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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
341 Comments 204,495 Views
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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 13, 2023 03:35 AM
400 Posts
Joined Apr 2007
lelandMar 13, 2023 03:35 AM
400 Posts
Picked one up to play with although I don't know if I need it. As someone mentioned earlier here the instacart method is a good way to check availability.

Now I need a monitor deal Big Grin
Mar 13, 2023 05:13 AM
1,486 Posts
Joined Jan 2011
mrcloseupmanMar 13, 2023 05:13 AM
1,486 Posts
Quote from dclive :
...at $399? Be serious. I can get a junker PC made of plastic that will depreciate overnight to half what I paid or less, or I can get a fast Mac.
or you can get a new one with the m2 for a $100 more at the apple education store Stick Out Tongue
Mar 13, 2023 05:27 AM
19 Posts
Joined Feb 2014
toanpMar 13, 2023 05:27 AM
19 Posts
Quote from chi :
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
It's not that deep. Nobody is playing Hogwarts on a Mac mini
Mar 13, 2023 05:57 AM
31 Posts
Joined Jul 2019
SamV4Mar 13, 2023 05:57 AM
31 Posts
Quote from SiennaDeer7003 :
not sure if that's a good deal since I can buy the M2 for 499 with my educational discount. i guess if someone really needs one they can get.
That's assuming everyone has an education discount.
Mar 13, 2023 01:38 PM
6,118 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveMar 13, 2023 01:38 PM
6,118 Posts
Quote from SamV4 :
That's assuming everyone has an education discount.
And who can't take advantage of it?
Mar 14, 2023 04:09 PM
318 Posts
Joined Feb 2009
ciacMar 14, 2023 04:09 PM
318 Posts
I got one and I love it. Very snappy even with lots of apps/windows open (seems to happen all the time, multitasking is easy). It sips power (less than 8w most of the time, at the most 16-20w when pushed hard). My monitor takes 3x the energy as this mini. A good always on computer that's quiet and fast.

I personally think the ssd storage issue will be quite noticeable for small RAM configurations on the lowest end, since swap space will inevitably get used a lot. (i believe some youtuber/reviewer confirmed this on daily use, not just high transfer rate applications). Thus I'm skipping M2 for now and waiting to see if they had this issue fixed. It feels to me almost like a deliberate handicap of the lowest end models with the M2 lineups. Even 512mb version of the M2 suffers from this. Why not take full advantage of the circuit design, instead of trying to make the negative impact sound negligible?

want to expand my storage though.

wondering if there's any recommendation on a good thunderbolt nvme enclosure for the money. i have nvme lying around but no fast enclosures.

is the recent ugreen deal good enough for only $23? or is there any other recommendations?

thanks in advance.
Last edited by ciac March 14, 2023 at 10:37 AM.
Apr 18, 2023 09:54 PM
159 Posts
Joined Aug 2021
CantisamaApr 18, 2023 09:54 PM
159 Posts
Heads up that the price online is now $299.97 ($100 less). You probably won't find stock anywhere, but for those that got one already, you can request a price adjustment.

Online orders delivered within the past 30 days can request a price adjustment here: https://customerservice.costco.co...com-orders

I could not confirm if the lower price is in-store as well.

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Apr 19, 2023 02:36 PM
3,532 Posts
Joined Jan 2015
kevinaaaApr 19, 2023 02:36 PM
3,532 Posts
Quote from ciac :
I got one and I love it. Very snappy even with lots of apps/windows open (seems to happen all the time, multitasking is easy). It sips power (less than 8w most of the time, at the most 16-20w when pushed hard). My monitor takes 3x the energy as this mini. A good always on computer that's quiet and fast.

I personally think the ssd storage issue will be quite noticeable for small RAM configurations on the lowest end, since swap space will inevitably get used a lot. (i believe some youtuber/reviewer confirmed this on daily use, not just high transfer rate applications). Thus I'm skipping M2 for now and waiting to see if they had this issue fixed. It feels to me almost like a deliberate handicap of the lowest end models with the M2 lineups. Even 512mb version of the M2 suffers from this. Why not take full advantage of the circuit design, instead of trying to make the negative impact sound negligible?

want to expand my storage though.

wondering if there's any recommendation on a good thunderbolt nvme enclosure for the money. i have nvme lying around but no fast enclosures.

is the recent ugreen deal good enough for only $23? or is there any other recommendations?

thanks in advance.
I just wonder how long the ssd will last if used as swap frequently because SSD can only be rewritten 1000 times.
Apr 19, 2023 08:54 PM
6,118 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveApr 19, 2023 08:54 PM
6,118 Posts
Quote from kevinaaa :
I just wonder how long the ssd will last if used as swap frequently because SSD can only be rewritten 1000 times.

That's pure nonsense.


In 2005 the first SSDs could only be rewritten en-toto a few tens of thousands of times. Now, it's so many times that nobody's going to hit it in the next decades. It's just a theoretical limit at this point.
Apr 20, 2023 11:50 AM
6,118 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveApr 20, 2023 11:50 AM
6,118 Posts
Quote from ciac :
I got one and I love it. Very snappy even with lots of apps/windows open (seems to happen all the time, multitasking is easy). It sips power (less than 8w most of the time, at the most 16-20w when pushed hard). My monitor takes 3x the energy as this mini. A good always on computer that's quiet and fast.
Glad you like it. "Even" with only 8GB of RAM, eh? Smilie

Quote :
I personally think the ssd storage issue will be quite noticeable for small RAM configurations on the lowest end, since swap space will inevitably get used a lot. (i believe some youtuber/reviewer confirmed this on daily use, not just high transfer rate applications). Thus I'm skipping M2 for now and waiting to see if they had this issue fixed. It feels to me almost like a deliberate handicap of the lowest end models with the M2 lineups. Even 512mb version of the M2 suffers from this. Why not take full advantage of the circuit design, instead of trying to make the negative impact sound negligible?
This represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how swap is used. Random IO is what matters for swap, not a theoretical max benchmark speed, and at that, the M2 is marginally faster or about the same speeds as the M1, and that speed isn't tied to disk size; it's about the same throughout the M2 lineup.

You can see this for yourself - just open Activity Monitor and look at your swap speeds; realize they're nowhere close to 1500MB/s, 3000MB/s, or 6000MB/s.

Quote :
want to expand my storage though.

wondering if there's any recommendation on a good thunderbolt nvme enclosure for the money. i have nvme lying around but no fast enclosures.

is the recent ugreen deal good enough for only $23? or is there any other recommendations?

thanks in advance.
I bought an Amazon USBC NVME enclosure for about $16 that I'm very happy with for my M2 Pro mini. It's all of 1000MB/s (max theoretical) speed. Again, random IO, much more so than a benchmark's max speeds, is what matters for normal use. Focusing on just the Black Magic benchmark's "big number" is a waste of time unless you just copy big ISO files back and forth to local Thunderbolt 4 storage.
Apr 20, 2023 11:52 AM
6,118 Posts
Joined Mar 2008
dcliveApr 20, 2023 11:52 AM
6,118 Posts
Quote from SamV4 :
That's assuming everyone has an education discount.
In the USA everyone does have an education discount.

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