Get an M1 Mac Studio Desktop Now, or Wait for M2 Mac Studio?

[Sossity]

I have seen quite a few base model M1 Mac Studios on sale, one one apples site, and some on eBay.

My question is, should I wait for an M2 Mac Studio? would it be better to wait for the M chip tech to mature a little bit?

I would not feel good, getting the M1, and then Apple announces the M2 Studio this fall.

I would use this machine for some photoshop, downloading lots of photo and video files to external hard drives, a little video editing, and also downloading and ripping music.

I am also a heavy user of Chrome browser, with multiple customized accounts. I rely heavily on multiple Google accounts, of which I often have open, with multiple tabs in each.

I will also want to run Parallels, and Windows whatever version that will run on the Studio, for Windows apps like autoCAD.

I know I could get a PC box, but my desk space is limited, and the Mac Studio desktop would work well for me, and if I could run windows on it, I would essentially have two computers in one.

 

[tofagerl]

Based on the test results for the M2 so far, I wouldn't bother waiting.

 

[Sossity]

Ok, what test results? is the M chip bad?

Also, would the base model M1 work for what I said I would use it for? or should get any upgrades? if I get it from Apple, there are upgrades available, like the COU, and or RAM, storage.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Based on what you describe here, a RAM loaded Mac mini would fill your needs just fine. And as far as I can see, you won't be able to run autoCAD at all, since you can only run Arm Win11.

 

[Sossity]

I did look at the mac minis, and I had a 2011 Mac mini, and recall it would get very hot, even overheating, with the fans spinning loudly, and I eventually had problems with it, it would not boot up, so that experience has made me a little weary of them.

On the other hand, if I went with a mac mini, should I get an intel one or M1? and what specs would be best?

If I go with the Mac Studio, ARM Windows 11 would not be able to run autoCAD? even the Windows version of autoCAD? I thought the whole point of having Windows, even the ARM version of Windows was to be able to run Windows applications the the M1 mac?

What ever mac I would get, I want one that can stay cool and handle loads, and not overheat, I live in a hot humid coastal climate.

 

[Colstan]

I did look at the mac minis, and I had a 2011 Mac mini, and recall it would get very hot, even overheating, with the fans spinning loudly, and I eventually had problems with it, it would not boot up, so that experience has made me a little weary of them.

I can address this part. I had a 2011 Mac mini, the one with the AMD GPU, and it got noisy and hot. I now have a 2018 Intel Mac mini, and it is much quieter, but still gets hot and the fan ramps when working on intensive tasks. By all accounts, the M1 Mac mini is whisper quiet even under substantial load.

From rumors, it appears that an M2 Mac mini, with perhaps a "Pro" version of the chip to replace the remaining Intel mini, will be released around November. If you can wait another four or so months, then you'll likely have a better selection. Since my 2018 Mac mini is still doing fine, I'm going to wait for an M3+ version in the coming years.

 

[Pressure]

I did look at the mac minis, and I had a 2011 Mac mini, and recall it would get very hot, even overheating, with the fans spinning loudly, and I eventually had problems with it, it would not boot up, so that experience has made me a little weary of them.

The M1 in the Mac mini maxes out at 31 Watt under the most unrealistic workload. This is the power draw from the wall. My Mac Studio is noisier than my Mac mini.

You can read about the performance metrics from the review at AnandTech: The 202 Mac mini Unleashed: Putting Apple Silicon M1 To The Test.

I would definitely recommend getting the 16GB version. You can always add external storage with TB3.

 

[mi7chy]

Reason for waiting for 3nm M3 is for potential battery life and less/no throttling. Since Mac Studio is a plug in desktop it doesn't really apply. As for Windows, Windows on ARM is second class to Windows x64 so not everything runs or runs well just to set your expectation.

 

[satcomer]

Well the autocad personnis not very bright because he would know AutoCad is Universal! So get another argument please!

 

[jav6454]

I have seen quite a few base model M1 Mac Studios on sale, one one apples site, and some on eBay.

My question is, should I wait for an M2 Mac Studio? would it be better to wait for the M chip tech to mature a little bit?

I would not feel good, getting the M1, and then Apple announces the M2 Studio this fall.

I would use this machine for some photoshop, downloading lots of photo and video files to external hard drives, a little video editing, and also downloading and ripping music.

I am also a heavy user of Chrome browser, with multiple customized accounts. I rely heavily on multiple Google accounts, of which I often have open, with multiple tabs in each.

I will also want to run Parallels, and Windows whatever version that will run on the Studio, for Windows apps like autoCAD.

I know I could get a PC box, but my desk space is limited, and the Mac Studio desktop would work well for me, and if I could run windows on it, I would essentially have two computers in one.

If you can wait until October, then wait. If not get an M1 Studio.

 

[lcubed]

I would not feel good, getting the M1, and then Apple announces the M2 Studio this fall.

i would expect the M2 Studio to be announced no earlier than one year after the M1 Studio was announced with availability NET late spring.

if you can afford to wait that long, go for it.

a fall announcement is very unlikely.

 

[Sossity]

Also, what ever I get, I want it to last a few years at least, I plan on keeping for a while.

So it seems more votes for a newer mac mini? and less to a the Studio desktop?

Should I get an M1 or an intel mini?

I also have Adobe CS6 I would like to run, and am aware that this will not run on m! macs. My idea to deal with this was to have newer M! mac machine for newer items, and an older one, like an intel mini to run my older x86 intel stuff.

I could just get a newer M1 mini, as my mina desktop, but, I do not want to be locked into an older system, just to accommodate my Adobe CS6.

Maybe a strategy would be to get one of each, and m1 mini, and an intel mini.

 

[TVreporter]

Don’t go Intel now - Apple is moving as fast as they can from them.

I’d wait for Mini 2 if you can.

 

[Silly-con]

Reason for waiting for 3nm M3 is for potential battery life and less/no throttling. Since Mac Studio is a plug in desktop it doesn't really apply. As for Windows, Windows on ARM is second class to Windows x64 so not everything runs or runs well just to set your expectation.

What? Lol, the choice is Apple's to either increase efficiency or speed, or both if they like. You don't think increase speed is useful on a desktop?