Second thoughts on the Mac Mini 2012

[zer0tails]

Originally Posted by utekineir

Sounds like a hackintosh


Its the avenue I would have taken if my focus was not on low power consumption. Really its the only valid option for building an os x computer with a dedicated gfx slot at the moment since the mac pro lineup is old and priced in the clouds.

the idea of the hackintosh is cool but i've heard stories about how much of a pain it is to keep updated and making sure software plays nice with hardware. For me the main attraction of OSX, is ease of use. I don't want to bother with all that other stuff.

On the mac pro, I agree. Last year's update if you can even call it that was disappointing. I'm really curious as to why Apple has neglected the mp line so much. Hopefully, they do something awesome with it this year. Top of the line components and a new design (internal and external) because the current design is really outdated.

[scottw324]

Originally Posted by zer0tails

Hey scottw324 thanks for sharing your experience. Great to hear you love your mini. Did you get the fusion drive as well?

Given your experience and from the reviews I've read on tech sites, I don't see why the mini shouldn't work for my needs. I guess I'm just sceptical since i've always had more powerful machines than needed.

Plus, the mini is so small! Hard to believe there's a full desktop machine in there.

I did get the fusion drive. I wanted to purchase the best one at the time so that it would last me the longest amount of time. I figure if I can get 4-5 yrs out of it I will be happy. May upgrade the monitor and ext HDDs but keep the mini. I have a lot of video content (TV shows, Movies, home videos) stuff like that so one thing that annoyed me with the small HDDs in my laptops was that they would fill up fast. Then started keeping all my itunes content on the ext HDD instead. works better this way and I still have the 1TB fusion drive to run the apps.

[utekineir]

Originally Posted by zer0tails

the idea of the hackintosh is cool but i've heard stories about how much of a pain it is to keep updated and making sure software plays nice with hardware. For me the main attraction of OSX, is ease of use. I don't want to bother with all that other stuff.

On the mac pro, I agree. Last year's update if you can even call it that was disappointing. I'm really curious as to why Apple has neglected the mp line so much. Hopefully, they do something awesome with it this year. Top of the line components and a new design (internal and external) because the current design is really outdated.

same, which is why i bought the 3.1 mp in the first place. For its time it was the best "value" out there, you couldn't even build it yourself for the price, let alone the quality of the case and build or os x. In 20 years I've never had a computer like it in terms of useful lifespan. As was stated my only real reason for moving away is because of the power consumption vs my needs and getting value back while it still exists.

on the hack front it seems like if you carefully choose your hardware and stand on the shoulders of others it isn't horribly complicated, there are a lot of resources out there.

[Towhead]

Originally Posted by 53x12

Please tell me you didn't order 16GB from Apple?

Adding 16GB to my 2012 Mac Mini was the very easiest memory upgrade I've ever had the pleasure of performing. It took me less than five minutes and it was my first time with a Mac Mini. (I didn't last that long my REAL first time!)

[zer0tails]

Question: I have 150 GB of music. Is it better to store this on my 1TB fusion drive or an external hdd to play in itunes?

I ask because I read the latest review of the fusion drive by Anandtech and he mentions that once you fill up the 128gb ssd portion of the fusion drive, things slow down considerably from there and it no longer feels like a SSD. Considering I play music files daily, I assume it will be on the ssd portion of the fusion drive.

[hipnetic]

Originally Posted by zer0tails

This leaves me with the question for you: Did I just downgrade by ordering a mini instead of upgrading?

You use it mainly for writing, web browsing, and streaming audio/video? I don't know why your Mac Pro felt slow for those things, but that over-spec'd Mini should certainly be up to the task.

[Darby67]

Originally Posted by zer0tails

Question: I have 150 GB of music. Is it better to store this on my 1TB fusion drive or an external hdd to play in itunes?

I ask because I read the latest review of the fusion drive by Anandtech and he mentions that once you fill up the 128gb ssd portion of the fusion drive, things slow down considerably from there and it no longer feels like a SSD. Considering I play music files daily, I assume it will be on the ssd portion of the fusion drive.

I am guessing you ask this question not because you think that you will see speed issues with playing songs but with processes that would be a little slower, correct? I doubt you would see any difference in playing music whether it is being accessed on a slow HD or a zippy SSD.