Maxed-out Mac mini 2012: Mojave or Catalina?

[Tim0]

I realize this question has probably been answered somewhere, and I've read quite a bit on this already, but still find it hard to make a decision.

I have been using an i7 2012 mini for the last 6 years or so but haven't been able to update past Sierra due to some previous upgrades (dual SSD working in Raid 0). Not long ago I picked up a similar mini (couldn't quite resist the $220 price tag for the mini + trackpad+ keyboard) and got it maxed out with a 2TB Crucial MX500 SSD and 16GB RAM, with the intent of having a backup computer and gradually move to a newer OS without losing pace with my current projects. However, due to massive amount of information I can't quite decide whether I should choose Mojave or Catalina. I mostly use it for office programs and Parallels (I work in translations and some of my tools only work in Windows), as well as ATV3 streaming. Any advice is welcome!

 

[now i see it]

I'm an ardent proponent of staying at least one version behind on MacOS. Mojave is done. Catalina is still a work in progress. There's nothing in Catalina that will make it a better experience, more likely a worse one (until it gets finished).
My vote is to use Mojave until August or so, then reconsider.

 

[Kamolas]

I have a Mini 2012 too, and I upgraded recently to an SSD. I decided to install Mojave for the exact same reasons the previous user wrote. Go for Mojave and you should be fine.

 

[Fishrrman]

Another vote for Mojave.
Or even High Sierra.

 

[newellj]

Another vote for Mojave.
Or even High Sierra.

Agree, for most users Mojave seems very stable. It runs great on my 2012 Mini. Take a look at the Catalina sub forum - I would not make that leap now (possibly never, due to the 32-bit app limitation in Catalina).

 

[tibas92013]

I'm an ardent proponent of staying at least one version behind on MacOS. Mojave is done. Catalina is still a work in progress. There's nothing in Catalina that will make it a better experience, more likely a worse one (until it gets finished).
My vote is to use Mojave until August or so, then reconsider.

Im am also a proponent of staying one-version behind alhough My Mac Mini(Late 2012) i5 2.5 GHz,16GB Ram,500GB HD is still on OS Sierra but I plan to upgrade to OS Mohave in the very near future.

My two(2) other MM's(MM 2018,3.0GHz,8GB Ram,256SSD and MM 2014 2.8 GHZ,8GB Ram,256SSD) will remain on OS Mohave until sometime before October, 2020 in which I will then upgrade to OS Catalina.

 

[Traverse]

I'm an ardent proponent of staying at least one version behind on MacOS. Mojave is done. Catalina is still a work in progress. There's nothing in Catalina that will make it a better experience, more likely a worse one (until it gets finished).
My vote is to use Mojave until August or so, then reconsider.

There was a user in here a few years ago who made a comment that I thought was a neat idea. Upgrade every .5 version. After the initial 2 year wait on an OS, you’ll get annual upgrades, you’ll just upgrade from 10.14.5 to 10.15.5 and so on.
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I'm an ardent proponent of staying at least one version behind on MacOS. Mojave is done. Catalina is still a work in progress. There's nothing in Catalina that will make it a better experience, more likely a worse one (until it gets finished).
My vote is to use Mojave until August or so, then reconsider.

There was a user in here a few years ago who made a comment that I thought was a neat idea. Upgrade every .5 version. After the initial 2 year wait on an OS, you’ll get annual upgrades, you’ll just upgrade from 10.14.5 to 10.15.5 and so on.

 

[newellj]

Im am also a proponent of staying one-version behind alhough My Mac Mini(Late 2012) i5 2.5 GHz,16GB Ram,500GB HD is still on OS Sierra but I plan to upgrade to OS Mohave in the very near future.

My two(2) other MM's(MM 2018,3.0GHz,8GB Ram,256SSD and MM 2014 2.8 GHZ,8GB Ram,256SSD) will remain on OS Mohave until sometime before October, 2020 in which I will then upgrade to OS Catalina.

My late 2012 Mini went from High Sierra to Mojave without any issues at all. Not sure Catalina is going to work for me at this time - still have some 32-bit apps. (Ahem, Adobe...?)

 

[Synchro3]

Mojave. Supports 32 Bit apps.

Upgrading to Catalina has nothing worth for me at the moment, when I realised that even the Apple TV app does not streaming 4K (Mac Mini 2018 with 4K monitor), minus all the 32 Bit apps and games not supported any more.