Mac Mini 2012 vs Mac Mini 2014

[Meister]

2012 Quadcore Mac Mini i7 2.3Ghz, 4gb ram, 1tb hdd Intel HD4000
2014 Dualcore Mac Mini i5 2.6Ghz, 16gb ram, 1tb hdd Intel Iris

Both cost the same for me.
I am not sure if the 2014 lets me add a second ssd later.
The 2012 is easily accessible to upgrade two ssds and ram when needed.

I am curious which one you would choose and why.

 

[BiteDisAppleD]

2012 Quadcore Mac Mini i7 2.3Ghz, 4gb ram, 1tb hdd Intel HD4000
2014 Dualcore Mac Mini i5 2.6Ghz, 16gb ram, 1tb hdd Intel Iris

Both cost the same for me.
I am not sure if the 2014 lets me add a second ssd later.
The 2012 is easily accessible to upgrade two ssds and ram when needed.

I am curious which one you would choose and why.

I would choose the quad core because its bit faster in multi-core which i need for what i do. But i settled for a macbook instead just for the portability.

 

[stravedere]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1803781/

 

[Dramosith]

if a lot people say model 2012 best then i 'll buy those week 2012 than 2014..

 

[sumo.do]

2012 Quad: The last of the Phase 4 V8 Interceptors

It's times like these that I am glad I have my 2012 2.6 GHz mini. It reminds me of the famous line in Mad Max when Max is shown his pursuit vehicle by the mechanic:

"She's the last of the V8's... Sucks nitro... Phase 4 head"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu35F-_p36Y

 

[SoCalReviews]

2012 Quadcore Mac Mini i7 2.3Ghz, 4gb ram, 1tb hdd Intel HD4000
2014 Dualcore Mac Mini i5 2.6Ghz, 16gb ram, 1tb hdd Intel Iris

Both cost the same for me.
I am not sure if the 2014 lets me add a second ssd later.
The 2012 is easily accessible to upgrade two ssds and ram when needed.

I am curious which one you would choose and why.

If you need the processing power for particular CPU intensive programs or multiple virtual machines then go with the i7 quad. If you are certain you will want to upgrade to a high capacity SSD then go with the i7 quad. If you are going to use the Mini for basic computing... web browsing, email, documents, video, etc.., you want the faster graphics processing and don't think you will want to upgrade the HD to an SSD then the 2014 model might be a better choice for you.

 

[Meister]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1803781/

Didn't know there already was a thread on this.
I already have a rmbp 2.4/8/256 and the 2012 dual core 4/500 mini.

I was waiting for the new mini release to upgrade my mini and now, like a lot of folks, not quite sure what to make of it. I use my mini as a media center and was about to put an ssd/2nd hdd in it. I also use it for Lr, Ps, iMovie and the usual minor tasks. The hd is pretty full and it would run much nicer with an ssd. On the 2014 the 16gb ram would supplement for the slow hd, but I am not quite sure if i can put an ssd in later. That's an important point for me. Being stuck with an hdd in 2014 is not exactly my idea of an upgrade.

I am usually the one giving advice here, but this time I am not quite sure wether the quadcore or iris would benefit me more.

 

[TechZeke]

2012 Quadcore Mac Mini i7 2.3Ghz, 4gb ram, 1tb hdd Intel HD4000
2014 Dualcore Mac Mini i5 2.6Ghz, 16gb ram, 1tb hdd Intel Iris

Both cost the same for me.
I am not sure if the 2014 lets me add a second ssd later.
The 2012 is easily accessible to upgrade two ssds and ram when needed.

I am curious which one you would choose and why.

2012 All the way. Unless I need graphics power, the 2012 would demolish the 2014 in every way. RAM discussion is irrelevant on the 2012 because it's easily upgradeable. CPU wise it's not even a contest.

 

[Count Blah]

From what I'm reading, if you open the case of the 2014, you void your warranty. So take that into account when making your plans.

 

[cypriot]

I will wait for reviews to show up. Who knows what apple did to this mini and there are more factors than just cpu.

 

[schopaia]

2012 Quadcore Mac Mini i7 2.3Ghz, 4gb ram, 1tb hdd Intel HD4000
2014 Dualcore Mac Mini i5 2.6Ghz, 16gb ram, 1tb hdd Intel Iris

Both cost the same for me.
I am not sure if the 2014 lets me add a second ssd later.
The 2012 is easily accessible to upgrade two ssds and ram when needed.

I am curious which one you would choose and why.

You answered your own question in another thread. The ssd in the 2014 is going to give the system a huge boost (which makes the 1000+ posts here whining about quad core a bit silly). I'm not sure why you would configure it with an HDD in any case. I went with the mid model and the ssd upgrade which, I am predicting, will be much more capable than the low end 2012 I'm replacing.

 

[Meister]

You answered your own question in another thread. The ssd in the 2014 is going to give the system a huge boost (which makes the 1000+ posts here whining about quad core a bit silly). I'm not sure why you would configure it with an HDD in any case. I went with the mid model and the ssd upgrade which, I am predicting, will be much more capable than the low end 2012 I'm replacing.

You are right, but I also want the storage and possibility to put an ssd in later. In the 2014 the 16gb ram would somewhat compensate for the slow hdd. the question is, can I put an ssd in later?