The new 2023 MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max and Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro chips started shipping to customers on Jan 17 and curious users have already begun their teardown testing of the computers’ performance in real-world settings.
Teardowns of the new M2 Pro MacBook Pro feature 215GB SSD storage and the M2 Mac mini features 256GB SSD storage reveals that the base models feature a single NAND chip which delivers slower SSD speeds than previous models.
Teardowns of 512GB MacBook Pro and 256GB Mac mini reveal fewer NAND chips
A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that stores data using NAND flash memory and functions as secondary storage. Multiple NAND chips deliver faster SSD speeds which reduce waiting time when transferring files and improve overall performance.
M2 Mac mini with 256GB storage chip delivers up to 50% slower SSD speeds than the previous model
YouTuber @Brandon Geekbit unscrewed the new M2 Mac mini with 256GB storage (base model) to investigate the internal layout and components. The teardown revealed that the standard M2 Mac mini model is equipped with a single 256GB storage chip which delivers slower SSD speeds than M1 Mac mini which features two 128GB chips.
Using the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, MacRumors confirmed that SSD read and write speeds for the new 256GB Mac mini are 1,500 MB/s each which is 30% to 50% slower than the speeds of the previous model.
M2 Pro MacBook Pro with 512GB storage features fewer NAND chips than the previous model
9to5Mac ran Disk Speed tests on M1 Pro and M2 Pro MacBook Pro base models with 512GB storage which revealed slower SSD performance on the 2023 model because the new M2 Pro MacBook Pro switcher to fewer and larger NAND chips while the M1 Pro MacBook Pro features four 128GB NAND chips, two on each side of the Logic board.
Teardown of the M2 Pro MacBook Pro which showed that it is equipped with two NAND chips, one in front and one on the back of the Logic board. Apple has used the same fewer NAND chips architecture in the M2 MacBook Air (2022).
With the notable lower SSD performance in my M2 Pro MacBook Pro, I wanted to take a look inside to confirm why. 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. There is likely a second NAND chip directly apposing this, as the M1 had.
Therefore, users who require more SSD speeds for heavy workloads must purchase a 2023 Mac mini and MacBook Pro with higher configuration, not with standard storage.
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