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2012 Mac mini

virginblue4

virginblue4

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 15, 2012
2,017
682
United Kingdom
Hello, my girlfriend is looking into buying her first Mac, mainly for university.

She won't be doing anything intensive on it, just word processing, powerpoint, iPhoto, iTunes, Mail, YouTube and general web surfing.

Is it worth buying the baseline Mac mini now, or should she wait for the 2013 refresh? She doesn't need it urgently, however, it would be good for her to get used to it. I'm guessing the Haswell chip won't make much of a difference for what she'll be using it for, will it?
 
B

blevins321

macrumors 68030
Dec 24, 2010
2,768
96
Detroit, MI
I'd say the current one is fine. I'd shoot for a Fusion Drive and RAM though...it would improve performance much more than a slightly faster processor would.
 
virginblue4

virginblue4

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Apr 15, 2012
2,017
682
United Kingdom
blevins321 said:
I'd say the current one is fine. I'd shoot for a Fusion Drive and RAM though...it would improve performance much more than a slightly faster processor would.
Click to expand...

Fusion Drive isn't an option on the baseline model. I'll see how the RAM is before I upgrade it.

In the future, if needed, I can add extra RAM and an SSD etc.
 
C

COrocket

macrumors 6502
Dec 9, 2012
485
12
virginblue4 said:
Fusion Drive isn't an option on the baseline model. I'll see how the RAM is before I upgrade it.

In the future, if needed, I can add extra RAM and an SSD etc.
Click to expand...

Get the base model and see how well it works. My 2012 runs 10.8 fine with 4GB RAM. Does all the tasks you describe and never beach balls. SSDs are nice but certainly not nessissary for a good experience.
 
phoenixsan

phoenixsan

macrumors 65816
Oct 19, 2012
1,342
2
If that....

2013 refresh occur and Haswell is coupled with better integrated graphics, that would help in power comsumption and better graphics. Otherwise, the 2012 with more RAM (you can upgrade it aftermarket) would do the trick....


:):apple:
 
mr.steevo

mr.steevo

macrumors 65816
Jul 21, 2004
1,411
940
virginblue4 said:
She won't be doing anything intensive on it, just word processing, powerpoint, iPhoto, iTunes, Mail, YouTube and general web surfing.
Click to expand...

That describes what my sister does on her 2007 Macbook.

The base mini will be fine.
 
APlotdevice

APlotdevice

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2011
3,145
3,861
COrocket said:
Get the base model and see how well it works. My 2012 runs 10.8 fine with 4GB RAM. Does all the tasks you describe and never beach balls. SSDs are nice but certainly not nessissary for a good experience.
Click to expand...

Personally, after using an SSD for awhile, my standards for "good" have changed radically. HDDs just are so painfully slow in comparison.
 
Last edited:
fig

fig

macrumors 6502a
Jun 13, 2012
916
84
Austin, TX
mr.steevo said:
That describes what my sister does on her 2007 Macbook.

The base mini will be fine.
Click to expand...

I do more intense work than that on my '08 Macbook so...yeah.

And on the SSD comments, it's not a necessity but that or the Fusion drive are relatively inexpensive upgrades over the life of the machine that make your day to day operations a much more pleasant experience.
 
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