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2012 Mac mini with Big Sur and OpenCore Legacy Patcher

CooperBox

CooperBox

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 28, 2010
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France - between Ricard & Absinthe......!
I realise that this Mac Mini forum is now being flooded by posts pertaining to the M4 - rightly so as it appears a great product.
However my question relates to a 2012 model which some time ago I upgraded with an SSD and 8GB Ram memory, and which is still performing wonderfully with Mac OS 10.15 and a currently supported web browser.
Can anyone here please advise on the same year/spec Mac Mini if they have installed Big Sur with OpenCore Legacy Patcher. If so how does it perform? Ditto for OS Sequoia with OCLPatcher.
 
CooperBox said:
I realise that this Mac Mini forum is now being flooded by posts pertaining to the M4 - rightly so as it appears a great product.
However my question relates to a 2012 model which some time ago I upgraded with an SSD and 8GB Ram memory, and which is still performing wonderfully with Mac OS 10.15 and a currently supported web browser.
Can anyone here please advise on the same year/spec Mac Mini if they have installed Big Sur with OpenCore Legacy Patcher. If so how does it perform? Ditto for OS Sequoia with OCLPatcher.
Click to expand...
OCLP was iffy on my same Mac mini model using Monterey as that crashed in 2022 twice.
if Big Sur works great in sure Monterey will work the same on yours tho.
I used only mountain lion only last summer for several months and that worked great!
which was documented as a post last year here

Sadly, My Mac mini gave out last august as the graphic card went after re-thermal pasting the board or having a bad reaction to a older web browser or something as I can't get a image after rebooting and other trouble shooting last year.

I hoped this helped!
 
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Monterey seems to perform better than Big Sur overall but it has some little bugs like the apps(that are not already in the Dock) don't seem to stay in the Dock even when you select an option Keep in Dock. I don't use OCLP as I use my MBP as a desktop and therefore don't really need Bluetooth and WiFi functionality.

Edit: The apps not staying in Dock issue went away and is working as expected.

Screen Shot 2025-03-24 at 17.25.59.png
 
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Three years ago I bought a Late-2012 Mac Mini super cheap (mostly for the keyboard & trackpad TBH). It was a “minimum spec” system with 2GB RAM and a smallish HDD. It struggled with everything. I’ve since upgraded it to 16GB RAM and a 500GB SSD running MacOS Sequoia via OCLP. While it won’t set any speed records it’s entirely usable for everyday tasks. It’s been totally stable since OCLP 2.x.x. It’s my backup/sync device for my iPhone and iPads. It runs 24/7 and only restarts for MacOS updates; it’s rock solid reliable. As long as you’ve got an SSD installed jump right up to Sequoia, you’ll be fine with 8GB RAM. It’s amazing that a 12+ year-old “base model” computer can still be usable in 2025. Macs rock! :apple:

screenshot_02.png


PS — I’d avoid Big Sur as it no longer receives security updates. Monterey hasn’t been updated since July. If you’re worried about Sequoia over-taxing your system Ventura is a good compromise. I’ve got a “base” Mid-2011 MacBook Air running Ventura via OCLP quite happily.
 
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My 2012 (i5 2.5GHz 16GB 256 SSD) Mini is running macOS 14 Sonoma. It’s my daily computer at home and have no issues other than sometimes it won’t wake from sleep. That requires a reboot and typically happens less than once a month.
 
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I had no trouble running Monterey via OCLP on a 2012 Mini i5 with 16GB of RAM and an SSD, was stable for about a year of use. It didn't go so well when I tried Sequoia, though - I'd been using the Mini as a server for Apple TV home sharing and the TV app crashed on opening under Sequoia. So, if there are specific features or use cases that you need I'd check into those before upgrading.

Overall it was cool to extend the life of the machine for so long, but once the M4 came out I upgraded to that.
 
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mr.steevo said:
My 2012 (i5 2.5GHz 16GB 256 SSD) Mini is running macOS 14 Sonoma. It’s my daily computer at home and have no issues other than sometimes it won’t wake from sleep. That requires a reboot and typically happens less than once a month.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the information, I have an older 2012 i7 16GB 1TB SSD running Catalina that I picked up second hand ages ago. I have a second 1 TB SSD in it which I was using as a last chance backup of my iCloud but I have been reluctant to try updating.

Today I took the chance to update an old 27” iMac using OCLP 2.3.1 and was surprised how easy it was. Planning to look at upgrading the 2012 Mini to Sonoma or Sequoia sometime in the next week.

Thanks for giving a positive review of your update. 👍
 
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MBAir2010 said:
OCLP was iffy on my same Mac mini model using Monterey as that crashed in 2022 twice.https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mountain-lion-only-in-2024-1-month.2431600/

Sadly, My Mac mini gave out last august as the graphic card went after re-thermal pasting the board or having a bad reaction to a older web browser or something as I can't get a image after rebooting and other trouble shooting last year.
Click to expand...
I’m interested in this problem with the ‘graphics card’.

My understanding is that the late 2012 Mac mini’s graphics were handled by a chip on the logic board, not by a separate graphics card.

Have I been misled?

This is important information for me because my same model mini stopped displaying anything a few months ago and I have been trying to figure out what to do with the machine. It was my daily computer, even though it was running 10.15, and I had plans to use OCLP to get a later version of macOS.

There’s one person in Australia who I know does board level repair and he can replace that graphics chip, I’ve been told. But his main work is on laptops and he hasn’t responded to my queries about the mini.

The other option I’ve been looking at is a business in the U.S. that has replacement logic boards for sale. They have only a couple left of my specific model, and my wife is currently in the U.S. visiting her family, so I’d like to get free shipping with her bringing the logic board back to Australia with her! But your post has me wondering if the graphics is on the logic board or not.

Cheers for any advice.
 
benwiggy said:
I wouldn't spend any money a new logic board for a 13-year-old Mac. I'd call it, and move on.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your thoughts.

I don’t think I’m going to be allowed to spend the money on a new machine. I need to make this mini last me a while longer, I think.
 
benwiggy is right in reply 14 above.

It would be very unwise to spend any more money on a 13-year-old Mac Mini.

Get yourself at least a used 2018 Mini -- much MUCH better.
 
Mac mini prices in Australia are crazy.

A 2018 model with the same specs as my 2012 model, but half the SSD storage is just under AUD 1000!

2012 models are going for upwards of AUD 300

By the way, I didn't know what the prices were going to be when I just looked them up. I had a rough idea what a 2012 model was going to cost - well, I thought I did, but even that one surprised me. The 2018 models are, like I said, crazy.
 
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Kandrew said:
Mac mini prices in Australia are crazy.

2012 models are going for upwards of AUD 300
Click to expand...

Maybe I should drag my 2012 i7, 16GB RAM out of the cupboard, check it still works, install a fresh OS, and see what I can get for it.

Any suggestions about where to advertise it?
 
Miat said:
Maybe I should drag my 2012 i7, 16GB RAM out of the cupboard, check it still works, install a fresh OS, and see what I can get for it.
Click to expand...

I have a 2012 2.6ghz quad i7 Mini with a 256gb SSD and 16gb memory. I got it in 2016 used but in perfect condition (looked new) from MacSales/OWC with a warranty for $1250. This was a little cheaper than a new 2014 i7 16/256 Mini but about 1.5x faster since they discontinued quad core Mini's in 2014.

Just looked on their site, and MacSales now has the exact same spec 2012 i7/16/256 Mini for $209 with limited warranty. The 2012 quads used to be the fastest Mini and commanded a good price until the 2018 Mini came along, then the cost plummeted almost immediately.

Considering that you can buy one of these for about two hundred bucks from a known company with a reasonable warranty/return policy, I don't think they are worth much on the private market. MacSales has also offered the base 2012 2.5ghz dual i5 Mini's for as little as $59 when they are in stock.

My 2012 is still in use as a file server, but its days are numbered. I replaced a 2014 Mini with a base 16/256 m4 Mini as a media server last fall. It has plenty of power to spare and I'll just retire the 2012 and use the m4 as both a file and media server when I have some time to reconfigure things.
 
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