Update: This popular deal is still available
Amazon has
Apple Mac Mini Desktop Computer w/ M2 Chip (2023 Model, MMFJ3LL/A) on sale for
$499.
Shipping is free.
B&H Photo Video has
Apple Mac Mini Desktop Computer w/ M2 Chip (2023 Model, MMFJ3LL/A) on sale for
$499.
Shipping is free.
Thanks to Community Member
heavyarms1912 for finding this deal.
Product Features:
- Apple M2 Octa-Core Processor
- 10-Core Integrated GPU
- 8GB Unified Memory
- 256GB 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
Leave a Comment
Top Comments
Unless you really need a Mac, I'd go with the above. Much better machine for almost the same price. You can the same specs from other manufacturers for even less, but Minisforum is a well known brand in the mini PC scene.
https://www.amazon.com/MINISFORUM...B0
Edit: As another user kindly pointed out, the Minisforum PC I listed above is just $506 with coupon now. absolutely insane deal for so much power in such a small package.
251 Comments
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Software/ecosystem is a personal preference, and I totally get why people love Apple. Everything in their ecosystem work really well together and the battery life is amazing due to the efficient hardware/software.
For me, it boils down to economics and flexibility in the end. Buying an Apple laptop with 2TB SSD is prohibitively expensive, and it is stupid cheap on laptops with expandable storage. I just don't want to carry external drives everywhere. Many laptops come with dual m.2 slots, so for less than $400, I can have 8TB of fast storage in a thin and light laptop, which will cost many thousands on an Apple laptop.
And "thin and light" would suggest not powerful enough on x86 chips that's can't possibly process all that data efficiently.
Even fastest Apple computers is extremely unlikely to process that much data on the go.
8TB is 180 hours of 4k footage. I'm sure they won't edit 177 hours of 4k footage on the "thin" and light laptop.
Not to mention data lost risk of 8TB of data.
My work MBP has 512gb of storage, 354gb currently available. That's with a crap ton of development, office, creative and so on applications. All of my files are either in OneDrive, on Sharepoint, or stored on an external for the rare need to have it when not connected. Otherwise, I rarely use local storage these days.
And "thin and light" would suggest not powerful enough on x86 chips that's can't possibly process all that data efficiently.
Even fastest Apple computers is extremely unlikely to process that much data on the go.
8TB is 180 hours of 4k footage. I'm sure they won't edit 177 hours of 4k footage on the "thin" and light laptop.
Not to mention data lost risk of 8TB of data.
Whether you personally use that much storage or not is entire up to you, of course. The same applies to phones. There are tons of people who are totally okay with 64 or 128GB on their phones, but many people need 512GB or 1TB.
For me, the more storage the better as I have multiple terabytes of family/hobby photography photos and videos that I like to keep on my computer for easy access (they are also backed up on Amazon and Google photos, but still nice to have fast access to raw files when needed). I also multiple software development environments each approaching 50GB plus.
As I said, everyone has different needs. That's why I said that 256GB doesn't work for me personally and the main reason why PC laptops are so awesome with the ultra cheap SSD prices these days. Having the possibility of access to 8TB NVMe storage in a thin and light laptop for under $400 is just unreal.
In terms of performance and ability to process the data, it's not like I am processing 8TB of data on the go. An LG Gram with a 1260p or the newer 1360p is good enough for anything I throw at it in terns of photo editing and software development. I don't do video editing, so a thin and light works for me. For heavy duty video editing, I'd use a higher wattage CPU, which are also available on laptops.
I appreciate the details!!!!
Whether you personally use that much storage or not is entire up to you, of course. The same applies to phones. There are tons of people who are totally okay with 64 or 128GB on their phones, but many people need 512GB or 1TB.
For me, the more storage the better as I have multiple terabytes of family/hobby photography photos and videos that I like to keep on my computer for easy access (they are also backed up on Amazon and Google photos, but still nice to have fast access to raw files when needed). I also multiple software development environments each approaching 50GB plus.
As I said, everyone has different needs. That's why I said that 256GB doesn't work for me personally and the main reason why PC laptops are so awesome with the ultra cheap SSD prices these days. Having the possibility of access to 8TB NVMe storage in a thin and light laptop for under $400 is just unreal.
In terms of performance and ability to process the data, it's not like I am processing 8TB of data on the go. An LG Gram with a 1260p or the newer 1360p is good enough for anything I throw at it in terns of photo editing and software development. I don't do video editing, so a thin and light works for me. For heavy duty video editing, I'd use a higher wattage CPU, which are also available on laptops.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Going to 16 suddenly adds an extra $400.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank dealmeister3000
Then others on here are saying but, but It can edit 4k! Okay, but I would never edit 4k footage on a 8gb RAM machine with 256gb of storage. There should at least be a way to throw in a second or even third NVME. I hate all these Apple form factors. Okay they may look cool and minimalist but the wire jungle you will need to attach external storage is a nightmare.
Let's be honest this machine is a teaser to get you into the brand and they hope you will want 16gb RAM and at least 512GB of storage the next time around. That will set you back $1300!
How can an extra 8gb of RAM and 256GB of storage make a desktop cost 2.6 times the price?!
The M2 chip is overkill for surfing the web and the machine holistically is too restrictive to be an ideal media creation platform
I have an old Dell laptop and I love the fact I can hook my phone up to it and dump half a terabyte of data onto my second internal SSD.
Honestly if someone is just web surfing they can get a refurbished Windows laptop that is upgradable and save some money.
If you happen to like Macs that is fine. I just don't see the point of mating such a powerful CPU with such a restricted system.
Software/ecosystem is a personal preference, and I totally get why people love Apple. Everything in their ecosystem work really well together and the battery life is amazing due to the efficient hardware/software.
For me, it boils down to economics and flexibility in the end. Buying an Apple laptop with 2TB SSD is prohibitively expensive, and it is stupid cheap on laptops with expandable storage. I just don't want to carry external drives everywhere. Many laptops come with dual m.2 slots, so for less than $400, I can have 8TB of fast storage in a thin and light laptop, which will cost many thousands on an Apple laptop.
Also, Window's bloated registry etc is not an issue at all. I am a power user and Windows 10/11 work just fine for me. Yes, Apple's hardware and software are more power efficient, which is great for laptops and phones, but Windows has not been an issue for me at all for many years. I tried using a Mac (and an iPhone on a different occasion) for a few days and both drove me crazy, but that is 100% subjective, so to each their own.
Both platforms have their advantages and disadvantages, so use whatever works best for you. For me, I just can't tolerate spending thousands more on Apple's hardware as I can spend that money on other gadgets that bring me more happiness. I am also a user with a hacker/power user mentality, so being restricted by Apple to doing things their way just doesn't work for me.
Again, I respect what Apple has accomplished and admire their design, but it comes at a huge financial cost and lack of flexibility to me, so I have stuck with Android and Windows (tried Linux, but it was too much of a hassle for me).
Then others on here are saying but, but It can edit 4k! Okay, but I would never edit 4k footage on a 8gb RAM machine with 256gb of storage. There should at least be a way to throw in a second or even third NVME. I hate all these Apple form factors. Okay they may look cool and minimalist but the wire jungle you will need to attach external storage is a nightmare.
Let's be honest this machine is a teaser to get you into the brand and they hope you will want 16gb RAM and at least 512GB of storage the next time around. That will set you back $1300!
How can an extra 8gb of RAM and 256GB of storage make a desktop cost 2.6 times the price?!
The M2 chip is overkill for surfing the web and the machine holistically is too restrictive to be an ideal media creation platform
I have an old Dell laptop and I love the fact I can hook my phone up to it and dump half a terabyte of data onto my second internal SSD.
Honestly if someone is just web surfing they can get a refurbished Windows laptop that is upgradable and save some money.
If you happen to like Macs that is fine. I just don't see the point of mating such a powerful CPU with such a restricted system.
Messages synch - phone link for Windows is garbage.
Sync across all iphone/ipad
iCloud Backup
Continuity
Screen Extension to ipad/handoff control
blah blah blah Ventura OS features.
come on, it's not just a stupid hardware box. It's the ecosystem and you can edit video on the Mac Mini 8GB but you wpould be dumb to have a full time video editing job and use a $500 box no different than a full time photog not upgrading to full frame and proper lenses to have the best tool you can afford for the job.
Apple doesn't need to sell hardware to make money, their money is in the ecosystem and services. That's clear if you read the earnings. 40% drop in hardware sales just like all PC industries yet they still had the best earnings and apple drop more because they had blow out sales on M1.
I remember the time when it was all the rage that Samsung and Google phone had micro SD slots... and then omg the headphone slots are gone. Now no modern phone has them. Funny people stop bitching about when Google/Samsung/Microsoft follows after.
I would trade this toy box 6C/12HT/32GB/256 (oh swappable!) I am typing on now for M2 Mac Mini 8GB/256GB any day any time. Yes, this particular machine is just for web surfing.
Sign up for a Slickdeals account to remove this ad.
Leave a Comment