Why I bought a $499 M2 Mac Mini, and you should too!
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- Опубликовано: 16 дек 2023
- I recently bought a $499 base model M2 Mac Mini. (Student Discount) I've been using it to run DaVinci Resolve and edit 4K video. Being able to Airdrop footage from my Iphone is a game changer. Compared to my 4 year old laptop, the performance is off the charts. It's an added bonus that it's also capable of live-streaming Minecraft at 60fps with no lag or dropped frames. As someone who's only every used Windows (XP, 7,8,10,11)
the OS is intuitive, and easily adjusted to. Kinda like using an Iphone in many respects. I would thoroughly recommend this for students. You can always upgrade the accessories as you have the money too, (4K display, wireless keyboard, sound system, etc) but save money in the short term. For my workload, there are no perceivable limitations, and I have enjoyed using it for about a month now.
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Looking at the viewing figures, I guess that this is your most popular video, to date. 23k+ after a month, on 16th January, 2024.
@@RWBHere That it would be....?
Loved the video, keep on creating! It’s also so nice to see open source free programmes like Krita and Davinci being used, they are changing students and generally people lives :)
They are honestly some of the best applications too, easy to learn and control.
U explained it so damn well, keep going bro. i really appreciate ur videos!
Thank You! I appreciate it!
Like the information, I get my base model Mac mini today purchased from Costco online. I did add in the 3 years of Apple expended service for about $80. I am also replacing a IMac 2011 unit so looking forward to the M2 and some modern speeds. For years my previous companies have provided my Laptops. Really my first new computer other than a few IPads. John keep up the good work; thanks!
Thanks! I hope it works well for your work load!
Hey, John. thanks for sharing your mac experience. I am a long time windows user. I'm needing to upgrade, and have been thinking of moving to mac also. I am pleased that this is good for you. Best wishes , Man.
Glad I could help! Thanks for watching!
Keep it up man! Awesome vid
Thank you!
I enjoyed this video. I can see you growing this channel and being a solid creator within a few years time. Keep it going man! Great video.
Thank you so much! That’s the goal!
I'm just waiting for my own Mac mini to arrive from Apple and love your video. I plan to use da Vinci or capcut so knowing it works fine for you is a nice peace of mind. Thank you
Thanks! I hope it works well for your workload!
I just got the mac mini a few weeks ago. My old desktop was a late 2012 iMac . It was a refurbish model I bought 3 years ago. The old computer was starting to freeze up and was very slow. I'm very impressed wit the M2 Mac mini. I upgraded the storage to 512 gigs. I love it
Nice! Congrats, I have been enjoying mine as well!
Well done. This Mac will serve you well for a long time.
Thanks! I think it will too!
I'm impressed with how much you can get with just a little money. DIY external storage is cheap as well.
I agree, it’s definitely the way to go.
Well done video! I come from a string of retina iMacs over the years and my wife was due for a new computer (stuck in High Sierra!). We ended up with her getting my iMac (M1 24) and after a good bit of contemplation I took a deal with my cc points for a M2 Mini 8GB / 512 GB (just points, no $$). I am a hobbyist of pretty high end photography and do recreational video with a GoPro and a drone. I am very satisfied with my fairly basic Mini. My main tools are DaVinci Resolve and Capture One Pro. To offset the limited drive space (I always had 1 TB for my use) I got the Satechi base hub in which I stuck a 1TB NVME drive just for photo / video use and all is good. That coupled with a back-up scheme I use since ages. I understand the needs of commercial or very high end amateur / professional users but for me my Mini as is is perfect - no NEED for higher end (and higher spend) at all. I can live with a benchmark result that is a few seconds - or maybe a minute or so - higher. I would get the 8 GB / 512GB version again in a heartbeat - highly recommended.
That’s awesome! I’ve rly enjoyed mine too 🖥️
Just a regular guy review... very helpful.
Thanks! I appreciate it!
This gives early youtube vibes and I love it
Thanks! I appreciate it!
hy keep creating video i love it
Thanks!
Just ordered the 16GB/512GB model to replace my maxed out 12 core 2010 Mac Pro. Pretty excited to see how it performs.
Those are some good upgrades! I hope it works well!
In the video you said it is like using a blown up IPhone, I was blown away! I have been a Mac user for many years, but my last macOS product got to old for the updates to the newer OS a couple years ago. I kept using it until I got my M2 IPad Pro at launch, and barely touched it since. It was a big learning curve going from MacOs to IOS as a primary system. It seems by what you say they have gotten MacOS very similar to IOS these days
There are many similar functions, shortcuts, and apps that are familiar certainly. Apple had been working on the iPad to make it a replacement for a traditional computer, they’ve been somewhat successful. Then again, a mouse, Keyboard, and a Large screen give you a lot of control fidelity and options a touchscreen just can’t.
@@SidwellAdventures yes, I agree. I use a Logitech k380 and Magic Trackpad. I also have a cable hooked to a screen. I have done this for a number of years, going back to 2015 hooking my IPhone to a screen. I have seen the development on the IOS side, but was recently clueless to the MacOs Side.
Awesome video
Thanks!
A someone who has had both mac and PC, and mostly Mac for the last decade, I kinda want to go back to being able to run most software I need or want to out there, despite these M chips performance. I know you can switch an OS with some kind of setup, but that seems so confusing. But I imagine if one was able to make this mini actually portable and usable with those new AR glasses, you could just take and access your computer as easily as your phone. Maybe that's the next step, combine the 2 products into 1 even more than ever.
Personally, I’m not a big fan of AR or VR. I understand the sentiment of having the all the programs you need, though. The Mini definitely has it’s advantages.
I would only recommend shrinking the dock to 75% that size, and placing it on the right side of screen (and / or hiding it... I keep mine visible).
I have since shrunk it a little, I like where it is for now
Finally you got one like bro! (from India)
It's a great computer!
Mac Minis are incredible value for money, as highlighted even by the RUclips Tech Mafia people. I use one given by the company I work for, it's still Intel Mac though. Having a tiny desk I've been looking to find a same-ish size mini-PC that I could stack and use to play and work in Windows but I've pretty much given up... the most powerful mini-PCs come up to cost as much as doing compact builds with non-mobile hw
I agree, they’s not much like it out there for cost and performance.
the base model Mac Mini is the best buy in the entire computer world. lots of speed for $499. I recently went to the $1199 Pro model with 16GB\512GB SSD. it's Amazing. So fast. and I love the size of the Mini
That’s awesome, the form factor is 10/10 for sure
Nice! Just got myself a brand new M1 Mac Mini with 16GB of RAM for only $450.
It's been a really nice computer to work on this past month or so. Congrats! Def a good deal.
Where did you find a brand new custumized 16gb RAM Mac Mini with M1? Those have been gone for over a year from Apple.
@@PLANETWATERMELON Good question!
Great what is your iphone model that you used its camera footage to edit ?
Iphone 13, the dream is a 15 Pro, but that's down the road a ways.
@@SidwellAdventures Thanks hope to you the best Greetings from Egypt.
Hi, good review thank you. At the start you say you bought the base 8Gb model, but at 5:11 you contradict yourself and say you have 16Gb. Was this a slip of the tongue?Please clarify how much ram you mac mini m2 is running.
Thank you.
Yes it’s 8gb ram
Get a retina display and ur set :)
4K is the next upgrade 😎
Can I play Minecraft comfortably on a Mac mini ?
Oh yeah, no doubt!
I'm like where is this in California ... no we in Detroit! :)
Michigan is underrated. 😎😤
3:29 You say that it's a base model Mac mini but you just said that you have the 16GB RAM configuration. Was this a mistake? Thanks
It’s actually 8GB yea, no problem
A base system is not 16GB but 8GB(why 8 that is so 15 years out of date on memory size) Even when M1 came out and apple said 8G was enough, why they change to now Mx with 32 and larger ram sizes. Mini have been running windows for years, but why anyone would still run windows is beyond us.(can crash any version in unde 5 min- the blue screen of death is not that, it is an error report of what went wrong). One should not buy one, as the review is Dec 2023 and the M3 are coming out in early 2024. As such wait and don't count on buy a base system at 8GB why they do that and make it non-upgradable is beyond comprehension. What are memory hogs? RUclips video. If all you use is web surfing or web based apps, still don't settle on 8GB. Also we run a 50inch screen, why run anything under 40inch is also one of life's great mystery. Free advice, don't buy a monitor, use a Smart(well not so smart) TV which fully support PC and HD and 4K resolutions and are fraction of the cost of "Monitors" one should have stopped buying monitors at least 12 years ago.
There's a lot there, and your arguments have merit. I think anyone would take free 16GB, but there's just no competition for performance at this price point, so Apple isn't incentivized to upgrade for free. M3 will be a marginal improvement, I don't know about price of course, but my student discount wouldn't have been available. (I graduated!) Also I needed the performance even to make that video. Buying a monitor, could be more affordable at UHD, but also space and ergonomics is always a factor too. This monitor (which I got for free) has USB-A ports that the combine (up to 4 devices) into one data cable to the Mac Mini. (I only use 1 USB-A port on the Mac Mini). I have 3 USB-A devices though which exceed the ports the Mini has. I also like the ergonomics of my desk better than if I had a 50" tv elsewhere in the room. (and it was free) There are better options, I agree, but not for the price Imo.
student discount are always great deals. As far as content creation, it has been very possible with Mini's 2012, 2014 and even 2009 system. i7 and i5s. Just note that i5 and i7 one would want versions that support hyperthread(not all configuration do)@@SidwellAdventures
The base model is 8GB because it's a $499 system with a fast processor. it wasn't meant to be a video editing machine. it was designed to do basics very well. Surfing, docs, media etc.
if you need more ram, it's a very simple custom order for $679. That is still a crazy good deal considering how good the M series processors are. And yes, there are M3 versions of the Mac Mini coming "soon". it might be spring, it might be WWDC in June. There is ALWAYS something new coming. Buy something and be happy with it.
There is a 2024 Model of a 2023 car coming out. Doesn't mean the 2023 is junk now.
2nd thing.
I think you are wondering why anyone would ever use anything but a TV for a monitor, and why would anyone want anything under 50"'s ...
A.) Pixel density is a thing. sometimes 88 PPI is not good enough.
B.) a TV can't calibrate to color perfection like a high end 10-bit / 12-bit monitor with 218-264 PPI, where your job is color accuracy like in Photography and Video etc, you know, the stuff that MacOS is especially good at.
C.) TV's can't sustain 1000 nits of brightness full screen and maintain color accuracy. 99% of TVs Peak at less than 1000 nits and average around ~250 nits.
I am not saying that no one should use a TV as a monitor. I agree, it can look really good if you can get a decent distance from the screen. But I am saying. there are many reasons that monitors are always better than TVs.
What is that like Dell everything except Apple ... what is that fabric covered mouse? Is that sanitary?
Yup lol. It’s textured plastic, very satisfying. I’m not gunna get a magic mouse, but I’d like to upgrade to a TouchID keyboard and Studio Display at some point for sure.
So is it a Mac Mini with 8GB RAM or 16GB RAM? At 3:33, you stated 16GB RAM. There would be a big difference in processing between 8GB vs 16GB.
Thanks for the video. Happy holidays!
Oh, I must've misspoke, both my new Mac Mini and old Laptop have 8GB of RAM. Still, it doesn't lack the performance needed for my workload.
Was going to ask the same question. Also the base 8GB/256G M2 model is $599 USD at Apple - did you get a refurbished model or was this a Black Friday deal or some other?
@@wavesequencer Gotta use their student pricing side of the website. Takes $100 off for the Mac Mini.
Ah, well - 'you should too' is not going to apply for a lot of viewers.. at least for a 499 Mac M2. If you know anybody who works at at Apple they can use the employee purchase account to get 15% off (limited number of times per year) - and if you combine that with refurb pricing and 3% cash back on Apple card, you can get a good deal. Just note that the 8GB RAM is enough for most web browsing/document editing consumers, but it's going to start doing a lot of SSD cache-ing when you hit the RAM limits with things like video or music production, and those in built non-replace-able SSDs have finite lifespans. The Mac mini is still a great budget deal regardless. The upgrade prices for RAM and HD is outrageous though :)
It can't run all my legacy 68K and PowerPC Macintosh apps, so I don't want it. Love my Ryzen 7950x 🙂
Your Passmark score of15400 versus my Passmark score of 63,000 😛
Granted, I paid about 3x-4x more than $500...
Like I said, it's all about workload, If you need the performance you gotta pay for it, I didn't and don't have the money too anyways, but that's definitely some power you got there!
@choppergirl - sounds like quite the hackintosh there (what ancient / legacy stuff are you running in Intel rosetta?)... most I ever did in that space was a an old Dell in 2005. had a refurb mac pro from 2008 - 2019, now on a slightly underpowered 2019 i5 iMac ...mostly the i5x6 cores and fusion/spinning disk suck... 48GB of RAM I mostly run underneath, but not always... 64GB would be nicer.
@@serinx Back in the 1980's I pirated an entire software store of it's entire Macintosh collection. I was 20 years ahead of everyone else.
In the 90's I jumped over to PC because I wanted to build my own tower, because of a better ethernet stack and the internet, and that you could resell white box PC's.
So yeah, all my $$$ massive trove of Macintosh software is 68K. Modern Macs apparently (from wht I've been told) can't run... Macintosh software. Fail! So why would I want a modern mac? I don't, a custom gaming PC can do it all.. better.
2 weeks ago? Today's price is $599, how'd you get it for $499?
Student discount.
@@SidwellAdventures Ah, I missed that in the info/video, perhaps add that to the title/description so folks aren't mislead. Not everyone is a student.
O6nly pain in the azz is Apple makes us use an old style keyboard or Magic keyboard to setup their macs.
I just use a Dell keyboard, the keybind shortcuts are something to get used to, but it’s nice to use a keyboard I’m used to otherwise.
I did!
Nice! I hope it works well for you!
Sorry, the lack of IO ports makes it unsuitable for me.
How many more ports, and of what types would you need?
@@SidwellAdventures Eight USB altogether, given that there is no internal second drive for Time Machine. Yes I could use a port multiplier on the Thunderbolt port, but that is another upfront expense.
Alright then, still, you’d probably be hard pressed to find 8 USB ports total on any machine
@@SidwellAdventures The Mac Studio has 8. My Linux box has 11 and room for multiple internal drives. My daughter's PC has 10 and room for multiple internal drives. Why Apple is so stingy on ports is one of life's mysteries.
lot of background noise!
Yeah the engineering center is like that, had to move to my room. I cut like %50 and rerecorded.
But have you considered getting a PC
I have a Windows Laptop already 🤔
This is really good value for $520.
I agree!@@livedreamsg
Sorry but that doesnt ring true...16 Gb of RAM on M2
costs over 1000. The 500 buck version is 8 Gb. Tell me where to buy 16 for 500 please...
Yeah, I misspoke, both my old laptop and this model have 8Gb. It’s a $200 upgrade though.
@@SidwellAdventures I'm afraid not... If Im to believe what the Apple website says, the RAM memory on these computers are part of the base plate and don't accept insertion of further memory. According to Apple, if you want 16, you need to buy 16...
Yes… It’s $200 on the website before you buy…
@@user-ym9fb6li7c One *orders* the computer for a Mac at time of purchase. In this case, at his education price, going from 8GB to 16GB would have cost him an extra $180. An M2 Mac Mini w/ 16GB RAM from the Education Store is $679.
8GB in 2024 on any computer is criminal... tablet? yes, but no desktop should leave the factory floor with 8GB today. Least memory module for any Apple machine in 2024 should be 32GB
The amount of Memory is one thing, another is how fast it is, and how fast you can process it. When it comes to that the M2 offers great performance and in this computer, a really great price. Add form factor, software, and useful features, I’ll take my Base Model Mac Mini anyday.
"but no desktop should leave the factory floor with 8GB today." - all major manufacturers start their entry level machines at 8GB. Get over yourself, you seem stuck on numbers and don't appear to actually accept the testimony of the user in the video, who is finding his new machine works for him.
At least get that to 16GB of RAM. 8GB is unuseable and external RAM will never happen
We’ll see I suppose
"8GB is unuseable " - did you watch the video? If he is editing his videos with this machine, how can you call it "unuseable"?
Sure I can use a 2gb RAM MacBook air from 2009 by running only 2 tabs of chrome but would I want to do that? 8GB of RAM while doing real work is the equivalent of that. @@TheDanEdwards
Your casual computer user won’t notice lol
Do not buy Mac Mini M2, wait for M3 version...
Debatable, but we’ll see
@SidwellAdventures if somebody want to buy Mac Mini and if they can wait half a year, then they should definitely wait. Because of better graphics cores etc.
No I should not!
But why though?
This pc is terrible value. 8 gb ram and 256 GB ssd in 2024 is a joke. And upgrading to a reasonable 16gb and 1 TB ssd costs about $400 where in the PC world that would only cost $100. Also contrary to what was said in the video, you can NEVER upgrade RAM on a mac mini.
A lot of the cost comes from the form factor, you can't put your pc in your man purse. I can. All jokes aside, the performance is great, features are excellent, and the upgrade cost is an understandable gripe but irrelevant in my case because I don't need it.
I don’t think you can build a pc of the the same value that can perform as well as the Mac mini
@@neasxo2069and uses a lot more energy lol, 15 watts vs 200 watts+.
"where in the PC world that would only cost $100. " - oh please. Go price a mini PC from Dell or HP.
No, actually, you’re a joke. If you think this “pc” (yeah, you might wanna get that right ) is a terrible deal. Those specs are just fine for 80 to 90% of the public. Like he said it’s just fine for him so quit hating and just move on.