*** The official 2023 Mac mini thread (it has the M2 chip and everything!) ***
- Thread starter Feek
- Start date
It’s not bad. It’s small and it’s not as fast than the smallest one in the previous model but by no stretch of the imagination can it be called bad.
I’d really like a Mac Mini for my office computer but I still need Parallels to run an old version of OSX for two particular pieces of software. Very frustrating.
Soldato
Just got a M2 8/256 (work system) for profile/user/app testing and it works ok although i'm not particularly pushing it in terms of loads.
It really depends what you're doing with it but for a personal system i would opt for a spec or two higher (16/512 or 16/1TB) just for some form of future proofing.
Argos have the base spec for ~£550 at the moment though...
I still have the M1 512/16GB and quite honestly it's the best bit of tech I've bought in god knows how long. It is my first Mac, I've never had anything like any form of slowdown enough for me to notice when photo editing or any other general tasks I used to do on a PC. If it has a fan, which I'm staring to doubt there's even one fitted 
I've never heard a sound from it. Now when I walk into my son's bedroom and he starts up his pc, I find the 72 fans unbearable. I got it not too long after launch and doubt I will need anything for another 3 years+. 2TB SSD's are so cheap now compared to when I bought two more extreme sandiscs. I have another 4TB of space hidden away, super quick. If I bought again I'd probably not bother with anything other than base HDD size as externals are so fast and cheap now in my storage range.
I've never heard a sound from it. Now when I walk into my son's bedroom and he starts up his pc, I find the 72 fans unbearable. I got it not too long after launch and doubt I will need anything for another 3 years+. 2TB SSD's are so cheap now compared to when I bought two more extreme sandiscs. I have another 4TB of space hidden away, super quick. If I bought again I'd probably not bother with anything other than base HDD size as externals are so fast and cheap now in my storage range.
A lot of the reviews say it is perfectly adequate but I guess it depends what you're wanting to use it for. They say don't buy the higher spec or the Studio unless you know you need the extra power (video editing, rendering, graphics work, etc.).
Got excited there but it doesn't seem to be in stock to order.
Edit to add - I know everyone says it but the mark up Apple charges for extra storage space is an absolute joke. Sort of the case for extra RAM too but it's a bit different to a Windows machine now that it's the "unified memory".
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Looks as though I could be grabbing a Mini next year sometime to use in the office. I won't need much, it'll largely be used to rdp into a work laptop. I'll be replacing a 2017 iMac so I'll need a display as well. At the moment I have the iMac and an Asus 28" monitor so perhaps I should get another one to give me a pair. I won't need high spec, basic model with a bit more memory and perhaps an ssd size increase.
Soldato
Standard M3 as and when it shows up (April maybe?) with some minor upgrades might be the way forward. Having said that, the imac didn't get m2 so there is no guarantee that the mini will see m3 I guess...
If you are using it to rdp, might aswell get the M1 base model as they are cheap now.
Soldato
The mini got m2 and m2 pro, so I’d expect the mini to.
The M1 version would do perfectly but I can’t bring myself to buy one that’s effectively a three year old model because it will potentially go obsolete three years earlier than if I buy the current gen when I’m ready.
Yeah what can also be a limiting factor with the M1 is the two thunderbolt ports. I'm still ecstatic with my M1 and it doesn't cause me any issues but two more ports are needed for me. Every hub I've tried has been a bust or had issues one way or another or just stupidly expensive. I'm at the point I am waiting for there M3 mini and put the hub money into another Mac mini and sell the M1 on eBay for £500 or so.
That's a really good point actually. I never thought I'd use all the ports on my Studio but everything (except the HDMI) on the back has something plugged into it.
Sadly only the M2 Pro has 4. I hope they address that on the next model. If not I will get the pro.