M2 Pro Mac mini TEARDOWN review!

[@chumbawumba1959]

Speaking from 30+ years of experience, I can tell you that the NUMBER ONE RULE IN MANUFACTURING IS THAT 'VARIATION KILLS QUALITY'. Hence, its a GOOD THING that the case for the Mini has not changed in 10+ years. Also, using the same materials for multiple platforms (aka: products) saves money due to economies of scale. Yeah, its kind of boring, but lets just roll with it :)

[@timbeaton5045]

"If it ain't broke, why fix it?" as they say, apparently! Seriously, it's become a design classic, and what about it needs redesigning? It is easily adequate enough for the current chipset, so until the chips require more cooling that could be practicably done in the current case, i doubt it will change. Would be nice for a Space Grey, or Midnight version, though.

[@IAMLXGEND]

Let’s not and say we did. 10+ years is a little ridiculous. Imagine iPhones still looking like iPhone 3G in 2023.

[@kellyjohnson6292]

@@IAMLXGEND well yeah but now iPhones cost well over $1,000 up from $500.

[@cjc363636]

And it keeps the server farm mini buyers happy, too.

[@clebbington]

@@cjc363636 true! I wonder how many of the world's Mac minis are currently rack mounted

[@sleepingcomp]

YOU Have no idea how much I love tech and you’re the person that I enjoy one of the most and I have to say thank you for posting videos like this and I love your background

[@SDOfficer]

Thank you, Luke! I'm looking forward to more coverage on the M2 Pro and M2 Max devices! I really appreciate you opening up the devices and revealing (and explaining) what we're paying for!

[@BoredGeese]

I like that Luke starts to talk a lot quicker compared to the older videos. The confidence is now naturally high!

[@jameslenney]

I love that you’re still doing this. Thanks for showing us how it all works.

[@Jenny_Digital]

Luke, there is a benefit to anodising a heat sink Black even when it can’t be seen. It improves its efficiency. I found this out when specifying a heat sink for a work project.

[@konrad7592]

7:20 black colour actually radiates a little more heat than pure aluminum

[@tobisonbrown]

This was great. Love the tear down first test second approach 😂

[@IronHorsey3]

That was kinda badass. 😂

[@sevendaysin8374]

M2 Pro Mac Mini looks like the machine to get. Pricing one out currently for a new studio setup. =) Thanks for the superb teardown/review, Luke!

[@DistractedPlatypus]

I was thinking the same thing, but the Studio does outperform the Mini, especially when comparing (almost) apples to apples specs. The Studio can also be purchased at Costco for $1699, making it one hell of a bargain.

[@MrBurtonPE]

Costco really, got a link? 🤔

[@Kevin6t8]

This M2 Pro Mac Mini ticked all but one of the checkmarks on my wish list. HDMI 2.1, Check! 512Gb storage, Check! 16Gb Ram, Check! The higher powered headphone jack, Check! Space Grey color option to differentiate it from the regular Mac Mini, No Check! $1,300 dollar U.S. base price, Check! 5 out of 6 items I had on my wish list ain't bad! I look forward to getting mine soon!

[@colindoyle9876]

Wonder if case can be swapped with 2018 - been asking for over a year - no-one cares lol

[@vocalexwhite]

@@colindoyle9876 oh lol that idea had been in my head since the m1 mini came out

[@SamBorgman]

This week I needed a new Mac after 8 years using my 2015 Macbook pro. I saw this was in my budget and only few months old, I just bought it. Now that I'm seeing this video and other reviews, I'm very happy with it. AND this thing is flying compared to my 8 year old MBP. That was the top end 15" MBP at the time and it still works fine for internet and video usage. I can still sell it for around $500. M2 pro Mini can play games even. I was playing Civ 6 ultra maxed out settings, the fan didn't even speed up. CPU temp was in the 60s. When I was recording the game fan and temp was the same. When I was exporting the recording from ScreenFlow, CPU went up to 80C but fan still stayed at 1700. When I sped up the fan manually to 3000, it cooled the CPU down to 65, that's a drop of 15C! This is a beast and should work for anyone who think they might need Mac Studio but thinks it might be overkill. That was where I was, thought I needed a Studio.

[@toobvu]

Thank you, Luke. This looks like solid engineering - I'm less concerned about thermals after seeing the heat sink cover and channel. One question, has Apple made any changes to the Bluetooth antenna? There were some reports of Bluetooth dropouts in earlier Mini designs, perhaps this has been improved along with the BT 5.3 update.

[@BobbyGsCorner]

i can speak to having a mac mini pro, no issues with BT or otherwise

[@Helios.vfx.]

Such a beautiful engineering work. I don't have apple products, but love watching videos about it

[@saugusandsausages]

I hope the Bluetooth on these is improved vastly. Great teardown as always man!

[@Nick-kb6jd]

I just did a quick check vs my 2018 mac mini and it does appear improved.

[@TheInfinitear]

@@Nick-kb6jd same with mine

[@kaizen5023]

No RAM slots, no storage slots... BOOOOO ! Great teardown!

[@willm5032]

After researching my options, I bought the M2 pro mac mini with 32gb ram as a work from home design machine and its handled everything I've thrown at it so far. I wonder now if I needed the performance for my use casse but at least it should be future proofed! Great little silver box, has flawlessly replaced my 2008(!) Mac(Hack)Pro I was running, even though I can't run 5 hard disks on it as cleanly haha

[@JammingWithFlareYT]

Really cool to see that it opens the exact same way as the old ones did.

[@drewski23_7]

FINALLY!!! Been waiting for all your vids on these!!!

[@BigWorldofToys]

Best M2 Pro video out there! Thanks

[@logtothebase2]

Thanks luke, interesting to see the evolution of the components here, Apples industrial design has become very static. A bit more light on these dark components for the disassembly would be helpful for the video.

[@gingerelvis]

When you go to a concert but can't get the stamp to wash off of your hand 😉

[@hagar2025]

Luke is such a badass! The way he doesn’t care about the cable in the box. And how he tossed that lid to the side. I’m feeling all kinds of emotions.

[@edmondhung6097]

The extra cables connect to power supply should be PS_ON, Power good signal and/or some remote. The big connection clearly is just ground and power so they need these signal have other route.

[@GiesbertNijhuis]

A teardown deserves at least two 👍👍

[@Natalia-Johansson]

I hope you reapplied thermal paste.

[@alnicospeaker]

7:25 black heatsinks will radiate heat better than shiny metal, even when no one is looking..physics!

[@ShadowFandub]

This is INCREDIBLE, thats empy slots of memory are compatible with iphone nand flash chip, so you can make a 8tb mac mini for 1/4 of the price

[@AmauryJacquot]

anodizing in black may have some effects on heat dissipation

[@amiltonfcjunior]

Thank you Luke for showing the chip itself! We're here to see it!

[@cannygrowabeard]

Nice video I really wanted to see the arrangement of the NAND, my only outstanding question is how many NAND chips the 1TB config has (eg. 4No. 256GB or 2No. 512GB)

[@Dellaster]

Thank you for the intelligent teardown review without theatrics. How refreshing! Liked & subscribed.

[@kevlartwinky]

Great teardown just a bit sad to see that though a user could open it it’s not user-upgradable, which is what I love about my two 2012 Mac Minis

[@tmmuscics2753]

Yeah I have an old 2010 MacBook Pro and that was fun to spec out

[@EricKinkead]

My fav Luke Miani video to date. “Oh, that’s a big boy!” 😂

[@Melchirobin]

I always forget you have an iMac as a display when I come to your channel from anywhere else.

[@iCaveDave]

It’s possible that making those heat sink fins black makes heat radiation more efficient as well as looking good.

[@sadbttru]

Waiting to hear if more ram or a bigger /additional sdd can be added

[@harrison00xXx]

As much as with the MacBook Pros…. practically impossible, theoretically possible

[@rcjmack847]

I agree. Got mine today. Thanks for showing the internals.

[@theopinion9452]

Heck there is so much space inside that little computing device that I can let my pet mouse Mr Jingles take naps in there,and yes I am 142 years old now by golly!

[@pabloandresaliaga]

I love to watch your videos, Luke. Also your english is perfect for someone who aren´t native english users.

[@Skrenja]

I just bought the base model with 16GB of ram. Hoping it doesn't dissapoint. 🤞

[@trustmub1]

I wonder if we can have access to those memory modules and soldier them on to extend storage on the cheap

[@kilohertz9456]

Luke, Thunderbolt powers the peripherals connected to it. So a 150 watt power supply is not that much if you connect power hungry Thunderbolt devices.

[@DistractedPlatypus]

I’m currently holding out for a 27”+ M2 iMac, but if they don’t announce one soon, I’ll be picking up the M2 Pro mini and a Studio Display.

[@krishnansrinivasan830]

L2 cache for M2 Pro is 36 MB & L2 Cache for M1 Max is 24 MB which gives an upper hand in GPU performances when It comes to 3D applications for M2 Pro. M1 Max has an advantage of expanding upto 64GB of RAM while M2 Pro is capped to 32 GB of RAM .If I have to, I probably might go with M2 Pro for my use case scenario.! Awesome video , Great tear down , Thanks 🙏🕊 I had a great time watching this video :)

[@susanepstein5874]

Loved seeing you tear it apart

[@toadlguy]

That was great. Loved the quick teardown. I completely agree on this being a game changer. Particularly the base model. The additional cost from a similarly configured M2 w/ 512 GB SSD and 16 GBs of Ram is only $300 for 50% more Performance CPUs and 60% more GPUs as well as 2 more Thunderbolt 4 ports and a better cooling system. What is really game changing though, is for almost anybody, this is all you need to run even high end professional software. You can add additional storage if you need it, but you really want 512GBs on your boot drive. 8 GBs works for memory, but heavy workloads will cause swapping - 16 GBs, however, given MacOS memory management, really is all you need for almost all tasks. This machine is right in the sweet spot (unless you need portability).

[@EliezYT]

This is great but I am curious does this mean a new M2 Pro Wii?

[@MACBoricua]

Mac Mini! Mac Mini!! Can’t wait to get one of my own!!

[@benadamsondxb]

I just love how beautiful Apple devices are even on the inside - something most people will never see. Knowing my devices are so well made makes them feel that much more special.

[@johnnewell5025]

To replace my 2012 (!) quad core Mini, I ordered an M2 Mini with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD...the took another look at the base M2 Pro and decided that was really the sweet spot for value and performance. Purchased that one in-store on launch day and couldn't be happier. Outstanding machine and outstanding value.

[@alciosomensari]

That’s the teardown I was looking for. Awesome! Thanks Luke

[@andre1987eph]

Thanks Luke.

[@scottbertrand98]

I’m currently saving up for a Mac mini. No idea what I’ll use it for but I’ve always wanted a Mac desktop.

[@EElgar1857]

Is there still a lithium battery in there somewhere? Great teardown!

[@harrison00xXx]

Sure enough it will be, but i would not care about it unless you plan to use this Mini PC for over 15 years

[@trollpotatoe]

lukey descending into madness in the disassembly 😭

[@stevenherbst]

Hey Luke! Is it true they gimped the SSD on the base-model MacBook Pro as well?!

[@michael_c2]

I guess it really depends on your priorities, slower read right speeds, slightly faster CPU depending on the use case. I would be tempted to look at a refurbished model from the last generation personally if I was in the market

[@brianwhiteside]

Please make video putting this mac mini in a iMac

[@matt_kelly]

I'm super happy to see that it has dual NAND chips, I saw on another channel that the regular M2 only had 1 and was HALF the speed that you got. I still want a desktop Mac and the M2Pro mini will probably be it unless the Mac Studio stays at the same price for the M2... which I doubt.

[@yorkan213swd6]

Please which channel ?

[@panzer3279]

The lesser the number of NAND chips, the more reliable. Apple uses RAID 0, so if any one of the NAND chips fail, your computer won't boot.

[@lschinke]

Pleaaase please do a mac mini m2 pro comparison vs the m1 max mac studio! Pretty pleeeasy please!

[@giorgosstavrou8515]

Nice. One of the most helpful reviews on M2 pro circulating in the Web.

[@chrisweber7460]

I remember the first time, when I saw the Acorn Risc computer. Now I own more or less a successor. 😂 And it is incredible fast.

[@minuszero332]

I wonder why they don't offer it in Space Grey, or change something about it to differentiate it other than specs. Ease of manufacturing I guess.

[@JogieGlenMait16]

ahhh. i miss MKBHD's mac mini upgrade videos years ago. you can't do that on this one and that's sad.

[@anothernumber9753]

Luke with a Mac mini is like a normal dude with a new tinder match.

[@bartabum]

Great teardown, appreciate the speed and straightforwardness!

[@DiIusion]

Heatsinks are often coloured black as it makes them slightly more efficient at dissipating heat. It also looks cool :-)

[@JohnSmith-pn2vl]

thats not true, quite the opposite

[@dackel4253]

Im suprised thats the case, i would expect a white cooler to be more efficient since white reflects EM Waves and doesnt absorb the energy / heat

[@DiIusion]

@@dackel4253 If I remember correctly, white is better at reflecting heat (not absorbing it), whereas black is better at absorbing and radiating heat.

[@DiIusion]

@@dackel4253 maybe to further clarify this a bit. You want a cooler/heatsink to absorb and radiate heat as that is its intended purpose :). Hence, white would not be as efficient, because as you say, it is less efficient in absorbing heat/energy.

[@dackel4253]

@@DiIusion That makes sense, thanks

[@djinnibiza]

pls next video compare the two versions M2 Pro 10 cores vs 12 cores vs M2 Max 12 cores ;) in mini or laptop or studio

[@ekodong]

I'm a M1 air user. after testing for my productivity 8gigs not enough for me. next will be M2 mini 16 and 512ssd. hope it soon

[@sagarchakraborty007]

Hey, which thermal paste you used while putting it back?

[@josehvelez1960]

Thanks to you, just bought one, cant complain. Much Much Much Better than the Mac Mini M1 16GB!!! Thank you Luke for the superb review, that’s the reason why I look for your reviews!!!

[@pierreromki]

Seeing you don't using the ifixit lid as a tray for screws is killing me.😢

[@moogs]

Thank God for a real tear down over all the unboxing videos. Thank you. Need to know the 512GB ssd setup for pro m2.

[@purplefuku]

4:04 - DankPods, is that you?! 😂

[@tifactlong7431]

Wow unbelievable, such a small but very powerful device

[@iamnotbrave9760]

Try gaming on m2 pro and max

[@iancamarillo]

Desperately waiting for the Luke stand up hour

[@theartistchair_]

I wonder if you can exchange the Space Gray 2018 Mac mini’s chassis with the M2 Pro Mac mini’s chassis? 🤔

[@spytsiTube]

+1 (same here!)

[@Himegw]

I dont think so. The 2 mobo screws in 2018 mini are in the middle of the machine, power supply is different.

[@Wonderboy168]

thank you Luke for tearing it apart for us to see the real inside!

[@colindoyle9876]

*** OUTSIDE THE BOX *** Can the case be swapped Mac m1/2 with 2018 - A space grey M1 Mac mini -External OS/Boot drive better to use than internal ssd? Samsung x5 Thunderbolt vs internal?

[@stephanemignot100]

Mine is on his way, from Core Duo 2 to M2 Pro, I could faint during startup...

[@flexairz]

ESD protection...maybe? Black has less thermal resistance.

[@jftvrwk]

actually curious about your thoughts about a max mac mini (full cores, 32GBRAM) vs a base Mac Studio (binned m1max with 32GBram) For video editing, which would you say is the better one. They are prices almost exactly the same, as you said.

[@anyadatzaklatszjutub]

the upcoming M2 max :)

[@fist003]

always enjoyed a Luke Miani teardown video

[@tayloriginals999]

I'm about to upgrade my computer from a 2010 27" iMac so anything is an upgrade at this point. It still runs and gets things done but it's time for a new one.

[@marcel9568]

2:30 2020 DTK = Developer Transition Kit.

[@tfarfolini9742]

How it compares to Studio Max?

[@freddyjason3142]

The holy moly, great balls of fire is what got me😂😂😂

[@Jay-Strand]

I can't wait to see this same treatment for the 24 inch iMac. The Mac mini with m2 pro is exciting!

[@PhillipHilton]

This looks upgradable. Thank god for that.

[@johnj8639]

Most companies paint heatsinks black for thermal reasons. I assume this is the same reason Apple painted it black, its not for aesthetics.

[@davidbillberg2203]

Finally! I get mine today!

[@rodneydangerfield7153]

Thanks, Luke, for the fantastic M2 Pro Mac mini teardown video!

[@ColinKlupiec]

Wait a second. I get those read/write SSD speeds on my M1 256GB 16GB RAM mini.

[@harales7849]

It would be interesting to see if the thermals would change if you paste all of the heat spreader full of thermal paste. And expand the copper spreader

[@magphotos]

Okay, that was very interesting, thank you! Idea for next video: investigate a way to mount the Mac Mini M2 Pro components inside the body of a 2018 SPACE GREY Mac mini. That would be a dream, but I'm not sure it's possible because of the placement of the screws that secure the motherboard to the shell. Unless your usual magic touch can find a way? 🤔

[@msandersen]

Gaffs tape, or super glue…

[@icantgivecredit871]

I am surprised that the M2 Pro Mac mini doesn't come in Space Gray. Is a case swap with an Intel model possible?

[@etherealLife]

Thanks for doing all that, that's why I love watching your videos

[@Patricia-kk8tr]

You said that the speed of the 16gb is due to the two nand chip. Has this been confirmed or are you comparing the speed of the m2 8gb of another product?

[@edwinarceo1970]

Luke, how did you use the iMac as a monitor for the Mac Mini? Can I do this with Macbook Pro?

[@SFGiantsBweezy]

Luke, how did you use the iMac as a display for the M2 Mac Mini?

[@Check_For_Response]

Targeted Display Mode