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I am buying a 2014 Mini (Mad?)

Fozziebear40

Fozziebear40

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 14, 2008
372
200
Newton-le-Willows, England
I need to buy another cheap Mac. My last purchase was a 2015 11" MacBook Air which I love but it's only 4GB Ram and 128GB Flash. I was trying to find another with 8GB Ram and 256GB Flash to be used in clamshell mode. In the end I am resorting to a desktop set up so I don't need to keep unplugging external monitors etc. and just use my Air for mobile use. It is for general office computer use with a bit of Photoshop and Parallels VM use and website design.

I can't wait for a new Mini so I am getting a 2014 model. I need to plug in 2 monitors, both 2560 x 1440 which the Mini can do. (I'd look at 2012 Mini's but they can't do the monitors)

I have ordered a refurb, 2.6GHz i5 8GB Ram and 256GB Flash for £739 from Apple with warranty and can get AppleCare.

I have 14 days to search ebay and try and get the top of the range 2014 3.0GHz i7 16GB Ram and 512GB Flash for about £1,250 but I don't think it will be worth the extra £500 and without warranty. At that price you are into 2015 13" MacBook Pro refurb territory with 2 Thunderbolt / MiniDP ports.

Decisions hmmm...
 
I think it is a bit mad buying 2014 technology at those prices, yes. But if you need it, I see no good alternative at the moment. A hackintosh could be built, but who knows how stable support will be for that in a release or two's time.
 
If the current (2014) Mac Mini does what you want it to do, at a price you are prepared to pay, and you need one now, then get one now........

The 2014 Mini will not be officially obsolete until 7 years after manufacture has ceased, so it will be supported until at least 2025. It should be good for several generations of MacOS updates.

But if you can wait, it could be prudent to do so. A new generation of the Mac Mini is in the offing, and with that will come some upgrades, that may or may not be beneficial to your situation. In the end, its your call.
 
Thanks, yes a new Mini could be out soon but I bet it will be USB-C / Thunderbolt 3 so I will need new cables / adapters for my 2 monitors. If I spend the least I can now and don't bother with the higher spec I should be ok. I can't ever see a new Mini being £499 ever again!
 
Well, at least you've got 8GB and SSD-only.

That'll last for quite a while. Though, of course 16GB would be better, if you like VMs...

As for "a new MacMini could be out soon" - that depends entirely on your definition of "soon".

They will release the new Mac Pro first, as otherwise a lot of people will just max out the Mini and add an eGPU.

But in MacMini-terms, "early next year" could actually be "almost soon"...
 
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I don't see anything wrong with that Mini for your needs. I have a 2012 2.6ghz quad mini which is quite a bit faster, but as you note, it can't handle the monitors you want. My only thought is that I would want to get 16gb on the 2014 Mini, since you will never be able to expand beyond 8gb in the future otherwise. Of course, you will pay a steep premium for the extra RAM at Apple's prices though. :confused:
 
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I was so impressed with how far the entry-level 2011 Mac mini took me – I used it as my main pro machine for three years (Logic, Motion with lots of effects, Final Cut, Blender, etc.) and only once did I ever really hit a performance wall where it really slowed down to almost nothing to render frames; and that was at least two iterations before the 2014 version – spinning hard drive and all.

I've moved onto iMacs now for their nice self-containedness (and wonderful displays), but I've always kept considering the mini when thinking about upgrades. I'm curious to see whether the new Mac Pro rethink will have some inspirational effect on the future of the Mac mini if there is one – a pattern we've seen more than once.
 
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The rcMP (really new MacPro) will quite likely be vastly different from the new MacMini.
These are just two completely different design goals.
Trying to align them will require too many compromises - and compromises are exactly why the "nMP" is where it's at right now.
IIRC, Apple even publicly stated the new MP will be a "no compromises" machine.

Likewise, we can expect a lot of compromises for the Mini...
 
I am sorry, but in my opinion it was a bad choice.
The new Mac mini is coming soon and maybe you could've gotten better Mac mini for that money.
 
I'm trying to switch a PC set up over to Mac for my church.

I was debating on getting a refurbished mac mini but I know a refresh is imminent. The problem is, it's an immediate need and I need to do this asap. So I'm debating if I should get the mini or get a refurbished iMac instead.
 
Now? iMac.
Plain and simple.
Though, OTOH, pure Geekbench-results aren't as impressive as one would think.
At least, if you compare the 2.3GHz 2012 Mini with the 2017 i7 iMac. The iMac Pro is a completely different beast.

The real problem with the current Mini is the antiquated iGPU.
 
Here is my story.

I purchased a middle of the road 2014 Mini new about six months ago. I was using my laptop plugged into an external monitor. Was OK, but I wanted something I could leave on, use as a central hub, manage files, use as a media server, and not have to plug in and unplug the laptop every time I left home.

Mine is the:

2.6GHz Processor with 1TB Storage
  • 2.6GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
  • 8GB memory
  • 1TB hard drive1
  • Intel Iris Graphics
When I first plugged it in I noticed the picture was not as clean as what I was getting from my early 2015 MacBook Air on the external monitor. I am using a Samsung 4K monitor. I quickly learned the Mini cannot support the same resolutions as my Air. First disappointment.

Second, was the 1TB spinner. I knew it would not be as fast as the current SSD's found in most computers, but I was amazed at how slow it really was. Opening apps and even just starting the computer took forever. After you opened and closed a few apps it got better and was usable, but still the 1TB was really slow.

Other than those two things I was happy with the machine. Really quiet, gave me a nice looking desktop, had all the ports I used including USB 3, 2 TB ports, and an SD card reader.

I decided to open it up and install a Samsung 850 SSD. Night and day faster. The way it should have been in the first place. Since then it is a pleasure to use for the variety of tasks I use it for which include, word processing, video editing including FCP, research, file uploads, music creation, and photoshop. I also have a network NAS hooked up to the network. Moving files around is pretty easy.

The computer is no speed demon. I render and combine a lot of video clips to make one large file. Takes a fair amount of time. I am sure a current i7 would be much faster, but like I said, as it stands now is very usable and productive.

Hope the info helps.
 
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Thanks bopajuice, exactly the same scenario, glad to hear, at least I won't have to swap out the SSD.

I know it is not the best, but to be frank, Apple's line up of computers is woeful. My other option would have cost twice as much, a MacBook Pro to handle two screens. (MacBook wouldn't do it) They have keyboard issues etc so the Mini will keep me going until something better comes out. Prices in the UK since the vote to come out of the EU are ridiculous. I am used to the Apple Tax but we seem to have a 'Brexit' tax as well!

The new Mac Mini may be coming 'soon' but it will be the first iteration so I guess it will be full of design issues until the second or third upgrade, as usual with Apple.

I have built a Hackintosh from an old PC I had, turns on and boots most of the time into Snow Leopard, but doesn't sleep like Macs plus its ugly and noisy. The Mini is a nice form factor.
 
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T909 said:
The Mac mini has always been in the same price range whether we look at back at 2008 or 2014. It's obvious that the 2018 Mac mini will be more powerful and better than the 2014 version.
Click to expand...
What evidence do you have that a new Mac mini is being released in 2018? Wishing and hoping isn't evidence. Neither is the "the new Mac mini is almost certainly coming" thread.
 
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T909 said:
The Mac mini has always been in the same price range whether we look at back at 2008 or 2014. It's obvious that the 2018 Mac mini will be more powerful and better than the 2014 version.
Click to expand...
The later years are always better than previous years. Just look at how much better the 2014 was than the 2012...
 
CaseyGV said:
What evidence do you have that a new Mac mini is being released in 2018? Wishing and hoping isn't evidence. Neither is the "the new Mac mini is almost certainly coming" thread.
Click to expand...
There are rumors. I would've still waited until autumn. Seems like a smart thing to do.
 
Smart to wait another 8 months? Not for me, plus I bet it won't have Thunderbolt 2 ports or USB-A, so a 'dock' needed for a desktop computer? In the meantime Apple will probably launch new iPhone's and iPad's! belvdr highlighted how Apple crippled the 2014 model, I am sure they will do it with the rumoured new Mini so as not to hit sales of higher models.
 
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Fozziebear40 said:
Smart to wait another 8 months? Not for me, plus I bet it won't have Thunderbolt 2 ports or USB-A, so a 'dock' needed for a desktop computer? In the meantime Apple will probably launch new iPhone's and iPad's! belvdr highlighted how Apple crippled the 2014 model, I am sure they will do it with the rumoured new Mini so as not to hit sales of higher models.
Click to expand...
Alright. It's your choice and the Mac mini you bought should be very usable for years. I've been using my MacBook Pro mid 2010 for 7 years and I have no complaints. The best purchase I've ever made. Hopefully the same will be with your Mac mini
 
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