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expiredLaotzu3 posted Mar 03, 2023 11:16 PM
expiredLaotzu3 posted Mar 03, 2023 11:16 PM

Select Costco Stores: Apple Mac Mini: M1, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD (Late 2020 Model)

(In-Store Only)

$400

$599

33% off
Costco Wholesale
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Deal Details
Select Costco Wholesale Stores (link for reference only) [store locator] offer Costco Members: Apple Mac Mini Compact Computer w/ Apple M1 Chip (Late 2020 Model, MGNR3LL/A) on closeout for $399.97 valid for In-Store Purchase Only where stock permits (request item # 1486314).

Thanks to community member Laotzu3 for finding this deal.
  • Note: Inventory availability nay vary by location.

Specs:
  • Apple M1 Octa-Core Processor (4x high-performance + 4x high-efficiency)
  • 8-Core Integrated GPU
  • 8GB RAM (onboard)
  • 256GB Integrated NVMe PCIe Solid State Drive
  • 802.11ax WiFi 6 / Bluetooth 5.0
  • Ports:
    • 2x USB Type-A (USB 3.1 / USB 3.2 Gen 1)
    • 2x Thunderbolt 3 USB Type C (supports DisplayPort / HDMI / VGA & Power Delivery)
    • 1x HDMI 2.0 (output)
    • 1x 3.5 mm Headphone
    • 1x Ethernet

Editor's Notes

Written by RevOne | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • Offer valid at participating locations while supplies last.
  • Ratings & Reviews:
    • Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars based on 1,423 customer reviews.
  • Additional Note:
    • Please refer to the Forum Thread for further discussion regarding this deal.

Original Post

Written by Laotzu3
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Select Costco Wholesale Stores (link for reference only) [store locator] offer Costco Members: Apple Mac Mini Compact Computer w/ Apple M1 Chip (Late 2020 Model, MGNR3LL/A) on closeout for $399.97 valid for In-Store Purchase Only where stock permits (request item # 1486314).

Thanks to community member Laotzu3 for finding this deal.
  • Note: Inventory availability nay vary by location.

Specs:
  • Apple M1 Octa-Core Processor (4x high-performance + 4x high-efficiency)
  • 8-Core Integrated GPU
  • 8GB RAM (onboard)
  • 256GB Integrated NVMe PCIe Solid State Drive
  • 802.11ax WiFi 6 / Bluetooth 5.0
  • Ports:
    • 2x USB Type-A (USB 3.1 / USB 3.2 Gen 1)
    • 2x Thunderbolt 3 USB Type C (supports DisplayPort / HDMI / VGA & Power Delivery)
    • 1x HDMI 2.0 (output)
    • 1x 3.5 mm Headphone
    • 1x Ethernet

Editor's Notes

Written by RevOne | Staff
  • About this deal:
    • Offer valid at participating locations while supplies last.
  • Ratings & Reviews:
    • Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars based on 1,423 customer reviews.
  • Additional Note:
    • Please refer to the Forum Thread for further discussion regarding this deal.

Original Post

Written by Laotzu3

Community Voting

Deal Score
+124
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Top Comments

Laotzu3
16 Posts
58 Reputation
According to most reports M2 is 20% faster but it's disk access is 50% slower while the price is 33% more.

To get disk access on par with M1 you need to pay $200 to upgrade to 512gb ($799 or $699)
Laotzu3
16 Posts
58 Reputation
Recent mac's are not upgradeable in either ram or sdd unfortunately.
chi
6243 Posts
1380 Reputation
There's a slow SSD controversy on the M2 base models. The M1 base models have 2 SSDs while the M2 base models have only 1 SSD so there can be data bottlenecks.

https://youtu.be/bF_Lbdqfowo

341 Comments

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Mar 05, 2023 11:46 PM
264 Posts
Joined Nov 2019
GreenIdea3316Mar 05, 2023 11:46 PM
264 Posts
Quote from dclive :
Tell me you've never seen a modern Mac without saying you've never seen a modern Mac. Right here.
I have a Mac Studio. This thing will be great for internet surfing as long as you don't open to many tabs. Good luck
2
Mar 05, 2023 11:47 PM
1,330 Posts
Joined Dec 2018
DkizzyMar 05, 2023 11:47 PM
1,330 Posts
Quote from dclive :
My 2TB 850X was $170-ish just yesterday, so yeah, I get it. Apple isn't selling commodity hardware. If that's all you want, go buy it. We have an open market, and no one is forcing you to buy Apple. In fact, it's very easy to add an SSD (albeit externally) to any Mac.

Problem solved.

But that's not a reason WHY 256GB is a crazy base capacity. I could say "Because a 1TB drive is only $40!" because surely I've seen one somewhere. Where does it end? Apple isn't a charity; they price what sells, and obviously these sell. And by far the most common config IS the 8/256 config. Which implies Apple is doing just fine at matching price and capacity for their customers.
Enough on this. They have plenty of competitors offering 1TB minimum with the same manufacturing and market costs. If anything, Apple has even less costs because they intentionally transitioned to more in-house manufacturing and don't have to outsource as much/pay a licensing fee. Evidently, it was intentional that I did not mention the usual go-to spiel about grabbing an external enclosure/drive. That is a given. 512gb should be the baseline now. Simple as that.
Last edited by Dkizzy March 5, 2023 at 05:23 PM.
Mar 06, 2023 12:04 AM
6,118 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveMar 06, 2023 12:04 AM
6,118 Posts
Quote from GreenIdea3316 :
I have a Mac Studio. This thing will be great for internet surfing as long as you don't open to many tabs. Good luck
And how do you know? What's your basis? Have you owned an 8GB Mx Mac? We've had several posters in this very thread say how wrong that statement is. AND they own one of these Macs...
Mar 06, 2023 12:05 AM
6,118 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveMar 06, 2023 12:05 AM
6,118 Posts
Quote from Dkizzy :
Enough on this. They have plenty of competitors offering 1TB minimum with the same manufacturing and market costs. Evidently, it was intentional that I did not mention the usual go-to spiel about grabbing an external enclosure/drive. That is a given. 512gb should be the baseline now. Simple as that.
Oh. Well, I think 256GB should be a baseline. So there!

Curious - how do you know it's the same manuf and market costs? Those SSDs you compare against are also direct-to-CPU access?

Seriously, who decides? Apple, with customer research and knowledge. And ... evidence suggests they're doing a great job of it.
1
Mar 06, 2023 12:06 AM
264 Posts
Joined Nov 2019
GreenIdea3316Mar 06, 2023 12:06 AM
264 Posts
Quote from dclive :
And how do you know? What's your basis? Have you owned an 8GB Mx Mac? We've had several posters in this very thread say how wrong that statement is. AND they own one of these Macs...
8 meg ram won't go far period, irrelevant what the chip is.
1
2
Mar 06, 2023 12:20 AM
1,330 Posts
Joined Dec 2018
DkizzyMar 06, 2023 12:20 AM
1,330 Posts
Quote from dclive :
Oh. Well, I think 256GB should be a baseline. So there!

Curious - how do you know it's the same manuf and market costs? Those SSDs you compare against are also direct-to-CPU access?

Seriously, who decides? Apple, with customer research and knowledge. And ... evidence suggests they're doing a great job of it.
šŸ˜„, they can get wholesale deals quite easily, but go ahead and die on such a trivial, figurative hill
2
Mar 06, 2023 12:33 AM
1,562 Posts
Joined May 2012
CujobobMar 06, 2023 12:33 AM
1,562 Posts
Quote from GreenIdea3316 :
8 meg ram won't go far period, irrelevant what the chip is.
8 meg of RAM? 8 Gb of RAM is plenty for the casual user who streams, surfs, and does basic office work. You can edit videos on 8 Gb of RAM, but complex stuff is better off with 16. Still, the base model is for a specific group. They can add on more for people who need more. The base model is mass produced to keep costs as low as possible and be the computer that the average person needs.

These honestly offer a lot of value. You get a great OS that interfaces with your phone/tablet really well, a good looking product in a small form factor, a near silent device, and one that uses very little power.

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Mar 06, 2023 01:07 AM
6,118 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveMar 06, 2023 01:07 AM
6,118 Posts
Quote from GreenIdea3316 :
8 meg ram won't go far period, irrelevant what the chip is.
There's so much clear evidence otherwise; on what do you base that statement? Do you have an 8GB M1/M2 Mac?
Mar 06, 2023 01:08 AM
6,118 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveMar 06, 2023 01:08 AM
6,118 Posts
Quote from Dkizzy :
šŸ˜„, they can get wholesale deals quite easily, but go ahead and die on such a trivial, figurative hill
Your argument is the products are the same (manufacturing and marketing costs) and I'd like to know on what you form that basis. Clearly, it's not the same; that's obvious. So why do you say that?
Mar 06, 2023 01:13 AM
264 Posts
Joined Nov 2019
GreenIdea3316Mar 06, 2023 01:13 AM
264 Posts
Quote from Cujobob :
8 meg of RAM? 8 Gb of RAM is plenty for the casual user who streams, surfs, and does basic office work. You can edit videos on 8 Gb of RAM, but complex stuff is better off with 16. Still, the base model is for a specific group. They can add on more for people who need more. The base model is mass produced to keep costs as low as possible and be the computer that the average person needs.

These honestly offer a lot of value. You get a great OS that interfaces with your phone/tablet really well, a good looking product in a small form factor, a near silent device, and one that uses very little power.
yes, mean 8 gig. It's fine if you dont do much and always close programs, dont have much open at one time. If you going to do much it won't be enough. I had an iMAC that I upgraded to 32 gig and even it would get full and start lagging if I didn't close stuff.
2
Original Poster
Mar 06, 2023 01:27 AM
16 Posts
Joined Mar 2023
Laotzu3
Original Poster
Mar 06, 2023 01:27 AM
16 Posts
There seems to be a lot of opinion and conjecture on this thread about the suitability of ram and storage sizing from those who do not own an M1/M2. It makes very little sense to compare ones experiences with Intel/windows to M1/M2/MacOS.

While everyone has their own requirements, let's hear from those with actual experience with M1/M2 configurations.

I for one, have used a Macbook Air M1 8/256 since 2020. In addition to regular tasks like surfing and office apps, I do a fair amount of photo and video editing using Gimp, Raw Therapee, Handbrake, AviDemux and Davinci Resolve. I have been happy with performance so far editing 85MB raw files and 4k 30p video. In fact it's been stunning, the encoding rates the M1 achieves, by far besting what my friends with high end Windows laptops can achieve.

I use external NVMe (thunderbolt3 and usbc) as storage for the media files which have been very cost effective and fast. I plan to soon start editing 8k ProRes raw files in Final Cut Pro, so we will see how it performs under higher demands, but I've heard the base M1 does well with 8k with half-resolution display in Davinci.

So, in my use case, the M1 8/256 has proven very usable and enjoyable YMMV.

I'd like to hear from others of their actual experience with base M1 or M2.
Last edited by Laotzu3 March 5, 2023 at 06:33 PM.
Mar 06, 2023 01:29 AM
6,118 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveMar 06, 2023 01:29 AM
6,118 Posts
Quote from GreenIdea3316 :
yes, mean 8 gig. It's fine if you dont do much and always close programs, dont have much open at one time. If you going to do much it won't be enough. I had an iMAC that I upgraded to 32 gig and even it would get full and start lagging if I didn't close stuff.
Cool. That's your experience. Others in this thread clearly state they can use professional apps, and do 4k video editing, just fine in 8GB.

If you'd like help from the communityu with why your 32GB iMac is having a problem (as, frankly, it's crazy that you could have a memory issue with 32GB) please post pictures of Activity Monitor when you are having a problem, and be ready to post more details. Install iStat Menus so you can easily see pagefile activity, so that you can confirm for yourself whether you are actually paging or not. Then let's see what's going wrong.

Also let's note you don't own an 8GB M1 / M2 at all. Smilie. [Pls confirm]
Mar 06, 2023 01:36 AM
3,259 Posts
Joined May 2020
HE1Mar 06, 2023 01:36 AM
3,259 Posts
Got one from my local store. Quite a few left 27407.

I do a lot of large file transfers. M1 dual-chip is 60% faster than M2 single-chip.
Last edited by HE1 March 5, 2023 at 06:39 PM.
Mar 06, 2023 03:05 AM
264 Posts
Joined Nov 2019
GreenIdea3316Mar 06, 2023 03:05 AM
264 Posts
Quote from dclive :
Cool. That's your experience. Others in this thread clearly state they can use professional apps, and do 4k video editing, just fine in 8GB.

If you'd like help from the communityu with why your 32GB iMac is having a problem (as, frankly, it's crazy that you could have a memory issue with 32GB) please post pictures of Activity Monitor when you are having a problem, and be ready to post more details. Install iStat Menus so you can easily see pagefile activity, so that you can confirm for yourself whether you are actually paging or not. Then let's see what's going wrong.

Also let's note you don't own an 8GB M1 / M2 at all. . [Pls confirm]
I already told you I got a studio Mac. I don't use the iMac any longer. It was older. This is what Apple does when it updates operating systems your computer gets slower and slower each time. The iMac was 8 gig memory initially until I upgraded it to 32. It was fine then for many years, but eventually it even lagged and got me memory errors, but I mostly replaced it cuz it would no longer run the latest operating system. The mini referenced here is not memory upgradable, and is already 2 1/2 years old so it won't be long before anyone doing much on it runs into problems, and then since not upgradable will just be shit out of luck. Maybe I do a lot more than the average person, but no way could I live with 8 gig memory.
3

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Mar 06, 2023 03:41 AM
738 Posts
Joined Mar 2007
JimmdeanMar 06, 2023 03:41 AM
738 Posts
Quote from GreenIdea3316 :
I already told you I got a studio Mac. I don't use the iMac any longer. It was older. This is what Apple does when it updates operating systems your computer gets slower and slower each time. The iMac was 8 gig memory initially until I upgraded it to 32. It was fine then for many years, but eventually it even lagged and got me memory errors, but I mostly replaced it cuz it would no longer run the latest operating system. The mini referenced here is not memory upgradable, and is already 2 1/2 years old so it won't be long before anyone doing much on it runs into problems, and then since not upgradable will just be shit out of luck. Maybe I do a lot more than the average person, but no way could I live with 8 gig memory.
Respectfully, that's not how RAM works. I think you got tricked into buying a Mac Studio.
2

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