I have the 5400 rpm and it performs at the same speed as my 750gb 7200 rpm drive. The advantage is also uses less power too!
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Mac mini 2014 questions.
- Thread starter bigpoppamac31
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I have the 5400 rpm and it performs at the same speed as my 750gb 7200 rpm drive. The advantage is also uses less power too!
So it took two weeks but the Mac Mini has finally arrived. I have yet to open and set it up as I'm still hesitant about going from Mavericks to Yosemite. Yes Yosemite has some nice features and I don't even mind the look so much. Like iOS 7/8 the look is slowly growing on me. But my concerns are with apps like Pages and iTunes. Someone mentioned I could copy the older version of those apps to an external drive and transfer them over that way. But if the 2014 Mac mini can't boot from Mavericks how would I get the apps??
The latest version of these apps are already preloaded on the Mac mini. I want the older versions on Mavericks backup.
Well that's not good.
So if I go ahead and try out the Mac Mini and end up not liking it how do I erase the drive before returning it if I can't boot from my Mavericks backup??
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You don't have to erase it, Apple will do it for you.
Should you want to restore it to factory settings, boot into Recovery, reformat the drive from there and reinstall OS X.
I'd rather do it myself. I don't trust Apple or anyone else with my files. Ether way if I want to reset to factory I'd have to do so from an external drive. I can't erase the Mac mini while running from the internal drive. Also if I transfer all my files and say I download a song from the iTunes store in Yosemite would that song be playable if I bring back to Mavericks?
Yes you can.
Restart the Mac and upon hearing the chime, press Cmd+R. That will take you to the Recovery drive, which is hard wired into the firmware and doesn't run off a drive. Recovery contains Disk Utility, Terminal, Time Machine restore, OS X reinstall and Firmware Password Utility. Erase your internal drive from there and reinstall OS X.
The song will be playable anywhere.
So I could just transfer the song file to an external drive and transfer it into Mavericks if I choose to return the Mini and buy a refurb Mac which can run mavericks? A song downloaded in iTunes 12 would work in iTunes 11??
I really do want to give Yosemite a chance. But I've never seen more mixed reviews for a Mac OS than with Yosemite. Seems a lot of people really hate it.
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I love Yosemite, for the record. They finally got rid of a design that has looked pretty similar since the early 2000s and moved on into the current decade.
To your first question, yes.
Well I'm not entirely against the design. But I liken it to going MS Windows XP to Vista or 7. It's a big change.
Op - please please please don't try and do any modifications right off the bat. Don't try and change it to mavericks, or use older apps. You're going to create unnecessary problems for yourself.
Load yosemite, and run all the updates/current apps.
Try that for awhile.
And reading the prior posts - you were using activity monitor wrong. What you're looking for is the green graph labeled "memory pressure." As long as it's green - you're good on RAM use!
It will raise and change color if it becomes overwhelmed - so that's what you're looking for.
Safari is NOT inefficient or a memory hog. You want memory to be used, and apps using it, are what they're suppose to do.
Currently, I have Yosemite on an 11" 2014 air, a 2012 Mac Mini, a 13" 2014 rMBP, and had it on my 15" 2012 cMBP.
I have zero problems with it now, and if you have an iPhone, being able to answer calls/texts from it has been great. I just leave my phone plugged in now, and can make calls/answer from any of my devices..
If you want portability, I think the 13" retina is what you should of got (the 2014, which is on sale at Best Buy if you're in the US). Maybe an Apple TV for screen mirroring on the TV if you're going to sometimes want it on the TV, or track down a cheap mac mini (I have my 2012 connected to my HDTV for movies/tv, works great). You could then add a portable hard drive to the mini, and set up sharing between the retina so you can access stored files anywhere. You could even control the mini through the retina via screen sharing and use it as a remote control of sorts...
Anyway, just a thought.
Load yosemite, and run all the updates/current apps.
Try that for awhile.
And reading the prior posts - you were using activity monitor wrong. What you're looking for is the green graph labeled "memory pressure." As long as it's green - you're good on RAM use!
It will raise and change color if it becomes overwhelmed - so that's what you're looking for.
Safari is NOT inefficient or a memory hog. You want memory to be used, and apps using it, are what they're suppose to do.
Currently, I have Yosemite on an 11" 2014 air, a 2012 Mac Mini, a 13" 2014 rMBP, and had it on my 15" 2012 cMBP.
I have zero problems with it now, and if you have an iPhone, being able to answer calls/texts from it has been great. I just leave my phone plugged in now, and can make calls/answer from any of my devices..
If you want portability, I think the 13" retina is what you should of got (the 2014, which is on sale at Best Buy if you're in the US). Maybe an Apple TV for screen mirroring on the TV if you're going to sometimes want it on the TV, or track down a cheap mac mini (I have my 2012 connected to my HDTV for movies/tv, works great). You could then add a portable hard drive to the mini, and set up sharing between the retina so you can access stored files anywhere. You could even control the mini through the retina via screen sharing and use it as a remote control of sorts...
Anyway, just a thought.
So I should not transfer over any of my files and setting right away?? ... I wanted the rMBP and perhaps I'll return the mini and go for that. But we'll see how this goes.
Well in the end I decided to go with a 13" rMBP (mid 2014). My brother works at an Apple Store and was able to get me 25% off the now previous generation once the current 2015 models were announced. I got the 2.8 i5, 8gb, 512gb. I plan to get the mStand and an external display for dual display when docked and the option to be portable as well. I'll post pics in the "post your Mac setup" thread when it's all done. 
thanks for all the help and advice.
thanks for all the help and advice.
Back That Thing Up
At least do a complete system backup and get a feel for the computer before you change anything fundamental. That way you will have a good baseline to work from.
At least do a complete system backup and get a feel for the computer before you change anything fundamental. That way you will have a good baseline to work from.
The Mac Air appears to be a Nice machine but lacks a HDMI Port which is important to me.
Well in the end I decided to go with a 13" rMBP (mid 2014). My brother works at an Apple Store and was able to get me 25% off the now previous generation once the current 2015 models were announced. I got the 2.8 i5, 8gb, 512gb. I plan to get the mStand and an external display for dual display when docked and the option to be portable as well. I'll post pics in the "post your Mac setup" thread when it's all done.
The more expensive solution, but one you'll be happy with and get use out of for years to come.
Ultimately yes. But with the 2014 Mac Mini I could not "downgrade" to Mavericks. I'm not really a fan of Yosemite although I'm sure I'll need to upgrade to whatever the latest OS is at that given time. Plus seeing as my last two Mac's were laptops I've gotten used to it. Would be difficult to go back to a desktop Mac. The only downside is that the rMBP has only two USB ports whereas the Mac Mini (and iMac) each have four USB ports. I'll have to get a USB hub if I want to plug in more than two peripherals at a time.
Yes, on 128GB PCIE SSD Aple disk from usb windows install key with terminal trick for not working mouse & keyboard.
Windows 7 Pro x64 work good
Will A Mac Mini Late 2014 with a SSD "render" movies using software similar to "MacX DVD Ripper Pro" VERY-MUCH-FASTER than a normal HDD?
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