I have macs with ssd's and hdd's. It is not as big a deal as you make it seem. Especially for the uses the OP mentioned
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Is the 1.4ghz enough for my needs? Or should I go for 2.6 ghz
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I have macs with ssd's and hdd's. It is not as big a deal as you make it seem. Especially for the uses the OP mentioned
You are somewhat right. I have a 2012 base mini with 2.5ghz /4gb ram /hdd.
Once programs are up and running they run just fine. Since I use my mini mainly as a media center, I haven't upgraded to an ssd so far.
But: An ssd does make a massive difference when starting and switching between apps.
If I'd buy a new mac, I'd always go with an ssd.
Hdd is slow but reliable piece of hardware. And since Mini wastes very few energy, i dont understand the need to close apps (unless we're speaking of games) or shutdown the OS.
My Vista laptop only knows what it is the sleep function for a long time. I rarely shutdown or hibernate the OS
My Vista laptop only knows what it is the sleep function for a long time. I rarely shutdown or hibernate the OS
This is a silly response to what's being recommended here.Sorry Mencelus, but you are about to find out that we cant tolerate your point of view! Like applelover4u, you have a base 2014 mini and claim to be satisfied. But that is impossible....
What I would say to Mencelus is, ignorance is bliss.
Everyone's entitled to their own opinions and experiences, but that doesn't mean they have the knowledge and experience to make smart recommendations for other users.
Truth. I've never felt so disconnected from other users' experiences as I have in this thread. There must either be a lot of frugal apologists here, or just sheltered folks who don't know what they're missing.
I bought the base Mini and set it up as a replacement for a 7-year-old Dell. The Mini was a TURD. I'd never seen so many beach balls. Not only was it less responsive than my 2009 MBP, but I think it was slower than the old Dell it replaced.
I am not a power user. All the Mini had to do was to get my kids on the Internet, play a few YouTube videos, and the occasional Minecraft game. It sucked at all of it. I returned it within the week and bought the 8GB/FD model. MUCH improved.
So take it from someone who's owned both ends of the Mac Mini spectrum: I can't think of a single use condition the 1.4 is adequate for.
People like to dramatise on these forums. I have used windows 7 on a laptop with an HDD. The experience is very much like OS X with a mechanical drive, despite the comments in this thread.
Would I use a mechanical drive as the boot drive for os x, or windows? No
Does that mean nobody should use mechanical drives? No, but with the prices of SSDs so low, there is really no reason not to.
I'm having the same feeling but in the opposite way. I haven't found any of the horrors you all are describing! No bouncy rainbow balls, no super slowdowns, no nothing. No issues with Yosemite for anything. Only issue I've had is with Pages, and I solved it with a forum search, so no worries there.
The 1.4ghz is fine, especially for the money spent. For me, exactly, the Mac Mini was an entry level machine for those who weren't terribly sure about the whole Mac thing. Now I'm sold, of course, but at the time of buying, I wasn't so sure. I definitely wasn't going to drop $800-1000 to find out if, MAYBE, I liked a Mac.
And as said above, I'm not doing anything more demanding than some gaming; if I were, naturally, the Mac Mini wouldn't be enough, but that's obvious, since people doing intensive stuff buy high-end machines. For users who are not power users, the Mac Mini base model is fine.
The thing is, i gave my example with Vista because vista consumes much hw resources by default (unless you tune settings to perform better).
Personally i dont care if an App takes more 5 or 20 seconds to launch than the standard. Since the App runs functional in my system, everything is fine....IMHO!!!!!
So, i consider myself the type of client of base Mini. But i only change my electronics when they die...
I understand your point of view and there is nothing wrong with that. It's all about expectations and we each have our own.
I have two laptops in front of me right now - a 2012 rMBP and a 2015 HP Probook. The rMBP makes the Probook look stupid in Windows 7. Of course there is a price difference and I am happy to pay that price difference, because I am lucky enough to be able to do that.
This is a silly response to what's being recommended here.
What I would say to Mencelus is, ignorance is bliss.
Everyone's entitled to their own opinions and experiences, but that doesn't mean they have the knowledge and experience to make smart recommendations for other users.
Do you see what I meant Mencelus?
Yes. That's when it started to beachball when opening or switching between apps.
Once apps are open everything is somewhat fine.
From what we have seen in this thread:
Some, who have a 1.4 GHz Mini, are satisfied….. cost effective for their expectations and needs
(Benchmarks suggest that the 1.4 GHz is at least equal to the previous base model Mac Mini).
A few are dissatisfied….. Expecting it all on the cheap, maybe?
And many X-spurts, who don't have one, predicting disappointment…… based on their own expectations.
Up to you who you trust.
I have had two base model Mac Minis, and have not been disappointed with either, though the 2009 was a big step up on the 2005 original.
I guess the latest base model would also do for me, but would be inclined to go for the Fusion Drive option in either the base or mid level model. Cost would work out about the same as my previous Minis. The current base model would be about 33% cheaper where I am at……
Still my I expect my current 2009 to soldier on for a couple or three more years before I have to decide.
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My point again when you said ssd is not fast enough as pcie. Who cares, most people could care less. Your basing your answers off what you want or your standards and not others. Like i said a v8 is faster then a v6. a v10 is faster then a v8. Do you go around telling everyone with v8's to get a v10 because it is faster?
Whoops pulled out wrong usb? Now your basing what you have did or will do on what you think others will do. Get a red USB cord and put it in the first slot and it will not be any whoopees...
I agree the harddrive suck and it does slow the mac down but the price is good for 1.4ghz 4gb and with an addition of a ssd either internal or external will turnt his machine into even more of a beast for LESS then the cost of the next model up which some people DO NOT need or WANT
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Uhm he just said that! i have a regular harddrive on a 1.4ghz and 4gb. My mac runs fine, it just takes longer to open the apps but for the price im more then happy
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it does make a massive difference but not needed. My point really is to most that some people dont need the next model up or cant afford it. So when or if they want more performance they can buy a external ssd for less then $100 to boot from or even install internally and they will get a massive performance increase for LESS then the next model up
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This is a silly response to what's being recommended here.
What I would say to Mencelus is, ignorance is bliss.
Everyone's entitled to their own opinions and experiences, but that doesn't mean they have the knowledge and experience to make smart recommendations for other users.
and you do? You guys are recommending something for the OP that he doesn't even need.
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You have to be lying. or you got a bad mac. maybe you should test your harddrive
I have the 1.4ghz 4gb and I havent had any of the issues you describe. Had mines for a few months now and I do everything on this
The 1.4ghz is a MONSTER for the price
I have a base model 2012 mini I put an evo 850 256 in and it took 4 seconds to open imovie. That's longer than most apps, before I put it in apps took forever to open. It may not matter to you, but that is extremely slow, that's over 11 times slower than with an ssd. The 2012 model even. It does matter to most people and that is NOT a monster with a spinner.
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Um, shouldn't a 2015 model at least be some faster than the 2012 model? If not then see if there are new 2012 models around still, I got one in december. It's even more upgradable.
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Well, I disagree. I gave away the dell I had for 5 years (laptop) with windows 7 (windows 8 for a little) while and it ran very well, nothing near like my mini with osx. Not remotely. My wife has a 5 year old samsung and the same thing. One son has an hp just a few months old and it's perfect. Most all of the inlaws have older windows laptops I work on for them and they are much better. None are even close to being as bad as osx on a spinner. With an ssd it's a different story.
This mini was absolutely a turd without an ssd. Constant beach balls, taking forever to open an app, lots of random reboots, it takes me 4 seconds to open imovie with an ssd, two others stated it takes 45 seconds and that's ridiculous. 45 seconds is a turd, pure and simple. This 2012 is supposed to be in line with the new base model and it's absolutely a turd without an ssd.
I recommend catching a base refurbished 2012 at apple or looking for a new one still on shelves. It's the same speed as the new base model, easily add an ssd and easily upgrade the memory in the future. Either way 45 seconds vs 4 seconds to open imovie should be an eye opener.
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It's all about bang for buck.
So, it's all about booting and opening apps, is it?
Once things are open and running, is there any real difference between HDD and SSD in use? For some apps, maybe, but for many, not much I suggest.
For folks who want snappiness, SSD is a good choice, but for those wanting plenty of data storage HDD is a more cost effective option. Fusion Drive is a middle path, just a little slower than SSD, while retaining the data capacity of the HDD.
Go for what you feel suits your budget and requirements.
So, it's all about booting and opening apps, is it?
Once things are open and running, is there any real difference between HDD and SSD in use? For some apps, maybe, but for many, not much I suggest.
For folks who want snappiness, SSD is a good choice, but for those wanting plenty of data storage HDD is a more cost effective option. Fusion Drive is a middle path, just a little slower than SSD, while retaining the data capacity of the HDD.
Go for what you feel suits your budget and requirements.
Apparently it's about posting without actually reading what you replied to. You would have seem this had you actually read it.:
Beach balls in just about every app after open for long periods, taking forever to open apps and several crashes, reboots a day. The wife was laughing her azz off, I was close to tossing it and decided to upgrade the disk as last chance.
I would NOT run yosemite on a spinner unless it was one I had several years and even with that I would be waiting to upgrade it. Ridiculously bad. There are several laptops here, windows, 2 5 years old that ran windows 7 and 8 much better. The ssd made the difference, runs like a dream. It was a turd, literally unbearable and I was shopping for a windows laptop.
It's really ridiculous to think that a drive that is so slow it slows down the opening time so much doesn't affect other areas such as running apps. Seriously. No beach balls at all now and most apps are 1 to two bounces. No random crashes and reboots at all. Then again I am no fanboy for any brand.
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Heh, I just went through this to replace an old Core Duo PC I had laying around so that I could get some Mac hardware going for the family. I decided that the 8 GB of RAM and upgraded Iris graphics were more important than speedier I/O (middle base machine). Especially for when dual booting into Win 8.1. The price for the Fusion or SSD just wasn't worth it. It's not like I ever turn my computers off anyway. Kinda cool to hear from the experienced mac techies that adding an external dive to the a USB3 port down the road is an option to help keep it going. Can't do that with the RAM or video sub-system, so that is a nice trade off in deciding the initial purchase price. Cheers.
Apparently its about smarmy put downs…..
I replied after struggling through a whole lot of semi-coherent waffle about openings and turds and the odd something about windows and beach ball thrown in….. and a 2015 model (there's no such thing yet if it is Mac Mini you are on about).
I don't know what you are trying to do with your Mucked around with Mini. However, we have heard from those who have the patience to wait a little while for apps to open on their 2014 1.4 GHz Mac Mini. Once open they have found things run OK.
Test benchmarks suggest that the base model 2014 Mini performs at least as well as its 2012 counterpart.
The 2012 comes with 4 GB of RAM, and can be user upgraded to up to 16 GB. the 2014 comes with 4GB as standard, but has the option of ordering it with up to 16 GB of RAM, so in effect not really much difference there.
Being the latest model no doubt the 2014 is optimised to use the latest OS X, whether it has a HDD, SSD or Fusion Drive..
For some people the 1.4 GHz model is a cost effective way to get a Mac, and OS X, and will meet their requirements.
I have an early 2009 2.0 GHz Mini that came with 1 GB RAM. It did give me some hassle, slow with many beach balls, about three years ago. With the addition of another 4 GB of RAM and an upgrade to Mountain Lion the problem was solved. It performs adequately on the original HDD to this day.
I did look at getting an SSD, but the lady at the Apple repair shop reckoned it would not be worthwhile. She suggested stick with Mountin Lion and the original HDD as long as it is still going OK (replacement can be done in a day if it fails, and I do have Time machine on a HDD), and consider going for an external HDD if I need extra storage.
Sure, it takes a minute or more to boot, but it has been on 24/7 for most of the last 6 and a bit years, so that is not relevant.
Sure, apps may take a little longer than they would with an SSD, but once open they are snappy enough.
I reckon it has a couple, three years or more left in it yet, but if I was to replace it now, I would not be taking much notice of the "you gotta have fast this that and the other thing" otherwise you are not going to have a good experience. I would (and will in due course) be looking at what is going to give me the best bang for my buck…. within the cash I have available; I don't do credit.
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Maybe someone already mentioned this....But doesn't the processor ramp up to a higher speed???
Check it out:
https://www.apple.com/mac-mini/specs/
Turbo Boost to 2.7...
Check it out:
https://www.apple.com/mac-mini/specs/
Turbo Boost to 2.7...
You're saying better what I was trying to say. For some of us, the price point is a big deal (I've a wife, a child, and a small business to fund; can't just go tossing cash around willy-nilly). Even things like upgrading an HD to an SSD cost money, and that may be money the OP doesn't have on tap at the moment, but it sounds like they do need a new machine.
As I said earlier, I think the new mini is a great fit for those who are not power users, who don't want to drop the extra cash, and still want a solid machine to do most things we need home computers to do. I can run all the apps everyone esle can run, and as long as I'm willing to wait the extra 5-10s to start, then, what's the big deal? I don't find any slowness in the apps I run, and I can get the same work done. Heck, how do people pay attnetion to multiple open programs anyway? I thought we only had two eyes and one brain? Or do you all just constantly flit between programs? How do you get anything done? Why is it good?
That's a side thing though. Again, I think the mini is just fine. But don't get it if you're planning to draw architectural pictures or write heavy software; you might be disappointed. Otherwise, all can be well, methinks.
Correct, and that is really the answer to the OP's question.
And yes, I did mention it in an earlier post.
Sorry Mencelus, but you are about to find out that we cant tolerate your point of view! Like applelover4u, you have a base 2014 mini and claim to be satisfied. But that is impossible.
As brain-eating speed zombies, we know what is best for you and your computer.
Come on folks, drink some Kool-Aid and chant with me:
Spinner is bad. Fusion Drive is good. SSD is better. Brains taste good. Spinner is not tasty. I cannot be happy with any Mac if it boots from a spinner!
Damn I'm a brain eating speed zombie.....
OP I would say for your usage the base mini will be fine, a bit slow to open apps etc and yosemite (and presumably future OS's) is a bit slow on the Hard drive but fine for everyday use.
If you are looking for and can afford any upgrades then the fusion drive is the way to go any sort of SSD is the best way to improve any computer...
Obviously since thats what your original post was blathering about "its about opening apps when I clearly stated otherwise. smarmy putdowns indeed.
A failed attempt at an education, your struggling to read, is not my problem. My post is plenty coherent to one that can read and if you are on a mac forum and do not know what beach balls you are truly out of it. 2015 model? No. Made in 2015, just as bad.
Mucked around mini, lol. If you open your eyes many here are recommending an ssd in Any mac's with a spinner because of the way they run. Lol, run your spinner and never know real speeds.
I posted txactly that, with the exseption on the 2014 being 5% slower running dual core, more proof you do not read before posting.
Proof your math skills are also lacking, also more proof you do not read before posting. I posted this, it cost 100.00 to max out the 2014 and you can sell what came in it it. it costs 300.00 to max out the 2014 ant that's on top of what apple is charging in the price of the mini. Seriously? Not really much difference? The 2014 adds *60%* to the price of the mini. It's impossible to take anything you post seriously.
Lol, the 2012 ran all of those drives and it's yosemite. It asked me if I wanted to create a fusion when I added the ssd. Mavericks didn't have this problem. Optimized for spinners, bwahahaha. Apple is optimizing for ssd's not going backwards an the mini itself being optimized for spinneres is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of and as I said it's the os not the mini itself.
Sure, but the point is that if they want to max out the memory, as you stated, it will cost 300.00 more raising a 500.00 box to 800.00. I paid just over 400.00 new, maxing out the memory is 100.00 and selling what it came with keeps it under 500.00. Not remotely the same price range.
Not to mention the mini is not the most cost effective way to get into osx. Macbook air. Add monitor, keyboard and trackpad and it's at least the same price range if you get a crappy monitor. Plud the mini is made with laptop parts, the only difference is portability.
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