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Mac mini late 2012 i7 2.3 GHz - Is it worth a buy?
- Thread starter Andrea Filippini
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Probably my next purchase will be a M1 Mini (or its successor).
I have seen from your signature that you have a 2018 i7 Mac Mini...can you make a comparison between them? (boot up, launch apps, third-party apps, cpu performance and ram usage in multitasking)
Thank you
I think all the reviews have it pretty good. Applications are quicker on M1 than Intel, in most cases. Almost instant open with most M1 universal applications. Case is cool to the touch all the time. Internet media plays quicker in M1. ... and so on. I would not want to go back to Intel and just think, this is just the base models. I can't imaging what they are going to with the real pro equipment.
There are other reasons to get Intel machines most notably if you need to run 32-bit Mac software, but as I said earlier unless you cannot run that 32-bit software in Mojave or in a VM then the 2018 Mini is a better choice than the 2012 unless you can find an extremely good deal on the 2012.
An i7 2012 mini with 16GB RAM will cost you at least half what you can buy an M1 mini for new. Also, why on earth would you ever think that buying an 8+ year old Intel Mac was a good idea when Apple just dropped the architecture? And if you can't afford an M1 mini yet, then keep saving.
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Everyone doesn't have the same desires or requirements. As has been already pointed out several times for WHATEVER the reason some of us require Windows to run - that's why. In fact, although I can dual boot, I haven't booted into Mac OS for over a year.
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Only if you think the price is good. I still have a i7 2012 16GB 2x SSDs and it is still used and will be used for some time. It is one of the last you can get into and upgrade things. I recently clean off and reapplied the thermal paste and it runs cool.
The only limit is now the OS can only go to macOS Catalina. If you have programs that you still use from Mountain Lion to Catalina, then it is a good reason to buy if you believe the price is ok. Still fast, still good and can keep up with the rest. Just for basic or "normal" user of course (internet, YouTube, Office, mail, etc.).
The 2012 mini is a decent machine, but for the price they still demand 8 years later, it's just simply not worth it. Horrible price to performance.
If you already have one then use it for a few more years. But no one should still be buying one, and certainly not to run Windows. But what would I know... I was only a Mac tech for decades and a software developer to this day.
If you already have one then use it for a few more years. But no one should still be buying one, and certainly not to run Windows. But what would I know... I was only a Mac tech for decades and a software developer to this day.
Moderator note: A few posts have been deleted here. Please try to keep the discussion on topic and avoid making personal comments. Thanks.
not rich either. but if ts said tax there understood. Some Europe country tax pretty high . Our rate also low which mean higher prices for apple product. 16GB and ssd should overtake the slowness of processor. For normal user might not see the effect much. For me , I know the diff between my MacBook 2011 pro 16 gb vs Mac mini base 2014 vs iMac 2017.
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Indeed, the Apple tax is the most despised. Even at where I worked, we marked up Apple products a lot higher than comparable PCs and Linux machines, but Apple machines sold better most of the time because it's nicer to use than a Windows and Linux PC for most non-sophisticated user. And as long as the machine has 16Gb of ram and a fast SSD, that's more than enough for a normal user. Netflix, older copies of Photoshop, Office suite, Youtube @1440p 60fps are simply fine on many of those older Mini machines. The 2012 Mini is a good choice for that still. Even my graphic artist sister uses a base 2014 Mini (she bought it based on my advice) and even if it's slow (coming from me with a fast Mac Pro or my gaming PC), she's fine and happy with it. It's a big upgrade from her 2007 Mini, but she uses both to do contract design work, piece work and stuff. That's all she could get now during COVID. I could help her put a SSD inside her 2014 Mini, but she told me she just didn't have the money right now. I mean a 500Gb SSD isn't a lot of money to me because I'm in a much better financial footing, but to her is like choosing food or SSD. So I agree with you that for a normal user, many will not see the effect of a slow processor once memory and drive are upgraded. Even my dad uses my older 2009 Macbook Pro with a Core 2 Duo processor and a SSD. It's running Linux Mint 20, a more modern OS than El-Capitan but my dad is happy as a clam with it. Youtube, news and banking. That's all they need. These people are not using the machines to edit 4K raw footages, running multiple VMs and emulators and working on Xcode all at the same time. It may be relevant to some influencers and some users to need a M1, but it's not so with a normal user.
The mac mini from 2012 is a very useful computer and can be upgraded no matter how much that is worth or how much someone will spend for that. That edition has the same logic board and chassis as the later model therefore a good investment. The Bluetooth was iffy, but there are remedies available for that. But the most important feature of the 2012 mac mini is the SHINE! That really looks elegant while sunlight glistened upon the unit on a nice spring morning!
... and I'd REALLY doubt that any $100 Dell Optiplex (if it really exists in working order) would be useful for anything other than as a parts bin.
Just like with my 2013 MBA that is also USED as a daily driver with only it's second new battery; during the same period my wife has thrown away 3 other manufacturer notebooks (she is finally happy with a Pixelbook); hardware quality means something.
People do have differing desires and requirements without getting into different financial resources...
You doubt? Meaning you don't even know what you speak of. $100 US can get you a quality 4th gen i5 Optiplex, and when it comes to running Windows it will do a much better job than a 3rd gen Mac. Plus the i7's in the 2012 mini are lower powered mobile versions, which certainly don't equate to a standard i7.
If you're buying a Mac to run Windows... then you're REALLY doing it WRONG. Is it that you just can't stand the idea of owning hardware with no Apple logo on it?
I bought 2 Mac's (2013 MBA and Mini) to run both Windows and Mac OS about 8 years ago; still using both daily, just not High Sierra much on the Mini in the last 3 or 4 years. 👍
Both are still quite capable with either OS with only SSD's for the Mini and batteries for the MBA; thanks for caring!
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My most powerful Mac is a pair of late 2009 mac mini's. I'm certainly not all about modern hardware, but whenever one buys hardware one should always get good price to performance. Buying a 2012 i7 mini is a bad investment in 2020 is my only point. It's already 8 years old, and a tricked out model will be at least half that of a brand new M1. Half price for 8 year old parts. 8 year old cpu, capacitors, solders. Need I go on?
Yes, but you already had yours, right? I'm not saying don't use one if you already have one. I never claimed that ever. I said it's not worth buying one now. You're not the OP, so obviously my original post with the same advice wasn't directed at you.Not really; as I still like and need both Windows and MacOS
M1 Mac mini is good, but it is still brand new. Apple will still need take time to short things out, for example, M1 Macs has problem with Ultrawide display issue, where Intel Mac does not.
Intel Mac is not going away anytime soon, Apple said it going to support Intel Mac for the years to come. There is no reason not to get Intel Macs, otherwise, why would Apple still selling Macs with Intel processors?
I am one of the person went out for 2020 refresh Mac mini and 2020 refresh MacBook Air. One of the thing I am consider is alternative OS support. I can load Windows or Linux on Intel Mac when Apple decided to no long give OS support (So I will eventually install Linux on 2011 Mac mini when Apple stop give Catalina update which is 2022, which I am planning to use Catalina patcher next year).
With any Apple silicon Macs, you are out of luck when Apple decided to kill of macOS support. Unless some other OS supports Apple silicon.
But hey, if someone is really out of money, they can still do Hackintosh, my Hackintosh costs half of Mac mini M1.
Hey guys, quick update:
As you can see in the quote, I have bought the Mac Mini but I had an issue with the write performance of the storage.
The contract with my supplier included a warranty so he has changed my storage for free with an upgrade of capacity.
The actual storage is a new SAMSUNG SSD 860 EVO 1 TB.
Here the disk performance:
Great machine.
I'm very satisfied.
Even the 1.6 GHz dual-core i5 in the 2011 MacBook Air?
Joking aside, my 2011 MacBook Pro with a 2nd-gen 2.3 GHz dual-core i5 totally chokes on "4K" video — unless I have a reasonably modern eGPU handle it.
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