M2 Pro Mac mini or Mac Studio - pick the RIGHT one!

[@MarkEllisReviews]

So... which one are you going for, and why?

[@acklandb]

It's an agonising choice lol! The power available on both is mind blowing but I have some concerns. I work in audio production so I need something extremely quiet or preferably silent. On paper this should be the Mac studio with it's advanced cooling system, however many users have reported an irritating high pitched whine sound on the Mac studio. Apparently it's not all models but I don't want to risk it! On the other hand the M2 mac minis are said to run extremely hot under load (above 100 degrees Celsius). If it wasn't for the reports of the noise problem I would get the studio, at this stage I'm undecided but may wait til they release the M2 mac studio and see if the noise issues are resolved. Many thanks for your videos!

[@RegiiPad]

$2k Mac Studio to avoid thermal throttle from Macmini and be able to run a few virtual machines at the same time.. waiting for the M2 Mac Studio with hopefully the fix for the fan noise

[@jaredi2183]

Picked up studio today at Costco for 1699. No brainer for me since I was getting m2 pro with 512 and 32 gb and wanted 10 gig ether. Rather have better cooling and more gpu

[@davidcook1057]

These videos are so helpful, thank you. Leaning towards the MM Pro - 32g / 1 TB - the similar performance to the studio with the added Wi-Fi / HDMI upgrades - puts it ahead for me. But…what if I wait for the M2 Max Studio -price will be similar to what I paid for M2 Pro MM. Then what about the M3, which is right around the corner? Ugh. This is a predicament. I have an i7 MM that I had to restart 2-3 times last night doing some music work - with 20 Safari tabs opened, it was glitching a bit. Any Apple chip will be a massive improvement.

[@KurisuTheElder]

Probably the M2 Mac Mini. Had the M1 Studio for a few days but the whistling was unbearable, so I had to send it back. It was the high pitched whine that seems to stem from literal whistling through the air intake holes. It was so irritatiting, I could not unhear it from a few feet distance.

[@AlexanderFox]

Currently I’m using a Studio Ultra. Not cheap but so far as a pro photographer and reluctant pro videographer I still can’t make it blink. The difference between the Studio and new Mini Pro is not what it can do under normal pressure but what it can do when pushing them hard. The studio has much more in reserve both in memory speeds and importantly cooling. For most photographers and videographers I’m sure the Mini would be fine. If on occasions it’s throttled by heat or buffers then so be it. Not a real issue. However the Studio may be slightly slower in benchmarks but will coast through heavy workloads without any of the problems the Mini might have. The extra memory makes a massive difference and also helps enable working from external SSD as it allows more to be held in RAM and alleviates many of the bottlenecks. Both are superb machines. I suppose it’s like having a nice family car or a more expensive executive one. Most of the time for the daily run both are just as useful but on those few occasions having that little bit of extra grunt and comfort can be nice.

[@888noreddin]

I have $2000. Is it recommended to take the highest-spec Mac Mini or go to Mac Studio? what do you think ?

[@AlexanderFox]

@@888noreddin Looking at the real world comparisons between a similar spec M2 Mini Pro and Studio Max there is nothing much to choose between them. Ports wise the Studio is better and don't under estimate how useful this is. The M2 chip isn't the great leap forward it could have been. It is a slight incremental upgrade in speed but for nearly everything the cores are what matter. I would in all honesty look on the Apple refurb store for a Studio Max and use the savings to buy a good external 2TB SSD.

[@harrisfogel6992]

@@888noreddin Depends on your use. Do you have a good external monitor? I really don't think that processor speed is all that important, especially if you don't have enough RAM. I used the M1 MacBook Air for a project, a base model with 8gbs of RAM, and I can tell you that it wasn't enough for Lightroom Classic. Just not enough memory. So, using the Costco 90 day return, I returned it for the 14-inch with 16gbs of RAM, and the difference was huge. I don't chalk it up to the faster processor, but to the RAM. So, possibly a M2 Mac Mini upgraded to 16gbs of RAM, would be a solid choice. But, if you upgrade the drive to 512 or 1TB, suddenly you are like $500 short of the Studio. Me, I'm waiting for the Studio to have an M2 chipset. Then I'll make my choice.

[@888noreddin]

@@harrisfogel6992 Thank you dear for your wonderful reply. I benefited from your experience. All greetings to you

[@wackyp]

capture one performance on this bad boy is no better than any other base model mac. Lightroom however is crazy fast and worth getting the ultra.

[@sharonb.9128]

Great video. The “future proof” philosophy is pretty useless in the real world. The 3G was TOP of the line, highly sought after. One year later the 3GS turned into the budget phone. Same with my iPad Air. When released we were told it was more powerful than the 11” iPad Pro, the Air was THE tablet to buy. 6 months later it’s at the bottom of the pile with even the base model having newer features. I find if I buy what I need right now, if I don’t spec it out for potential years of use, I don’t feel bad if 2-3 years later I dump a perfectly serviceable device for the inevitably more powerful, faster, feature rich, newer device.

[@enigmawstudios4130]

"Future proof" means three solid months of top quality lol

[@drvoodoo3073]

Not everyone is as privileged as you to be able to afford a new machine every 2-3 years

[@jamesgrantham1743]

Future proofing doesn’t mean upgrading to every new it of tech but something that will last for a good few years to come and run programs for years trouble free

[@sharonb.9128]

@@drvoodoo3073 you noticed I said IF. Sometimes, it’s too tempting to upgrade. It doesn’t happen most of the time.

[@drvoodoo3073]

@@sharonb.9128 Not everyone is as privileged as you to even have the “if” option

[@madness8556]

I'm looking at a Mac Mini M2 Pro with 1GB SSD for music production using Logic Pro, Protools and a stack load of third party plug ins. Will this be a worthy upgrade from my fully maxed out 2012 27 imac i7 with 500gb SSD and 32gb ram?

[@TheMoodChasingPhotographer]

New to the Mac crew! I went for the mac studio, really I bought it for my own sanity because I have had a few computers that take a lifetime to edit and always always, as soon as I add transitions into my Premier pro project the windows computer always started screaming and it really effected my work flow. I literally bought the mac studio this week and I was worried that it was a bit overkill but tbh it's such a joy. Unreal amount of tabs and things open and it breezes through everything I do. The first pc I've owned that hasn't slowed me down, crashed, or become very glitchy and unworkable as soon as I ask it to do the good stuff in premier pro 😆

[@tubular2times]

Congrats! And welcome to the Mac world!

[@shaunpugh3287]

I had this exact dilemma. I ended up just getting a studio from the refurb store. A base spec studio, is around £400 cheaper than the 12 core Mini with 32GB RAM and don't forget to factor in the £100 for 10GigE. I found one with 2TB SSD, and the price was good. And it was available next day, which you can't always say about new machines when you start changing the spec.

[@sly2792004]

Few stores have studio for $1700 so it’s even closer to the base mini pro $1300.

[@harrisfogel6992]

Costco has been selling the base Mac Studio for around $1,500 at times, so by the time you spec a M2 Mac mini with 16gb RAM and 512 SSD, you aren't that far off, even with an education discount. If only Apple didn't hose their customers for small memory upgrades.

[@kentowne2462]

Thanks for another down-to-earth video! I was going to go with the M2 Pro, but found the base model M1 Mac Studio Max on sale for $1699 and couldn't pass up that value. Should be getting delivery tomorrow! Thanks again for your insightful commentary!

[@yatanphoto]

Great insights from you Mark! I'm a M1 16/512 Mac Mini user, eagerly waiting for your comparison of the new M2 16/512 vs your current M1. What drives me to consider upgrade to the M2 Pro Mac Mini is the number of T4 / USB-C ports at the back of the machine and the ability to spec it up to 32GB of RAM. Cheers from Malaysia!

[@Rose-may26]

Mac studio to replace my old Mac Pro 2013 desktop

[@MarbsMusic]

I agree. I have a base Studio and I love it but it's somewhat overkill, at least for what I'm doing now. If this had been the same choice last year, I would have gotten the base Mini M2 Pro mini but at this point I suspect I'll be very happy with my Studio for years to come! Looking forward to more reviews!

[@Wedgetail96]

Another major difference not referenced here is the cooling capacity of the two systems and the effect that has on performance. A large portion of the size of the Mac Studio is due to the cooling apparatus. This is obviously less capable in the mini.

[@ExpatBriton]

Why no mention of GPU performance? Your base M2 Pro Mac Mini has a 16 Core GPU while the base Mac Studio has a 24 Core GPU. surely for photo and video editing, file conversion etc. that has an effect? We know the CPU performance is better, sure, but real world there must be applications where the trade off between CPU and GPU makes sense going from one to the other?

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Negligible for most people. As noted in the video, common sense prevails - if you start pushing into Max Studio with your budget, buy a Mac Studio.

[@drvoodoo3073]

If you work in video, high end graphics, Photoshop... those are instances where GPU is going to matter. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter much. For example, I’m a musician so GPU power and extra ports for SD card, blah blah blah matters little.

[@DamienWilde]

Forgot to mention yesterday that I used this video Mark when buying Studio over Mini back in Feb!

[@VectorGaming4080]

It’s a little strange you didn’t mention the Studio’s real advantage: the GPU. I have an M1 Max Studio with the 32 core GPU option and it absolutely leaves the maxed out M2 Pro Mini in the dust for GPU workloads and games.

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Which is why I say common sense prevails when you start heading into Max Studio pricing territory. Also, I note the GPU as being one of the biggest differences during the spec comparison section!

[@VectorGaming4080]

@@MarkEllisReviews You're right, I just wanted you to dive more into it. It was a good video!

[@riparianstudios]

Honestly--with the pace of improvement happening in computing I'm not sure I see the point in investing in the highest end machines when they're going to be totally out of date in a couple years anyway. My strategy of has been to buy a medium grade machine, resell it before the AppleCare runs out at a not terrible amount of depreciation, and turn around and upgrade to a machine that often outspecs something I would've spent three to five times as much on 2 years previous.

[@theshortlist]

The Mac Studio headphone jack is also a pro audio jack. This means it supports high impedance headphones as the mac mini M2 !

[@AndrewCassidy-vv5by]

Hey Mark, Nice work and I am really keen to see your Mac Mini M2 Pro review as a music production platform, any idea when that will be available?

[@ZoranvonderHeide]

Xcode programming: Mac mini M2 Pro (12C CPU) > Mac Studio (10C CPU), photo editing with Lightroom / Photoshop: Mac mini M2 Pro (12C CPU) > Mac Studio (10C CPU), video editing FCP: Mac Studio (10C CPU / 24C GPU) > Mac mini M2 Pro (12C CPU / 19C GPU), 3D rendering with Blender: Mac mini M2 Pro (12C CPU) > Mac Studio (10C CPU), music production with Logic Pro: Mac Studio (10C CPU) > Mac mini M2 Pro (12C CPU), both models with 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD and 10 GbE (comparison by Max Tech)

[@DCuerpoJr]

I’m waiting for when the Mac Studio is updated with the M2 Max and M2 Ultra SOCs. The benchmarks for the M2 Max on the MacBook Pro 16” lead me to believe that the SOC will perform better on the Mac Studio because of the larger thermal management. The addition of HDMI 2.1 and WiFi 6E are all worthwhile upgrades instead of buying the current Studio with the M1Max/Ultra SOCs.

[@therealprofessorp6237]

Great video but with only one correction. The Mac Studio does indeed support high-impedance headphones. Search for "Use high-impedance headphones with your Mac" support article that says Compatible Mac computers These Mac computers support high-impedance headphones with the built-in headphone jack: MacBook Air introduced in 2022 MacBook Pro introduced in 2021 or later Mac mini introduced in 2023 Mac Studio introduced in 2022 Published Date: January 24, 2023

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Interesting! Thanks for the clarification - Apple doesn't make that clear!

[@bmmello]

@@MarkEllisReviews I do own a Mac Studio and can confirm this.

[@jcravath]

I produce music and make animations on after effects - which one should I get ? thanks anybody for reccomendations? beefed up m2 mini or base model studio?

[@vincewatson_official]

Double the ram bandwidth and an almost silent machine under serious load wins to for the studio...even before it gets to m2max

[@Makebelieve123]

I still use my 2018 intel mac mini which I love ! Has 32g but only 256ssd. I want to get the M2 12 core but I do want 32gb. That puts me in base level studio territory. I also do music production and been overly patient for a new Mac so I can do a fresh install with all new software. So I’m on the fence. Ram bandwidth is better in the max version, but not sure that’s enough to swing my decision

[@randallbrander8157]

I am debating on getting a M2 Mac Mini Pro because I hope that there is an Apple Silicon IMac in the wings or M2 Max Mac Studio. I have the 2018 Mac Mini I5 8400 6 core processor with 64gb of DDR4 2666mhz Ram Memory and the 256gb SSD which is still good because I use an external 4tb HDD. Cheers!

[@SecretMan299]

ill be using it for photoshop, i process photos 16 bit D850 file... which would you recomment,.. i don't do video... thanks

[@i_am_jafo]

If i am going to make a purchase, it would have to be the Mac Studio. I have to 4k a displays and a monitor. I want the extra display support and Ram for working on large images.

[@peterbreis5407]

Pass! Where are the real updates, the M3 Macs, especially the M3 iMac? Apple is one of those wanky restaurants that when you ask for what YOU want, they tell you "That's off" and whatever they deign to give you, the veg and bread is a very expensive extra, and you have to order it ahead or never, despite you don't know if you need them.

[@nucentury08]

Just Picked up The M2 Pro MacMini 💨 Upgraded from my 2020 M1 which read my large recording studio like butter I run a full private studio Apollo X6 Heritage edition Thunderbolt, three audio interface with 6 SHARC DSP chips for UAD unison processing even though universal audio. Just announce their plug-ins will run natively without the hardware 😏 but I’ve been running Logic Pro as my main DAW Akai MPC 2.3 Software with my MPC Live 2 & MPC Key61 also OZONE isotope and Native instruments Maschine Software I.E Komplete Kontrol and Kontakt just to name a few Now I had a Choice lastnight to Spend 2K$ on the Mac Studio M1 Ultra or M2 Pro Mini I went with the Mini as it Beat out the M1 Ultra in many test and came Seconds Behind in other test! I’m not editing Videos I record and Mix” But I still have a 16 Core GPU with the M2 Pro if I want to Edit 4K 8K Also 4 TB 4 Ports and HDMI 2.1 2 USB A ports 10Gigabit ethernet port, that I will never use but nice to have those speeds” I also Have the new TB4 SATECHI Stand&Hub with SSD enclosure assist enclosure give me Sd and mini sd up front and and 4 Extra USB A 3.0 ports and 1 USB C port Im still installing all my software on it Apple nailed it with the M2Pro 😎

[@Mr.Monta77]

I’m personally disappointed with the Mini M2. I’ll be keeping my M1 Mini until the actually performance is significant.

[@HalAndroideNoveMil]

Hi from Spain... I will not buy either of the two models for two reasons: the first reason is that it is a piece of equipment that I cannot update in the medium and long term. There is nothing more demeaning for a consumer than being forced to buy computer equipment to which a scheduled expiration policy will be applied, including software updates that in a few years will help make the macmini or mac Studio obsolete. The second reason is the price, taking into account the aforementioned. I have finally bought a windows workstation and I am impressed with its performance. What's more, I have assembled it myself and it has been infinitely cheaper than mac studio. Greetings and I apologize for not knowing how to write the language of the empire correctly ;)

[@juddrizzo]

I can’t wait to try Reaper on an M3 Mac mini w 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB HD. (In gonna try it on my early 2009 iMac first.)

[@dld5420041]

I was going to get the m2 pro mini until I checked Apple's refurb section and with a military discount, got the base Mac studio for $ 1619

[@Joel-mr6iy]

I would get a MacBook Air M3 this year but I don’t have my own home. I really want this… but 😢 my dream won’t come true to have my own place

[@rpratt3746]

photoshop pro here, I've go an m2 pro mini on order. 32 gig of ram. 1 tb of storage.. replacing a 2013 i9 mac with 16 gigs ram and a 4 tb hard drive.

[@brothermunkdrums]

My situation was base m2 pro mini or base M1 Max studio. The studio was $7 more. So went with the studio

[@xhy20x]

I got tha Max Studio M1Max base unit. It's a better choice for me because the standard memory is 32gb

[@vewilli]

I’ve already been going for the top specs Mac Mini Pro 1TB SSD and 32 GB RAM and use it mainly for music production with Logic. Thanx for comparing!

[@ZekeMagnar]

Have you tried to see how many loaded (i.e. with plugins) channels you can get before it slows down? I picked up the same one but was considering going with the Studio to get more ram, but don't know if it's needed or not.

[@TheTrippleTKA]

7:22 -- what if I just want to create 3D design and render and not watch my mini turn into a heli? I can just hear the fan going off as soon as I take my projects a bit higher

[@greccoox]

The Mac thing is not confuse, what is confuse is that we have to study the models to don't make it confuse, then is confuse.

[@grizzlypaws461]

If you’re having this debate just wait until the Mac Studio is refreshed with the M2 chip and get that.

[@stephenvalente3296]

I suspect it may well be M3 silicon by the time Apple get a new Studio to market.

[@RollGlide]

That's many people's thought, including me. But at the moment, there's 0 rumors about the next gen Studio yet. Many reviewers claim Apple won't update until 2024. It's kind of make sense. But tortures me a lot...

[@chrismv102]

Refurb Mac Studio for $1799 from Apple...good enough reason?

[@VinceBaileydns-direct]

mac mini pro m2 jut beef up ram and disk as i am using logic pro x with lots of audio and midi interfaces hardware.😂

[@rondeangelis7384]

Ok so mac mini pro configured to get what the base mac studio has is about $2k. So do i pick the mac studio?

[@davidwalls2304]

Mark, I'm really looking forward to your upcoming M2 Mac mini Pro (base spec) and would like to see it compared to your Mac Studio if you can. I'm torn between a slightly specced up M2 Mac mini vs M1 Max Mac Studio now (i.e. pre March) or hold off until March for a "potential" Apple March event surprise. Thanks again.

[@RollGlide]

Me too! And I'd be really disappointed if Apple only get to update Studio with an M3 in 2024...

[@iforgot3942]

I'll wait until later this year when M2 Mac Studio comes out. It'll be the best Mac in the whole wide world. Nothing will compare to it. Until next year when Apple will release the M3 and it's gong to be better than anything before it. And then the year after M4 and it'll be mind blowing fast. And then after that M5 will be out. My 2020 27" iMac works great for everything & my iPhone. I'm swithing to Chromebook.

[@ThatGuyyyyy]

I was actually hoping that Mac Mini M2 Pro version would cost around $1099 to replace my Mac Mini M1. Maybe it will be after a little while. I want power but don’t wanna break my bank. I think Mac Studio is awesome but really only make sense for pros into video editing and stuff.

[@The_Temple]

I’ve been using a 16 GB, 1 TB drive M1 Mac Mini since 2020 for relatively modest video editing & running virtual machines - it suits my needs fairly well, but do run up against the RAM limits sometimes and depending on use, could even tax the CPU So, started thinking of upgrade - either a M2 Pro Mini or M1 Max Studio would be excellent for me, especially with 32 GB RAM & the extra CPU cores …. Which brings the price quite comparable Have made my choice - selling the Mini & buying the Studio & it should fit my use case spectacularly well

[@stevenjoseph9979]

Did you bump up the SSD to 1TB or stuck with the 512?

[@The_Temple]

@@stevenjoseph9979 went with the 512GB internal - and later added a 2 TB external nvme drive

[@jimsonica]

I'm just about to buy one of these and have decided on the Mac studio. I will be using it for music production mostly. The reason for my decision is that I'm interested in 32GB RAM to make it future-proof. Plus the studio, apart from the extra ports, has better cooling, faster RAM, and from what I've read faster SSD R/W speed (512GB SSD)). I'd be interested in reading replies in case my reasoning is wrong. Thanks for your review!

[@stephenvalente3296]

I still think the Mac Mini M2 Pro is the performance carrot to temp would be Mac Studio buyers at base level to get that cash now at the potential expense of buyers remorse in a few months time when the new Studio Max appears, whether it's fitted with M2 or M3 silicon inside. It's win-win for Apple as they can an influx of cash now for the Mini M2 Pro, and when the next Studio comes out, some people will buy that too and either sell on the Mini M2 Pro or keep it as a secondary production machine, backup, etc.

[@ElSignificado.]

Now i have a mac mini m1, ocassionaly it is slow, very difficult but it could be. With this mac studio m1 max anda mac mini m2 pro i know something... IN M3 PRO OR M4 PRO MAC MINI WILL BE THE PERFECT MOMENT TO PERFECT MACHINE. THANKS KRACK

[@marcospastrana1]

You showed the result for the 12 core M2 Pro, not the base 10 core model

[@gatorcellman]

Plus you have to add the 10gb Ethernet to the mini

[@robertschneider2189]

Studio, I am an editor, I need a monster. Time is money in my business

[@michael_dugan]

If you’re undecided between these machines I would wait a couple months just to see if Apple drops the M2 in a new Mac Studio

[@robertreeder2471]

That’s why I am holding it for now.

[@Bo_Hazem]

That's the right choice.

[@Bo_Hazem]

@TunesDoneByOne If it's June then that's good news. Not buying one until at least September.

[@adityaveerparmar6244]

I think we might just directly get a M3 mac studio which would be a monster

[@Bo_Hazem]

@@adityaveerparmar6244 Even better! But would they make M3 Max and Ultra before basic M3 being out for a while? Could be.

[@vivekjadhav2210]

Wich is best for music composing orchestral

[@Krell666]

The question is, when will Apple update the Studio to M2... or M3...

[@matthewTobrien]

Excellent break down! I went with the M2 Pro Mac mini to replace my 2013 Mac Pro in my dedicated livestreaming setup. I didn’t realize the Mac mini has the high impedance headphone jack. 🤘The M2 Pro Mac mini also has HDMI 2.1 and Bluetooth 5.3 if that helps anyone’s decision. Mine (customized) arrives on February 3rd!

[@HasanNiz]

I ordered the base M2 Pro Mac Mini with 1TB SSD, seems like the best value for money for me right now, and planning to get an M3 or even M4 Mac Studio when it comes out.

[@AlbertPalmer]

Surprised you don’t talk about cooling. Surely that’s the biggest difference? Isn’t half the Studio cooling? If you’re running processes that take hours like rendering then there’s only one choice.

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Cooling is totally irrelevant for most uses of Apple silicon. Super intense workflows - maybe, but even then it’s a moot point.

[@ByronAgain]

I have NO idea. Apple is baffling.

[@SamtronCZ]

wonder why no reviewer talk about that annoying noise Mac Studio makes.... had to return two of them and went for completely silent M2Pro Mini

[@warrenwald1]

That’s good to know thanks

[@drvoodoo3073]

@@warrenwald1 Yeah the fan noise issue is a thing which is why I’m steering clear of the Mac Studios.

[@RollGlide]

That's exactly the reason why I cancelled my Studio order last month.

[@RollGlide]

@@drvoodoo3073 I suspect the culprit is the opening array on the enclosure. I saw people cover part of it using tape and the problem was gone.

[@drvoodoo3073]

@@RollGlide No one paying that amount of money for the Mac Studio should have to resort to ghetto tactics like placing tape on the machine

[@TheEmrickman]

So look for a Studio on sale for the win?

[@xplanet2112]

M1 Mac Studio is now £1499…

[@ajmm8]

I bought the base version. Not a pro, but do occasionally go the extra yard with videos and Ps. PS: I'd like to see the non American reviewers compete with the more nasal friends from across the water, but this video didn't say anything they haven't already. Now, I'm not suggesting this for my own good, but I am contemplating which is better to have, a TV or a monitor, when using my M2 Pro Mac mini. There's no f’ing doubt I am NOT the only one, and there may be even a million others having the same internal conversation. So why not? It's gotta be worth adding an extra 30-60 seconds with suggested monitor or TV deals you've found, doesn't it? Just food for thought, is all. Cheers.

[@morristaub3194]

I can't decide right now. Waiting till March. Maybe a spec bump a year later for the mac studio? But then gonna have to pay attention to price. Still. Really like the front ports on mac studio. Comes with fast ethernet. I'm wanting 32gb of ram. 1tb storage. The mac studio seems made for me. But, still gonna wait till March. Short ps. Here in France the mini pro with 32gb, 1tb storage and 10 gigabit ethernet is less than two hundred euros cheaper than a mac studio with same specs.

[@yomango35]

I am thinking about the same thing.... What should we do ? hard choice . I heard the mac Studio will not be update it for a least another year .

[@TechPhotoGames]

I plan to wait until the M2 Studio - best of all worlds.

[@muskatkeks]

I wait for the M2 Mac Studio

[@rasserfrasser]

Mark, the reason why I'm leaning towards the Studio vs. the Mac Mini Pro is rather simple...fans. There is no testing in any of these videos for heat over time. It's not possible, but we all no that heat degrades performance (and resale value). So even if the Mini has better wifi and a few other things. I'm leaning towards a 30-core GPU (mind your 24-core specs btw) over the 16-19 with fans versus the more compact "Swiss Army Knife" build of the Mac Mini Pro...but it's a tight race. It's amazing that Apple can pack that much of a punch in a little box, but should they?

[@MarkEllisReviews]

I’m not sure how you’d ever test that, mate. And I’m happy to say that your overthinking this. These machines get mildly warm, at best. You’re not going to have a problem.

[@rasserfrasser]

@@MarkEllisReviews You're absolutely right. You can't test longevity. Thank you for the swift reply and added confirmation about heating conditions. I just watched "the BEST desktop Mac" - right where I'm at. Your videos are spot on. Kudos to you. Keep up the good work and solid perspective.

[@johnnewell5025]

The choice is so dependent on an individual's requirements preferences. I just replaced my late 2012 quad core Mini and looked at the M2, M2 Pro and (for less than one second, if you round up) the Studio. It took very little time for me to conclude that the best choice for me was the base M2 Pro, based on my experiences with machines that have less than 16GB of RAM or less than 512GB of fixed storage. Throw in the extra I/O and it was an easy choice, though YMMV.

[@MarkEllisReviews]

As I say - common sense always prevails.

[@Hawtload]

if you're a photographer who hates waiting on import/export/render times in Lightroom, the 20 core Studio Ultra is what you want For those specific things, it's all about how many cores you've got

[@ThePaintedLadyLLC]

OK but what about the upgrade on the mac mini pro m2? I think it is upgradable to 19 core. Would that be enough? (I also hate waiting on import/export/render times)

[@p6x2]

You need to factor in the Mac Mini lack of ports in the front, which implies you are going to require a hub to replicate the ports. Most of the hubs proposed today are about 100 quids to add on top of the M2 Mini Pro. Putting it even closer to the Studio. Given that we can expect an M2 Studio in the future, I would be tempted to purchase a Studio M1 at a discount on the second hand market.

[@Brani1974]

but with the hub you'd get extra ssd and many more ports so...

[@RSV9]

"... if you need a powerful system with a lot of ram, ssd storage and powerful graphics" ... then go for a Windows 11 and then you can later modify it and increase the configuration to your liking

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Yeah. But... Windows.

[@RSV9]

@@MarkEllisReviews Yes, I know... but it works well too. It's more about the programs or the apps and not so much about the operating system. I have an Apple TV and a Sony Android TV and, for example, the Amazon Prime and KZbin apps are better on the Sony or the Fire TV Stick than on the Apple TV. 🤷‍♂️

[@user-nr7zq5in4j]

Good video Mark. A few corrections however. The Mac Studio with the M1 max has a memory band with a 400 GB per second but the M1 Ultra has 800 GB per second. I also think that you miss spoke when you said that the M1 max had six thunderbolt ports, and I think you meant to say M1 ultra. Apple’s naming conventions have not made these videos easy! Although people are drawing conclusions, that one should just wait for the next studio I am doubtful that they will keep the price the same. How could they offer an M2 max (the one with 30 GPU cores), 32 GB of unified memory, 512 GB of storage at $1999. That would completely negate speccing up the Mac mini with the M2 pro. And Apple is unlikely to change the pricing on the Mac mini as it is already out. For me, there are too many limitations on the Mac Studio currently to make it truly superior to the M2 pro Mac mini (like the HDMI, Wifi, BT, refinements to the M2 chips). I just wish that the Mac mini had beefier cooling!

[@MarkEllisReviews]

Thanks! The 400GB/s memory bandwidth is the one I was referring to because this video is comparing the mini against the Max chip, rather than the Ultra ;)

[@ianhailey]

My guess is a 15% price increase for the next base studio to $2299.

[@TheTrippleTKA]

Yes, indeed have watched a lot of video but this has been the easiest and best one to understand. I wish I had found this soon. But one thing this video has done is confirm my belief. Although I don't have a pressure of "every seconds count" - I'd like to have a machine with the higher GPU on the baseline and not watch it struggle. I can see why Photoshop, Blenders and video editng, even as a hobbiest would be a better experience on M1 Max Studio. Agree?

[@rob_to]

Hi and thxs for the video, I would ask to u or anyone had try this configuration if can help me to figure out what is the best solution for me. I work as a photographer and retoucher no video or 3d and now I have a win pc not so powerful but with 32gb ram, I was looking for the new m2 mac min and wondering if the m2 base with 24gb ram would be great for this job or I need the pro version maybe even with 32gb ram. I have to handle deep retouching from 40/50mp camera THXS!!

[@johnwade7430]

For orchestral templates, the studio seems the way to go as it has more unified memory. The more RAM, the more instruments you can run …

[@coldacre]

you can upgrade the M2 Pro Mini to 32gb and it still comes in $100 cheaper than the Studio. faster CPU (M2 chip) and a better refresh rate HDMI port (2.1 on the Mini, 2.0 on the Studio). for $100 less that’s amazing value

[@niklaskenez2673]

No doubt I will choose the one with the highest internal bus speed - Studio in this case - and that's because I'm working with music production. Moving 100 to 200 tracks/stems of data between the SSD (seems that this bus has a higher performance as well) and RAM to the CPU, or GPU (if the plugin supports that), to be manipulated by one or more plugins in real-time in the CPU/GPU, and in sync (one of the reason why mainly on core takes the majority of the load - at least on a PC with Cubase 12 Pro), do requires an high-way that really can transport data with a high capacity. In today's modern music and production it is common that you have more than 100 tracks, and for film scoring you're above 200 tracks. I will likely soon switch over to MAC, but I would prefer to move over to Linux, and it's completely insane that the majority of the music production is done on MAC instead of Linux which would be a lot cheaper and more efficient since you can tweak a Linux core to fit a DAW to the maximum. MAC is actually running on a Linux core as well as Android etc, but then there's a lot of other crap running in parallel. With a pure Linux core you will get a blasting machine for the about 5th of the price of a Mac Studio with the same specs.

[@peterlewon7956]

Nice presentation! Been thinking about replacing my 2014 Mac mini that I use for music production due to the fact that I can no longer upgrade the OS, and Apple will only be offering security patches for a year or so. (THANKS Apple!) For you stateside residents, Costco is selling the base M1 Mac Studio for an unprecedented $1499.99,.......seriously! I think I may have to put one in the cart before they're gone. I like the extra inputs and the price is tough to beat.

[@ZoranvonderHeide]

The M2 Pro 512GB SSD (2x 256GB NAND-chips) is slower than the M1 Pro version (4x 128GB NAND-chips): MacBook Pro M1 Pro 512 GB SSD: 3950 MB/s (write) und 4900 MB/s (read), MacBook Pro M2 Pro 512 GB SSD: : 3154 MB/s (write) und 2973 MB/s (read). For faster SSD performance the 1TB SSD is recommended. The Mac Studio has a 10 GbE port. Mac Mini M2 Pro/32GB/1TB/12C CPU/19C GPU/10GbE: 2699 EUR (Apple online store) Mac Studio M1 Max/32GB/1TB/10C CPU/24C GPU/10GbE: 2279 EUR (Cyberport)

[@markgriskey]

im going for the mini

[@brentsmithline3423]

So pick the one you want either from the normal's consumer Apple Mac mini part of the gris in the consumer/desktop box, or the Mac Studio in the professional/desktop part of the grid. The Apple Mac mini M2 Pro fills a hole between the base Apple Mac mini M2 and the Mac Studio M1 Pro.

[@laserjakk3629]

High Impedance, but they don't provide the number. In terms of impedance everything above 100 is considered High, but most of the professional Open Headphones, for example: Sennheiser HD 650 asks for 300 ohms. Do you know how many ohms it can support?

[@ryanreyes5440]

As a 2020 M1 8gb mac mini user I recently upgraded to Mac studio and not the m2 pro because after adding 32gb of ram on the m2 pro it was only $200 less than the mac studio ($1799 thru edu). I rather have the sd card/2 extra ports and 10gbe vs the HDMI 2.1

[@raythomas4812]

Great Video Mark - Thanks. I've seen loads of reviews and I still can't decide. I want to replace my Current I Mac .that is IMac 27Inch Late 2013, 3.5 GHZ Quad core Intel i7 , 32GB GB 1600 DDR3 Memory ,Nvidia Geforce GTX7800 4 GB Graphics. But I want a SDRam reader, so would need Studio, if I want one built in. I like all the inputs - will be nice not to need a UBS Splitter box.

[@rickkarrer8370]

I just bought the Mac Studio, and don't regret it regarding the new Mac mini. I need more ports and the better GPU, as I have several drives and lots of data between graphic design, video editing, and a software archive for it vintage computers up until now. Really what I need is a new Mac Pro, as this replaced my 2010, but the Mac Pro 2019 is just too overpriced, never came down, and never revised for me to be able to get a used one at a good price. And now that Apple silicon is out, an Intel Mac Pro makes absolutely no sense. While I'm more than happy with the performance of this one, plugging a million things into it is already driving me crazy. What I would've loved to see reals this month would have been the M2 version of this Mac Studio, but Apple seems to have a very weird timeline with their chip releases. I guess it's not so easy to produce your own chips lol. Once they update the Studio to the M1 generation, there shouldn't be any question about which device people need, it should be pretty self-explanatory.

[@AndrewCassidy-vv5by]

Hey Mark, Any update on the time frame for your music production video review with the Mac Mini M2 Pro? Really interested to see this.

[@tomburton8239]

Well…. a few hours ago after watching loads of vids, I ordered a specced-out M2 Pro MacMini 32GB/2TB, and I even went mad and included the 12/19/16 cores (shucks, why not?). Why did I do this, when it’s about the same as the base spec MacStudio and they’re about the same price? Weirdly, I work in a small study, and the MacStudio is BIG/gross. Oh, and as an afterthought I also just ordered a little base plate to give me a few USB/card ports etc. on the front (so now it’s a bit closer to the Mac Studio in size)…. BTW, I’m doing this to replace a specced-out 2014 Mac. That was good for 8 years - but won’t take Ventura (but is still pretty fast). I wish I could have 64GB on the new MacMini…

[@Madginger2112]

Got the choice between m2pro32ram vs m1max refurbished will run parallel and CAD software…. What are your thoughts on this?

[@vineetchawla74]

In my opinion 16GB RAM is going to last you a hear or two maximum. So, if you have peripherals already M2 Pro base version is the best buy for PRO users. If no peripherals and little more budget, get the 14 inch M1 Pro Macbook Pro on sale at costco or bestbuy, amazon etc. if would like to keep the same computer for 3-4 years, get the M1 Max Mac studio again from COSTCO on sale and new. If the processor requirement is not that high then get M2 Mac Mini with 24GB RAM and 512 GB hard drive.

[@tq64to4]

If the Mac mini had a sd card slot.. it would be a no brainer. I kinda wanna hold out for a M2 ultra base studio 🤷‍♂️

[@BarKeegan]

I’ve really been going round in circles trying to decide what my next computer will be (although having used the same iMac for a decade, any upgrade will probably do). I’ve even gone back to considering PC builds, although they’ve always superficially seemed a bit fragile to me. So, any advice for someone who wants a ready to go computer that will last the next 10 years? I’ve a background in design, animation, and do some 3D modelling

[@glennmckenzie1096]

Running a single geekbench or similar test seems to be a bit misleading? Surely the bigger (better?) thermal system on board the Studio will give higher performance over a longer period by not needing to thermal throttle to the same degree as the Mini Pro - resulting in a more productive experience over the duration of a project?

[@ChrisPTY507]

I bought the base Mac Studio and only upgraded the storage to 1TB, the rest of the specs are just as the base model. I got it on march last year and I honestly don’t have despide to upgrade anytime soon. Mac studio is a beast and I can use it for minimum 5 to even 8 years before I might consider upgrading. And even I can re sell it for a pretty good buck

[@etdbsub0]

How does the boosted performance of the Studio vs the mini translate to real world efficiency? I mean, how much more money does a more powerful computer allow you to earn? Honest question.

[@karayuschij]

We have reached such a level of power with "basic" machines that 99.99% of us don't even need all that power... Everything else is just marketing.

[@willierevilla4217]

I got the M2 Pro 10 Core CPU 16 GPU/ 32 Gb ram / 1 TB SSD. This should be good for my photo and video editing and also for the occasional game. Cheers!

[@idmenzies]

Great down to Earth video. For me, the only thing that benchmarks highlight is the amount of redundancy built into these machines. Apple are great at building hardware but even better at marketing....base model M2 Pro for me.

[@tbimac]

To be honest I am not convinced by the Mac mini - even in the M2 setup. The Mac Studio might have some expected weakness (WiFi6, M1 only,...) but for a similar price I'd rather to go for the Mac Studio that will provide better performances and benchmark results thanks to its 32 cores GPU engine for instance. Moreover, the 32Gb can be extended to 64Gb on the Studio whereas the mini is limited to 32Gb. I have come to the conclusion that the best option would be waiting additional six months or so to get an updated Mac Studio with the M2 chipsets (with expected higher prices).

[@RunForPeace-hk1cu]

If you are after compute / NE obvious M2Pro is gonna beat m1pro/max Gpu and media engine … not so much

[@Bo_Hazem]

I need to deal with Sony's 4K@120fps 4:2:2 10bit 280Mbps (real time with audio) H.265 for wildlife filmmaking and sports. So far I don't think there are any that could play that. Tried base M1 and it shifts to slowmotion mode automatically as it struggles with the frame buffer. Hoping Mac Studio M2 Max is coming soon.