M2 Pro Mac mini TEARDOWN review!

Today we're getting up close and personal with the new M2 Pro Mac mini, by which I mean tearing the darn thing apart to see whats inside it. With a new more powerful chip under the hood, the M2 Pro Mac mini offers a sweet spot between the new M2 Mac mini entry level and the higher end Mac Studio! So how does this compare? What differences are there inside?
If you're buying an M2 Pro Mac mini or new MacBook Pro, consider using my affiliate links to support the channel! Thanks!
M2 Pro Mac mini: go.magik.ly/ml/1qk9y/
M2 Mac mini: go.magik.ly/ml/1qk9z/
14" base model: go.magik.ly/ml/1qjrn/
14" full M2 Pro: go.magik.ly/ml/1qjrs/
16" M2 Pro: go.magik.ly/ml/1qjrp/
16" M2 Max: go.magik.ly/ml/1qjrq/
time stamps
0:00 Intro
0:50 Unboxing
2:11 Interior differences!
2:47 Disassembly
4:36 Examining the logic board
6:00 Removing the heatsink
7:30 M2 Pro is a big boy!
8:45 Cinebench results
9:14 SSD speed
9:49 This may be the perfect Mac...
#apple #mac #tech #m2pro
Follow me on Twitter: / lukemiani
Follow me on Twitch: / lukemiani
Join my Subreddit! / lukemianiyoutube
Gear:
iFixit Pro Toolkit: amzn.to/3bYIzdM
Panasonic Lumix GH5: amzn.to/3b3oMtj
Leica 12-60MM Lens: amzn.to/3hQ5URf
Sennheiser MKH 416: amzn.to/31zGwt2
Zoom H6: amzn.to/2ECYSk6
Sennheiser MKE 440: amzn.to/2JRwIRU
Edelkrone SliderOne V2: amzn.to/33mTZmt
Amazon Links are affiliate codes and generate small commission to support the channel

[@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

[@jameslenney]

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

[@c1oudP41]

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

[@soupdancer17]

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

[@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!

[@brayan8346]

I just found your channel and have enjoyed your videos. I like that you don’t give a long boring needless introduction. Most of the time I close or skip through the that part anyway on other channels.

[@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.

[@alciosomensari]

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

[@Dellaster]

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

[@Helios.vfx.]

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

[@rcjmack847]

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

[@bobliljenquist9860]

Very fun video to watch, as usual. Amazing how you navigate breakdowns! But how did you set up your iMac as a monitor for the Mac Mini????

[@bartabum]

Great teardown, appreciate the speed and straightforwardness!

[@jimcabezola3051]

I enjoy your tear downs, Luke! Excellent!

[@cmd8086]

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

[@tobisonbrown]

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

[@IronHorsey3]

That was kinda badass. 😂

[@valhala73]

Great video!!!! Are you using an iMac as a monitor with this machine? What model of external monitor would you recommend purchasing wihtout beaking the bank? All the best

[@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.

[@BobbyG3.14]

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

[@etherealLife]

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

[@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.

[@jdrtech1]

Always a good video from Luke, thanks!

[@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!

[@GraphicDesignerStephen]

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? 🤔

[@TsunoOkashi]

Love these teardown vids.

[@synen]

Thanks Luke, good video. Could you please run Speedometer 2.1 on a browser ? Would love to see the results.

[@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

[@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.

[@Jaycob_Strandberg]

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

[@BoredGeese]

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

[@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)

[@Skrenja]

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

[@walpoleandworcester]

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

[@hectorluca]

I'm just waiting for its release here in Mexico! But right now it seems awesome! Loved your video and I love to see things things frome the inside out

[@rodneydangerfield7153]

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

[@adminfootballgenius844]

Great review as always bro

[@MokeVsls]

Hi Luke thanks for the video, great teardown! Just wanted to ask you: I'd like to put a geo tag device inside the case, I had this very model and actually thought I could easily find more room, like in the older versions. Do you think there's a good place to ideally magnet stick any air tag to the inner case without causing any sort of issues? Thank You in advance!

[@giorgosstavrou8515]

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

[@BigWorldofToys]

Best M2 Pro video out there! Thanks

[@blackroosterdesignsa8017]

Hello Luke and thank you for your great review. I would like to ask you if I can use my iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019) as an external monitor for the M2 Pro Mac Mini. Thank you in advance!

[@trustmub1]

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

[@GraphicDesignerStephen]

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.

[@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.

[@YourreelmemoriesAu]

Cheers Luke. Loved this teardown/review. I may even buy one based on your knowledge & experience.

[@GeorgeChinSr]

Wonderful to know of 2 NAND chips in the base M2 Pro Mini! So do not need to upgrade to 1 TB to get RAID 1 speeds. Wonder whether 4 or more NAND chips could/would support higher RAID levels for data redundancy safeguard. Really appreciate the base M2 Pro mini teardown. I think you are the first and only reviewer to do so this far! Bravo! I am subscribing

[@goggleboy3]

Love the tear down!

[@susanepstein5874]

Loved seeing you tear it apart

[@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.

[@sagarchakraborty8487]

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

[@Markus_Jungwirth]

Hi Luke. Fantastic Video. Maybe I missed it... what about the memory? Can you add some more memory after sale?

[@pabloandresaliaga]

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

[@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.

[@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

[@imnotindanger]

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

[@gingerelvis]

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

[@Electro_Drums]

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

[@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.

[@davidbillberg2203]

Finally! I get mine today!

[@edwinarceo1970]

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

[@matthewbridgeman57]

What is the performance difference of the m2 pro with a fan and without a fan? If you take out the fan and put the whole device back together again without it, is there any significant slowdown or performance loss?

[@stow8619]

For the same price point would you go with the studio?

[@RobertoMagnoV]

Best of all!! Fun and relevant, as always!!!

[@tfarfolini9742]

What about the fan? Works like in M1 mini (on heavy load only), or like in Studio (non-stop)?

[@craigcork9000]

Great vid!! what iMac is it that you are using as a monitor for the mac mini? thanks

[@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 :)

[@BluePlanetDrone]

Would have liked to have seen what thermal paste you used to put it back together....Fun video non the Less. Loving the Car content as well BTW. Thanks.

[@HHAlhayki]

I wonder if using good thermal sheet like carbonaut will make it cooler and faster or just using better and more thermal paste.

[@SamRickerd]

My 2021 16” M1 Pro MacBook Pro managed 12,287 on Cinebench. Any idea why the M2 Pro would do slightly worse? (showed yours at 11,804)

[@ottobyte]

Very tempted to buy. However I’m hearing some issues with the Wi-Fi. Do you have any information on this?

[@Spleen250]

Great Video!!

[@fergusyoung6782]

This is what I was looking for, m2 pro mini tear down

[@NDakota79]

These machines look so clean on the inside. As a design person myself, I love it.

[@jondonnelly4831]

whats to love, it's a biscuit tin with a phone mainboard inside.

[@karenj542]

Hey Luke! Always love your videos and I'm really excited about the M2 Mac Mini. What display are you using in the video? It looks like an old 27" iMac, but they no longer support target display mode (I wish they did) Is that an iMac that you've converted to a stand alone display?

[@dancircelli5331]

I have the same question

[@RobertLitschauer]

You are great! Thank you forthilft review!

[@ellek8703]

Luke, do you have a recommendation for what speakers you would use? I can't afford the Studio Display, so I got a Dell Ultrasharp with no speakers. I was holding out for an M2 larger imac but couldn't wait anymore.

[@-johnny-deep-]

So did you use liquid metal thermal paste between the heat sink and the M2 Pro chip when you put it back together?

[@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 :)

[@stevenherbst]

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

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

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

[@viktorbass]

Cool! How did you use the imac as an external monitor?! thx!

[@bluestthinking1454]

Would love it if you could find and review add-on disk storage devices that use thunderbolt and support terabytes of storage. Starting with the Hagibis Type-C Docking Station & Stand for Mac Mini M1 but this only supports one SSD. What would be nice is a box that supports 8Tb !!

[@GeorgeChinSr]

Wonderful to know of 2 NAND chips in the base M2 Pro Mini! So do not need to upgrade to 1 TB to get RAID 1 speeds. Wonder whether 4 or more NAND chips could/would support higher RAID levels for data redundancy safeguard. Really appreciate the base M2 Pro mini teardown. I think you are the first and only reviewer to do so this far! Bravo! I am subscribing

[@panzer3279]

All the NAND chips are configured in RAID 0 by Apple. You can't configure the individual NAND chips.

[@fidiak]

Great video, thanks.

[@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

[@mannkeithc]

Would the SSD speed increase if you have four or eight storage chips, i.e. extra pcie channels for extra chips?

[@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…

[@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

[@mauricioflores3732]

Loved it!!!

[@EliezYT]

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

[@AyeshaKha007]

Love the review ❤

[@lattermanstudio]

Good report ........ thanks

[@Halo9K]

Hi, I have the Space Gray Mac Mini. Is it possible to swap cases with the M2/M2Pro since the case is identical?

[@variousd3507]

Thank you!

[@iCaveDave]

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

[@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.

[@mikaelsoppa]

I wonder if it would actually be possible to solder any RAM modules onto this logic board without any necessary flashing afterwards.

[@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.

[@RafsGearReviews]

Just bought an m2 base mac mini. Seeing comments on write speed for the ssd and whatnot. I want it for basic 1080p video editing for KZbin guitar reviews through Final Cut/Imovie and some basic music recording with Garageband or other DAWs. Did I buy the wrong one or will this work just fine? Is it a HUGE performance difference from the 256 to the 512? I can't upgrads the ram because I used Amazon GC balance for it. Thanks.

[@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.

[@PCJesus0]

i wonder if you could upgrade a m1 mac mini to m2 or m2 pro, it kinda worked for the 13in macbook pro, why not with the mac mini?

[@mikekaylor1226]

Great video for a fantastic computer!

[@titustucan9654]

Thanks a lot for the review. What SSD size should one buy in order to have the best SSD R/W performance. If 512gb with 2 NAND chips reaches 3000, would 1tb give 6000? Is there anyone there who owns a MM M2 Pro with 1tb to test the speed ?

[@Natalia-Johansson]

I hope you reapplied thermal paste.

[@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.

[@Trebseig]

A teardown deserves at least two 👍👍