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Help to choose used Mac Mini
- Thread starter Ujio
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alright so i don't think that 2014 mac mini would last really that long, but your budget doesn't really include much more options that I could think of. If you could, you could try searching for a 2018 mac mini for within 150ish price but i don't think that 2014 would last much longer than your 2010.
i mean not guranteed as it is with all 2nd hand, but it should definitely last much longer than the 2014 for modern tasks, if you are doing light tasks.
if you want to gurantee 5 years of use then you would sadly need to be go a bit more expensive with a m1 mini which might be quite a bit more then the 2018. i would say the 2018 is still pretty good tho
preferably yes, you should buy at least 2018 or m1 if you want more than 5 years of support from now. but buy whatever you can afford comfortably
At the time of this writing, the only web browser still that still gets security updates for macOS Catalina (version 10.15) is Firefox. It can be dangerous to use any other browser with an Intel Mac. The only versions of Firefox that receive security updates require Catalina as a minimum requirement. So when choosing an Intel Mac mini, please take that into consideration.
How?
I use snow and sea lion on osx mountain lion and snow leopard without a dangers!
Hey, as someone with a 2014 Mac mini, let me tell you what you’ll be getting. However, keep in mind that mine carries a 1TB SSD on the inside, so maybe it is a bit more responsive than the Fusion Drive Mac mini you’re aiming to buy. The computer runs fine, not as fast as a modern day Mac, but jumping from a 2010 core2Duo to a 2014 i5 was well worth it, years ago. However, keep in mind that you’re purchasing an obsolete computer.
My 2014 Mac mini is stuck on Monterey. Officially, that’s the last OS it supports. If the Mac mini you’re interested in has Ventura installed in it, it is probably because it has been patched by the previous user. I’m not a fan of that, that’s why I chose to stay on Monterey. You do you.
Honestly, I’d save those 150€ until you have enough for, ideally, an M1 Mac mini. That’s the bare minimum I’d recommend, although the 2018 Mac mini should run fine for 2 to 3 more years, and with that machine you can actually upgrade the RAM. Both the M1 and the 2018 mini should be getting cheaper and cheaper on the second hand market.
My 2014 Mac mini is stuck on Monterey. Officially, that’s the last OS it supports. If the Mac mini you’re interested in has Ventura installed in it, it is probably because it has been patched by the previous user. I’m not a fan of that, that’s why I chose to stay on Monterey. You do you.
Honestly, I’d save those 150€ until you have enough for, ideally, an M1 Mac mini. That’s the bare minimum I’d recommend, although the 2018 Mac mini should run fine for 2 to 3 more years, and with that machine you can actually upgrade the RAM. Both the M1 and the 2018 mini should be getting cheaper and cheaper on the second hand market.
Then GO for it, and see if you can find one with 16GB of RAM, although you’ll be fine with the base model.
That is because the graphics card was not up to par as somehow the 2012 cards works well today.
There are several uTube videos explaining that 2012 macs kick butt in 2020’s
If you can get that mac mini you posted then go for it and call that a day!
That late 2014 i7 Mac Mini will have the power you need, but ideally I would want any new Mini to be capable of running the Monterey Mac OS. My other concern is that it appears to have a Fusion drive combining SSD and HDD, and those were often problematic as they aged. If you buy it (good price IMO) make sure you keep regular backups up to date.
Between the 2014 at 100 euros and the M1 at 200-250 euros the wise choice is the M1.
The M1 will be a solid machine. My Dad has a base M1 8gb/256gb MBA and it still does fine for browsing and general productivity.
I also have the 2014 Mac Mini, upgraded from a 2010.
I installed a 512gb SSD and left the standard eight gigs in there.
I've left mine on High Sierra.
While it WORKS, it's noticeably slow.
That being said, it's been on for 11 years now, sitting on a cabinet shelf, with nary an issue.
If I were buying now, I'd get the 2018 that's self upgradeable or an M1 that is already powerful enough not to "need" upgrades.