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4GB, 8GB or 16GB?

bounou

bounou

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 6, 2012
354
110
So i picked up a 2012 Mac Mini a few weeks ago at a very good price, was going to wait for the refresh but i felt i needed to take advantage of this price.

I am not sure if i should spring for more ram or not, right now the computer is connected to a thunderbolt display but that is a short term solution, going to be picking up a Mac Pro if the price is not too crazy and i feel its worth it or wait for the retina display iMac to get released.

Eventually the computer is just going to be a headless server for my media for the different Apple TV's and other devices that can access it, i also use it to do quite a bit of handbraking, 2-3 times a week sometimes more.

I don't want to spent more then 200$ more on this thing so it's either 8GB and AppleCare or 16GB

What would you do?
 
ActionableMango

ActionableMango

macrumors G3
Sep 21, 2010
9,612
6,907
8GB is fine. 16GB is way overkill for a headless media server.

Handbrake is almost entirely CPU bound.
 
M

mdgm

macrumors 68000
Nov 2, 2010
1,665
406
Mavericks has some improvements when it comes to memory. I would wait and see what difference Mavericks makes before going off and buying more RAM. Mavericks is expected to be released later this month.

I have 4GB RAM in all three of Minis and plan to wait and see whether my Macs swap much or not on Mavericks before deciding whether to purchase more RAM.
 
Last edited:
O

opinio

macrumors 65816
Mar 23, 2013
1,171
7
16GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz.

16GB will make sure you make out the VRAM dedicated to the GPU (768). Although I may stand corrected on that as 8GB may also max out the VRAM (it did in the 2011s).

It may be overkill. But hey... Its nice to have to power there when you put the foot to the accelerator.
 
B

blanka

macrumors 68000
Jul 30, 2012
1,551
4
Either leave it like it is, 4Gb is plenty for your needs, or go all the way. Or if you do 8, do it in one slot, that way you have 10 and your money spent on the 8 is not wasted in the future.
Oh, and AppleCare is wasted on a mini as well. It is a pretty reliable machine.
 
ioannis2005gr

ioannis2005gr

macrumors 6502
Aug 10, 2013
495
0
Europe
blanka said:
Either leave it like it is, 4Gb is plenty for your needs, or go all the way. Or if you do 8, do it in one slot, that way you have 10 and your money spent on the 8 is not wasted in the future.
Oh, and AppleCare is wasted on a mini as well. It is a pretty reliable machine.
Click to expand...

This is a very good advice!

Comment: APPLE can cover repair expenses for everything (i.e. components). Do you think it is safe enough to proceed without a 3-year warranty plan?
 
B

blanka

macrumors 68000
Jul 30, 2012
1,551
4
Don't know your country, but in the EU the warranty is already 2 years. If a Mini makes it 2 years, it will make 5 years too.
 
P0stalTek

P0stalTek

Suspended
Feb 25, 2011
256
30
Santabean2000 said:
8GB is the sweet spot, esp if the mini is not your main workhorse.
Click to expand...

This.

I have 8gb in my Mini that handles all my media (streaming and direct viewing on a 55" 3d 1080p plasma). It never approaches max RAM.

On the other hand, I put 16gb Corsair Vengeance in my MBP that is my main workhorse. On the laptop, I often run a virtual machine of Windows 7 with 4gb of my memory devoted to the VM.
 
Sean869

Sean869

macrumors member
Nov 7, 2012
64
3
Dorset, United Kingdom
When I got my ram its wasn't that much more money to get 16gb. So if you can afford it go the whole way and get 16gb, then you're sure to have enough no matter what future use you put your machine to. Nobody has ever said "I need a bit less RAM in my computer"
 
ioannis2005gr

ioannis2005gr

macrumors 6502
Aug 10, 2013
495
0
Europe
blanka said:
Don't know your country, but in the EU the warranty is already 2 years. If a Mini makes it 2 years, it will make 5 years too.
Click to expand...

Which is your EU country? Most EU countries still have 1 year standard warranty for APPLE products....

BUT

if you compare the suggested APPLE 3-year warranty plan (worldwide) with a local EU 1 or 2-year standard warranty, I think you will decide to go with it and pay a little bit more to feel safer.

It's the same discussion with the car insurance....which one is better? It's very subjective issue and it depends on the risk you want to take...
 
C

CausticPuppy

macrumors 68000
May 1, 2012
1,536
68
Applecare isn't really worth it on desktops IMO... especially desktops without displays. If a drive fails it's easy to replace.

Also if you bought it with an Amex card, you automatically get an additional year on the warranty (this is why I buy all my electronics with Amex).

*edit* I should clarify that Amex doesn't extend the factory warranty but they give you an additional year of their own coverage... works like any 3rd party warranty.
 
jhfenton

jhfenton

macrumors 65816
Dec 11, 2012
1,176
802
Cincinnati, Ohio
Last December when I bought my mini, 16GB was $59.99, so it was a no-brainer to max it out. I frequently run a Parallels VM which I can devote 8GB to without straining system resources.

At current prices, which at a quick glance seem to be at least twice what I paid 10 months ago, it would a tougher call. Depending on what Apple does, and on compatibility, if I buy an upgraded mini this fall and demote my current mini to home video server, I'd probably just swap the 16GB and 4GB. 4GB is fine for running a video server.
 
ad931

ad931

macrumors regular
Sep 1, 2013
188
41
Athens, Greece
My late 2012 Mini is my main computer. It shipped with 4GB, i used it for about a month, really couldn't fault it performance wise.

Did the 16GB RAM upgrade... WOW!!!! However many apps i've got open or running in background, I've never seen less than 11GB RAM available.

The upgrade was so cheap it was a no brainer really plus its nice to have "something in reserve"
 
alphaod

alphaod

macrumors Core
Feb 9, 2008
22,183
1,245
NYC
RAM is cheap these days. 8GB should be fine and you can upgrade it yourself.

Buy AppleCare later, if you think you still need it.
 
ioannis2005gr

ioannis2005gr

macrumors 6502
Aug 10, 2013
495
0
Europe
jbarley said:
My BMO Master Card works similarly, it doubles the manufacturers warranty, plus it offers theft insurance.
Click to expand...

Have you ever tried to claim a repair under your extended warranty or request money using that insurance? Personally, I don't trust them ....
 
brdeveloper

brdeveloper

macrumors 68030
Apr 21, 2010
2,629
313
Brasil
32GB of RAM would be nice, but as the maximum supported by the Mini is 16GB, this is the best choice :p

4GB is the new 4MB and 8GB is the new 8MB. Soon we'll see computer equipped with 256GB of RAM...
 
M

mdgm

macrumors 68000
Nov 2, 2010
1,665
406
I still think it would be advisable to wait and see if with the better memory management in Mavericks 4 GB is adequate for your needs.

I'm holding off on making a decision as to whether I need to upgrade the RAM in my existing Minis or not till I see what difference Mavericks makes.
 
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