MGEQ2 2014 is it worth it?

[yellowhelicopter]

Manufactured in 2016, i5 2.8Ghz, 8GB RAM, 1TB Fusion Drive. Do you guys think it's worth USD380 for nearly like new condition, boxed? I need a replacement for my very old (and big) home computer (Core2 Duo 2.4Ghz, 4GB RAM, HDD only). I mean I could of course just upgrade my PC for like 200USD (used i3-8100, some cheap h410 Asus mobo, 8GB RAM, 256SSD), and it would be much faster and up-to-date, but I don't play games on PC or render things etc., and I somehow want to try Mac. The main question is if the model is worth the money?

 

[Boyd01]

You didn't say how much it costs, so how could we tell you if it's "worth the money"?

I have one of these however and use it as a mediaserver. Works very well for that, and should also be ok for general purpose computing like web browsing, MS Office, etc. The fusion drive is actually a 128gb SSD paired with a 1TB 5400RPM hard drive. I split the SSD from the fusion drive (easily done with software) and use it as a boot drive. The SSD is pretty fast, about 700MB/sec. I have all my media on a 4tb USB 3.0 external SSD that clocks around 400MB/sec and also use a pair of external USB 3.0 hard drives for nightly backups. The internal 5400RPM hard drive is very slow, it clocks around 100MB/sec, my external hard drives clock around 170MB/sec.

I bought mine new for $500 last winter when B&H Photo had a sale. I think it was well worth the price, and was a good fit for my needs.

More info on this model here, where you can compare it to other Macs.

Mac mini "Core i5" 2.8 (Late 2014) Specs (Late 2014, MGEQ2LL/A, Macmini7,1, A1347, 2840): EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for the Mac mini "Core i5" 2.8 (Late 2014). Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.

everymac.com

 

[0128672]

You didn't say how much it costs, so how could we tell you if it's "worth the money"?

OP mentioned USD $380 ...

 

[Boyd01]

Oh... sorry, missed that!

Then I suppose that price is in line with the $500 I paid, since it is used and doesn't have a warranty. It will certainly be much faster than a 2.4ghz/4gb core2duo machine with a hard drive.

 

[lixuelai]

Just bought a 2.6Ghz for $325, plan to buy an adapter and put in a NVME drive. $380 for a 2.8GHz and Fusion seems like a decent deal if you want to avoid DIY. Alternatively there are 1.4GHz 8GBs for sale on Ebay for ~$280, may be plenty for your needs with a cheap SSD.