currently i have a mac mini with i5 2.5 dual core with 16 gb ram , 628 gb fusion drive.

Expanding on BDaqua’s reply: Apple Fusion drives came in configurations of 1, 2 and 3GB depending on the year so we assume that the 628GB number is either how much free space your old computer has or how much it is using. if you want to have an easy time of migrating, your new computer’s hard drive capacity should be large enough to store what your old computer has stored. The base iMac with a 256GB isn’t large enough which means you either need to upgrade to a larger drive or store some of your data on an external drive.

Most of us are wary of recommending the base 8GB RAM for two reasons: First we know that every year Apple upgrades the OS and those upgrades are always more RAM needy. Similarly we know that 3rd party software developers also regularly upgrade their software and those always need more RAM. 8GB may be sufficient today but for how many more years?

Depends what you do, but I recommend no less than 16GB of RAM, & looks like you'll need at least 512 SSD or Maybe 1 TB SSD, I can't tell if the 628 GB is fre or used space.

bradcarver2 wrote:

im looking at a macmini m1 with 256 ssd and 8 gb ram is this an upgrade

How deep is your Pocketbook ?

To Future Proof the life expectancy of this machine

Consider the newer M2 Mac Mini with at least 16 GB Unified RAM and at least 1 - 2 GB SSD Drive

Apple Silicon machines can not be Hardware UpGraded once purchased

Everything is soldered onto the Logicboard