A Mac Mini M2 for under $500 is the best back to school deal I've seen

For any student about to go back to school who is looking for a new computer, I don't think there's a better option right now than the Apple Mac mini, with M2 chip, down from $599 to $499 over at B&H Photo.

It's the 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD model, with the plenty powerful M2 chip, and as an owner of this exact PC, I can attest that it's a fantastic computer for all the browsing, streaming, writing, and basic to mid level photo editing that you could want to do.

Of course, a Mac mini will be ideal for people who already have a good monitor suitable for a Mac mini (though you can also use your TV), plus keyboard and mouse. If you don't have them, then maybe you'd prefer the current best Apple laptop deal that I can find – but that's $100 more. Here are the details...

Apple Mac mini (8GB, 256GB, M2, 2023)

Was:

$599

Now: $499 at B&H Photo

Save $100

Overview: For the price, this is one of the best computers out there. You're getting the famed Apple M2 chip with 8-core CPU and 10-core GPU, 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. This may not be for pro video editors (you'll want a minimum 16GB RAM for that) but if you want a powerful PC that can handle pretty much anything student work (and play) can throw at it, this is fine choice.

Key features: The M2 chip is the latest chip to reach the Mac mini, bringing speed, power and reliability. As mentioned, I have the M2 Mac mini, and it does everything that I need and more. It's got two Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI and two USB-A ports. It can also support two displays at the same time (up to 6K and 5K), should you really want to pimp out your office set up.

Price history: The Mac mini is already sold at a fair retail price, so to get $100 off the M2 model is a great deal. We have seen it go for this price before, notably around Prime Day earlier this month, and Black Friday last year.

Price comparison: $599 at Amazon | $599 at Best Buy

Reviews: When we got our hands on this Mac mini, we were impressed by its 'immense power' and called it, 'one of if not the best small form factor PCs money can buy'. Looking around at the other top tech sites, they all agree.