M2 Mac mini vs M2 Professional Mac mini: Is the high-end mannequin actually price twice as a lot?

Apple has lastly upgraded its Mac mini lineup with new M2 processors and eliminated the extraordinarily outdated Intel mannequin from the shop. Which means there are actually two Apple silicon fashions to select from: A base mannequin with an M2 chip and a higher-end choice with an M2 Professional processor. Right here’s how the 2 fashions evaluate.

M2 Mac mini vs M2 Professional Mac mini: Specs

M2 Mac mini vs M2 Professional Mac mini: Design

On the surface, Apple hasn’t messed with the profitable formulation that has held the Mac mini in such good stead for therefore lengthy. When you’ve seen one earlier than, you then’ll immediately acknowledge the brand new fashions, though you might discover it arduous to inform them aside. The size on each fashions are similar, with the silver liveried aluminum chassis measuring 197mm x 197mm x 36mm, though the Professional model is barely heavier, not that you just’ll be carrying both mini round that a lot.

Turning the machines round reveals the port part on the again, which is the place you possibly can see the primary differentiators between them, however we’ll cowl that intimately beneath. In fact, as these are minis, you gained’t discover a show, keyboard, or mouse/trackpad within the field, so that you’ll want to produce your personal.

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M2 Mac mini vs M2 Professional Mac mini: Processor

Naturally, because the names of the gadgets counsel, the principle distinction between the 2 M2 Mac minis is the silicon that drives them. We’ve seen the M2 already within the MacBook Air M2 and 13-inch MacBook Professional M2, so it was inevitable that it made its technique to the Mac mini platform. However, the M2 Professional is a brand new chip unveiled by Apple alongside the M2 Max discovered within the higher-end MacBook Execs.

The M2 itself options an 8-core CPU break up between 4 efficiency cores and 4 effectivity cores. There’s additionally a 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine, and 100GB/s reminiscence bandwidth. The media engine is similar one as within the M1 Professional, boasting {hardware} acceleration for H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes Uncooked, together with a ProRes encode and decode engine.

With the M2 Professional, you stand up to 10 or 12 CPU cores (six or eight efficiency and eight effectivity), a 16-core or 19-core GPU, 16-core neural engine, and 200GB/s reminiscence bandwidth, twice that of the usual M2. In our testing, the M2 chip is about 20 p.c quicker than the M1 and the M2 Professional is about 20 p.c quicker than the M1 Professional, so the variations between the chips are roughly the identical because the prior era. On the graphics facet, each chips are about 30 p.c quicker than their respective predecessors.

M2 Mac mini vs M2 Professional Mac mini: Reminiscence and storage

On the baseline fashions, the M2 mini comes with 8GB of reminiscence and 256GB of storage. The M2 Professional’s normal configuration begins with double the M2: 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. These might be elevated on the level of sale, with the M2 going as much as 24GB of reminiscence and 2TB of storage, and the M2 Professional having a better most configuration with 32GB of RAM and as much as 8TB of storage. Clearly, these all include some severe costs—the M2 Professional can get as excessive as $4,000—however you’ll have to make your determination when shopping for your mini as it may possibly’t be upgraded.

M2 Mac mini vs M2 Professional Mac mini: Ports and connectivity

The Mac mini M2 comes geared up with two Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 ports, whereas the M2 Professional will get 4 Thunderbolt 4/USB 4 ports. Apart from that, they each have two USB-A ports, HDMI, and Gigabit Ethernet. You’ll additionally discover s built-in speaker and three.5mm headphone jack with superior assist for high-impedance headphones, and each have Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) and Bluetooth 5.3.

It’s price noting although that each gadgets assist the simultaneous use of a number of displays, with the M2 able to dealing with two shows (6K at 60Hz and 5K at 60Hz by way of Thunderbolt) and the M2 Professional going to a few (two 6K at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and one 4K at 60Hz over HDMI). The M2 Professional Mac mini’s HDMI 21 port can even run a single show with as much as 8K decision at 60Hz or 4K decision at 240Hz.

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M2 Mac mini vs M2 Professional Mac mini: Value and availability

The brand new Mac mini is out there on the following costs:

• Mac mini M2 (8GB/256GB) – $599/£649
• Mac mini M2 (8GB/512GB) – $799/£849
• Mac mini M2 Professional (16GB/512GB) – $1,299/£1,399

When you do the maths, that’s greater than twice as a lot for the M2 Professional Mac mini. And build-to-order choices add up rapidly, with the higher-end M2 Professional costing $400//£400, with every 8GB reminiscence enhance setting you again $200/£200, and additional storage costing $200/£200 per 512GB.

M2 Mac mini vs M2 Professional Mac mini: Our suggestion

It’s a fairly easy alternative between these two highly effective new additions to the mini platform. If you need an easy desktop Mac for residence or common computing, then the M2 Mac mini is an ideal machine at $599. The M2 chip is lots highly effective for most individuals and even some professionals. But when desire a higher-end chip however not the quickest chip, the entry-level M2 Professional Mac mini is a robust machine. Simply watch out with upgrades because it could be extra economical to get a Mac Studio or a MacBook Professional should you’re upgrading greater than the storage.