Mac Mini 2011 SSD upgrade vs Another mac?

[rp19]

I currently have a Mac Mini 2011 that the hard drive I believe is starting to go. I wanted input on should I upgrade to SSD or consider getting a 2012 mini. I don't want to spend a lot of money at the moment otherwise I'd get an iMac and was hoping to get another year out of it.

My current specs are 2.3GHz, 8GB ram and 500GB HDD. I use it for mild web development and video editing. Any input is appreciated.

 

[mbosse]

I definitely can recommend a SSD upgrade. Did it on all my machines and never looked back. iFixit gives you a great and easily comprehensible tutorial on replacing the hard drive / SSD.

Best,
Magnus

 

[ApfelKuchen]

I still toy with the idea of upgrading my early 2008 iMac to an SSD, and though I generally decide against it (since it can't run anything higher than El Capitan), it's still a close decision. From this perspective, upgrading a 2011 Mac seems a no-brainer - I'd expect to get at least two years service from the upgrade. If it turned out to be less, I'd be able to pull the SSD from the machine and slap it into an external drive enclosure.

 

[mbosse]

I still toy with the idea of upgrading my early 2008 iMac to an SSD, and though I generally decide against it (since it can't run anything higher than El Capitan), it's still a close decision. From this perspective, upgrading a 2011 Mac seems a no-brainer - I'd expect to get at least two years service from the upgrade. If it turned out to be less, I'd be able to pull the SSD from the machine and slap it into an external drive enclosure.

Precisely.

 

[rp19]

Awesome thanks for the responses! I'm hoping it goes as smooth as the walkthrough shows. I'll follow up with results.

 

[mbosse]

Awesome thanks for the responses! I'm hoping it goes as smooth as the walkthrough shows. I'll follow up with results.

Just be careful and read the instructions several times before. When you feel confident, go ahead.

 

[Fishrrman]

2012 Mini has USB3, if that's important to you...