yes but the OP is having a friend buy it from US meaning he has limited options in terms of time-frame for purchase.
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Base 2012 or Mid 2012, worth the $200 jump?
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yes but the OP is having a friend buy it from US meaning he has limited options in terms of time-frame for purchase.
Unless the OP will routinely encode hours and hours of video or relies heavily on multi-threaded applications (that don't also benefit from a powerful GPU, btw), then I find it difficult to recommend the 2.3 i7. Especially this deep into the current Mini's life span.
If someone just wants it and can afford it, then that's one thing. But, if they're on the fence, not sure if they need it or not, and trying to budget the extra cores in with other upgrades or accessories... then no. Just get the i5, a SSD, and 8 gigs of RAM.
I mean you have an i5... i can appreciate your input, my reason for not buying the i5 was that i have the same i5 chip in my MBP and was unimpressed. So far, i am super happy with the i7
So far, i am super happy with the i7
I'm sure you are.
You have the 2.6 i7, which is the i7 Mini to get, but you paid almost twice as much as I did too.
And still got the same GPU as me.
I'm sure you are.
You have the 2.6 i7, which is the i7 Mini to get, but you paid almost twice as much as I did too.
And still got the same GPU as me.
yep
like i said i had less than an amazing experience running the i5 MBP as the home computer/HTPC/SERVER so i went all out. Figured that it will last for a long time and i can always make is a headless server-only mini when i upgrade later I looked at all of the various scores in your link and still conclude that it's unlikely the next base mini will equal the current quad-core i7 mini.
For your needs a base model is perfect. Just add a fast second HD like a scorpio black 750GB for 70$. Then you have plenty of room for HTPC use, it will be much more responsive, boot in like 20 seconds.
SSD is nice on a production machine, but for HTPC it has a total wrong price/capacity/speed balance.
Too bad someone here has a bad experience with a i5 MBP, but what you want is possible very snappy on 2009/2010/2011 models as well.
SSD is nice on a production machine, but for HTPC it has a total wrong price/capacity/speed balance.
Too bad someone here has a bad experience with a i5 MBP, but what you want is possible very snappy on 2009/2010/2011 models as well.
Just a thought - if the i7 will be just as fast/slow as the new coming Mac mini, won't the current i5 version be quite a lot slower still? I'm not saying you don't have a point, just that every new computer will be faster then its predecessor.
I actually had a mid 2011 Mac mini base model and was quite happy with it. I will be using this model similarly as to how I used my previous one. I only sold it to buy an iPad and not have any computer at all.
Still haven't decided, the i7 would be awesome, but might be "overkill" considering the intended use.... Let's just hope apple releases the new MM soon, and don't mess with its ability to expand disks and ram.
Thanks guys! Feel free to comment and share your thoughts, as I'm not entirely convinced yet
Thanks guys! Feel free to comment and share your thoughts, as I'm not entirely convinced yet
lol
Well here is one more thing to consider:
$200 =
1 bottle of this: http://www.winealign.com/wines/49148-Penfolds-Rwt-Shiraz-2010
1 bottle of this: http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-5950.aspx or this: http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-7934.aspx or almost this: http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-5267.aspx
and gets you closer to this: http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-9715.aspx
or you can get this: http://www.winealign.com/wines/25732-Moet-Et-Chandon-2003 or this: http://www.winealign.com/wines/16565-Dom-Perignon-Brut-Champagne-2002 or for a bit more, this: http://www.winealign.com/wines/2335-Krug-Grande-Cuvee-Brut-Champagne and have a wonderful new year's party.
in either case $200 is a descent chink of change
prioritize, my friend I can swear by all the options i provided you with. Especially the Ardbeg and the RWT the RWT in particular is incredible value as it is closer in quality and aging potential to this: http://www.winealign.com/wines/41460-Penfolds-Grange-2008
I like the 2.3Ghz i7 model with 16GB RAM upgrade and stay with the stock 1TB HDD. You will like the extra power and multitasking of the quad core i7 for video editing. The 16GB RAM upgrade improves your real time working speed of the Mini. The 1TB drive provides more storage space for your projects compared to the 500GB HDD in the i5 base model or an added SSD with less than 500GB storage capacity (You could still keep the 1TB HDD and add an SSD if you want). You can stretch your next upgrade time from 2-3 years to 3-5 years. If you decide to upgrade in 2 years and want to sell it as used the i7 Mini will have a higher resale value than the i5. IMO these benefits offset the $200 added cost of the 2.3Ghz i7 vs. the i5 base model. If you are on a very tight budget the base model i5 (with a 8GB or 16GB RAM upgrade) is still a great value.
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I recently bought the 2012 Mac mini 2.3 i7. Will I notice a significant boost if I remove the 1TB in there with something like the Scorpio? 7200 vs 5400 rpm right?
My vague recollection is there were some reports of excess heat problems when going with a 7200 rpm drive in the mini. Might want to do some searching on that to verify.
plus a 7200 drive won't give you significant speed boost, may as well just buy a small SSD for system files and have dual drives in the mini...
My needs are very similar to those of the OP (general use, video conversion, photography, media center), so I opted for a refurbished 2.3 GHz i7 with the 1 TB HDD. 16 GB of RAM was about $100 at the time, so I upgraded. I'd intended to eventually add an SSD to create a Fusion drive, but the current system is so much faster than the 2008 MBP it replaced that I haven't felt the need. That begs the question as to whether the base-model i5 also would have felt "fast enough" if my only comparison was my 2008 MBP. I suspect it would have been fine for me. I also suspect that adding an SSD to my i7 mini would make my current configuration feel too slow in retrospect. The lesson is to buy whatever you can comfortably afford, and not obsess over whether you should have gotten something better, because there always will be something faster and better on the horizon, or even now.
lol
Well here is one more thing to consider:
$200 =
1 bottle of this: http://www.winealign.com/wines/49148-Penfolds-Rwt-Shiraz-2010
1 bottle of this: http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-5950.aspx or this: http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-7934.aspx or almost this: http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-5267.aspx
and gets you closer to this: http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-9715.aspx
or you can get this: http://www.winealign.com/wines/25732-Moet-Et-Chandon-2003 or this: http://www.winealign.com/wines/16565-Dom-Perignon-Brut-Champagne-2002 or for a bit more, this: http://www.winealign.com/wines/2335-Krug-Grande-Cuvee-Brut-Champagne and have a wonderful new year's party.
in either case $200 is a descent chink of change
I can swear by all the options i provided you with. Especially the Ardbeg and the RWT the RWT in particular is incredible value as it is closer in quality and aging potential to this: http://www.winealign.com/wines/41460-Penfolds-Grange-2008
Haha this is most likely the best and funniest answer I've ever gotten! Thanks for the good laugh
And you got a point!Well, since there has been no update with regards to the mini, I'll now have to decide which one to get.
Base + SSD and 8 GB ram
i7 and most likely wait with SSD and ram.
If I know myself right, I probably won't upgrade to a SSD or more ram unless I really feel I need to.
OR I'll just take a "bite from the apple" and get the i7 with an SSD.
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Haha this is most likely the best and funniest answer I've ever gotten! Thanks for the good laugh
Well, since there has been no update with regards to the mini, I'll now have to decide which one to get.
Base + SSD and 8 GB ram
i7 and most likely wait with SSD and ram.
If I know myself right, I probably won't upgrade to a SSD or more ram unless I really feel I need to.
OR I'll just take a "bite from the apple" and get the i7 with an SSD.
heh, i try
enjoy your new toy. I'd get the apple SSD if i were you.. no need to fiddle inside install Trim... and its quite fast
heh, i try
enjoy your new toy. I'd get the apple SSD if i were you.. no need to fiddle inside install Trim... and its quite fast
Thanks! But I cannot BTO so I'll have to do it myself.
I've decided to get the i5 entry model and put more RAM and an SSD into it.
I think as a HTPC/media center it will be a more than capable machine !
Thanks and merry Christmas to you!
Don't worry. It's more than capable of being a HTPC/media center.
With a SSD and memory upgrade, that's basically the same Mini as mine.
I use it for all the normal everyday stuff plus Aperture and Xcode.
Place the stock 500GB HDD in an external USB3 enclosure.
With a SSD and memory upgrade, that's basically the same Mini as mine.
I use it for all the normal everyday stuff plus Aperture and Xcode.
Place the stock 500GB HDD in an external USB3 enclosure.
I purchased a 2012 base Mac Mini with the i5 processor a year ago. I use it for internet, email, bookkeeping, and the like.
I was a bit disappointed at first as the computer felt sluggish at times. Crucial had a memory sale, so I upgraded to 16GB of memory, and that made things quite a bit faster.
Within the past month, I decided to upgrade the boot disk to a 128-GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD in a Pluggable USB 3.0 docking station. This also helped a lot, and my Mac Mini is now a reasonably fast computer.
Given the two alternatives posed in the OP's original post, I personally would go with the i7 Mac Mini, 8-GB of memory, and 120-GB SSD. I say this because I currently have 106-GB available on my boot SSD and the memory tab of the "Activity Monitor" shows that I do not even begin to use the 16-GB of memory in my machine. This assumes that the SSD is a capable one and that the existing hard drive is retained for the storage of media and video files.
I was a bit disappointed at first as the computer felt sluggish at times. Crucial had a memory sale, so I upgraded to 16GB of memory, and that made things quite a bit faster.
Within the past month, I decided to upgrade the boot disk to a 128-GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD in a Pluggable USB 3.0 docking station. This also helped a lot, and my Mac Mini is now a reasonably fast computer.
Given the two alternatives posed in the OP's original post, I personally would go with the i7 Mac Mini, 8-GB of memory, and 120-GB SSD. I say this because I currently have 106-GB available on my boot SSD and the memory tab of the "Activity Monitor" shows that I do not even begin to use the 16-GB of memory in my machine. This assumes that the SSD is a capable one and that the existing hard drive is retained for the storage of media and video files.
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Don't worry. It's more than capable of being a HTPC/media center.
With a SSD and memory upgrade, that's basically the same Mini as mine.
I use it for all the normal everyday stuff plus Aperture and Xcode.
Place the stock 500GB HDD in an external USB3 enclosure.
Ive got a 1,5 tb USB 2.0 disk to use as storage/backup. I think external store is cheaper than to put the disk inside the mini. Why not keep the stock drive and just add the SSD in the case?
Thanks mate! Your input has helped.
Now I'm more eager to get the i7, with a 250gb Samsung evo disk and 8 gb memory. Saves me about $60 from the 16gb memory and then it's "only" $140 for 500gb storage and a quad core CPU.
Besides, I'll sell my jailbroken ATV2 which has a higher resale value than retail