I need help ASAP on purchace tomorrow !

[Groveboulevard]

I am in between two Macs I found on offer up. I will be picking one of them up tomorrow after my research and question asking tonight lol. I will just be using it for Logic Pro X. Very light recording and producing. I am also going to upgrade the RAM and convert the HD to a SSD.
(Recommendations on size upgrades for both will help!)

The first Mac:

Mac mini "Core i5" 2.5 (Late 2012)
Model: A1347 (EMC 2570)
ID: Macmini6,1
RAM: 4 GB
HDD: 500 GB
VRAM: 512 GB
Also comes with:
Power cord
HDMI cord
Apple Magic Mouse Trackpad
Apple wireless keyboard
Dell 2408wfpb 24" Monitor
Cosmetic Condition: 10/10 for everything.
Price: $280.00


The second:

MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.6 15" Mid-2012
Model: A1286 (EMC 2556*)
ID: MacBookPro9,1
RAM: 8 GB*
HDD: 750 GB*HDD
VRAM: 1 GB
Optical: 8X DL "Superdrive"
Cosmetic Condition: 7/10: missing rubber on bottom and scratched up. Screen is 10/10.
Comes with charger.
Price: $260.00

Also, this is my first post on this forum. So apologies if I broke a rule or two.

 

[maflynn]

Do you have mobility needs? If so get the laptop.

Upgrading the older MBP is going to be a lot easier then opening up and upgrading the Mac Mini - spoken from experience.

 

[Groveboulevard]

Do you have mobility needs? If so get the laptop.

Upgrading the older MBP is going to be a lot easier then opening up and upgrading the Mac Mini - spoken from experience.

Yeah it's looking like the MBP is gonna be the winner here

 

[jaduff46]

Agree with @maflynn. Nice price for it.

 

[ChrisA]

The Macbook is the clear winner but you still might want to get a larger monitor for it. When you have lots of tracks up and then you go searching for a loop or instrument you can clutter up a small 13-inch screen in no time.

The only real problem with a MacBook for recording is if the computer is in the same room as the microphone and the fan comes on. The Mic will pick up the noise. The smaller Mac Mini can be placed in a closet or even a soundproof box but you can not place a notebook in a closet. Even a small fan picks up n a good microphone.


But maybe you don't care about fan noise, maybe the band is "way loud" and your needs are not so exacting.

 

[Groveboulevard]

The Macbook is the clear winner but you still might want to get a larger monitor for it. When you have lots of tracks up and then you go searching for a loop or instrument you can clutter up a small 13-inch screen in no time.

The only real problem with a MacBook for recording is if the computer is in the same room as the microphone and the fan comes on. The Mic will pick up the noise. The smaller Mac Mini can be placed in a closet or even a soundproof box but you can not place a notebook in a closet. Even a small fan picks up n a good microphone.


But maybe you don't care about fan noise, maybe the band is "way loud" and your needs are not so exacting.

Thanks for the input guys. Went with the MBP. Just got home with it and it is actually suprisingly fast. I got it for $240.00!! The screen was wobbly and battery cycle count was at 1200... So he agreed to drop it 20. Any suggestions on which OS I should run? I'm thinking high Sierra might be best?
[doublepost=1549141298][/doublepost]

Do you have mobility needs? If so get the laptop.
Thanks for the input guys. Went with the MBP. Just got home with it and it is actually suprisingly fast. I got it for $240.00!! The screen was wobbly and battery cycle count was at 1200... So he agreed to drop it 20. Any suggestions on which OS I should run? I'm thinking high Sierra might be best?
Upgrading the older MBP is going to be a lot easier then opening up and upgrading the Mac Mini - spoken from experience.

[doublepost=1549142046][/doublepost]Also besides the OS recommendation . Which should I replace first? The HD to an SSD (how many gb?) or more RAM ?

 

[jtara]

It's likely that all 2012 models will be dropped in the next major release of MacOS.

Keep that in mind.
[doublepost=1549150934][/doublepost]

I got it for $240.00!! The screen was wobbly and battery cycle count was at 1200... So he agreed to drop it 20. Any suggestions on which OS I should run? I'm thinking high Sierra might be best?

Oh, OK, for that price... I wouldn't worry about when it loses OS support.

There is absolutely no reason not to run Mojave on it. I don't know where anybody gets the idea that it is "better" to run an obsolete OS on older computers. If the machine is officially supported (and your is - for now) go with the latest.

I guess this comes from the misguided idea that newer OSs require greater resources. It is just bad memories of Windows Vista! This is almost never the case with Apple. Generally, newer OSs run FASTER on the same hardware than older ones. Your computer is new enough that it's unlikely to be hampered by e.g. fancy graphics effects in the UI - and those can be turned off anyway. MacOS is not the Bloatware world of Windows. And, frankly, even Microsoft got their act together - every Windows computer that can run it should be running Windows 10, IMO.

RAM, or hard drive > SSD? Both. I suppose the SSD first, because your hard drive is about to fail.

 

[Groveboulevard]

It's likely that all 2012 models will be dropped in the next major release of MacOS.


[doublepost=1549150934][/doublepost]


There is absolutely no reason not to run Mojave on it. I don't know where anybody gets the idea that it is "better" to run an obsolete OS on older computers. If the machine is officially supported (and your is - for now) go with the latest.

Thanks for that. I thought otherwise for a long time lol

 

[TGM85]

Went with the MBP. Just got home with it and it is actually suprisingly fast. I got it for $240.00!! The screen was wobbly and battery cycle count was at 1200... So he agreed to drop it 20. Any suggestions on which OS I should run? I'm thinking high Sierra might be best?

Congrats.

Go with Mojave, no reason not to as jtara has already explained.

A battery cycle count of 1.200 does have me worried a bit. I would replace it. A new battery is about $30 on Amazon and the install is easy enough: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+15-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Battery+Replacement/10759

Replace the HDD with an SSD asap. It will massively increase the performance and your enjoyment of the machine. You might also want to increase the amount of RAM while you're at it. I tend to get my parts from Crucial. A 500 GB SSD is $70. A 16 GB RAM kit is $100. (https://www.crucial.com/usa/en/comp...e/macbook-pro-(13-inch-and-15-inch,-mid-2012)).