Again within the Intel days, the Mac mini’s small stature resulted in big efficiency tradeoffs. Prior to now, you can have a small footprint, or you can have excessive efficiency, however you couldn’t have each. Apple Silicon has completely modified the sport in that respect, and that’s additional emphasised with the Mac mini that includes M2 Professional. Watch my hands-on expertise with Apple’s diminutive beast, and you’ll want to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for extra hands-on movies.
Flexibility
Some of the interesting points of the Mac mini is its flexibility. It’s lower than half the scale of a Mac Studio, doesn’t function a built-in show, and could be positioned just about wherever – on a desktop, mounted below a desk, on the again of a monitor, on a wall, and many others. I personally wish to mount my Mac mini below my desk utilizing an cheap mount that I bought on Amazon. Coupled with the monitor arm that I’ve paired with the Professional Show XDR, the Mac mini enhances my minimalistic desktop working atmosphere.
Video walkthrough: Arms-on with the M2 Professional Mac mini
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M2 Professional chip
The concept of modifying video, taking part in video games, or doing every other graphics-intense operation on a standalone Intel Mac mini was a downright laughable idea, however Apple Silicon modified the sport.
Apple’s M2 system-on-a-chip offers a modest bump over the unique M1 Mac mini, whereas the M2 Professional offers an much more noticeable efficiency leap. The M2 Professional model offers the Mac mini CPU two further efficiency cores, along with its 4 effectivity cores, for a complete of 10 cores. The M2 Professional additionally offers an extra 6 GPU cores over the baseline M2 machine for a complete of 16 GPU cores — double the quantity of GPU cores discovered on the M1 Mac mini from 2020.
For video editors, particularly these working with ubiquitous H.265 video, the M1 chip with its hardware-acceleration for HEVC, offered an enormous efficiency enhance, and made it viable to edit video on the Mac mini. The M2 chips – even the usual M2 – builds on this basis by offering a higher-bandwidth video decode engine that helps 8K H.264 and HEVC, and hardware-acceleration for each ProRes and ProRes RAW as much as 8K. That implies that even the baseline M2 will get options that have been beforehand unique to the higher-specced M1 chips that weren’t out there to configure on the prior Mac mini.
My video workflow
One of many largest variations that I observed is with ProRes efficiency, and this shouldn’t be a shock given the truth that the M2 sequence of chips options ProRes acceleration for 8K video. What does this truly imply, although? It implies that when I attempt to playback an 8K ProRes clip on an M1 machine just like the iMac, the CPU does all the heavy lifting, as a substitute of devoted {hardware} accelerators. As a result of the M1 Machines don’t have sufficient cores to throw on the downside, it causes the entire machine to decelerate, which impacts productiveness.
On the M2 and M2 Professional, I can playback ProRes video, and also you’ll discover that the CPU stays comparatively quiet. As an alternative of it doing the heavy lifting, the devoted ProRes accelerators do the job as a substitute. This permits the CPU to deal with different performance, corresponding to rending Finder home windows, multitasking, and many others. The result’s a a lot smoother and usable expertise when working with 8K ProRes.
You probably have a Canon R5 or R5C and pair it with an Atomos Ninja V+, you’ll have the ability to file 8K ProRes RAW information on to an exterior SSD. The M2 upgrades make the Mac mini, particularly in case you resolve to configure an 8TB SSD, an excellent candidate for such a workflow!
4 x Thunderbolt 4 ports
Again when the 2018 Intel Mac mini refresh launched, I labeled it as probably the most versatile Mac in existence, and its 4 Thunderbolt ports performed a serious function in its gaining that designation. So when the M1 Mac mini launched in 2020 with simply two Thunderbolt 3 ports, I thought-about it to be a downgrade of kinds.
Whereas the baseline M2 Mac mini once more sports activities simply two Thunderbolt 4 ports, the M2 Professional model has 4. Having 4 Thunderbolt ports not solely means you can join extra bodily gadgets to the Mac mini with M2 Professional, nevertheless it additionally options extra Thunderbolt bandwidth, as every port is paired to its personal devoted bus. Which means that you’ll have the ability to join extra high-performance gadgets, corresponding to OWC’s Thunderblade SSDs, which require plenty of bandwidth.
As much as 32GB of unified reminiscence
Just like the M1 Mac mini, the M2 Mac mini options 8GB of reminiscence in its base configuration with as much as 24GB configurable in build-to-order specs. The M2 Professional begins with 16GB of reminiscence and could be personalized with as much as 32GB for $400 extra. 8GB of reminiscence was an enormous bottleneck for my video-centric workflow in earlier Apple Silicon Mac minis, so having 16GB because the baseline within the M2 Professional model lends some much-needed respiratory room.
The M2 chips additionally present a giant leap in reminiscence efficiency, going from simply shy of 70GB/s of reminiscence bandwidth on the M1 Mac mini, to 100- and 200GB/s respectively on the M2 and M2 Professional.
Not like earlier Intel fashions, which might be upgraded with off-the-shelf SO-DIMM reminiscence modules, you’re caught with no matter you configure on Apple Silicon machines. I discovered myself working up in opposition to the constraints of my 16GB “base” mannequin M2 Professional Mac mini when working with excessive decision 8K video in Remaining Lower Professional.
I’d suggest configuring your machine with the max 32GB of reminiscence, particularly in case you plan on utilizing it for any type of artistic duties like video or photograph modifying. In any other case you run the danger of getting your Mac web page out to its SSD when it runs out out of reminiscence, slowing you down within the course of.
As much as 8TB SSD
The quantity of storage that Apple permits customers to configure speaks to the way it views a selected machine. Inventive-focused Mac often have entry to bigger quantities of SSD storage in build-to-order specs, and that holds true with the M2 Professional Mac mini.
Whereas the baseline M2 model maxes out at solely 2TB of storage, the M2 Professional lets makes use of configure as much as 8TB of storage, which is the best quantity of storage that Apple options on any of its different high-end machines. Given the truth that the M2 Professional Mac mini performs good with 8K ProRes RAW information, which function downright absurd file sizes, it is sensible that Apple offers customers the choice for higher-tier storage. Clearly, Apple sees the M2 Professional Mac mini as a creator-driven machine that warrants a caverounous quantity of on-board storage.
As beforehand reported, SSD speeds are markedly slower on M2 machines when in comparison with the identical storage configurations on M1 fashions. It is because storage on these new fashions are not striped between as many NAND chips as earlier than, lowering speeds within the course of. Informal customers most likely wouldn’t discover a distinction, however in case you’re commonly offloading massive information, then the variations in velocity could also be noticeable, particularly on lower-end configurations.
Wi-Fi 6E
For those who personal a Wi-Fi 6E-enabled router, corresponding to Amazon’s eero Professional 6E, you then’ll have the ability to reap the benefits of the brand new Wi-Fi 6E functionality current within the new Mac mini. Even Apple’s earlier M2-powered machines, the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Professional, didn’t have Wi-Fi 6E functionality. Not like common Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E positive aspects entry to the 6 GHz frequency band, which could be described as a quick lane for appropriate gadgets.
To see in case your Mac mini is linked to the 6 GHz band, merely maintain the Possibility key whereas clicking the Wi-Fi icon within the macOS menu bar. Doing so reveals superior Wi-Fi connectivity particulars, together with the channel, frequency band, Tx price, and extra.
I usually use Ethernet in an effort to reap the total advantages of my 2.5Gbps fiber plan, however I disconnected my Ethernet cable in an effort to check the Wi-Fi speeds. In actual world utilization, I observed that each add and obtain speeds have been a lot quicker when linked to the 6 GHz band. It’ll particularly be noticeable for these of you who’ve quicker Web plans.
In case your setup doesn’t permit for a hardwired Ethernet connection, then Wi-Fi 6E might show to be difference-maker. The massive draw back is that you just’ll should spend cash on a Wi-Fi 6E-compatible router, as regular Wi-Fi 6 routers can’t make the most of the 6 GHz band.
8K help through HDMI
All of Apple’s M2 Professional machines embody help for 8K output through HDMI, which is a primary for Apple {hardware}. Sadly, there aren’t any desktop shows that I do know of that may help 8K enter through HDMI. You’ll more than likely should go for connecting to an 8K tv, corresponding to TCL’s 65″ Class 6-Sequence 8K QLED. [Disclaimer: TCL was nice enough to send me a loaner 6-series television so that I could test out the 8K connectivity from the new Mac mini.]
8K output labored as anticipated, with macOS instantly recognizing the connection, and offering me with 8K show choices inside System Settings. Be aware: 8K at full native decision is extraordinarily tiny, and also you’ll want a magnifying glass to navigate the macOS desktop. You’ll need to reap the benefits of the pixel-doubled “retina” mode to have the most effective expertise. The largest difficulty with 8K connectivity is that it’s just too early within the recreation to be all that helpful. Outdoors of assorted YouTube movies shot in 8K, there’s little or no 8K content material to select from.
I’ve posted a number of 8K movies to 9to5mac’s YouTube channel up to now, and whereas they appear extraordinarily crisp and sharp on TCL’s 8K beast, YouTube movies aren’t precisely the kind of compelling content material you’d buy a $1500 tv for. I see the 8K help as extra of a nod to what’s to return sooner or later, not one thing an individual ought to base their buying choice on.
4K 240Hz help through HDMI
Whereas 8K help is an attention-grabbing bullet level, I’m a much bigger fan of getting help for increased refresh charges on exterior shows through HDMI. M2 Professional machines just like the Mac mini and MacBook Professional can, for the primary time, formally drive exterior shows at increased refresh charges than 60 Hz. The earlier M1 Professional/Max/Extremely MacBook Professional and Mac Studio machines might solely drive an exterior show at as much as 6K at 60Hz, and that was through Thunderbolt, not HDMI.
Now customers can hook up with televisions and displays and achieve entry to refresh charges as much as 240Hz at 4K. I think about that almost all customers will reap the benefits of this whereas connecting to 4K televisions that help as much as 120Hz refresh charges, however sure displays, like Samsung’s curved 32″ Odyssey Neo G8 function 4K 240Hz functionality as we speak.
Like gaming at 8K, gaming at 4K 240Hz on the Mac mini just isn’t a viable choice given its lack of the mandatory graphics energy. However there are different advantages excessive refresh price help, corresponding to smoother scrolling inside macOS. The scrolling expertise when utilizing increased body charges is nearer to what you’ll discover on a ProMotion-enabled show on as we speak’s 14- and 16-inch MacBook Professional machines.
9to5Mac’s Take
The Mac mini, particularly the M2 Professional model, is a stable machine for creatives. At simply $1299 for the M2 Professional model, you get a machine with the kind of energy that we might solely dream a few Mac mini having just some quick years in the past. For those who don’t have the funds for increased specced Apple computer systems, the M2 Professional Mac mini is a good worth. The baseline M2 Mac mini, at simply $599, is arguably a good higher bang for the buck, however the slower CPU, GPU, lack of the extra Thunderbolt I/O, restricted reminiscence and storage choices, may function bottlenecks for some creatives.
Remember that you’ll have to supply a monitor, keyboard, and mouse/trackpad, and audio system, so except you already personal these gadgets, they’ll add to the fee. For those who’re trying on the base M2 Mac mini since you want the most affordable Mac you can purchase, chances are you’ll be higher off choosing a refurbished M1 MacBook Air, which I believe might be nonetheless, pound for pound, the most effective worth in Macs as we speak.
What do you concentrate on the Mac mini, particularly the M2 Professional model? Pontificate within the feedback beneath together with your ideas.
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