Mac Mini M2pro users here? Opinions?

[creart]

Hey - I'm considering getting an Apple Mac Mini M2 Pro...
I guess that should be fast enough to fulfill my video, graphics and 3D needs, as well as be a large improvement over my current 2011 iMac in terms of the number of audio channels and loaded plugins it should be able to handle in a DAW (except maybe Logic - I'm using Studio One)
I was wondering if any of you has such a machine and can share some insight on that.

I would prob go for 1 Tb SSD and 32 Gb Ram...
I have a whole lot of external hard drives that I will connect and an older Firewire Focusrite interface for which converters to Thunderbolt should be available I imagine.

cheers
Hans

[ColinP]

My two cents based on just CPU benchmarking. Other factors may be more important to you.

10 core version:

57 Gflops
47 G integer

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cp ... Hz&id=5186

12 core version ($300 extra):

74.5 Gflops
58.5 G integer

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cp ... Hz&id=5189

For comparison my two year old laptop:

38 Gflops
65.5 G integer

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cp ... 0H&id=3676

So the 12 core one looks pretty good but I suspect that the 10 core one will only be slightly faster than my laptop (due to the poor integer performance) and I'm looking to upgrade to something faster.

However compared with a 12 year old machine the performance leap even to the 10 core version will be stunning so its all relative.

[ColinP]

For perspective at the top of the range in laptop CPUs we have the Ryzen 9 7945HX:

131 GFlops
219 G integer

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cp ... HX&id=5232

[Centripidity]

I can't speak from experience but general benchmarks seem to indicate that an ordinary M2 would give you about 3 times the performance in single core tasks and possibly 10 times on multicore tasks compared to a 2011 iMac. As a rough guide in a DAW I'd guess that single core performance will relate to plugins/track and multicore to number of tracks, but bear in mind that benchmark programs may be totally unrelated to your particular use case.

https://www.check-mac.com/en/compare-ap ... ni_m2_2023

Something to consider in this change, based on the experience of a friend of mine, is software compatibility. Studio One now runs native on Apple Silicon but do all of your plugins? If not you may have to run it under Rosetta and that will sap performance.

Also remember that the new machine will come with Ventura installed. Is all of your other software compatible?

[Centripidity]

You should also note that the speed improvement you see won't just be in terms of processor power. Your 2011 iMac probably has a standard HDD but the solid state drives on the newer machines are blazingly fast. My 2 year old M1 Macbook Air consistently gives continuous read and write speeds of 2.7 - 3.2 GB/s.

The memory will also be faster. The M2 Pro Mac mini has a memory bandwidth of 200 GB/s.

[creart]

Hey guys - thanks for all responses..
Ya compared to the dinosaur I'm working with now it will be a giant leap....
I won't be getting rid of my old machine so will always have an option of going back in case of compatibility issues..
Some stuff I will even convert to Windows..
I now use old Filemaker Pro software that I created a database for my invoices for years ago... am converting that to Access now that I will then run under Parallels...
For audio I use Studio One that should be compatible...
plugins like Cherry, Korg, Arturia, Omnisphere and EastWest are compatible (I think at least)
Further I use the full Adobe Cloud range, and stuff like Blender, SketchUp and TwinMotion, Painter and Affinity Designer..
All modern programs that I imagine will have more problems on my old machine keeping it compatible because I can't use the newer systems on that...

I understand that on the Windows side there are more options especially where graphic cards are concerned but I wouldn't know where to start to set up a full PC system from scratch, with everything like motherboard, power supply etc to take care off myself...

choices...choices...

[Centripidity]

Have you looked at the new Mac Studios just announced? The Studio with an M2 Max is only about $100 more expensive than the Mini M2 Pro and you get a few extra ports. You also get the advantage that, if you want to spend the extra bucks, you can have more memory and more powerful graphics capability.

I'm not planning to upgrade until later this year but my mind set is now shifting from the high end Mini to the low end Studio. Worth exploring at least.

As for the Windows option, I used Windows professionally for decades but now that I'm retired I use Mac where I can. I think MacOS is a better operating system but that's a personal opinion and not an indisputable fact. I'm not an OS zealot. If you look at a Mac and a PC of equivalent power then it's very likely that the Mac will use less power but will cost you a significant amount more money - not just in terms of hardware but also software upgrades because Microsoft care about backwards compatibility and Apple see shafting customers as part of their business model.

For a desktop machine most people don't care about power consumption so Windows/Intel/AMD is a viable option. The Apple zealots would have you believe that Apple Silicon blows everything else out of the water but that's simply not true unless you look at performance per watt of power consumption. Once again. that's important for light, slim, stylish laptops but marginal for desktops.

The other advantage of Windows is that if you spend your cash and later decide you need more memory or a larger SSD you can do that. With the Mac, you're screwed, you need to buy a whole new machine because upgrades are not possible.

[creart]

ah - last time I looked the Studio was only M1... oh was it introduced yesterday???

[Centripidity]

ah - last time I looked the Studio was only M1... oh was it introduced yesterday???

Yes, new models, available next week. Also a new Mac Pro with a price that would make angels weep.

[Centripidity]

Just had a look at the new Mac Pro:

24-core M2 Ultra with 72-core GPU 192GB memory and 8TB SSD - US$11,799. Did you want wheels on that? +US$400.

Oh, did you need a 32" monitor so you can actually see what it's doing? US$4,999 - unless you want nano-textured glass (wtf?) US$5,999.

Were you planning to lean that monitor against the wall or did you want it to come with a stand? +US$999!

Clearly designed for those who are spending someone else's money.