be a smart move.

…or just save a few $ from avoiding Apple’s costs for upgrades, and sell the machine in 5 years rather than 10, and have a much more pleasant and usable computer lifespan.

As for disk speed. I have the 1TB SSD on the M2 Pro MM, and the 1TB SSD on the M1 MM, and for the WoW load speed, it is noticeably quicker on the new M2 Pro MM.

The funny thing is, I didn't even notice how much quicker my M2 Pro MM was loading WoW until I was going back and forth between the M1 and M2 Pro MMs. I haven't timed it yet, but it seems like the M2 Pro is about twice as fast, which kind of makes sense.

That said, the M1 MM isn't exactly slow to load.

I’d like to better understand this. Would you be willing to time it, doing exactly the same thing, after confirming via iStats Menu that there is no disk activity ongoing on either first?

 

[Juicy Box]

As for disk speed. I have the 1TB SSD on the M2 Pro MM, and the 1TB SSD on the M1 MM, and for the WoW load speed, it is noticeably quicker on the new M2 Pro MM.

I’d like to better understand this. Would you be willing to time it, doing exactly the same thing, after confirming via iStats Menu that there is no disk activity ongoing on either first?

I checked iStat, and no other reads or writes.

By load time, I am counting the time from the instant that I hit "Enter World" button on the character select screen, to the instant (or as fast as I could press "Stop" on my iPhone's stopwatch) that I see my character and the world loaded on the screen.

With everything else being as equal as I could get it, here are the results, in seconds, of three tests for each MM:

M1 MM 1TB:
10.32
10.07
10.52

M2 Pro MM 1TB:
8.50
8.85
8.71

Roughly about a two second difference, or about 20-25% slower load time for the M1 MM.

I am not sure if it is impacting it, but it is worth noting that I have 80% of the storage free on the 1TB M2 Pro MM, and only 35% of the storage free on the 1TB M1 MM. The SSD on the M1 MM is also two years old, not sure if that is a factor.

 

[Chancha]

Re the above posters discussing loading speed:

The M2/M1 minis share almost the same logic board layout with only 2 NAND "slots", wheres the M2 Pro mini board has 8 of these. So with the same 1TB capacity, both the M1/M2 minis can only ever get 3000MB/s or so while the M2 Pro gets 6000MB/s up due to at least 4 NAND slots are being utilized.

While the difference may not be apparently noticeable in day to day task, game loading is one of those that do see a difference I suppose. And % free should make no difference in reading speed when we are talking about loading not saving data.

 

[StoneJack]

M2 mini, straightforward choice
In everyday usage people mostly use with 1 monitor,
SSD speed difference is not obvious
Games are not important on mac anyway,
If you don't do video editing, mini is a
Much better value. You still get a very fast and capable M2 chip and GPU.

 

[saudor]

Do you really have to play games on a mac? If you can find alternatives here, then your choice gets a bit easier.

 

[Ploki]

I'm still struggling in choosing the right mini for me: mini M2 24GB/1TB (choice 1) or mini M2 Pro 16GB/512GB (choice 2) ?? The price is about the same for both. But then, choice 1 have much more memory than choice 2 (8GB more), and two times the SSD. Choice 2 have a much better GPU (CPU is about the same, the difference is negligible in real world), and two more Thunderbolt ports (but then the Studio display gives three TB, so the two extra ports of choice 2 isn't a good argument). So which choice is better for the following typical work? Currently, I'm thinking about selecting choice 1, but I feel insecure !

I'm keeping lots of apps running at the same time, even if several aren't doing anything (for example: VLC Player keeping a 4k movie in standby). I typically keep open dozens of web pages in my internet navigators (several YouTube videos, for example), and play music in the background. I do LaTeX compilations in the background, while using Mathematica to do calculations in the foreground, draw figures and diagrams with a vector drawing app, viewing lots of pictures and photos with Preview (or another app), editing photos with Pixelmator Pro.

I rarely edit videos. I don't do 3D rendering (or very rarely!). I would like to play some modern 3D games, hence a better GPU is preferable (hence choice 2). But considering all the open apps and previous workload, a lot of memory should be preferable over a better GPU (hence choice 1). So is 16GB enough on the M2 Pro? What choice should be a better alternative, while the price of both choices is about the same?

M2 vs M2 Pro difference is not negligible.
8-core M2 is 4 efficiency 4 performance cores.
10-core M2 has 4 efficiency and 6 performance cores.
12-core m2 has 4 efficiency and 8 performance cores.

In 4/4 config efficiency cores make up for around 65% of the performance.

The difference is so big that even M1 Pro is faster than M2 in real world - noticably.
GPU is also noticably better.

 

[michelg1970]

Dear @Cham2000,

While I was contemplating whether I needed a (Mac mini M2) MM2 at all and if so, which version, I was reading into similar questions on this forum and also found your many considerations.

I pulled the trigger and ordered the MM2 Pro with 16 GB and 1 TB. I am not a heavy user but I wanted the storage and for my needs (I don't do particular video editing, only on occasions) the M2 Pro with the extra cores and the better GPU is generally overkill. Did I ever worry about RAM? Yes, 8 GB is not enough for me, I think... And I have extra ports (which are all presently occupied in my case).

I tried to open 25 google chrome browser tabs with content and my memory pressure was still in the green while also a TV window was playing, Apple Music was playing music, all office applications were open, OneDrive was syncing two accounts from scratch and Photos was importing its database, I was trying to do some editing on Pixelmator Pro and Plex Server on the MM2 was transcoding a 4k HEVC movie to my Apple TV @ 1080p. I have seen no beach balls whatsoever.

Could I press the system? Probably, but not with my normal needs. Will I ever do it? Nope, before that time I will probably have changed it to the MM4 Pro....

I noted you asked similar questions and similarly remarked on answers in your last +/- 100 posts, which is your fullest right. I love the experience I have right now with two screens on USB C, SPDIF via USB C, extra Hard disk for backup, and two charing USB cables.

Instead of moving in circles asking (the same) questions, I suggest you make a choice of your (now) preferred option and just see if it works. It most probably will, whatever your choice. And if not, then return it! The MM2 (Pro) is a pleasure to work with so dive in and enjoy. I don't think it will disappoint you in any way, based on your usual workload. The longer you wait and keeping asking similar questions, the more you miss out on ;-)

Wishing you a happy MM2!

Michel

 

[Cham2000]

Dear @Cham2000,
...
Wishing you a happy MM2!

Michel

Thanks Michel for your advice. I take note of it. I'm not in an hurry at all, I have plenty of time before ordering my mini, since my current - old - computer is still working admirably. As for all my previous computer purchases, I take time to read the experience of other users. I'll buy the mini very soon (during the next few weeks), after my guts tell which choice is the best compromise (very probably the choice 1: non-Pro 24GB/1TB).