By Brandon Hill
published
Apple once again is crippling SSD performance on its entry-level SKUs.
When Apple announced its latest M2 Pro- and M2 Max-based MacBook Pros last week, the company boasted about performance gains (up to a 20 percent uplift for the CPU, up to 30 percent for the GPU) and improved battery life. Unfortunately, it appears that one area of performance has taken a step backward for M2 Pro-based MacBook Pros, at least for the $1,999 base model with a 512GB SSD.
Multiple reports confirm that the SSD on the 2023 14-inch MacBook Pro (M2 Pro, 512GB) is significantly slower than the one found in the 2021 14-inch MacBook Pro (M1 Pro, 512GB). The first word about the performance downgrade came from @ZONEofTECH, who compared the two systems. The M2 Pro system scored 2929 MBps write and 2703 MBps read using the AJA System Test Lite benchmark. Its M1 Pro-based predecessor scored 3450 Mbps on the write test and 4081 MBps on the read test.
BREAKING: We’ve just discovered that the base 14” M2 Pro MacBook Pro (512GB) is considerably slower than the previous 14” M1 Pro model. Apple is likely using single SSD modules again (like the base 256GB M2 Air and M2 MacBook Pro). More testing to come. pic.twitter.com/3kMiHVDxaFJanuary 24, 2023
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In his tweet, @ZONEofTECH opined, "Apple is likely using single SSD modules again (like the base 256GB M2 Air and M2 MacBook Pro)."
Further confirmation came this afternoon from Mac-centric website 9to5Mac, which also noticed slower performance with the new base model MacBook Pro. The publication used the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test on the 2023 MacBook Pro (M2 Pro, 512GB) and recorded writes of 3154.4 MBps and reads of 2973.4 MBps. For comparison, the 2021 MacBook Pro (M1 Pro, 512GB) on hand put up higher numbers at 3950.8 MBps and 4900.3 MBps, respectively.
Given the performance degradation, 9to5Mac decided to open the case on the new MacBook Pro to see if the chip configuration had changed compared to the previous generation. "Sure enough, where the 512GB M1 Pro MacBook Pro had two NAND chips visible on the front of the motherboard and another two on the back, the M2 Pro MacBook Pro had only one visible on the front of the board," the publication wrote. "There is likely a second NAND chip directly opposing this, as the M1 had."
According to iFixit, the 2021 MacBook Pro's 512GB SSD is split among four 128GB NAND chips. Its 2023 MacBook Pro counterpart instead uses two 256GB NAND chips in parallel. That could account for the performance decrease for the new MacBook Pro.
Interestingly, this performance downgrade extends to the 256GB variant of the 2023 Mac mini with the M2 SoC. When Apple announced the M2- and M2 Pro-based Mac minis last week, the company also reduced prices for the base model. The M1 Mac mini had a starting price of $699, while the new M2 Mac mini dropped that price to just $599.
Base model Mac mini:2018 Intel Write: 16272018 Intel Read: 24852020 M1 Write: 27332020 M1 Read: 28542023 M2 Write: 14312023 M2 Read: 1482January 24, 2023
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Now, we know how Apple was able to achieve at least some of those cost savings: it skimped out on storage performance. The 2020 Mac mini (M1, 256GB) uses two 128GB NAND chips in parallel and achieves 2733 MBps write and 2854 MBps read with the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, according to Twitter user @t4bl3r0n3. Conversely, the 2023 Mac mini (M2, 256GB) sees its results roughly halve to 1431 MBps and 1482 MBps, respectively. Brandon Geekabit also confirmed these storage performance drops in a YouTube video.
If all of this sounds familiar, Apple performed the same SSD switcheroo with the base version of the MacBook Air (M2, 256GB). Using slower SSDs on the 2023 MacBook Pro and 2023 Mac mini could impact file transfer performance and overall system performance. In addition, any applications that exhaust the available physical memory would need to fall back to the SSD for virtual memory. The Mac mini would likely be impacted more by paging out to the SSD, given that the base 256GB storage configuration only comes with 8GB of RAM.
Apple's decision to lower storage performance in exchange for a $100 price cut on the entry-level Mac mini is somewhat understandable. However, the step backward in storage performance on the $1,999 MacBook Pro is less defensible. For customers paying top dollar for a "pro level" machine, you wouldn't expect storage performance to take such a dramatic hit.
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Brandon Hill
Brandon Hill is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware. He has written about PC and Mac tech since the late 1990s with bylines at AnandTech, DailyTech, and Hot Hardware. When he is not consuming copious amounts of tech news, he can be found enjoying the NC mountains or the beach with his wife and two sons.
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21 CommentsComment from the forums
watzupken This is unsurprising. If they have done it on the Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, it should not come as a surprise to see the same implemented on the base model of the cheaper Macs.
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USAFRet Or maybe, Apple has noticed, like a LOT of the rest of us....raw sequential speed numbers do not matter as much as all the test reviews and marketing wonks would lead us to believe.
writes of 3154.4 MBps and reads of 2973.4 MBps
as compared to
3950.8 MBps and 4900.3 MBps, respectively.Means exactly squat to the vast majority of users.
Like comparing 2 cars.
Car A has a theoretical top speed of 170mph, Car B, a top speed of 150mph.
But ALL your driving is on roads with a speed limit of 70mph. Or lower, mostly 45mph.Reply
hotaru251 USAFRet said:
.raw sequential speed numbers do not matter as muchdepending on what you do with the the thing.
and as much as they cost its just a big "FU" as its cheap enough to add 2nd one would barely harm their profit on each sold.
called Apple juts lvoes to shaft the users for buying the "cheap" apple product and not spend more.
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Amdlova Intel wants eat amd, mac wants eat everyone :) man 499us for a shift m2 aim sold
Reply
deepblue08 USAFRet said:
Or maybe, Apple has noticed, like a LOT of the rest of us....raw sequential speed numbers do not matter as much as all the test reviews and marketing wonks would lead us to believe.writes of 3154.4 MBps and reads of 2973.4 MBps
as compared to
3950.8 MBps and 4900.3 MBps, respectively.Means exactly squat to the vast majority of users.
Like comparing 2 cars.
Car A has a theoretical top speed of 170mph, Car B, a top speed of 150mph.
But ALL your driving is on roads with a speed limit of 70mph. Or lower, mostly 45mph.If this is MacBook Air, I would probably agree with you. But for MacBook Pro, this is not cool. If it is indeed a technical limitation, they should start the Pro lineup with 1TB of space.
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cyrusfox The biggest issue, regardless of number of NAND chips is this is a consumable that is placed on the PCB right next to the M.2 chip... NAND cells will wear out(400-2000 cycles depending on cell density and controller). A ticking time bomb. Granted the cells should last 5-20years of normal use, but if there is any sort of flaw in the cells or if MacOS or one of its apps abuse the drive, and the NAND chip goes bad, it is nearly impossible repair to replace the NAND chip, but even if you can replace, currently impossible to get the internal security chip to register and work with the newly attached NAND package.
All new M1/M2 macs are completely proprietary and unrepairable. And apple continues to use storage as a huge price differentiator...
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thestryker USAFRet said:
Or maybe, Apple has noticed, like a LOT of the rest of us....raw sequential speed numbers do not matter as much as all the test reviews and marketing wonks would lead us to believe.writes of 3154.4 MBps and reads of 2973.4 MBps
as compared to
3950.8 MBps and 4900.3 MBps, respectively.Means exactly squat to the vast majority of users.
Like comparing 2 cars.
Car A has a theoretical top speed of 170mph, Car B, a top speed of 150mph.
But ALL your driving is on roads with a speed limit of 70mph. Or lower, mostly 45mph.In reality Apple saves money on production, maintains/increases margins and doesn't care about the reduced performance because the customer will buy a more expensive model if they care. Apple consistently treats their customers this way, and it doesn't seem to cost them so why should they change?
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DavidLejdar It may not make a difference to most users. Personally, I am now spoilt by high transfer rates. Which isn't just about moving files around (or saving e.g. a large video file after editing it), but also about how much stuff can be loaded into system memory "at once", respectively about how many programes can be launched at the same time, while also opening some folders at it (without the storage device being a bottleneck).
And this doesn't mean that a bit of delay would be a disaster. But even if I wouldn't pay hundreds extra for it, pretty much no lag at all when it comes to accessing the storage device/s, it is nice.
Reply
chickenballs and still soldered? :unsure:
Reply
OneMoreUser Amdlova said:
Intel wants eat amd, mac wants eat everyone :) man 499us for a shift m2 aim soldBetter read the specs a little closer. The based model is very basic when it comes to ram and storage space, then once you change to just reasonable amounts of ram and storage you'll see that Apple as usual is charging like 3x-4x or more on top of what those change cost them.
Essentially somehow when ram and storage are sold in a Apple product it is way more expensive than it is otherwise.Reply
FAQs
What is the SSD performance of Mac Mini 2023? ›
The 2020 Mac mini (M1, 256GB) uses two 128GB NAND chips in parallel and achieves 2733 MBps write and 2854 MBps read with the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, according to Twitter user @t4bl3r0n3. Conversely, the 2023 Mac mini (M2, 256GB) sees its results roughly halve to 1431 MBps and 1482 MBps, respectively.
How fast is the SSD in the mini M2 Pro? ›Mac Mini M2 Pro at 512GB SSD ~ 3,000 MB/s (2 x 256GB SSD) Mac Mini M2 Pro at 1TB SSD ~ 6,000 MB/s (4 x 256GB SSD)
Will an SSD speed up my Mac Mini? ›Upgrading to an SSD enables you to do everyday tasks, on average, six times faster than on a hard drive. 1 This makes booting up, loading programs, saving data, and transferring files that much faster.
Why is M2 SSD slower? ›As Apple moved to the M2, they switched to newer NAND chips that provided 256GB of storage per chip. This meant that the base model M2 MacBook Air with just 256GB of storage had only one NAND chip, and the performance of the SSD was impacted as a result.
How many SSD chips does a Mac Mini M2 have? ›Similar to the MacBook Air M2, Apple went cheap on the SSD for the 256GB model. It uses a single NAND chip for storage, resulting in up to 50% slower SSD performance.
Is the Mac mini M2 slower than the M1? ›Compared to the M1, the base M2 chip is only slightly faster. In multi-core tests, it's around 12% faster, while in single-core operations, it's only 10% faster. This echoes the performance we saw with the MacBook Air M2, showing only minor improvements over the M1 model.
Do M2 SSD drives fail? ›In short, yes, SSDs do fail – all drives do. However, the problems associated with HDDs and SSDs are different. Generally, SSD's can be described as more durable than HDDs, because they contain no moving parts.
Can M2 SSD slow down? ›As Verge editor Dan Seifert explains in his review of the M2 Air, slower storage speeds can impact a number of tasks, including file transfers, and can also slow down overall performance since Macs use SSD space as temporary memory (swap memory) when their onboard RAM is used up.
Does M2 SSD speed matter? ›So, does SSD speed matter for gaming? For yes, it is because faster SSDs perform better in booting PC and loading games. For no, the reason is that while playing games, the smoothness and FPS don't change much on SATA, M. 2, and NVMe SSDs.
Why is my new Mac mini so slow? ›Your Mac might be slow because of an outdated operating system or a full hard disk — especially if you have an older model Mac. If your Mac is new, it might be slow because you're running too many background programs and apps or even have a malware infection.
Why is my Mac mini so slow all of a sudden? ›
If you find your Mac is running slowly, there are a number of potential causes that you can check. Your computer's startup disk may not have enough free disk space. To make disk space available, you can move files to another disk or an external storage device, then delete files you no longer need on the startup disk.
Does full SSD slow down Mac? ›Filling the drive to capacity is one of the things you should never do with a solid-state drive. A nearly full solid-state drive will have much slower write operations, slowing down your computer.
What are the disadvantages of M2 SSD? ›However, the main disadvantages of M. 2 SSDs are that they are expensive and lack universality. Currently, the price of a 1 TB SATA SSD is about $ 100 or less; but the price of an M. 2 SSD of the same capacity is about twice and half the cost of a SATA drive.
Is it worth getting M2 over SSD? ›The answer is a resounding yes. NVMe drives offer significantly faster read and write speeds compared to SATA SSDs, meaning games will load quicker, and you will experience less lag. They also provide faster data transfer rates, allowing for smoother gameplay. NVMe drives are also more durable than SATA SSDs.
What is the lifespan of M2 SSD? ›2 drives are built like trucks. While they all share the lifespan of 1.5 million hours for MTBF, they do have different write endurances. In general, the more storage a drive has, the more write endurance it has.
Should I buy M2 or M2 Pro Mac mini? ›Our Verdict. If you want a straightforward desktop Mac for home or general computing, then the M2 Mac mini is ideal with a perfect price. The M2 chip is plenty powerful for most people and even some pros. If you want a higher-end chip, but not the fastest chip, the entry-level M2 Pro Mac mini is a powerful machine.
How much memory do you need in an M2 based Mac? ›Conclusion. Apple offers its own guidance on choosing the right memory for your M2 Mac mini. “Your Mac mini comes as standard with 8GB of memory,” they tell buyers on the configuration page, before explaining that 8GB is “more than enough for the things you do every day and for running multiple applications at once.”
How much better is the M2 chip than the M1 chip? ›The M1 chip has 8 cores, while the M2 chip has 10 cores, allowing the M2 chip to provide up to 25% higher graphics performance than the M1 while at the same power level. This is especially prevalent when running multiple tasks or complex applications.
How much is the Mac Mini M2 worth? ›The M2 Pro version starts with 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage, which can be upgraded up to 32GB of memory and 8TB of storage. The base M2 Mac Mini starts at $599 while the M2 Pro Mac Mini starts at $1,299.
Which Mac mini is faster? ›Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro delivers faster performance, even more unified memory, and advanced connectivity, including support for up to two displays on the M2 model, and up to three displays on the M2 Pro model.
Is M2 better then M1? ›
Processing performance
The M2 processor is the improved version of Apple's M1 chip. The newer processor's cores are slightly more powerful and notably more efficient than the M1's cores. Both the M1 and M2 processors on the MacBook Air give you an 8-core CPU with four performance cores and four efficient cores.
Drawbacks. SSDs are newer technology, and as such, are more expensive than HDDs. Although they are catching up, it can be harder to find large-capacity solid state drives. HDDs can be as much as 2.5 times larger.
What is the lifespan of SSD? ›SSDs Have a Long Lifespan
In fact, most SSDs can last over five years, while the most durable units exceed ten years. However, how long your SSD will last depends on how often you write data into it, and you could use that to estimate the lifespan.
- A file cannot be read or written to the hard drive.
- Your PC/file system needs to be repaired.
- Active applications often freeze up and crash.
- Frequent errors while moving files.
- Generally, running slowly, especially while accessing large files.
- Random crashes.
- Ensure the latest storage drivers are installed.
- Shutdown your computer properly, don't force shutdown.
- Ensure storage-related BIOS updates are performed.
- Backup your data regularly.
- Disabling indexing on SSD.
- Reduce unnecessary writing.
- Enable write caching in Device Manager.
- Move temporary files to another place.
- Create a RAM disk (requires at least 3 GB of memory).
- Move caches, temporary internet files to RAM disk.
- Update SSD firmware.
- Whether your motherboard/notebook supports M. 2 SATA or M. ...
- The type of keying (B/M/B+M) supported by the motherboard/notebook socket.
- If it is PCI Express, whether it supports 2x or 4x PCI-Express.
- The maximum length of SSD drive supported (2232 to 22110) (hint: it should say on the PCB)
Usually, the best SSDs do come with a speed of 500 Mbps. There are obviously multiple other best SSDs available that may have speeds up to 5000 Mbps.
What is the life span of Mac mini? ›A typical laptop's lifespan is between 3 to 5 years.
What are common problems with Mac mini? ›- second monitor going black/pink/disconnect time to time. Turning separate space function off seems like it helps but it makes two screen set up unusable for me.
- slow wifi. Signal is strong and wifi works fine on other devices. ...
- Bluetooth devices don't connect properly or it stutters.
What is the life of Mac mini? ›
Given that you can expect any Mac to last (at least) a good seven years, and given that the M1 processor is 'next generation,' you should expect the same at least from any of the new models. Especially if you buy one with 16GB rather than 8GB of RAM. I have an old unused Mac mini 2009. How can I use it?
Why is everything so small on my Mac mini? ›Whether you have a Retina Display or not, the settings for controlling the size of things on your screen are in the same place. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences. Go to Displays. Here you can choose between Default for display or Scaled.
Why is my Mac Mini using so much memory? ›Your Mac can run out of application memory because you have one or more apps hogging resources. Hogging is when an app uses more resources than it should, depleting the memory that other apps should be using. A couple of apps that can hog your Mac's memory and cause performance issues are Finder and Chrome.
Why is my Mac mini running slow after Monterey? ›Find and Quit Resource-hungry Apps via Activity Monitor
Another reason for macOS Monterey running slow is that those resource-hungry applications are taking away too many system resources while running. Big programs like Photoshop, Camtasia, and Final Cut Pro tend to use much more power than smaller ones.
Your disk writing may be slow for several reasons, including low RAM, outdated BIOS firmware, low disk space, a virus-infected disk, and disabled TRIM command. Using a third-party tool like EaseUS Partition Master, you can quickly identify and resolve the SSD writing speed issue.
Is Mac mini M2 slow? ›While the new $599 M2 Mac mini is a very nice computer at a great price, it hides an ugly secret we've seen before: a slower SSD. MacRumors reports that benchmarks of the machine show that the 256GB SSD is up to 50 percent slower than the 256GB SSD in the M1 model it replaces.
Is it bad to keep SSD almost full? ›The rule of thumb to keep SSDs at top speeds is never completely to fill them up. You should never use more than 70% of the total capacity to avoid performance issues. When you get close to the 70% threshold, you should consider upgrading your computer's SSD with a larger drive.
Is it worth upgrading to m2? ›If you frequently do graphically-intensive tasks such as video editing, graphics rendering, and so on, the performance boost and the extra hour of battery life might be worth the cost, as they will help your workflow. However, for most other users, the upgrade isn't worth it since it's just a spec bump.
How many times can you write to an M 2 SSD? ›An SSD that stores two bits of data per cell, commonly referred to as multi-level cell (MLC) flash, generally sustains up to 10,000 write cycles with planar NAND and up to 35,000 write cycles with 3D NAND.
Which SSD has the longest lifespan? ›Single-level cell SSDs (SLC) have a particularly long life, although they can only store 1 bit per memory cell. They can withstand up to 100,000 write cycles per cell and are particularly fast, durable, and fail-safe. Multi-level cell SSDs (MLC) have a higher storage density and can store 2 bits per flash cell.
Can SSD last 20 years? ›
Overall, if SSD is not getting power for several years, it may lose data. According to research, an SSD can retain your data for a minimum of 2-5 Years without any power supply. Some SSD manufacturers also claim that SSD can save data without a regular power supply for around 15 to 20 years.
How fast is next gen SSD? ›It can reach transfer speeds up to 6000 megabytes per second (MB/s) and 5600 MB/s.
How fast is the 256GB Mac mini SSD? ›We have confirmed with the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test benchmarking app that SSD read and write speeds for the new 256GB Mac mini are each around 1,500 MB/s, which is anywhere from 30% to 50% slower than read and write speeds for the equivalent previous-generation model, although benchmark results and real-world ...
What is the benchmark for the Mac 2023? ›The MacBook Pro 14-icnch 2023 scored 988 with the M2 Pro chip and took 4:20 to complete the test. The M2 Max version scored 1,199 and was even faster at 3:57. The M1 Pro MacBook Pro scored a much lower 806.
How fast is the M2 Pro 512 SSD? ›Specifically, 9to5Mac reporter Derek Wise found that write speeds on the 2023 M2 Pro MacBook Pro with 512GB of storage fell 20% to 3154.5 MB/s when compared to the M1 Pro MacBook Pro with the same amount of storage.
How much faster is m2 than SSD? ›2 SATA SSDs have a similar level of performance to mSATA cards, but M. 2 PCIe cards are notably faster. In addition, SATA SSDs have a maximum speed of 600 MB per second, while M. 2 PCIe cards can hit 4 GB per second.
Will SSD prices drop in 2023? ›Back in October, analysts predicted that, by mid-2023, the price of drives would drop by 50 percent. At the time, major suppliers such as Kioxia and Micron announced that they would reduce the production of NAND to keep supplies lower.
How many years will SSD last? ›SSDs Have a Long Lifespan
Since SSDs don't have moving parts, they're very reliable. In fact, most SSDs can last over five years, while the most durable units exceed ten years.
Storage. The SSD in the M2 Pro Mac mini seems particularly fast, with some variations from cycle to cycle in our testing. The drive regularly scored above 5,000 MB/sec in the write tests, with speeds as high as 6,200 MB/second, but we also saw those numbers drop as low as 3,500 MB/sec in some cases.
What is the speedtest for Mac Mini M2? ›The M2 Mac Mini hits about 1500 MB/s for both read and write speeds in the DaVinci Blackmagic disk speed test, whereas the M1 MacBook Air hit over 2100 MB/s for write speeds and 2800 MB/s for read speeds.
Do I need 512GB Mac mini? ›
In any case, if you care about high read and write speeds, which will no doubt make your M2 Pro Mac mini faster and more responsive, we recommend getting the 512GB storage version.
Will there be a new Mac mini 2023? ›The Mac Mini launched in the U.S. on Jan. 24, 2023. This mini-computer is only available in Silver and starts at $599 and $1,299 for the M2 and M2 Pro variants, respectively. You can buy it through the Apple Store and most major U.S. retailers, such as Amazon and Best Buy.
Is M2 better than Intel? ›Apple admits that the 12-core Core i7 processor is faster than the M2 chipset. However, the M2 chipset retains an advantage in terms of power consumption. Apple's main point is that the M2 can provide exceptional performance while consuming a fraction of the power of an Intel Core i7-1260P CPU.
Is the M1 or M2 chip better? ›Processing performance
The M2 processor is the improved version of Apple's M1 chip. The newer processor's cores are slightly more powerful and notably more efficient than the M1's cores. Both the M1 and M2 processors on the MacBook Air give you an 8-core CPU with four performance cores and four efficient cores.