Item 1 of 3
Item 1 of 3
expiredrahmav001 posted Dec 19, 2024 5:42 PM
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(Select Stores, In-Store Only)at Costco Wholesale
Deal Details
Select Costco Wholesale Stores (link for reference only) have for their Members: Apple Mac Mini Desktop Computer (2023 Model, MMFJ3LL/A, Item 1652668) for $299.97 (In-Store Only).
Thanks to Community Member rahmav001 for finding this deal.
Note: Availability/price may vary by location
Specs:
Thanks to Community Member rahmav001 for finding this deal.
Note: Availability/price may vary by location
Specs:
- 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
Editor's Notes
Written by SubZero5 | Staff- About this deal:
- Please see the original post for additional details & give the WIKI and additional forum comments a read for helpful discussion.
- About this product:
- About this store:
Community Notes
About the Poster
Deal Details
Community Notes
About the Poster
Select Costco Wholesale Stores (link for reference only) have for their Members: Apple Mac Mini Desktop Computer (2023 Model, MMFJ3LL/A, Item 1652668) for $299.97 (In-Store Only).
Thanks to Community Member rahmav001 for finding this deal.
Note: Availability/price may vary by location
Specs:
Thanks to Community Member rahmav001 for finding this deal.
Note: Availability/price may vary by location
Specs:
- 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
Editor's Notes
Written by SubZero5 | Staff- About this deal:
- Please see the original post for additional details & give the WIKI and additional forum comments a read for helpful discussion.
- About this product:
- About this store:
Community Voting
Deal Score
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Top Comments
- If you're doing anything taxing, M2/8GB might not make you happy. I had a similar spec MB Air M2/8GB that stunk for work. I used a lot of SaaS apps and did research, so lot's of browser tabs. And Zoom calls would have choppy video. I had to reboot daily to make sure things would keep running smooth. YMMV!
- $500 (if you buy student discount or at Microcenter etc) is 66% more than $300. If spending $300 on a computer is already a lot for you or budgets are tight, the extra $200 is a pretty big deal (and with the Costco warranty, this adds some extra protection without AppleCare). If you already aren't batting an eye at $500, and you want the added value of the new M4 and 16gb, then you're going to lean that way.
Is it right for you? Maybe. I think it's a matter of intended use and financial situation.
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215 Comments
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It is not widely known so I was providing knowledge, and some of the Macs only use a single SSD chiplet so it may only be able to write 80-100 TBW.
What most people don't know (again trying to impart some knowledge) with smaller RAM (like 8GB) running a few apps it will silently swap memory to the SSD and every time it does that it is a write. So even if you write 10 TB through normal activities, your swapping can happen fairly often and that will 100% shorten the life of your SSD because that can easily be 10's of TB.
Note: When the SSD dies since it is soldiered (the m4 is a package) you must bring it to an Apple repair shop and the repair will likely be the cost of the entire machine. And you would say the m4 is on a package. Great! You still can't buy it and the SSD is not a normal SSD (the controller is part of the enclave) you need special software to pair the new package, but guess what you can't buy them because Apple doesn't want you to buy a 1 TB drive for $80, they want to charge $600.
How do I know, my team has macbook and mac studio/mac mini and I have seen the repair costs for SSD failures and watch out if you have a Macbook pro and the screen dies, that is $1200.
For $300 it's not the end of the world, it is just unfortunate that they walk around w/ the green credentials and specifically create e-waste because repair is prohibitively expensive.
Personally I think it should be illegal for Apple and others to not allow for user-serviceable parts and specifically lock them so you cannot upgrade them. Hopefully the EU will crack down on this, because I am sure the US won't.
I'm hoping Qualcomm can make some decent ARM based laptops moving forward, and that compatibility ratchets up.
The most I through at these machines is OBS and lumafusion. I use my windows laptop and desktops that are Stronger for work. That's the biggie difference for me. Apple gets on my nerves, but I find personal use experience excellent. These were supposed to last years... But I am tempted to just go m4 on both and let them last years... This intelligence BS is going to kill us with ram use 😮 💨😡... I truly believe 16GB being the new standard is actually the new minimum... they are now selling 24GB and more for a reason. their prices are not holding like they use to. I regret buying my M3 air in August. I'm not touching this m2 deal with a stick... well, $200 maybe... but still will be in the same hole.
would love to get a new windows arm device, but we are still not quite there yet. this is really a time to spend a lot of money on a pro and use it for years or just wait a while.
That said, why is Apple so stingy on memory, one can only conclude it's just forced tiered products, they make memory that you can't upgrade and then force you into much higher price points to get more. They know that most people are going to want more memory, even if they don't need it, and plenty will probably buy the lowest option, find out it doesn't work great and upgrade. So for some it's an easy way to up-sell to those that don't need it, and for others they get a double purchase when they have to buy a more powerful version. I mean it's 2024, RAM is ridiculously cheap. There's really no reason all of the devices should not be coming with 64GB+ of RAM. HD I find less critical with the proper interface external SSD's are super fast.
Also I don't know where folks are seeing these amazing deals on M4's in the $400's but I don't see anyplace selling M4's for under $550 unless you fake or already have an educational account. Is an extra $250 a lot, in the grand scheme of things probably not, but it is almost twice as expensive, so for some it is a bit increase.
That said, why is Apple so stingy on memory, one can only conclude it's just forced tiered products, they make memory that you can't upgrade and then force you into much higher price points to get more. They know that most people are going to want more memory, even if they don't need it, and plenty will probably buy the lowest option, find out it doesn't work great and upgrade. So for some it's an easy way to up-sell to those that don't need it, and for others they get a double purchase when they have to buy a more powerful version. I mean it's 2024, RAM is ridiculously cheap. There's really no reason all of the devices should not be coming with 64GB+ of RAM. HD I find less critical with the proper interface external SSD's are super fast.
Also I don't know where folks are seeing these amazing deals on M4's in the $400's but I don't see anyplace selling M4's for under $550 unless you fake or already have an educational account. Is an extra $250 a lot, in the grand scheme of things probably not, but it is almost twice as expensive, so for some it is a bit increase.
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MacOS takes 15GB with a mountain of cool apps that will be more than most people ever need for non-professional use; Office 2024 takes 1GB or so. Add a few GB of documents, and we're still at > 230GB free. What, exactly, is the issue here?
That's how most people will approach this. This isn't seen by most as a gaming PC needing TB of storage for massive 2024 era games.
Also I don't know where folks are seeing these amazing deals on M4's in the $400's but I don't see anyplace selling M4's for under $550 unless you fake or already have an educational account. Is an extra $250 a lot, in the grand scheme of things probably not, but it is almost twice as expensive, so for some it is a bit increase.
If you don't need the extra RAM, there's no point in spending money for it, granted. And many won't; not everyone needs to run lots of apps concurrently. My (8GB) M3 iMac works just fine, for instance. M2 Ultra Studio is faster, ofc, but M3 iMac 8GB works just fine, thanks.
I think the impact of RAM for day to day things is massively overstated in threads like this (amongst typical users; pros in Photoshop are a different category).
The most I through at these machines is OBS and lumafusion. I use my windows laptop and desktops that are Stronger for work. That's the biggie difference for me. Apple gets on my nerves, but I find personal use experience excellent. These were supposed to last years... But I am tempted to just go m4 on both and let them last years... This intelligence BS is going to kill us with ram use ... I truly believe 16GB being the new standard is actually the new minimum... they are now selling 24GB and more for a reason. their prices are not holding like they use to. I regret buying my M3 air in August. I'm not touching this m2 deal with a stick... well, $200 maybe... but still will be in the same hole.
would love to get a new windows arm device, but we are still not quite there yet. this is really a time to spend a lot of money on a pro and use it for years or just wait a while.
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You don't need to imagine anything - several folks have posted in here that they're doing coding, video prod, and more - with an M1 with 8GB.
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