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Mac Mini Late 2012 Upgrade or Buy Newer

ianrip

ianrip

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 30, 2010
477
114
Work: Ras Laffan Home:LOS, From Scotland G15
Howdy
i own a Mac Mini late 2012, it currently has 16gb Ram and 1 TB fusion, its duties are mostly running Plex as my media server, the library is a Synology NAS connected to Router with CAT 5 cable in the house.

can I, or should I update the whole machine, or run it till it dies, as I said I use it mostly for Plex and for some VPN UK TV streaming, but I can do most of that now on ATV.

So what options can I do ??
Happy New Year
 
Wait and see if Apple will update the Mac mini line in 2017. It is not worth to buy a 2014 Mac mini now, becuase it has - except for the graphical part - almost zero speed differences.

Keep it, use it and replace it only, if you think that it's speed isn't enough for you.
 
I don't see any reason why you need to upgrade, you haven't explained why you aren't happy with it as-is. You don't say what CPU you have, but that can't be upgraded anyway. RAM is already at the limit. If the fusion drive isn't adequate, you could get an external drive (either SSD or HDD).
 
How's it running -now-?
Still doing fine?

If so, just keep it running.

My own late-2012 Mini is still running as well as when I first powered it up.
No plans for replacement.
IF there is a new Mini in 2017, and IF it represents a "far-enough" move ahead, then MAYBE I could think about a new one.
But not yet...
 
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For what your usage scenario & Plex, unless you're transcoding 4K movies all the time, Mac Mini will be enough for a couple of years at least.
 
I believe the best answer is to clean it up, box it, buy the 2014 Mac Mini Castrado and then give me your 2012 which for the purposes you name is more than sufficient. (/sarcasm). All kidding aside, keep your 2012 until there is a blaring reason to acquire another machine to do the job. I still have a 2012 and 2010 (2.0 quad) that get usage. the latest castrado models ... well lets just say there are plenty of threads showing no love for them.
 
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I second waiting for a nominal 2017 Mini but I would't hold out much hope about it being revolutionary. Take a look at the non-touchbar Macbook Pro - you might be looking at the basis of that Mini. At best it'll be a basic touch-bar Macbook Pro 13".
 
sublunar said:
At best it'll be a basic touch-bar Macbook Pro 13".
Click to expand...

I don't doubt that you are right, but that would be pretty underwhelming. Non Touchbar 2016 MBP i7 geekbench3 score is 7392. http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...e-2016-retina-display-no-touch-bar-specs.html

2014 3ghz i7 Mini is basically the same with a score of 7308: http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i7-3.0-late-2014-specs.html

But the 2012 quad 2.6ghz i7 Mini is 12567: http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...-mini-core-i7-2.6-late-2012-server-specs.html
 
ianrip said:
Howdy
i own a Mac Mini late 2012, it currently has 16gb Ram and 1 TB fusion, its duties are mostly running Plex as my media server, the library is a Synology NAS connected to Router with CAT 5 cable in the house.
Click to expand...
Great machines, give you thunderbolt, firewire & USB 3.0.

It's a sweetspot for legacy assets.

Has as much RAM as the new MacBook Pro ever will.
 
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ianrip said:
Howdy
i own a Mac Mini late 2012, it currently has 16gb Ram and 1 TB fusion, its duties are mostly running Plex as my media server, the library is a Synology NAS connected to Router with CAT 5 cable in the house.

can I, or should I update the whole machine, or run it till it dies, as I said I use it mostly for Plex and for some VPN UK TV streaming, but I can do most of that now on ATV.

So what options can I do ??
Happy New Year
Click to expand...

Whether it's and i5 or an i7, just upgrade the SSD and HDD and use it.

Even with the Mac mini 2014 mini iris, the 4K is not natively 60hz supported.

If you are getting a new machine, then i would say to get the 2014 with the warranty + apple care.
 
Owner of several 2012 i7 Mini Servers (1 personal, 6 in my SMB). My personal unit has a Samsung 850 Pro SSD installed as the main drive and the stock spinner in the second bay. The only reason I upgraded was for faster access to some of the files installed on that drive for work purposes - I do take my work home often. For media serving - my iTunes music library and Plex, the stock 5400RPM spinner was more than adequate and 16GB of RAM was pretty much overkill (8 would have sufficed IMHO) if not for my work-at-home plans. All of my Mini Servers have 16GB of RAM, but the work units are video ingest and file server front-end units.

I'm waiting to see what Apple does with the Mini, but if I were you I don't see a need to spend any more coin on your workhorse. If you absolutely want to upgrade the main drive, I'd look at the 2TB Seagate option that's available just for a bit more headroom.
 
sublunar said:
I second waiting for a nominal 2017 Mini but I would't hold out much hope about it being revolutionary. Take a look at the non-touchbar Macbook Pro - you might be looking at the basis of that Mini. At best it'll be a basic touch-bar Macbook Pro 13".
Click to expand...
You can rest assured that Apple has thrown all their engineering resources into making the next Mini an even bigger disappointment than the 2014 was.
 
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Larry-K said:
You can rest assured that Apple has thrown all their engineering resources into making the next Mini an even bigger disappointment than the 2014 was.
Click to expand...

Larry you have a way with words. Refreshing. Thnx!
 
What would worry me is if the 2017 Mac Mini only came with USB-C and no Ethernet, USB3.0, HDMI or other ports. Imagine having to put out a tech note pointing out that 2 of 4 USB-C provided ports don't go at the full speed? This may mean we only see 3 USB-C or perhaps just 2 USB-C with 1 Ethernet, 4 USB3.0 and a HDMI - the least worst option.
 
Last edited:
ianrip said:
Howdy
i own a Mac Mini late 2012, it currently has 16gb Ram and 1 TB fusion, its duties are mostly running Plex as my media server, the library is a Synology NAS connected to Router with CAT 5 cable in the house.

can I, or should I update the whole machine, or run it till it dies, as I said I use it mostly for Plex and for some VPN UK TV streaming, but I can do most of that now on ATV.

So what options can I do ??
Happy New Year
Click to expand...

Keep it!
I went though the same dilemma last month, I have a 2011 mini with 16GB RAM and original drive, I was shocked how slow the 2014 mini is that I returned it, instead I upgraded to 1TB SSD and my machine is screaming now... so sad how Tim and his wonder boys abandoned the Mac desktop segment :( if it wasn't for Mac OS I would get a PC!
 
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ianrip said:
Howdy
i own a Mac Mini late 2012, it currently has 16gb Ram and 1 TB fusion, its duties are mostly running Plex as my media server, the library is a Synology NAS connected to Router with CAT 5 cable in the house.

can I, or should I update the whole machine, or run it till it dies, as I said I use it mostly for Plex and for some VPN UK TV streaming, but I can do most of that now on ATV.

So what options can I do ??
Happy New Year
Click to expand...

Which 2012 model?
 
opeter said:
Wait and see if Apple will update the Mac mini line in 2017. It is not worth to buy a 2014 Mac mini now, becuase it has - except for the graphical part - almost zero speed differences.

Keep it, use it and replace it only, if you think that it's speed isn't enough for you.
Click to expand...

The higher end quad core 2.3 or 2.6 from the 2012 line are quite a bit more powerful than the 2014 batch. That said, he hasn't said which one he has, and there's a fairly sizable variance between the high end and base version.
 
ianrip said:
i'm at work, and wont be back until Jan 12th, i think i went full Spec, so i think it is
2.6GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
•1TB Fusion Drive 16Gb RAM
Click to expand...
It's what I've run for a dedicated PMS box for years. It's almost 5 years old and it's still one of the better media server devices you can use. It has a really powerful processor so it's great for transcoding/remote shares, low TDP and of course the size makes it convenient. Mines been running for years without issue. Funny thing they sell more now used than they did new so if you wanted to sell it, you'd get top dollar. If/when we see another mini line, we won't see one with a beefy chip. And if for some crazy reason we did, it would be at a ridiculous price. Apple doesn't seem to be super interested in anything other than iOS devices unfortunately.
 
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