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expiredsocalguy9 posted Feb 20, 2023 08:41 PM
expiredsocalguy9 posted Feb 20, 2023 08:41 PM

Costco Members: 512GB Apple Mac Mini w/ M2 Pro Chip

+ Free Shipping

$1,250

$1,299

3% off
Costco Wholesale
99 Comments 35,626 Views
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Deal Details
Costco Wholesale has for its Members: 512GB Apple Mac Mini w/ M2 Pro Chip (MNH73LL/A) on sale for $1249.99. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Community Member socalguy9 for finding this deal.

Specs:
  • Apple M2 Pro 10-Core Processor (6x high-performance + 4x high-efficiency)
  • 16-Core Integrated GPU
  • 16GB Unified Memory
  • 512GB Integrated NVMe PCIe Solid State Drive
  • 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E / Bluetooth 5.3
  • Ports:
    • 2x USB Type-A
    • 2x Thunderbolt 4
    • 1x HDMI
    • 1x Headphone Jack
    • 1x Gigabit Ethernet

Editor's Notes

Written by slickdewmaster | Staff
  • About this Offer:
    • Costco Members receive with purchase:
      • 2nd Year Warranty
      • Free Technical Support
      • 90 Day Return Policy
    • This is $50 lower than the next lowest price from a reputable merchant with prices starting from $1299.
  • About this Store:
    • If you don't have a Costco Warehouse Membership, you can sign-up here
  • Refer to the forum thread for additional deal discussion.

Original Post

Written by socalguy9
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Costco Wholesale has for its Members: 512GB Apple Mac Mini w/ M2 Pro Chip (MNH73LL/A) on sale for $1249.99. Shipping is free.

Thanks to Community Member socalguy9 for finding this deal.

Specs:
  • Apple M2 Pro 10-Core Processor (6x high-performance + 4x high-efficiency)
  • 16-Core Integrated GPU
  • 16GB Unified Memory
  • 512GB Integrated NVMe PCIe Solid State Drive
  • 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6E / Bluetooth 5.3
  • Ports:
    • 2x USB Type-A
    • 2x Thunderbolt 4
    • 1x HDMI
    • 1x Headphone Jack
    • 1x Gigabit Ethernet

Editor's Notes

Written by slickdewmaster | Staff
  • About this Offer:
    • Costco Members receive with purchase:
      • 2nd Year Warranty
      • Free Technical Support
      • 90 Day Return Policy
    • This is $50 lower than the next lowest price from a reputable merchant with prices starting from $1299.
  • About this Store:
    • If you don't have a Costco Warehouse Membership, you can sign-up here
  • Refer to the forum thread for additional deal discussion.

Original Post

Written by socalguy9

Community Voting

Deal Score
+32
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Top Comments

mrmochi
5019 Posts
622 Reputation
Don't forget, for every smaller iteration drive you get the SSD Speeds get cut in half

(MB/sec)
256GB = 1500
512 = 3000
1TB = 6000

Pretty crummy, borderline criminal of apple to not advertise this little change and give all the youtube reviews early-access to the 1TB knowingly hiding this important fact upon launch.
dclive
6118 Posts
741 Reputation
The M2 Mac mini base has 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores.

The M2 Mac mini Pro base has 6 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores.

If you have an app that can use those extra cores, the machine could be (for CPU tasks) perhaps 50% faster.

The GPU is 16 cores in the base Pro vs 10 in the normal M2 mini, so it could be 60% faster if you have an app that can use all of those cores.

For most common apps that you as a user use for everyday things, the only thing that matters is single-threaded CPU speed, and at that, the M2 and M2 Pro are exactly the same speed.

I went to the Pro because:
1. It was immediately available
2. It had 2 more TB4 ports
3. I wanted the faster GPU with 60% more GPU cores (for the almost nonexistent MacOS games)
4. The price premium was $330 or so. Not happy, but it is what it is.

The additional 2 cores of CPU didn't really figure into it for me, as I almost never have jobs that overwhelm "even" "just" 4 CPU cores.

For code-compile, multimedia encoding, and some music creation tasks, particularly in Adobe and Apple professional apps, there is a significant gain to be had there. For Chrome, Edge, Safari, Mail, and GarageBand, probably not as much...
Jimmdean
738 Posts
264 Reputation
How much active memory your computer is using, particularly at idle, is not really an indication of anything. You really have to look at how much individual programs and process are using and how it fluctuates with use. It's more than just looking at how much you have used or free. A computer could have nothing free and still be operating perfectly fine with no noticeable slowdown.

100 Comments

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Feb 20, 2023 11:53 PM
6,118 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveFeb 20, 2023 11:53 PM
6,118 Posts
Quote from mrmochi :
Don't forget, for every smaller iteration drive you get the SSD Speeds get cut in half

(MB/sec)
256GB = 1500
512 = 3000
1TB = 6000

Pretty crummy, borderline criminal of apple to not advertise this little change and give all the youtube reviews early-access to the 1TB knowingly hiding this important fact upon launch.
Are you aware of the difference between random IO and maximum IO?
Can you differentiate when each is used and when each is important?
3
Feb 20, 2023 11:58 PM
581 Posts
Joined Oct 2013
CourtC4337Feb 20, 2023 11:58 PM
581 Posts
How is 16gb on macOS? Can I use it like a 32gb windows machine? Having various apps and service running in the background? Is it more dynamic? I remember reading that at some point in the past. Like smart offloading things at different moments. Or should I expect a similar performance to 16gb with windows?
1
Feb 21, 2023 12:15 AM
738 Posts
Joined Mar 2007
JimmdeanFeb 21, 2023 12:15 AM
738 Posts
Quote from CourtC4337 :
How is 16gb on macOS? Can I use it like a 32gb windows machine? Having various apps and service running in the background? Is it more dynamic? I remember reading that at some point in the past. Like smart offloading things at different moments. Or should I expect a similar performance to 16gb with windows?
hard to say without knowing what kind of apps you use. a lot of people on mac are fine with 8GB still.
1
Feb 21, 2023 12:29 AM
1,269 Posts
Joined Jan 2016
Squirrels8MyLunchFeb 21, 2023 12:29 AM
1,269 Posts
Good to keep under the tv
3
Feb 21, 2023 12:37 AM
539 Posts
Joined Feb 2010
vnangiaFeb 21, 2023 12:37 AM
539 Posts
Quote from dclive :
The M2 Mac mini base has 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores.

The M2 Mac mini Pro base has 6 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores.

If you have an app that can use those extra cores, the machine could be (for CPU tasks) perhaps 50% faster.

The GPU is 16 cores in the base Pro vs 10 in the normal M2 mini, so it could be 60% faster if you have an app that can use all of those cores.

For most common apps that you as a user use for everyday things, the only thing that matters is single-threaded CPU speed, and at that, the M2 and M2 Pro are exactly the same speed.

I went to the Pro because:
1. It was immediately available
2. It had 2 more TB4 ports
3. I wanted the faster GPU with 60% more GPU cores (for the almost nonexistent MacOS games)
4. The price premium was $330 or so. Not happy, but it is what it is.

The additional 2 cores of CPU didn't really figure into it for me, as I almost never have jobs that overwhelm "even" "just" 4 CPU cores.

For code-compile, multimedia encoding, and some music creation tasks, particularly in Adobe and Apple professional apps, there is a significant gain to be had there. For Chrome, Edge, Safari, Mail, and GarageBand, probably not as much...
The hard choice right now is the M2 Pro Mini and the M1 Max Studio — if you configure them alike (32GB of RAM, 10Gbe), it ends up being $150 apart. Frustratingly close in terms of performance, but you also get a few extra ports and significantly improved cooling. I spent so much time trying to decide, I decided to wait it out.
1
Feb 21, 2023 12:44 AM
738 Posts
Joined Mar 2007
JimmdeanFeb 21, 2023 12:44 AM
738 Posts
Quote from vnangia :
The hard choice right now is the M2 Pro Mini and the M1 Max Studio — if you configure them alike (32GB of RAM, 10Gbe), it ends up being $150 apart. Frustratingly close in terms of performance, but you also get a few extra ports and significantly improved cooling. I spent so much time trying to decide, I decided to wait it out.
if you are at all interested in the Studio I agree waiting is your best bet. it is likely see the base architecture updates the pro mini got, but still maintain it's current pricing, in which case it's a no-brainer. the question is how long it will take. or if they bump the pricing somehow.
Feb 21, 2023 12:55 AM
6,118 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveFeb 21, 2023 12:55 AM
6,118 Posts
Quote from Jimmdean :
if you are at all interested in the Studio I agree waiting is your best bet. it is likely see the base architecture updates the pro mini got, but still maintain it's current pricing, in which case it's a no-brainer. the question is how long it will take. or if they bump the pricing somehow.
The issue I see is the rumor Apple won't update the Studio to M2. Frown

Costco just had the Studio at $1699. My thought process was (any updates to the Pro) make the Studio worthwhile (at $1699; not $1799 Edu or $1999 normal price). I just didn't feel like spending the $, and felt the Pro was close enough with the updated GPU cores in the M2. "Most of the benefit at 2/3 the price" was the thought process.

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Feb 21, 2023 12:56 AM
502 Posts
Joined Sep 2007
mannyvFeb 21, 2023 12:56 AM
502 Posts
Quote from mrmochi :
Pretty crummy, borderline criminal of apple to not advertise this little change and give all the youtube reviews early-access to the 1TB knowingly hiding this important fact upon launch.
Most users can't tell an iop from a cpu, and most don't care about drive throughput. Even the smallest one is fast enough for ProRes 422 at 4k/60p, but you'd never do that because it would fill the disk instantly.
2
Feb 21, 2023 01:02 AM
5,019 Posts
Joined Dec 2005
mrmochiFeb 21, 2023 01:02 AM
5,019 Posts
Quote from mannyv :
Most users can't tell an iop from a cpu, and most don't care about drive throughput. Even the smallest one is fast enough for ProRes 422 at 4k/60p, but you'd never do that because it would fill the disk instantly.
For the file operations I do every week, I can definitely tell.
Feb 21, 2023 01:02 AM
5,019 Posts
Joined Dec 2005
mrmochiFeb 21, 2023 01:02 AM
5,019 Posts
Quote from CourtC4337 :
How is 16gb on macOS? Can I use it like a 32gb windows machine? Having various apps and service running in the background? Is it more dynamic? I remember reading that at some point in the past. Like smart offloading things at different moments. Or should I expect a similar performance to 16gb with windows?
16GB should be the standard if you're a pro user
1
Feb 21, 2023 01:03 AM
5,019 Posts
Joined Dec 2005
mrmochiFeb 21, 2023 01:03 AM
5,019 Posts
Quote from Jimmdean :
I agree it's bad, but only because ever since Apple first went with SSD options they have always been top-notch. But now when you can get 2TB of top-shelf Samsung SSD for less than $200 Apple's own SSD options just compare badly in either performance or cost, and often both. If they would just quit squeezing us on the pricing it wouldn't be a problem.
What Samsung 2TB top shelf Samsung SSD can be had for $200? What read/write speeds?
Feb 21, 2023 01:03 AM
21 Posts
Joined Oct 2010
DHunter03Feb 21, 2023 01:03 AM
21 Posts
Quote from mrmochi :
Don't forget, for every smaller iteration drive you get the SSD Speeds get cut in half

(MB/sec)
256GB = 1500
512 = 3000
1TB = 6000

Pretty crummy, borderline criminal of apple to not advertise this little change and give all the youtube reviews early-access to the 1TB knowingly hiding this important fact upon launch.
Correct for the M2 Pro mini. The regular M2 has 2 NAND slots so it is capped at 3000 even for the 1TB and the 2TB mini.
1
Feb 21, 2023 01:05 AM
6,458 Posts
Joined Oct 2018
Wavy-NifeFeb 21, 2023 01:05 AM
6,458 Posts
Quote from dclive :
It's not that cut and dried. If you "only" have 8GB RAM on your machine, and you load exactly the same things, MacOS (and any modern OS) changes what it compresses and what it puts in disk cache, and so it's quite likely that it could still have several GB free (or free-able, in the case of disk cache and compression). Across the board comparisons of Activity Monitor stats without doing the same thing on both like-machines-except-memory isn't a good comparison.
And "dry"
1
4
Feb 21, 2023 01:08 AM
738 Posts
Joined Mar 2007
JimmdeanFeb 21, 2023 01:08 AM
738 Posts
Quote from dclive :
The issue I see is the rumor Apple won't update the Studio to M2. Frown

Costco just had the Studio at $1699. My thought process was (any updates to the Pro) make the Studio worthwhile (at $1699; not $1799 Edu or $1999 normal price). I just didn't feel like spending the $, and felt the Pro was close enough with the updated GPU cores in the M2. "Most of the benefit at 2/3 the price" was the thought process.
I can see the Studio not getting an upgrade at all. it could have been a little niche product to fill the gap between mac pro (and possibly 27" imac updates). maybe even just to show-off the 2-cpu architecture. who knows…

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Feb 21, 2023 01:11 AM
6,118 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveFeb 21, 2023 01:11 AM
6,118 Posts
Quote from Wavy-Nife :
And "dry"
Hmm.... https://www.google.com/search?q=c...e&ie=UTF-8

Is cut and dry correct?
Most standard dictionaries accept both forms, giving "cut and dry" as a variant or less common version. To say that something is "cut and dried"—a decision, speech, proposal, etc. —means that it's been decided or settled in advance. Some dictionaries add that it can mean clear and unambiguous.Jul 2, 2021

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