Mac mini 2012 i7 should i upgrade?

[Pianoman0018]

hello there
I have a late 2012mac mini(i7 ,256gb ssd 16GB Ram ) it served me well all these years mostly using it with logic pro(music production) and some video editing and export (mostly imovie)
But now with the new mac mini 2018 out i am thinking about selling my 2012mini and upgrade, is it worth it?
Or should i stick with my old mini?

 

[pl1984]

The answer will depend on what you mean by "is it worth it". From a technology perspective the new Mini is quite a step forward from the 2012 model. From that perspective yes, it's worth it. But does that mean anything to you? Is your current Mini holding you back in some way? If so then it's likely the new Mini would help, if not eliminate, that issue. If not then are you willing to spend money on new technology for the sake of having new technology? If so the new Mini would be worth it.

If you could expand upon what is making you consider a new Mini we could provide more specific advice.

 

[Pianoman0018]

The answer will depend on what you mean by "is it worth it". From a technology perspective the new Mini is quite a step forward from the 2012 model. From that perspective yes, it's worth it. But does that mean anything to you? Is your current Mini holding you back in some way? If so then it's likely the new Mini would help, if not eliminate, that issue. If not then are you willing to spend money on new technology for the sake of having new technology? If so the new Mini would be worth it.

If you could expand upon what is making you consider a new Mini we could provide more specific advice.

No my mini its not holding me back although sometimes it gets hot and noisy when i export a video (fan noise) but its holding up well for my daily use, the only thing that makes me wonder if i should upgrade it is that my 2012mini is 7 years old and i may have issues in the future

 

[pl1984]

No my mini its not holding me back although sometimes it gets hot and noisy when i export a video (fan noise) but its holding up well for my daily use, the only thing that makes me wonder if i should upgrade it is that my 2012mini is 7 years old and i may have issues in the future

IMO replacing something that is working fine on the premise it may have issues in the future is not something I would recommend. If it should begin to have issues then replace it at that time.

 

[Sarpanch]

hello there
I have a late 2012mac mini(i7 ,256gb ssd 16GB Ram ) it served me well all these years mostly using it with logic pro(music production) and some video editing and export (mostly imovie)
But now with the new mac mini 2018 out i am thinking about selling my 2012mini and upgrade, is it worth it?
Or should i stick with my old mini?

I was in a similar situation as yours (although I used my 2012 mainly for personal Photo editing and occasionally, a video edit here and there) I would have probably continued with my 2012, but a few factors helped me with the decision to upgrade.

1) I was getting a good offer on my 2012 Mini ~450$
2) I want to use a 4k monitor, currently using a 1440p Dell monitor as that’s the maximum resolution supported by 2012 Mini
3) A good deal on the 2018 Mini on Thanksgiving

Having moved to a 2018 Mini, I can say that it was well worth the upgrade. My Lightroom and Photoshop edits are noticeably faster. I haven’t edited videos yet but am sure it will be better thanks to 2 additional CPU cores. I have upgraded RAM to 32GB and with thunderbolt 3, I have the flexibility to add an eGPU down the line.

Hope this helps. Additionally, if Apple allows 14 days hassle free returns in your location, then that is almost a foolproof way to do a comparison with your old Mini for your specific needs. Cheers!

 

[Pianoman0018]

I was in a similar situation as yours (although I used my 2012 mainly for personal Photo editing and occasionally, a video edit here and there) I would have probably continued with my 2012, but a few factors helped me with the decision to upgrade.

1) I was getting a good offer on my 2012 Mini ~450$
2) I want to use a 4k monitor, currently using a 1440p Dell monitor as that’s the maximum resolution supported by 2012 Mini
3) A good deal on the 2018 Mini on Thanksgiving

Having moved to a 2018 Mini, I can say that it was well worth the upgrade. My Lightroom and Photoshop edits are noticeably faster. I haven’t edited videos yet but am sure it will be better thanks to 2 additional CPU cores. I have upgraded RAM to 32GB and with thunderbolt 3, I have the flexibility to add an eGPU down the line.

Hope this helps. Additionally, if Apple allows 14 days hassle free returns in your location, then that is almost a foolproof way to do a comparison with your old Mini for your specific needs. Cheers!

Hey thanks for your answer! Which one you got? Specs? You got the i7 or i5?

 

[Sarpanch]

Hey thanks for your answer! Which one you got? Specs? You got the i7 or i5?

I bought the i5/8/256 version. I would have probably gone for i7/8/256 had it not been for the really good deal on the i5.

 

[Cheapassmac]

No my mini its not holding me back although sometimes it gets hot and noisy when i export a video (fan noise) but its holding up well for my daily use, the only thing that makes me wonder if i should upgrade it is that my 2012mini is 7 years old and i may have issues in the future

I actually think you do need to replace something, but not the whole machine if it already meets you needs. While the non moving parts will last an extremely long time, the same can't be said about the moving parts. No need to wait for a cataclysmic failure when the warning signs are already letting you know what's up.

 

[Ploki]

Well, the i7 works wonderfully for Logic.

It replaced my 2012 15" i7 which i believe has the same CPU as your Mini.

I was maxing the CPU out constantly so I needed something beefier...

If you are asking if it will work faster, yes it will.

If you are asking if you need it, you probably don't

Upgrade when you need to, something better will probably come along - and if it doesn't, the 2018 Mini will be a lot cheaper.

 

[Cheapassmac]

To be fair, the new minis aren't just faster. There are some things you realistically can't do with the 2012, such as work with 4k video... but a fan replacement is way cheaper if he can hold out for 2020.

 

[Ploki]

To be fair, the new minis aren't just faster. There are some things you realistically can't do with the 2012, such as work with 4k video... but a fan replacement is way cheaper if he can hold out for 2020.

well.. you can work with it, you just can't see it.

 

[Cheapassmac]

well.. you can work with it, you just can't see it.

To be fair, I did say it wasn't realistic to expect that. I'm sure you can actually open the 4k video files. Never tried, but I'm just going to assume it would chug in addition to not fully displaying.

 

[bigfatipod]

hello there
I have a late 2012mac mini(i7 ,256gb ssd 16GB Ram ) it served me well all these years mostly using it with logic pro(music production) and some video editing and export (mostly imovie)
But now with the new mac mini 2018 out i am thinking about selling my 2012mini and upgrade, is it worth it?
Or should i stick with my old mini?

Did you upgrade from the 2.3 or 2.6 2012?

 

[Pianoman0018]

Did you upgrade from the 2.3 or 2.6 2012?

I didnt upgrade yet , i have a 2.3ghz i7

 

[bigfatipod]

Well, the i7 works wonderfully for Logic.

It replaced my 2012 15" i7 which i believe has the same CPU as your Mini.

I was maxing the CPU out constantly so I needed something beefier...

If you are asking if it will work faster, yes it will.

If you are asking if you need it, you probably don't

Upgrade when you need to, something better will probably come along - and if it doesn't, the 2018 Mini will be a lot cheaper.

What leads you to believe the 2018 will become cheaper? Doesn’t apple typically keep the price line static for a long time?

 

[Cheapassmac]

What leads you to believe the 2018 will become cheaper? Doesn’t apple typically keep the price line static for a long time?

Apple prices are typically static, but it does happen sometimes on their current line up.

That said, I don't think he meant cheaper specifically from Apple. Of course the 2018 Mac Mini will eventually get cheaper. The 2012 Mac Mini isn't full price today right? As soon as a new model comes out, or if the Mini series itself becomes obsolete, price/demand will fall.

 

[Ploki]

What leads you to believe the 2018 will become cheaper? Doesn’t apple typically keep the price line static for a long time?

what @Cheapassmac said
[doublepost=1547981518][/doublepost]

To be fair, I did say it wasn't realistic to expect that. I'm sure you can actually open the 4k video files. Never tried, but I'm just going to assume it would chug in addition to not fully displaying.

I edited some 4K footage on my rMBP 2012, and while it struggled it was manageable. it was a 60s stopmotion animation tho...
I wouldn't want to do a 15min video.

 

[sauria]

It's by far the fastest Mac now.

 

[Boyd01]

I have a 2012 i7 2.6ghz/16gb/256gb ssd Mini. I use it exclusively for Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. It still meets my needs, so I am not going to upgrade. And when I do upgrade, not at all sure that the Mini will be the correct choice for me. But why borrow trouble? It works today. I'll worry about tomorrow when it comes.

Seriously, don't you know whether you need a new computer? Does this really take a village? I'm sure it would be fun to get a new computer, you will get a warranty and it will certainly have advantages over your old one.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

You might consider "holding out" until the 2019 iMacs are introduced.
This will probably be late 2nd-quarter this year.
I believe the 2019 27" iMac will offer CPU power equal to or greater than that of the 2018 Mini, and a beautiful display as well, for a cost not much more than a similarly-equipped Mini (CPU-wise). And better graphics, too.

At that point, you can then make a choice between 2019 iMac or 2018 Mini (which will still be "quite current").

 

[Ploki]

I don't think iMacs are all that great for audio. Having fans in front of yours face is annoying

 

[Cheapassmac]

OP:

You might consider "holding out" until the 2019 iMacs are introduced.
This will probably be late 2nd-quarter this year.
I believe the 2019 27" iMac will offer CPU power equal to or greater than that of the 2018 Mini, and a beautiful display as well, for a cost not much more than a similarly-equipped Mini (CPU-wise). And better graphics, too.

At that point, you can then make a choice between 2019 iMac or 2018 Mini (which will still be "quite current").

With that logic, you might as well wait for the new Mac Pros that Apple promise to bring out this year. It will surely be more powerful and more expansive than the iMac offering while giving the option of using your own display like what he's currently enjoying with his mac mini.

 

[marclondon]

I have a 2012 i7 and it's struggling with browsers (especially Safari) although having 8GB of the 16GB ram failed due to faulty board doesn't help. The 512GB SSD I put in works fine. I am waiting for the 2019 iMac to make a decision but would be happy with new Mini and new screens if I can get the right ones (see best monitor thread).

 

[Boyd01]

I have a 2012 i7 and it's struggling with browsers (especially Safari)

How does it "struggle"? My 2012 i7 has no problems with Safari. It also runs Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro quite well. I run Sierra from an external iTB Samsung T3 SSD. I have 16gb, but I don't understand why Safari would need more than 8gb. Are you doing something especially intense in Safari?

 

[Cheapassmac]

How does it "struggle"? My 2012 i7 has no problems with Safari. It also runs Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro quite well. I run Sierra from an external iTB Samsung T3 SSD. I have 16gb, but I don't understand why Safari would need more than 8gb. Are you doing something especially intense in Safari?

Web browsing can take up a surprising amount of RAM. With everything open, overall RAM usage can exceed 8gb (even for casual users). If disk swapping occurs at all with a non-ssd hard drive, I wouldn't be surprised if someone felt it struggling. The 2012 certainly has enough raw CPU power to handle the situation though (ie: if he had enough RAM and SSD, it shouldn't struggle with any typical website).

Also, if one of his 8gb chips failed, that means he's only using one chip (thus losing dual memory channel speed).