Need an advice. Mini 12 vs. Mini 14

[SiriusNY]

Hello. I have a dilemma. I've bought mac mini mgem2. (late 2014, core i5 1.4 + 4 gb + HDD 500). Using it i've realized that it's not enough for me. Too slow when i use a lot of programms. And now i've decided to change it.
I have 3 variants and i need your advice.
1) Buy new Mac Mini 2014 mgen2 (Late 2014 core i5 + 8 gb + 1 tb)
2) Buy used Mac Mini 2012 (Late 2012 core i7 + 16 gb + 1 tb + Samsung Evo 850 120 Gb)
3) Buy for example Samsung Evo 850 for my Mini

Or maybe something else?

 

[redheeler]

What programs do you use? Chances are it's the HDD that's slowing your mini down.

 

[SiriusNY]

What programs do you use? Chances are it's the HDD that's slowing your mini down.

i use for example itunes+safari+mail and when i start using something lke telegram, photos, inscape, mesages and so on it's freezing very hard :-(

 

[tibas92013]

I have a i5 Mac Mini(Late 2012), 2.5GHz,16GB RAM, 500GB HDD; in which I have decided that I will put a Internal SSD in it when the Applecare expires in August, 2016. The HDD really does not present a serious problem for me and presently meets most of my necessary computer needs.

So, In a year or so when I install the SSD it will seem almost like a brand new MM(Late 2016!)

Your variant #3 looks-like the way to go in your MM situation.

 

[Andres Cantu]

An external SSD would probably be your best bet in terms of extra cost and convenience of not returning your current Mac Mini.

 

[ixxx69]

Hello. I have a dilemma. I've bought mac mini mgem2. (late 2014, core i5 1.4 + 4 gb + HDD 500). Using it i've realized that it's not enough for me. Too slow when i use a lot of programms. And now i've decided to change it.
I have 3 variants and i need your advice.
1) Buy new Mac Mini 2014 mgen2 (Late 2014 core i5 + 8 gb + 1 tb)
2) Buy used Mac Mini 2012 (Late 2012 core i7 + 16 gb + 1 tb + Samsung Evo 850 120 Gb)
3) Buy for example Samsung Evo 850 for my Mini

Or maybe something else?

It's the HDD. You can keep what you've got and get an external SSD (it's not a perfect solution, but it's a LOT better than nothing), or buy something else as long as it's got an SSD. 4GB is a little weak, but not the key issue (and 16GB would be crazy overkill for your usage). The 1.4GHz CPU is definitely not the issue.

 

[SiriusNY]

I also thought about buying late 2014 with fusion drive. So will it be thу best decision? If i don't find it in a good price i will buy only ssd for my mac.

 

[Fishrrman]

You need choice #4 (which you didn't mention above):

4) 2014 "midrange" Mac Mini w/1tb fusion drive.

Do not -- repeat, DO NOT -- buy any Mini UNLESS it has at least 8gb of RAM -and- at least a fusion drive (or "straight" SSD).

Otherwise, you'll be back posting again, just as you did in post #1 above...

Final thought:
Agree with other posters above who have suggested adding an external SSD mounted in a USB3 enclosure. This will "get you up to speed", but be aware that in the future you may still find the Mini running up against the "4gb memory ceiling". And of course, there's no way to upgrade it.

If the Mini is still new enough to return, return it for the midrange model I mentioned above. You will NEVER regret doing this, or spending the extra $$$.

 

[SiriusNY]

You need choice #4 (which you didn't mention above):

4) 2014 "midrange" Mac Mini w/1tb fusion drive.

Do not -- repeat, DO NOT -- buy any Mini UNLESS it has at least 8gb of RAM -and- at least a fusion drive (or "straight" SSD).

Otherwise, you'll be back posting again, just as you did in post #1 above...

Final thought:
Agree with other posters above who have suggested adding an external SSD mounted in a USB3 enclosure. This will "get you up to speed", but be aware that in the future you may still find the Mini running up against the "4gb memory ceiling". And of course, there's no way to upgrade it.

If the Mini is still new enough to return, return it for the midrange model I mentioned above. You will NEVER regret doing this, or spending the extra $$$.

Thank you so much. I think i'll purchase 2014 "midrange" Mac Mini 1tb fusion drive or 1 tb HDD and change it for Samsung 850 EVO or another SSD.

 

[ixxx69]

Thank you so much. I think i'll purchase 2014 "midrange" Mac Mini 1tb fusion drive or 1 tb HDD and change it for Samsung 850 EVO or another SSD.

Just my opinion, but if you're going to buy a Mac Mini, buy it with the internal SSD (or FD). Replacing the HDD with an SSD and/or external SSD is a work-around that is good if that's the only practical option, but I wouldn't buy a new Mini with that as the plan. Good luck!

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote above:
"I think i'll purchase 2014 "midrange" Mac Mini 1tb fusion drive or 1 tb HDD and change it for Samsung 850 EVO or another SSD."

No!
This is the wrong way to do it with the 2014 Minis.

The BEST option for a 2014 Mini is to buy it with the SSD already installed.

The 2014 Minis use a -new- type of SSD, which resembles a "blade" and it's mounted in a special PCIe slot on top of the hard drive "carrier". It's not compatible with a "regular" SATA connector type SSD drive.

The important reason to get the Apple-installed blade SSD is that it's MUCH FASTER than the fastest SATA-based SSD.
A SATA SSD will yield read speeds in the 500+mbps category.
The new blade SSD will produce read speeds around 730mbps or so.

Can you see the difference?

Again, your best option is to get the midrange Mini with the 1tb fusion drive already installed.
This will give you a 1tb platter-based HDD in the hard drive bay, AND a 128gb PCIe SSD in the "blade slot".
They come from the factory in a "fusion" configuration, but you can easily "DE-fuse" them and run each as a "standalone drive" if you wish.
But reports here seem to indicate that the fusion drive with the PCIe SSD is plenty fast as it "comes out of the box".