For perspective I have the M2 Mac Mini at the moment. I bought it earlier in the year. When the M3 Mac Pro comes out, would it possibly be worth it to sell my current Mac Mini and buy the M3 Mac Pro?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Will it be worth it to upgrade to the M3 Mac Pro when it comes out?
- Thread starter CarnelianClout
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
1) Did you mean an M3 Mac Pro or a Mac Mini M3 Pro? These names are just to similar.
2) What is the issue you have with you current M2 Mac mini that makes you want to replace it?
Unless there is some reason like you need more displays, I strongly suspect the answer is NO.
2) What is the issue you have with you current M2 Mac mini that makes you want to replace it?
Unless there is some reason like you need more displays, I strongly suspect the answer is NO.
I doubt it , from looking online YouTube etc it’s a c 15-30% increase in speed , doubt most people would be able to actually recognise that in real world usage
For portable devices maybe as it seems to be even more power efficient than the m2 .. battery Life etc
For portable devices maybe as it seems to be even more power efficient than the m2 .. battery Life etc
Mac Mini M3 Pro. I have no current issue with my Mac Mini as it is, though I am curious how the M3 Pro will compare to the M2 Pro.
Since we can only speculate on the specifications there is no way to tell. Only you can decide whether it would make a difference once we have the details.
+ 15% to 25% performance, perhaps 2 more cores.
Same 200GB/s memory bandwidth
Same options for SSD and RAM
Same price
Same design (obviously)
I don't think it's worth upgrading from a M2 pro to the M3 pro. That said, I bought the M2 mini pro yesterday.
Coming from a plain M1 macbook air the difference in performance is noticeable. Both machines have 16/512 configs.
But the M2 pro has 200GB/s memory bandwidth where the M1 MBA has only 100GB/s.
Things like compressing files is much faster and it feels even faster in general compared to the M1.
So if you got the plain M2 and jump to the M3 pro it will be quite an upgrade.
@vagos
I have the M2 Pro with 16GB Ram and the 512GB SSD. Everything else on it is standard. I spent roughly $1400 on it and bought it in person at an Apple Store. I think if I buy the M3 Pro version, I could sell my the M2 Pro version like-new for $1000 and sell it with the original packaging, which I still have.
I have the M2 Pro with 16GB Ram and the 512GB SSD. Everything else on it is standard. I spent roughly $1400 on it and bought it in person at an Apple Store. I think if I buy the M3 Pro version, I could sell my the M2 Pro version like-new for $1000 and sell it with the original packaging, which I still have.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
OP, the best way to rationalize new is:
Be seduced by M3 for "want" reasons and M4s will then be seducing just as hard 6-18 months later... and M5 after that. In broad generalities, one can ride any new Mac for about 5-7 years without bumping into much conflict with the above 6 bullets. So currently-selling Macs should be good for at least about 4-6 more years vs. that list.
If a new Mac of interest is one of the ones most rumored to have M3, it's probably worth waiting upwards of 8 or so weeks to see what M3 brings unless it's a bullet-driven true "need" reason and then you should get what you need.
And in the interest/worry of M3 Mini Pro vs. the M2 Mini Pro you have now, there are NO guarantees a M3 Mini Pro is coming this Fall. So consider the very real scenario of you selling now, taking the $400 loss, then Fall passes with no M3 Mini Pro and then you are facing buying M2 Mini Pro again... or trying to make do with some backup option until next spring when rumors of more Macs coming will slowly heat up.
In my own experience, the Fall BEFORE Mac Studio was released, rumors were very hot & heavy that a Mac Mini with PRO & MAX options was going to launch with those MBpros. I was ready to embrace Silicon with that Mac Mini Max. But in spite of enormous rumors that seemed towards practically certain including many mockups of new designs, etc (very much unlike now for this Fall), there was no Mac Mini at all in that launch.
Flash forward to Spring and again, rumors for the SAME Mac Mini with PRO & MAX options was again hot & heavy. And again, I was ready to buy Mac Mini MAX in that launch. AND AGAIN, there was no Mac Mini launched at all. Instead, Apple released a much more expensive "fat" Mini called Mac Studio.
There is some speculation that a new Mac Mini will launch in October but not nearly as much rumor as those back then. Thus, if me, I would not have high expectations of a M3 Mini in October unless the rumors about it explode in the next few weeks. And even then- based on that direct experience- I would still be skeptical... practically in a "I'll believe it when I see it" mindset because those past rumors seeming so certain actually never yielded the coveted Mac Mini MAX they made many of us expect it... TWICE.
If you are happy with the Mac you have, enjoy it. It is likely to serve you well without hitches for at least about 5 more years... and maybe 7 or so. Else, the chase to have "latest & greatest" will simply drain the wallet for modestly faster benefits that you may or may not really notice in daily use.
If the real problem is a fat wallet is weighing you down and you need relief, PM me and I'll send you an address to where you can dump that dirty, smelly, burden of spare cash without having to deal with the hassle of selling the current one, etc.
- a dead/dying old Mac. If you have/had a dying/dead Mini, time to buy a new one.
- a Mac that can't keep up with something you want it to handle. When your demands of it > what it can do, it's time for a new one able to meet your wants or, ideally, EXCEED them so you have room to run into the future.
- a Mac can NOT run something you really need it to run... but the new one can. Basically, this is new Mac addressing actual or planned obsolescence.
- Security updates are ceasing and you need them.
- You work in a collaborative environment and the team has newer Macs such that common collaboration software files will not open/edit properly on your older one. To keep up with the team, you need a newer one.
- Someone else will pay for it so you can upgrade for "free" (measured by your own finances).
Be seduced by M3 for "want" reasons and M4s will then be seducing just as hard 6-18 months later... and M5 after that. In broad generalities, one can ride any new Mac for about 5-7 years without bumping into much conflict with the above 6 bullets. So currently-selling Macs should be good for at least about 4-6 more years vs. that list.
If a new Mac of interest is one of the ones most rumored to have M3, it's probably worth waiting upwards of 8 or so weeks to see what M3 brings unless it's a bullet-driven true "need" reason and then you should get what you need.
And in the interest/worry of M3 Mini Pro vs. the M2 Mini Pro you have now, there are NO guarantees a M3 Mini Pro is coming this Fall. So consider the very real scenario of you selling now, taking the $400 loss, then Fall passes with no M3 Mini Pro and then you are facing buying M2 Mini Pro again... or trying to make do with some backup option until next spring when rumors of more Macs coming will slowly heat up.
In my own experience, the Fall BEFORE Mac Studio was released, rumors were very hot & heavy that a Mac Mini with PRO & MAX options was going to launch with those MBpros. I was ready to embrace Silicon with that Mac Mini Max. But in spite of enormous rumors that seemed towards practically certain including many mockups of new designs, etc (very much unlike now for this Fall), there was no Mac Mini at all in that launch.
Flash forward to Spring and again, rumors for the SAME Mac Mini with PRO & MAX options was again hot & heavy. And again, I was ready to buy Mac Mini MAX in that launch. AND AGAIN, there was no Mac Mini launched at all. Instead, Apple released a much more expensive "fat" Mini called Mac Studio.
There is some speculation that a new Mac Mini will launch in October but not nearly as much rumor as those back then. Thus, if me, I would not have high expectations of a M3 Mini in October unless the rumors about it explode in the next few weeks. And even then- based on that direct experience- I would still be skeptical... practically in a "I'll believe it when I see it" mindset because those past rumors seeming so certain actually never yielded the coveted Mac Mini MAX they made many of us expect it... TWICE.
If you are happy with the Mac you have, enjoy it. It is likely to serve you well without hitches for at least about 5 more years... and maybe 7 or so. Else, the chase to have "latest & greatest" will simply drain the wallet for modestly faster benefits that you may or may not really notice in daily use.
If the real problem is a fat wallet is weighing you down and you need relief, PM me and I'll send you an address to where you can dump that dirty, smelly, burden of spare cash without having to deal with the hassle of selling the current one, etc.
Last edited:
Yes indeed you could. However imho it would be better saving that 400$ for buying the M4 pro or M5 pro when the time comes since your mac is already quite fast. Having said that you are the ultimate judge. If you need the extra horsepower go for it
No way anyone with a lower end device like M2 Mini or M2 MBA should need to quickly upgrade to M3 Mini or M3 MBA since M2 already has WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, and the base M2 chip is hella strong. The only reason to upgrade would be to improve something like RAM if one has previously bought a lower RAM M2 box than one would like.
The M2 Mac Mini is IMO the best value Mac.
Last edited:
Generally speaking these days each generation is not going to be a compelling upgrade.
m1 owners are not expected to be buying m2 products etc in terms of need the extra performanc.
m2 and even m3 systems will be more getting last of Intel owners over to ASi from Apples perspective and many users will find that even at M4 or even M5 then no real NEED to upgrade.
m2 to m3 pro yes a difference however would be
1.) you underspecced with an M2
2.) needs have changed for what need to do and need more umph then the base m2 soc provides
m1 owners are not expected to be buying m2 products etc in terms of need the extra performanc.
m2 and even m3 systems will be more getting last of Intel owners over to ASi from Apples perspective and many users will find that even at M4 or even M5 then no real NEED to upgrade.
m2 to m3 pro yes a difference however would be
1.) you underspecced with an M2
2.) needs have changed for what need to do and need more umph then the base m2 soc provides
I believe OP means to be discussing Mac Minis only, and that Mac Pro was a typo, actually instead intended to reference the pro level of the M2 chip, not the top end Mac Pro computer..
I’ve just ordered an M2 pro 16gb ram with 1 TB SSD, which hopefully will be here in about a weeks time. Maybe two, my 2017 iMac which was maxed out has bit the dust. The power board is going and it keeps switching itself off and you can’t turn it on unless you the power off at the mains and on again, also it wasn’t going to get Sonoma, but I was hoping it was going to last another year for security updates, I can’t justify the Mac studio monitor for my work flow needs, so for now I’ve gone for a Dell Ultrafine 27” IPs black monitor Rev A03 built in may this year which has a hub built into it, I’ll miss the screen from the iMac I'm sure though.
I managed to get a Apple silicon keyboard and new Apple mouse from Amazon on sale and even the monitor was on sale. I got the M2 pro for some extra grunt as this computer will last hopefully 5+ years. At the end of the day I needed one now, so no point in waiting and as soon as you buy the thing its pretty much out of date anyway, but as long as it can do what you want to it to do and is supported, that’s good enough and I’m sure it’ll blow my old iMac out the water even that machine still seems fast to me.
I managed to get a Apple silicon keyboard and new Apple mouse from Amazon on sale and even the monitor was on sale. I got the M2 pro for some extra grunt as this computer will last hopefully 5+ years. At the end of the day I needed one now, so no point in waiting and as soon as you buy the thing its pretty much out of date anyway, but as long as it can do what you want to it to do and is supported, that’s good enough and I’m sure it’ll blow my old iMac out the water even that machine still seems fast to me.
Last edited: