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Apple’s $600 M2 Mac mini obliterates the $6,000 Mac Pro

By Monica J. White Published January 27, 2023

We just got even more proof that it’s high time Apple released a new version of the Mac Pro. Why? Because it just got smoked in a benchmark — and by a device that costs a tenth of its price.

The M2 Mac mini was tested in single-core and multi-core operations and then compared to the Intel-based Mac Pro. Unsurprisingly, the news is all bad for the expensive 2019 workstation.

Someone editing photos on the M2 Mac Mini. — Apple

GregsGadgets on Twitter posted two very telling sets of benchmark results: one for the M2 Mac mini and one for the Intel-based Mac Pro. The Mac mini outperformed the workstation in both single-core and multi-core tests.

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Unfortunately, we only know the results of one example, so it’s possible that the Mac mini would still lose against the Mac Pro in different tests. However, in the Geekbench 5 test, the Mac mini scored 1,944 in single-core and 8,790 in multi-core versus the Intel Mac Pro, which only managed to hit 1,019 and 8,037, respectively. This is a huge blow to the 2019 Mac Pro.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the M2 chip completely destroy the Mac Pro. Similar benchmark results popped up last summer, starring the 13-inch MacBook Pro. The laptop was able to outperform the Mac Pro despite being around $5,000 cheaper. When you compare the Mac mini to the Mac Pro, the price difference is even more jarring, because the base configuration of the Mac mini costs just $600 — a tenth of the price of the Mac Pro.

Apple’s beastly workstation from 2019 runs on Intel hardware and still sells for $6,000. That’s a scary price, but back then, it definitely made sense to professionals — it was one powerful computer, all set to support resource-heavy tasks such as video editing and rendering. These days, over three years later, it’s safe to say that it no longer makes sense to buy a Mac Pro.

What can you do if you want a new workstation PC? Buy the Mac mini instead or wait for Apple to release the long-awaited Mac Pro that will run on its own M2 silicon. Assuming it comes equipped with an M2 Ultra chip, it will once again be the king of Apple’s entire lineup, as it should be.

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Monica J. White

Computing Writer

Monica is a computing writer at Digital Trends, focusing on PC hardware. Since joining the team in 2021, Monica has written…

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