M2 Mac Mini, 16GB ram or 512GB SSD?

I currently have a 2018 MacBookPro with 16GB RAM, 256 Hard drive and always have 150+GB of free space because I store everything on external drives. I work do graphics, some light video editing and browsing, I value performance with more opened apps and longevity of the hardware.


Now I want to spend $799 on a M2 Mac Mini and sell my MacBook but I'm not sure if I should choose upgrade to 16GB of ram or 512GB SSD.


Like I said free space is not an Issue but I've read the 512GB will actually improve peformance and last longer. I think people say it will last longer because they're comparing it to the 8GB of ram version which will use SSD as RAM. But I'm pretty sure that doesn't happen much with 16GB.


So would I get a better Mac Mini with 16GB of ram or 512GB of SSD? I could get both but I'd rather spend $799 instead of $999.


Any recommendation would be helpful.

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Jan 18, 2023 1:13 PM

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Posted on Jan 19, 2023 5:58 AM

How much RAM to buy totally depends on your usage.

If you use any adobe Creative Cloud apps such as Lightroom or Photoshop, 16GB is a minimum.


Otherwise, generally if you tend to have multiple apps open or lots of webpages open at the same time, 16 GB is highly desirable.


As far as the drive, if you use so little on the internal, there is likely no need for going for the larger drive.

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Jan 19, 2023 5:58 AM in response to MauroPerez

How much RAM to buy totally depends on your usage.

If you use any adobe Creative Cloud apps such as Lightroom or Photoshop, 16GB is a minimum.


Otherwise, generally if you tend to have multiple apps open or lots of webpages open at the same time, 16 GB is highly desirable.


As far as the drive, if you use so little on the internal, there is likely no need for going for the larger drive.

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M2 Mac Mini, 16GB ram or 512GB SSD?

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