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Ram and SSD Choices on new Mac Mini M2

I am trying to evaluate the RAM and SSD options on the Mac mini M2. Available now are 256 or 512 GB on the drive, with RAM at 8, 16, or more, although the 512 + 16 pairing on the mini takes a bit longer to get. Nothing is upgradable, making this decision more important than for Windows computers.

Questions are:

  1. How much of the SSD is free when the Mac Mini is first turned on?
  2. Since my plan is to transition from Windows 11 to Mac, how accurate is it to state that the size of my data on the Dell PC's SSD drive (.jpg photos, .docx, emails, xlsx spreadsheets) will be roughly similar to that same data's size on the Mac?

Posted on Apr 17, 2023 10:39 AM

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Posted on Apr 18, 2023 5:33 AM

The internal disk size all depends on how much you are willing to spend and if you are willing to add external storage for your data. Personally, my belief is to maintain a "lean" internal drive with just the OS and applications and then maintain all my data on an external drive or drives. Occasionally if I need some particular speed boost with some disk intensive work, I will keep work in progress files on the internal and when the work is done put it on the external. But if you abhor external drives, get as much storage as you can afford to buy on the internal.


FWIW, with my methodology, I am only using around 120 GB of my internal storage and around 2 TB on external USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3/4 drives.


As far as RAM, it really all depends on how you use your machine and the sort of apps you use. If you do basic browsing, email, word processing, etc., 8 GB will be more than enough and on the rare occasion that you may end up with RAM swapping, the internal SSD is so fast you will not notice any slowdown. However, if use apps that are memory hungry like Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop as an example or web browse with dozens of tabs open or run several apps at the same time, again you will want to buy as much RAM as you can afford.


One last note on SSD size, at a minimum purchase a Mini with 512 GB. the 256 GB version only uses a single chip and therefore will be a bit slower than the larger sizes which use two chips. Then again, depending on your use and the types of drives in the machine you are coming from, the 256 GB may be more than fast enough.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 18, 2023 5:33 AM in response to Brandnewuserid

The internal disk size all depends on how much you are willing to spend and if you are willing to add external storage for your data. Personally, my belief is to maintain a "lean" internal drive with just the OS and applications and then maintain all my data on an external drive or drives. Occasionally if I need some particular speed boost with some disk intensive work, I will keep work in progress files on the internal and when the work is done put it on the external. But if you abhor external drives, get as much storage as you can afford to buy on the internal.


FWIW, with my methodology, I am only using around 120 GB of my internal storage and around 2 TB on external USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt 3/4 drives.


As far as RAM, it really all depends on how you use your machine and the sort of apps you use. If you do basic browsing, email, word processing, etc., 8 GB will be more than enough and on the rare occasion that you may end up with RAM swapping, the internal SSD is so fast you will not notice any slowdown. However, if use apps that are memory hungry like Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop as an example or web browse with dozens of tabs open or run several apps at the same time, again you will want to buy as much RAM as you can afford.


One last note on SSD size, at a minimum purchase a Mini with 512 GB. the 256 GB version only uses a single chip and therefore will be a bit slower than the larger sizes which use two chips. Then again, depending on your use and the types of drives in the machine you are coming from, the 256 GB may be more than fast enough.

Apr 17, 2023 11:42 AM in response to Brandnewuserid

Configure to where future operating systems and applications are growing in size. My M2 Mac Mini Pro has 32 GB and a 1TB drive. I would not recommend under 512MB nor less than 16 GB RAM, more if you can afford it.



Brandnewuserid wrote:

1. I am trying to evaluate the RAM and SSD options on the Mac mini M2. Available now are 256 or 512 GB on the drive, with RAM at 8, 16, or more, although the 512 + 16 pairing on the mini takes a bit longer to get. Nothing is upgradable, making this decision more important than for Windows computers.
Questions are:
How much of the SSD is free when the Mac Mini is first turned on?

Don't recall. It will be reduced by the System sizing the cache based on your RAM choice, and probably 45 GB of operating system.


2. Since my plan is to transition from Windows 11 to Mac, how accurate is it to state that the size of my data on the Dell PC's SSD drive (.jpg photos, .docx, emails, xlsx spreadsheets) will be roughly similar to that same data's size on the Mac?

You will want the windows migration tool installed on Win 11 to accomodate macOS Ventura on the Mac. Since Microsoft's NTFS and Apple's APFS filesystems are so radically different, I don't believe there is a scaling factor to help you determine how much Windows 11 content will consume APFS on the Mac side.


We are back to my first paragraph about proper configuration planning of the new Mac for future growth.

Apr 18, 2023 10:37 AM in response to woodmeister50

Thanks very much. I can imagine the following: A browser running, either Safari or Firefox, with ten tabs open; Pages and Numbers and email all open. But no memory hungry apps or photo work of any consequence. Would 16 GB Ram be fine for that context? I think of the 32 GB Ram machines as for heavy duty processing of many files, but I really do not know for sure either way.


Apr 18, 2023 3:52 PM in response to woodmeister50

The question is resolved as far as it can be, meaning that the degree of future proofing that is desirable is not determinable by anyone. Yet some degree of future proofing must be factored into the Ram purchase decision, i.e. which Mac to buy. I did learn how to monitor the Ram in use on my PC, and the same on an Apple store Mac demo using the Mac Activity Monitor. With these tools, I am adding loads and seeing how much the Ram in use goes up, e.g. with each newly opened browser tab. The Mac Mini M2 demo, with 8 GB of Ram, increased about 0.1 gigabyte with each new browser tab, rising as I opened apps from about 5.56 to maybe 6.20 GB in use. A very good store rep said, given that I have no high intensity apps planned, a 16 GB Ram would carry me securely for seven years, and 32 GB for ten. That sounds like a solid answer to me. This would be with the 512 GB storage. Thanks to all.

Ram and SSD Choices on new Mac Mini M2

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