The Mac Mini M2 Pro is the best fucking computer I have ever owned. I wish I had forked out a bit more and got a Mac Studio. It would 100% have been worth it. I've been using this thing for a couple of months now and I still can't get over just how fucking good it is.
It doesn't break a sweat when I'm running a typical workload. I can have multiple documents open, multiple browsers with multiple tabs, a couple of VM's running in Parallels, Notes, Outlook, PRTG, Remote Desktop Software, Terminals, Calendar, Discord, Teams, and any other shit I might need to open all running simultaneously and this thing doesn't break a sweat with everything displaying damn-near instantly the second I click on it or need it.
And VM's run like a dream on this thing.
I wouldn't even know I was running Linux or Windows 11 in a VM. It feels like it's running on native hardware.
It's just such a fucking good computer I can't fucking believe it.
There are just a few downsides to it for me:
Cost. It's fucking expensive. Customising you mac with additionial RAM and Storage feels like a rort. (But it would have been worth it even so)
RAM: I wish I had more RAM so I could run more VM's with more RAM simultaneously.
Cores: I wish I had more CPU cores for the same reason I wish I had more RAM. More simultaneous VM's running.
Storage: I wish Apple weren't such pricks about storage and would just give me 8TB for a reasonable price.
I purchased the base model Mac Mini M2 Pro because it was my first foray into Apple shit and macOS. Fuck me, I wish I had known how fucking good it was earlier and I would have forked out double for a Mac Studio with an M2 Max and 64GB RAM. Ideally, I would want around 24+ Cores and 128GB RAM and the Ultra can pull that off... But somewhere deep down I feel uncomfortable about spending that much on a computer. $4000 would really be a sweet spot for me and a dream for something the equivalent of an M2 Ultra Mac Studio with 128GB RAM. I would just use a NAS for my storage needs. I'm excited to see what the future brings and if they release an M3 Max Studio that has 128GB+ of unified memory and a core count approaching 20+ I'll be buying it day one.
Using a computer that actually helps me get work done and achieve the things I want to achieve on my hardware, while being able to do it quick and responsively has been a game-changer for me. I've never had this experience before, where the computer I'm using is actually behaving in a way that makes it a tool that's not just "able to get the job done", but is able to get the job done well without wasting my time and energy while I wait for things to open, or load, or process, or parse... It's night and day.
I can never go back.
I agree the Apple silicon is pretty great. I’m running an M2 MBA, and it’s taking everything I throw at it. As for VMs, TBH, I bought an HP Z440, and have been building that up as a VM workhorse. Supports dual Xeon CPUs, plenty of memory and drive space. Plus parts are all over eBay. I just run Rocky on that and use VNC or SSH to access.