What is the best value Mac with a 2TB minimum SSD

[JamesMay82]

I can't make my mind up on which Mac to get. my minimum requirements are 24 gig of ram and minimum 2TB SSD.

I have a studio display so I'm happy with desktop or laptop but I ever so slightly lean more towards the laptop so I can use in livingroom if I wanted.

Once I spec the ram and 2TB SSD all machines become similar value. 14inch M3 Pro is £3,099, Mac Studio is £2,699 and 15 Inch Air is £2,499.

I suppose the studio presents best value as I'm getting the max chip for the same money as a M2 and for less than a m3 Pro?

 

[Burai]

If you don't need the cores, what about a Mac mini M2 for £1799?

 

[JamesMay82]

If you don't need the cores, what about a Mac mini M2 for £1799?

I need the ports and the SSD which is a mini M2 pro and then takes me to £2,399 which is £300 less than the studio..

with the studio I get more ports, I don't need the max but I suppose its not bad value for £300 when you consider the extra ports etc?

 

[tstafford]

Currently I have the M1M Studio, M1P 14" MBP and the M2 Air. I'd say this:
Studio - best machine I've ever owned. I thought it was total overkill. But now all the rear ports are filled!
MBP - if I could only own one, this is it. The screen is far superior to the air
Air - perfect machine for portability

I'd go w/ one of the laptops if I only wanted one machine. The ability to use it away from the desk would be important to me. For me, I'd choose the MBP mostly because I wouldn't want the constraint of a single external monitor. Plus the screen is just far superior. But if neither of those things matter, the price savings and weight of the air are quite nice.

 

[wonderings]

First question that should be asked is what do you do with this computer? What do you need to run on it. I think you already ruled out the Studio and Mini as you said portability would be nice.

 

[JamesMay82]

First question that should be asked is what do you do with this computer? What do you need to run on it. I think you already ruled out the Studio and Mini as you said portability would be nice.

I think most machines will handle my needs if I up the ram. But my use will be 1080p files for work editing 20 min interviews, 4k family video edits and Lightroom for photo editing. plus general office apps like excel and mail etc.

I think I'm going back to the Mac Studio idea after the other guys comment above about it being his best machine. Portability is only required of web browsing/photos when down in living room etc so not essential and I do have an iPad which I should prob make use of.

its frustrating how all the pricing gets so close to each other when you upgrade components. i.e. the entry models really jump in price. Good for Apple of course but less so for me lol

 

[Burai]

I need the ports and the SSD which is a mini M2 pro and then takes me to £2,399 which is £300 less than the studio..

with the studio I get more ports, I don't need the max but I suppose its not bad value for £300 when you consider the extra ports etc?

The M2 non-pro can have 2TB of storage too, but you're right about the ports.

What kind of connectivity do you need? Because you can buy a lot of SD card readers, USB and Thunderbolt hubs for that £900 difference between the mini and the Studio!

 

[wonderings]

I think most machines will handle my needs if I up the ram. But my use will be 1080p files for work editing 20 min interviews, 4k family video edits and Lightroom for photo editing. plus general office apps like excel and mail etc.

I think I'm going back to the Mac Studio idea after the other guys comment above about it being his best machine. Portability is only required of web browsing/photos when down in living room etc so not essential and I do have an iPad which I should prob make use of.

its frustrating how all the pricing gets so close to each other when you upgrade components. i.e. the entry models really jump in price. Good for Apple of course but less so for me lol

Any M Pro chip will handle that work well. M1, M2 or M3. Office apps basically make no difference, any M chip will run those fast. I would agree an iPad is great for web browsing and viewing photos, I don't use my laptop at home for internet use, the iPad is my favourite browsing device. I have an M1 Max 14" with 32 gigs of RAM and it would eat through anything you mentioned. In saying that I would go with whatever Mac fits your budget best and not be too worried about the specs as they are all going to handle it well.

 

[padams35]

I need the ports and the SSD which is a mini M2 pro and then takes me to £2,399 which is £300 less than the studio..

with the studio I get more ports, I don't need the max but I suppose its not bad value for £300 when you consider the extra ports etc?

Too bad. Absolute best value would be a M2 with 24GB RAM, a 256GB internal SSD, and a big 2TB+ external USB-C SSD.

Since you need the ports you should probably also rule out the 15" Air.

 

[Fishrrman]

NO Mac with a 2tb SSD is going to be "the best value".
(nothing follows)

 

[Timpetus]

I can't make my mind up on which Mac to get. my minimum requirements are 24 gig of ram and minimum 2TB SSD.

I have a studio display so I'm happy with desktop or laptop but I ever so slightly lean more towards the laptop so I can use in livingroom if I wanted.

Once I spec the ram and 2TB SSD all machines become similar value. 14inch M3 Pro is £3,099, Mac Studio is £2,699 and 15 Inch Air is £2,499.

I suppose the studio presents best value as I'm getting the max chip for the same money as a M2 and for less than a m3 Pro?

If the deal is still around, B&H has 14" and 16" M1 Max MBP with 64GB RAM and 2TB SSD on sale for $2499. I have the 14" model and have been very happy with it so far.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

I can't make my mind up on which Mac to get. my minimum requirements are 24 gig of ram and minimum 2TB SSD.

I have a studio display so I'm happy with desktop or laptop but I ever so slightly lean more towards the laptop so I can use in livingroom if I wanted.

Once I spec the ram and 2TB SSD all machines become similar value. 14inch M3 Pro is £3,099, Mac Studio is £2,699 and 15 Inch Air is £2,499.

I suppose the studio presents best value as I'm getting the max chip for the same money as a M2 and for less than a m3 Pro?

Studio has no display so it is best computing value by a lot; however you cannot take it to the living room. MBA is best computing-with-display-at-low-RAM value; however if you look closely the MBP is better in every regard except weight and price, and unlike MBAs MBPs can be configured as strong as a Studio.

Bottom line is that you need to decide and no simple hardware math will help. Personally I found long ago that desktop-only was not enough, and I will always have a laptop available.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

NO Mac with a 2tb SSD is going to be "the best value".
(nothing follows)

If one's need runs to 2 TB SSD then that is where value is calculated from. Good rule of thumb is to have internal SSD capacity at about 2X the total file capacity.

 

[JamesMay82]

If one's need runs to 2 TB SSD then that is where value is calculated from. Good rule of thumb is to have internal SSD capacity at about 2X the total file capacity.

its a necessary evil. yes its criminal what they charge but its safest way to look after our data, especially in light of the google drive data loss story from earlier. I have 1TB of personal data so I would get 2TB for my next machine.