Is the $599 M2 Mac Mini Overrated? (Honest Review)
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bro how do you only have 63 subs when your quality is so good keep up the good work
Aha I just started the channel so it’s a bit slow for now, please spread the word 🙃
Hey has 138 10 days later !
319 now I just subbed 🔥
Just subbed
Same here on the rip that he said apple doesn’t check if your a student so i bought my friend a Mac mini with $100 discount …. Just SUB’D ✅✅✅👍👍👍😇😇😇🥤
Yours, was probably the most transparent concise video I've seen so far showing the true performance of this base model!! Thank you for sharing this review.
Glad it was helpful!
Re: Coding and other suggestions
I'm an MBA M1 16GB user, and highly suggest this Mac Mini M2 since the hardware is the same. Get it in 16gb variant and you'll be floating through your development experience. I like coding at my desk, so this is great for me. Few more suggestions: Get a 4K monitor, a Keychron keyboard, Apple touchpad and a Samsung T7.
Save money on the storage and get base storage (256), but get a Samsung T7 @ 1TB to get an insanely higher storage value for a cheaper price.
Connect to an Ethernet if you can.
This is a great budget option, cheaper than most people's phone now a days. Go for it I say. Do your own research too of course.
Thank you for the suggestion! I was debating on whether to go with an 8GB+512 or 16GB+256. I do a lot of light Rstudio, python, and SQL data processing.
Finally a real life review ! THANK GOD THANK YOU
This is not the quality I expected from a small CZcamsr, keep up the good work! Subbed.
Appreciate that!
Saw your vid in my recomended. I couldn’t believe you had less then a 100 subs. Your doing great man🔥🔥🔥🔥.
Appreciate that!
This is what I needed. Number are fine but actually seeing the machine taking on real world tasks has been invaluable. Thank you, Richard.
Excellent video! I'm considering switching from Windows for my DAW system (Cubase, WaveLab and various plugins), and may consider the M2 Pro seriously. This may not be your bailiwick, but I was wondering what your thoughts are?
Quite good video quality for a small channel, Impressive. Also nice review, I'd suggest doing a day in life type of review too, currently looking for something to replace my 2011 15 inch MBP so overall nice review!
Thanks for the comment! Will consider that style of content
Thanks Richard. I liked your video, excellent!!!! I just purchased this same Mini 2 and was a little nerous if It ws enough Ram and HD...I guess I will take it through a test drive as you did....Thanks again...
droppd a sub, keep up the good quality production - audio fanatic here so good job on the audio
Thank you for your insightful review of the M2 Mac Mini. I appreciate how you focused on its real-world performance instead of just benchmark numbers, which provided a more practical perspective. Thanks for creating and sharing this informative video.
Awesome video! Subbed. One question btw, do you suggest this base model to code development? Specifically web development. My workflow includes two medium-large projects running at the same time in Webstorm, a few chrome tabs, a VPN, Notepad, etc.
Thanks for supporting! I’m not an expert when it comes to coding but I believe this base model should be more than capable for your use case. If you need more multitasking power I’d suggest upgrading to a higher ram capacity although the 8gb was surprisingly capable in my testing with handling multiple programs.
if you're using WebStorm which takes up a lot of RAM itself, get 16gb
Thanks for the review because I want to get one just for home office.
your good at reviewing bro....easy to get the point across and no bs. quick
ok you slipped the ride in there and that thing is dope
Aha thanks for the support!
Thanks for this amazing content
Dude you really have nice quality video and sound. Content is also top notch
using shortcut I have opened 150 tabs (75x2) fully loaded webpages and my ram used gone to 7.5Gig with 2Gig on swap, but was all smooth still. For just browsing internet it's fine. Not sure about longevity of the ssd with this usage
Atleast on a windows machine chrome is typically pretty resource costly. I love google but with all the background processes makes it hard to use it. Would have much rather seen the performance with a ton of those tabs open instead but overall thanks for being one of the few to actually show first hand use of the machine in a review. Others seem to only want to talk about specs.
Great vid showing a practical use of the computer 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Was about to subscribe but realized I’m already, love your quality and excited to get my new Mac as well
Aha thanks for the support!
Tested M1 Pro for half a year. Now waiting for m2 mini base) While waiting I use 2018 intel air with 5k studio display... and I can still my job, yes it's slow, but not impossible. I call it meditation, when you focus on 1-2 things instead of everything. I'm backend engineer 10y+, connected to remote hosts with big CPU RAM)))
PS. To build iOS App it took 15 mins vs m1 pro did for 1min 20sec or less. For most of users m1 even a huge step up. If your work is not related to rendering anything, then you don't need fast machines.
Bro keep on very good video
thanks for saving me money, i was waiting for a refurbished model so i can get a discount, but i didnt know anybody could use the student one lol
07:42 The last time we see "Swap Used:". At 1.21 GB. After that, it's only about CPU usage.
Thanks brother for the review, I recently offered the base model Mac Mini with the upgraded 10 gigabit ethernet port. I'm a first time viewer. Again, thanks, and God bless.
Most of those apple apps (and chrome) use WebKit which is built into the OS itself. So load will be minimal unless you play 8 or more 1080 videos in real-time.
Great video, finally one on this topic that speaks to the average user. Thanks! One question, probably dumb but I’ll ask anyway. I have a 2013 iMac that is on its last leg, is it possible to use it as a monitor for the Mac mini?
it would be hard to use an imac as a monitor as it's not meant for it. but there have been some jerry rigged ways people have made it work but it's quite complex and its not ideal.
@@ITSRICHARDLAU thanks for the speedy reply! Kind of what I figured buy thought I’d check with a pro. Thanks!
Base model of M2 Mac mini is my first ever Mac computer and it is really GOOOOD.
You know, don't judge a computer based on those big youtube reviewers because they are getting too used to flagship, expensive models that making their standards so high.
List down what you'll be using this computer for, search info about whether the computer is good or not for the SPECIFIC things you are going to use it for, and judge from there.
Thanks for the insight, there’s still a lot of controversy that ppl have against this base model m2, but it’s extremely capable for what it is
Same, I got a used M2 Mac mini with a SSD dock under it for 500cad. I like it better than my 5600x rtx2080 32gb ram PC for everyday use to get things done. It is just so easy to use and direct. My PC is more capable, but I can travel with the M2 Mac mini and get 80% of the experience.
Great video thanks for the real life demonstration. If you could only upgrade one. Would you upgrade memory to 16 Gb or storage to 512 gb?
I’d say it depends on your use case. I’d upgrade ram if your gonna be doing more intensive work like editing, music production, or multitasking. But for normal use the upgraded storage will increase the general speed of the system while also providing more space for files and programs.
It might make more sense to upgrade memory to 16GB. For additional storage, you can connect a external SSD via USB which would be way more cheaper.
@@aravinds7481 is the mac mini faster as a 512gb ssd internally or would getting the 256gb mac mini with an external drive of 1TB be faster? Apple charges $200 for the upgrade of an additional 256gb and Samsung ssd 1TB card is $80. Thanks!
Thank you Richard, for a brilliant review. Have watched a number of YT videos as about to buy a new MacMini (previous MM is 2012!) and great to see a down-to-earth no BS presentation. Seeing you run apps, opening tabs etc is exact what I was after. You dealt with the 256 issue simply and didn't over dramatise the concerns people have with the single SSD chip. Has helped me make my decision. +1 to Like
Great car BTW - I too have a BMW 🙂
Thank you! Glad I was able to help
Great video man!!! I wanted to buy this for blender basic renders ...can it handle it or should I build a PC with used 3060ti for this price
The PC GPU will be def much faster than the Mac mini, which I believe will help with blender. If you opt for a high powered CPU like a intel i9 equivalent on the PC it’ll out perform the mac mini
@@ITSRICHARDLAU Tnx for the reply but the i9 13900k only costs probably around mac mini......Let me rephrase my question. Will a system with i5 12400 and 3060ti(i.e used) be better than mac mini base variant in rendering 3D models???
@@pranavchandrashekar6266 in CPU performance the i5 will be slightly slower but the GPU will be a slight jump from m2 mac mini. I’d say if ur gonna spend around $600 ish I’d go with Mac mini just cuz the system is more optimized and more snappy all around
@@ITSRICHARDLAU Tnx man ill consider it
Great review! Was hoping for a good real world review and got it. I was getting pretty confused with the hi tech guys slamming it a just a boat anchor. It apparently is not. I have been running a M2 8 gig 128 iPad Pro for the last year and a half and have been thoroughly pleased with it in every way. I have peripherals for it when using it with a Dell 4K UBC monitor.
I wanted to enter the Apple desktop environment and I think the base Mini would be a good start now. Thank you!
Thanks for the real world tests. Also review is very professional
Thank you very much!
is this good to buy if I want to Stream on youtube weekly?
I’ve have been trying to decide whether to buy a Mac or a windows pc/desktop for a while now and your video has helped me decide what I’m going with. Thank you!
Glad I was able to help, apple does have a 2 week return policy so if you go with the mac and try it out but decide it’s not for you, there’s always the option to go back
you went with windows obviously
To answer the question: No. (NB: In the UK at least Apple does check if you are a student). Even as a lifelong Apple skeptic I can't deny that it is an amazing product, and in the UK it is a whopping (cf US price) 649 GBP base.
Very helpful review! The only downside is that I wanna buy it now 😅. What about the fan, do you hear it at all or does it stay perfectly quiet?
it’s completely quiet, it’s also fanless
Great Review Man!! Top Notch!!! 🔥
Appreciate it!
Great explanation video this
Really liked your video and the editing. And only at the end I noticed you have only a hundred subscriber.
Keep it up, it’ll grow fast I’m sure ;)
Thank you!
If in a home theater set up I wanted to stream Netflix, send the video to my Oled TV and sent 5.1 surround sound to an 8 channel USB DAC, would the Apple store have a desktop app that enables that? I can currently do that in Windows because there is a desktop app for Netflix that enables me to send 5.1 audio to JRiver to do audio processing (Bass mgt, PEQ, Dirac Room correction) and send the audio out via USB to an OCTO Dac 8 Pro, so I can do surround sound without an AV receiver. I would probably buy an M2 if I could do the same thing, but I hear that Apple has no desktop apps for these streaming services.
You can try the Apple Audio MIDI Application which allows for speaker configs and 5.1 surround, although I personally never tried it myself. Alternatively if you opt for an older gen intel based Mac mini like a 2018 you can run windows natively using boot camp. Unfortunately there’s no true windows support for Apple silicone currently.
Thank you for real time test bro.
No problem 👍
What's interesting about this performance and price point is that it *could* be thought of as Apple's "first" attempt at a gaming system (they actually tried to develop a system in the 80s/90s). Apple Arcade isn't really talked about much, but it exists. Having a device with this capability with a solid game publishing ecosystem makes an interesting offering.
Thanks man, useful and humble video without unnecessary bs
Appreciate it!
Thanks. Very helpful video.
Glad it was helpful!
I planed to get it as home computer , will use for VMware and studying. Though of going with base model with 16GB RAM
That would be a solid setup
@@ITSRICHARDLAU your video is simple and easy for anyone to understand
Great video. I would go with 16GB RAM at the MININIUM as you can't upgrade the RAM on M series chips. Would be a big jump for me as I still use a 27" retina Intel iMac 48GB RAM which still runs great. But I would never use Chrome !
Why wouldn’t you use Chrome?
@@Kitakueigo extreme memory hogger
Does it make any fan noise ?? I mean I want to record audio w it and use the mic in the same desk
It runs dead silent even when on load
Can i use free premier pro . For mac like windows. ? Please do reoly. Would really appretiated.
Not sure about the silicone chips but back then on intel based macs there were a few cracks that worked
thanks.. do you recommend to buy base model to learn After Effect? I am beginner.. thanks.. I will appreciate your help
it’s a good starter but for video editing i’d recommend upgrading the specs rather than just the base model esp the ram
@@ITSRICHARDLAU thanks for your help.. I will upgrade to 16.. thansk
Great Video !
Great review!
Thank you!
Great video!
You’ll 100% going to hit your CZcams goals. I hope you blow up soon
Appreciate the support!
Thanks for the useful video
Glad I was able to help!
This is exactly what I need. My M1 Air has 1 TB and 16 RAM - I just need something simple to plug my webcam into. Great video, thanks
I ordered online using the student discount, technically I’m enrolled, lol. Picked it up in person today from the Apple store. The place was insanely crowded, I can’t imagine how much they must sell. I’m getting ready to open it now, thanks again for your example
I'm still using my 2013 'Trashcan' Mac Pro and want to replace it with an M2 Mac Mini, which I'm sure will be better in every way, but am waiting for time M3's to be announced!
Do you think it's wise to wait? I don't want to get a M2 only for it to be superceded shortly after.
Also, whilst I'm not doing video or audio or coding, I do do high-end Photoshop (often working with very large and complex PS files), so would a Mac Mini be good for this, or should I be looking at 'Pro' or even Studio?
Thanks in advance!
The mac mini m2 is very capable for photoshop workloads, I’d recommend upgrading the Ram. Apple does have a new mac announcement coming soon potential m3 end of the month, I’d suggest waiting to see if the m3 is a better buy and could even cost the same as the current m2.
@@ITSRICHARDLAU Yes, I'd go for 16Bg RAM minimum. Will wait to see what's happening with the M£'s although from everything I've seen, the M3 Mac Minis won't be part of the announcement tomorrow and they'll come later in 2024... :(
Excellent review man. Think you’ve just sold it to me! Btw it’s £530 education price or £580 on Amazon in the uk atm
Hope you enjoy it!
Did you have any problems with "call failed" when you click a number to dial out on your Iphone? Ive had two different mini's, two different phones, two different Networks, two different Apple Id's and Three different displays (apple grasping at straws). been through weeks of troubleshooting with Apple Care, They cant fix it.
personally haven’t had an issue with it, i’d make sure all the devices are up to date and on the same apple ID so the system doesn’t get confused. it sounds like it’s more of a software issue than hardware maybe something to do with wifi calling settings not exactly sure
@@ITSRICHARDLAU Way Way Way past all of that. i sent the first mini back, waited 6 weeks, got another..same issue.
Could you do some light GoPro editing briefly?
Yes it will have no issues editing gopro footage
For music production, so I get the M2 Mac Mini + 24GB RAM and 256gb storage
Or
Mac Mini + 16GB RAM + 500GB storage?
Goal: music production
I bought this for beginner video editing so hopefully it'll be fine. I still ended up spending $900 between the monitor, mouse, keyboard and the system. I have a feeling I should have just spent a few hundred dollars more on an iMac.
You probably already know this but great work on the vid. Earned a sub. Keep it up.
I appreciate it!
Do you think that it's okay for me to upgrade from Mac mini 2018 i3 8gb ram 128gb space to this 599$ Mac mini?
it would be noticeably quicker in CPU & GPU intensive task, the ram/ssd is pretty up to par if you opt for the base model.
I keep seeing “AK” in the transcript . What is AK?
Apple chips cou and GPU are lagging Intel nvidia and and.
But their media engine chips are great for photo video and audio and they take the load off the cou and GPU and allow for low power and heat.
Great video
First, big love cant wait for you take off big time
much love!
ARM is insane. Thanks!
I personally think that 8gb ram and 256gb storage are unacceptable for a base model computer these days, especially when the ram is unified. This is doubly so when you cannot upgrade them at all after purchasing the system.
Apple charge another $300 just for 16GB. But AMD chip have catch up.
@@Cordycep1 Apple charges 300 USD for 16gb?
That memory sells for just 27 dollars at Amazon.
27 compared to 300 !
Can I game with it tho?
Needs 16 gb and 512gb standard since you can never ever upgrade them.
At $999 you might as well get the mini pro model.
Very slow SSD, when it finally goes after being a secretary disk for ram so long.
Your Mac is bricked and can never use external ssds when the internal one goes.
Amazon has it for 499 and I was curious
Hopefully I provided a clear overview of its capabilities!
Your video made me seriously consider this base model for GoPro simple edits.
Like the grounded approach this video took. Specs hardly ever tell the whole story.
Plesse reply sir
M2 mac mini 16/512
M2 mac mini 24/256
Which should i buy
Sry for the late response, I’d opt for the 24/256 just because the ram isn’t upgradable, ssd isn’t upgradable internally too you can always connect an external drive unlike with ram
Bro is testing with blank browser tabs and default apps and he is amazed! wow!
Had my 16/256 MM M2 and the Logic board failed after 4 weeks. Not impressed.
Are you serious I have 1 mm m2 8 gigs and what you said is freaking me out and I have no AppleCare what do I do
I just wanna know what I need to do
wdym failed you? did it just randomly stop working? would you not be able to get it repaired for free then?
Apple should have limited 1 year warranty that come with all products for any mechanical failures or any issues that aren’t caused by user. It’s tech at end of the day and sometimes things are just faulty by chance - although unlikely with Apple
Just goes to show how differently windows and Mac OS use ram, 8GB on the base mini is more than enough for thew vast majority of people but I wouldn't dare get a windows pc without 16gb of ram
Totally agree with you, 8gb on a pc is practically unusable
@@ITSRICHARDLAU I just got the base model M2 and it feels as fast and responsive as my custom PC with 32GB of ram, I have yet to hit the ram cap no matter what I do. An absolute steal for the price
@@ITSRICHARDLAU No reason to run 8gb on a pc, because memory on Windows PCs is *dirt* *cheap* . As it should be.
The M2 pro is remarkable and makes me never want to use Intel again for anything. Intel machines always have lag, hangups, or throttling. I get none of that on the M2 pro.
If you buy a modern desktop PC with AMD Ryzen processor, there is no lag or hangups. Super-fast, affordable, and easily upgraded too. That's a Windows PC.
You need to have 219 subscribers x 1 million subs man. New sub here. More to come with your high quality work.
Appreciate that! More to come soon
Good video but the M2 Mac Mini only supports: "One display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one display with up to 5K resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt or 4K resolution at 60Hz over HDMI" so I am skeptical about your 8k test being very smooth ... ;-)
The 8k playback was being displayed on a 4k monitor so it prolly compressed, making it easier to run
@@ITSRICHARDLAU at only 60 Hz
@@STF_YVR I was running 4k 144hz via DisplayPort, but I also played back via CZcams 8k so it’s compressed further. A native 8k video playblack which I tested off camera from QuickTime was smooth too at times but sometimes choppy
@@ITSRICHARDLAU the M2 Mac Mini does not do 4k at 144 Hz
It worked for me tho, didn’t have any issues connecting it to my monitor and setting the refresh rate to 144hz. Although on paper it says it doesn’t support
Here before 1M subs 🔥💯😎🙏
great video
Thanks Brodie!
Ah I just figured it out. You’re saying “8K” and the transcript types “AK.”
I got a used M2 Mac mini with a SSD dock under it for 500cad. I like it better than my 5600x rtx2080 32gb ram PC for everyday use to get things done. It is just so easy to use and direct. My PC is more capable, but I can travel with the M2 Mac mini and get 80% of the experience.
That’s great to hear! I even gave up on my custom build pc (i9 12th gen, rtx 3090, 128gb ddr4) to switch to mac. More optimized with video editing
@@ITSRICHARDLAU the m3 and new pc chips are giving us hope. Maybe we can see some very powerful and affordable mini workhouse computers in the near future.
How do you travel with M2 Mac mini? You still need a bulky screen and bulky keyboard.
8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD belong to the phone, not the computer 😅
FIRST IMPRESSION:NICE AUDIO
Aha thank you
nice review- comment for the Algo
Thank you!
BLAST TABS
U need more subscribers
Appreciate that
After 9 Months, 806 Subscribers included Me. maybe I can get this M2 for luckiest give away who knows. 😅
Bro your time has come.
Whatchu mean by that?
8 GB is low. You are opening a bunch of app that is lite weight
who care's about 8K for a youtuber? is not a hollywood movie! Even 1080p is ok for youtubers.
8k is def overkill for online media, but I do commercial work where it comes in handy with cropping flexibility
@@ITSRICHARDLAU make sense if you do commercial work. I'm thinking buy the base model for screenflow, vscode and affinity photo, terminal, sketch and that is, I think is enough for me.
You're so cute
No one wants it .. too expensive once u add more ram. That is why their Mac sale drops 30 percent
I’d agree that each add on is overpriced, a great alternative would be a m1 Mac mini with higher spec used. The difference in performance between the m1 and m2 chips are minimal
Yes base should have drives at least as fast as regular NVMe. And base should be at least 1TB. Ram ought to be about half the price as DDR5 in a user upgradeable computer. So base should be 16GB, with lower priced upgrade paths.
Apple seems to have purposely kneecapped m2, then oversold it’s advantages over m1. It’s a clear case of trying to fill a market segment but failing miserably and loosing market share.
An/d what is it with failing to provide enough ports to add enough external devices to make the base model remotely useable for creative tasks, rather than simply just checking email, and use as a bizarrely expensive web tv device.
Have had my mac mini m2 since April...honest review - it's an utter piece of garbage. A sub $100 raspberry pi is more useful
Wow that’s mad u need more subs bro we going to support you 🫶🏿🇿🇦🇩🇪