I Returned The Mac Mini M2 Pro 

This is great information and a good tip thanks!

@@BONES714 Great Video showing how it effected you in your workflow!! Cheers!

@@joesalyers Glad I could help Joe!

For music production, most people say they're absolutely fine with 16GB of RAM. 32GB is likely going to be overkill as your computer won't be using even half of that, unless you have like 200+ tracks with a full orchestra and other apps open at the same time. It will certainly make it more future proof, but you're paying a pretty penny for something that you likely won't need. The main thing in music production is to have a good CPU which the M2 Pro certainly provides with its base 10-core. Video editing is different as it requires a stronger GPU.

@@cun7us This is a misconception since music producers and engineers worry about CPU usage of plugins, but the GPU does matter. Stuttering plugin GUIs or those little pauses that cause you to wait while changing a knob or parameter in a plugin is all down to the GPU. Especially on a RISC chip like the new Apple M1/2 chips. So any plugin stuttering or long waits to open sessions from Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Garageband, Reaper Ableton and so on is 80% GPU. The difference of the M1 Pro and M1 Max in GPU stutters is stark. I own both. The M1 Max does have double the GPU cores and plugin stuttering isn't an issue but on the pro it is. They both have 32 gigs of RAM. So when I updated my other room at the studio this year I put a M2 Max Macbook Pro in there and it's been great. Sure the M1 & M2 pros are fine for CPU tasks and I considered a Mac Mini with the M2 Pro but the GPU matters more than many audio creators think. Hooking up external monitors taxes the GPU. So with the unified memory design of the Apple SOCs its important that you buy the best chip you can. Since all M1/2 Pros or M1/2 Max that have lower CPU or GPU core counts were defective with broken transistors and had certain parts that were disconnected to be sold as a lower end product which could lead to problems down the road. I'm not saying every binned chip is a bad chip but it does have flaws and that could be a problem down the road. 16 gigs of RAM was fine when you had a GPU with it's own dedicated Video RAM like many Intel Macs, but since the Apple SOCs share the RAM for both the CPU and GPU it is vital that you get as much as you can afford. Sample Libraries or Virtual instruments like Drum plugins, Samplers and synthesizers that use any form of Sampling need the RAM to store the Samples in to play them back in Real Time. So it does depend on the type of music you are doing. But the GPU is not just for video editing or those types of tasks. But if you can only choose one to upgrade the GPU or the RAM always go for the RAM on a ARM based Apple machine since it will be the bottleneck before the actual GPU gives you issues. The operating system will allocate a certain amount of RAM to the GPU and if it needs more it won't get it that is how the BSDs work and Apple's operating system is a BSD derived Unix certified operating system. But if a M1/2 Pro chip is what you can budget for then it will be a better experience than any of the windows alternatives for music production. Apple's Core Audio has been the gold standard for audio for 25 years and that isn't going to change anytime soon. Have a great day, Cheers!

Thanks I appreciate it!

Me too! Awesome machine

Me too, i am happy with my Mini M2 Pro👍

Same here. Works great.

Yeah there’s plenty of tech videos out there that go in really deep on these topics but for my workflow 16GB of ram just wasn’t enough. 32 is much more manageable. Lightroom classic is a beast when it comes to ram usage though so I would recommend closing out other applications if you need to use it.

@@BONES714 yeah Lightroom is defo a beat. I have mostly been ok with the memory swap but now the ssd is getting filled it’s slowing things down so much. I don’t imagine my workflow would be to different to yours.

Why not get the Mac Studio Ultra vs Max? But if you have budget and cost is a reason, then I get, the why. Great video! Would you consider the Ultra?

Glad I could help! I take note on the volume adjustments

Thank you I appreciate it

That would be a solid option!

No worries!

I work with raw files. If you are doing video work I would go with the studio if you are doing mostly photo I would go with the Mac mini with 32 gigs of ram.

Those are valid points thank for the tips!

Any modern OS will use more ram the more you have. This is a good thing and I don't know why people want loads of free ram. It just mean you have to load from the SSD. Yes it's fast, but it's order of magnitude slower than having memory in ram. If you give a system 64GB it'll use more even with the same work load as a 32GB system. It'll be a smoother experience and in some heavy use cases 32GB isn't enough for a smooth experience. Also with the M chips the ram is shared between the GPU cores also. You don't have dedicated vram like on a traditional PC.

That’s what I did and I’m happy with my purchase

Glad I could help!

For the price it just makes more sense. The Mac mini is incredible and I wanted it to work for me but the Studio will work better for me for the time being.

Lightroom demands a bunch of memory. The mini m2 pro can handle a bunch of tasks it just comes down to if you want to future proof yourself. I’ve never regretted getting as much RAM as possible

Hey thank you so much. I think 32GB is a good place to be if you are a multitasker which memory intensive programs.

@@BONES714 Totally. I also use HVEC with my Sony A7IV and it flies through the footage. When I look at my pressure with a full 10-min video with a few overlapping sources it's usually 24GB, plus. Sometimes full 32 with 1 or 2GB scratch. But to touch this system's performance, I had to download and render a 2GB Blender sample file. I was really curious but even during that, I was able to watch RU-vid. Even with all 38 graphics cores and CPU at 90% and fans quietly humming. BUT, if I wasn't in Thailand and could get a refurb Studio Ultra, I would do it. I wouldn't do a refurb M1 Macbook Pro because they some buffer bottle necks that choked things before they had to be. However; next year and a half, the 3 nanometer will smoke everything, including us. That is the big jump, this is just the modified M1 with core tweaks, overclocked and buffer issue fixed. But I can barely touch the power so I'll be jealous but won't move until 3 years from now with OLED. (I'm a laptop guy)

what's your memory pressure look like under normal workload? If its peaking in the red or hanging out in the yellow you probably need 64GB

So glad I could Help!

Everyones needs are different. My studio has been super quiet even under heavy loads. It's nice that apple has options for different consumers so everyone can find what they need. Especially being able to try each computer out with free returns to figure out which one fits best!

​@@Tonyx444 I have owned them both and I can confirm that the Mini is inaudible and the Studio constantly makes an irritating noise/whine...

Which config do tou have? Thanks

Thank you I hope you enjoy yours too!

Everyone’s budget and workflow is different. Spending money on ram is important you won’t regret having to much ram

I got a refurb studio for less than 2k with a 1TB hard drive. If you have thousands of dollars in camera gear you shouldn’t skimp out on a computer. You don’t need to have the most expensive computer but don’t let a couple hundred dollars prevent you from getting the work you need to get done in order to make money. You don’t want your post work to be bottlenecked because of your computer.

@@BONES714 thanks for your responce and good thoughts.

Glad I could help!

I have and M2 Max MacBook Pro with 96GB ram and a M1 Max studio with 32GB RAM and I would say the M2 Max is faster slightly but for price difference I don’t think it would be worth the cost.

Any of those will make your computing experience far better since your current machine is a decade old. Lightroom is a memory hog so the more you can get to start the better. Your old iMac cannot be used as a standalone monitor unless you do some type of altering which I know nothing about.

@@BONES714 Thank for reply. I have new macbook air m2, but I'm thinking how to use the old imac as well and and make photos on the big screen. it works fine for browsing the internet, youtube, movies...only the loghtroom is bad. I see Luna displey, maybe it would work.

Everyone’s workflow is different my job provides me with the Adobe platform so that’s what I use and have been accustomed to.

Yeah you can totally use it for video editing, it has its limitations but just no that going in

Lightroom is a beast when it comes to memory usage

That’s a good move

Hope it works out well for you!

@@BONES714thanks! I tried to import like 1400 raw files into Lightroom and it ran out of memory. So hopefully 32 will solve that. I was in the same boat really tempted on getting the Mac Studio.

That’s essentially what I was looking at building out if I would’ve kept the mini. I’m happy with a base model studio with a 1TB ssd

Yeah you never really hear people complaint they purchased to much memory. It’s always a good investment.

If you look in to it there are differences. One might have more cores, memory, or hardrive space.

@@BONES714 Yes, you are right ! There is still the problem of the degradation of the ssd and the price reduction that does not seem enough to me.

Definitely check out Apple refurbished section whatever you do. You can save a few bucks going that route

I use Adobe creative suite. Lightroom was the worst at RAM usage. Premiere and photoshop where better at handling it. I will usually have multiple webpages open, Lightroom, premiere, iTunes, Dropbox, and activity monitor running all simultaneously.

@@BONES714 Ah ok. Maybe they’ll get better over time. Thanks for the reply.

@@BONES714 Curious if your LR catalog is over the 10,000 image limit that they once recommended a few years back? I'm surprised LR was the worst RAM offender... but I'm a regular LR user and this is valuable consideration when comparing M2 Pro Mini vs Studio as I anticipate upgrade (from sluggish 2015 5k Intel i7 iMac) this year. My iMac also tends to crash if I'm working an Affinity Designer graphic containing 40-50 layers (prob not a challenge for M2 Pro Mini as it's not video, just still gfx). Thanks for any thoughts on this.

Good to know!

I Think I'll probably end up keeping my 32GB 1TB SSD studio. 64GB would be nice but the cost for the extra 32GB is much harder to swallow. If Apple upgrades the studio With either the M2 or M3 chips in a year or two I'll be able to sell mine and still recoup some money back. Spending lots of money on mid or high level apple products to upgrade specs usually doesn't mean more money when it comes to resale. You got a great machine getting the basic M1 Max studio and should serve you for a bunch of years! Buying refurbished is always the way to go if you can. Saves money and still same warranty.

@@BONES714 I would really love to have the M3 Imac. My 2017 IMac I5 7600 is still great with 64gb of memory. Slower Hyperdrive Hdd but at 4tb who cares. I got the external ssd also.

It’s hard to imagine Apple going back to a 27” iMac. Purely a guess but I think they are trying to go more green considering when your iMac gets old you have to throw the whole thing away vs now you just replace you mac studio or Mac mini

Best of luck!

Yup 32 is minimum for any real editing!

I had Lightroom, Premiere Pro, iTunes, and multiple webpages to say the least

@@BONES714 thank you

The only spec I did was bump the 512GB to the 1TB

@@BONES714 Yep, I caught that. What I was trying to say is that your 1TB of internal storage is much faster than my external storage, which I'm guessing benefits your work flow.

@@bryans8656 absolutely, being able to store files locally on my internal drive creates better work flow for me.

Either option Mac Studio or mini are both great machines

Max studio has more gpu cores which are better for me in my work flow. Has front facing IO and better thermals. Mini m2 pro is great just depends on your needs

I personally don’t need that as I use a studio display

@@BONES714 Understood, but I think this is an additional long term benefit and most reviews are not mentioning this.

It’s crazy how they are shutting down the resort because of to much snow

I based my purchase on we don’t know when Apple will or if they will update the studio. The Mac Pro is scheduled to come out before anything from what I’ve heard. So many variables going from the m2 pro to the studio. Lightroom is the most heavy user of ram I’ve found in my real world usage. For me the mac studio makes more sense for extra ports and getting it refurbished saved me some extra coin but the Mac mini m2 pro is no slouch just needed the 32 gigs of ram especially for using Lightroom

Most people seem to think the Studio won't be updated until 2024 to allow Apple to differentiate it from the about to be released Mac Pro.

@@BONES714 found an M1 Studio Pro 2nd hand (3M used with 3Y warranty) 10C CPU 24C GPU 32G RAM. so the main q, will 32G will be enough?

Yeah there are some options to consider!

Whatever works for your budget!

Lightroom is a hog, you can use smart previews as well as a few other preferences to help the performance but no matter what you do it’s still a beast when it comes to RAM usage

Adobe is what my company provides for us to use.

The Mac mini was a great machine but the Mac Studio fit my needs better

Glad it was helpful!

It’s crazy right. I’ve learned to that Lightroom is a memory hog.

Very good points I don't necessarily think there is a better machine. Different people require different needs. Bang for your buck if you can get by with the M2 Mac mini pro it is a great buy, but if you need more that's where the Mac Studio becomes an options depending on your needs.

@@BONES714 ueah I finally decided to return the mini because I cannot be sure if it's software or hardware, and I've ordered a Studio , a bit less CPU power but way more GPU power , if I was sure the M2 pro mini 10 Gbs Ethernet port was a software issue, I think Iwould have kept it . but it's so weird that even the wifi stop working when this occurs... I would have preferred a refresh to the Mac Studio to the M2 standards but apparently this isn't gonna happen ... ^^

@@AngeAlexiel yeah you got to get what you need right now and now wait for the mights or maybe when apple decides to update or refresh something

I ended up getting the studio display which is basically the same thing so it’s kind of like I have the best of both worlds

My workflow is crazy to plugins galore I know it’s expensive to add it, but fuck if you’re going the distance, you might as well go the whole way

I do love having the extra ports and SD card reader and the extra cores. I don’t know what it is but the studio feels more like a premium machine vs the mini. The mini is great but when your comparing prices after configuring your set up they are so close you just have to figure out what you need which isn’t always easy.

@@BONES714 yeah man that’s where I’m at

With no definitive timelines on Apple products I had to go with what’s available now.

You may be waiting awhile haha

I’m not familiar with what your talking about

I’m not a professional reviewer so my terminology isn’t perfect. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.

@@BONES714 nah, your assessment was helpful. Just trying to clarify the term for you for the future.

I'm not a professional reviewer. I should've been saying SSD. I'm sorry this video wasn't helpful for you.

Problem is we have no idea when or if the M2 studio is coming out. Great deals can be found on the M1 studio right now and it works.

I’m not a professional reviewer, sorry I couldn’t be more helpful.

@@BONES714 I didn’t want to be harsh. Just thought you might like to know that such repetition can be wearisome to the intelligent. Peace

Sweet dude thanks!

My Mac Studio is working great

@@BONES714 😂😂I know. But that isn't the point. There's just no reason to pay those atrocious apple pricess. Especially in the desktop market. But you do you. 😔🍏

@@lalitsharma3137 This video wasn't about PC vs Apple and who can do what cheaper. Sorry this video wasn't helpful for you.

@@BONES714 Yeah it's fine. It's your money so give it to Apple for free if you want. Anyways! I wish you good luck in whatever you set out to do and may god give you enough in life that you can continue fueling the share prices of Apple Inc.✌

can you elaborate? this comment is rather useless otherwise

@@AlbertoPDLTreferring to not knowing how to compartmentalize a project. You don’t drop 2 hours of 4K footage on any timeline.

I was really thinking it would have worked for me. Sorry this video wasn’t more helpful for you.

My work provides me with Adobe creative suite. I have been using Apple products for 20 years professionally and they haven’t left me down.

Sorry this video didn’t help you.

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