i5 vs i7 mac mini 2020

I wouldn't consider less than a 512 GB drive. I put a 1 TB in my 2018 Mini, but I also knew ahead of time I'd be using it for macOS with lots of large third party apps, another partition for Windows 10, and gobs of left over space for video editing.

But you are correct, the CPU and drive can't be changed later as they're soldered in. They above RAM have to purchased as what you believe you will need at the time of purchase.

It's quite a bit more than marginal. Click the Multi-Core button if necessary.

The i7 has a benchmark of 5622. The i5 is 4771. The 2020 Minis will rank exactly the same since the hardware hasn't changed.

Always get as much as you can afford. Especially the CPU and RAM. You'll be able to hang onto the computer much longer before it seems too slow for the latest OS and other software.

the cpu speed help for some purposes more than others, where IO speed and memory amount has more of a say or video card powers if it's 3d.

you can add more ssd storage as usb3 or thunderbolt later on though I have 2 external hd's connected to my old mac mini 2012 (which is new to me because I just got it secondhand)

What has already been stated about the minimum storage. Only the Core i7 supports hyper-threading so though you have 6 CPU cores, you really have 12 threads available for processing. You should realize that the 2018/2020 Mac mini must be completely disassembled to upgrade the RAM, and my advice would be to get the RAM you anticipate needing at purchase.

Apple's RAM pricing is not unreasonable when you sum the cost of post sales replacement RAM, your time, and the consequences of unplanned damage during the RAM upgrade process.

You should realize that the 2018/2020 Mac mini must be completely disassembled to upgrade the RAM, and my advice would be to get the RAM you anticipate needing at purchase.

That's what I did. I got 32 GB of RAM at the time of order. I've taken lots of computers apart, and built more than a few DOS/Windows machines. But when I saw the steps it takes just to get at the RAM in the new Minis, I thought no, that's more risk than I want to put into possibly damaging the unit to save a few hundred bucks.

FWIW, "marginally better" is still better. Unless it will break the bank I would opt for the i7.

I would not get a computer with less than 16GB RAM for any use. And if 32 GB was available that is what I would get. Apps only get more demanding as the years go on.

+1.

I would max out all of the options. This is something that you're going probably use for the next 5 years.