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Time is almost up... anyone thinking of exchanging their Mini during the extended holiday policy?

tpivette89

tpivette89

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 1, 2018
536
293
Middletown, DE
Just like the title states, people buying between Nov 14th - Dec 25th have until Jan 8th (this Tuesday) to exchange their Minis (or anything else purchased) for something different. Ever thought about upping your storage or RAM? Perhaps going from a i3 to i5 or i7? Maybe downgrading storage cause you found in the last month or so you didn't need that much?

I bought the i5/8/256 model (I upgraded to 16gb RAM) and have been thinking I might want to go i7... anyone else thinking they may want to upgrade/downgrade in the final days of the exchange program?
 
Not me (I5, 256, 16). My mini works great and I have it set up just the way I like it. I'm still a bit irritated at the price, but I'd buy exact same computer again.
 
I bought an i7/512/8. In hindsight I probably should have gone with 16GB instead of 8. I have thought about going the return & replace route, but my mini is otherwise perfect and the configuration was my choice. I hate to be one of the people who takes advantage of Apple’s generous return policy, sticking them with a returned item that will need to be sold at best as a refurb. I know their high prices factor in regret returns of perfectly fine devices, but just as people say don’t support them by buying if you think the prices are too high, I don’t want to contribute to their need to factor in returns of perfectly functioning products in their pricing model....
 
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KennethS said:
I bought an i7/512/8. In hindsight I probably should have gone with 16GB instead of 8. I have thought about going the return & replace route, but my mini is otherwise perfect and the configuration was my choice. I hate to be one of the people who takes advantage of Apple’s generous return policy, sticking them with a returned item that will need to be sold at best as a refurb. I know their high prices factor in regret returns of perfectly fine devices, but just as people say don’t support them by buying if you think the prices are too high, I don’t want to contribute to their need to factor in returns of perfectly functioning products in their pricing model....
Click to expand...
Don't think that way, that's what it's there for. Perhaps if you were constantly buying and returning that may be taking advantage of it but buying one unit, trying it out, and returning it is, IMO, not. If you feel you would be better off with a 16GB model then return it and get the 16GB model (if you're uncomfortable upgrading the memory yourself).
 
pl1984 said:
Don't think that way, that's what it's there for. Perhaps if you were constantly buying and returning that may be taking advantage of it but buying one unit, trying it out, and returning it is, IMO, not. If you feel you would be better off with a 16GB model then return it and get the 16GB model (if you're uncomfortable upgrading the memory yourself).
Click to expand...
I appreciate your reply (I am expecting to get skewered for suggesting I will abstain from returning a perfectly functioning product for not wanting to cause any financial cost to Apple). My current plan is to watch RAM prices and grab 32GB (2x 16GB) when/if prices soften over the next months. Having looked at a number of RAM upgrade tutorials, I think it should be pretty straightforward if I take my time. My main hesitation is that I have AppleCare+ on the mini and if I ever have to use it, I would likely have to re-insert the original RAM modules.
 
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I bought mine a couple of months ago, never any thoughts of returning.

i7, 512, 16.

Am I pissed still at the price? Yup.
Am I pissed at the GPU? Yup.

But there you go, it is what it is. I expect my next purchase will be an eGPU that I use between my PC and the MM.
 
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KennethS said:
I appreciate your reply (I am expecting to get skewered for suggesting I will abstain from returning a perfectly functioning product for not wanting to cause any financial cost to Apple). My current plan is to watch RAM prices and grab 32GB (2x 16GB) when/if prices soften over the next months. Having looked at a number of RAM upgrade tutorials, I think it should be pretty straightforward if I take my time. My main hesitation is that I have AppleCare+ on the mini and if I ever have to use it, I would likely have to re-insert the original RAM modules.
Click to expand...

I was a bit anxious about doing it. I followed the iFixit tutorial and bought their toolkit. The Mini is beautiful inside. Everything went as planned other than I did manage to booger the head of one of the fan screws by probably using the wrong Torx driver. Just be very patient and take your time. Make sure connectors are aligned properly before committing to the connection. It took maybe 15 or 20 minutes. A month later and all working just fine.
 
LeeW said:
I bought mine a couple of months ago, never any thoughts of returning.

i7, 512, 16.

Am I pissed still at the price? Yup.
Am I pissed at the GPU? Yup.

But there you go, it is what it is. I expect my next purchase will be an eGPU that I use between my PC and the MM.
Click to expand...
i7, 512, 8gb, 10GbE
(will upgrade to 32GB soonish)

Considering I bought the Mini when i received a refund from the crappy i9 I had, the price was great.
I had enough money left to buy an additional 13" for portability.

2018 mini is not cheap, but compared to the 15" it's great.
 
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KennethS said:
I bought an i7/512/8. In hindsight I probably should have gone with 16GB instead of 8. I have thought about going the return & replace route, but my mini is otherwise perfect and the configuration was my choice. I hate to be one of the people who takes advantage of Apple’s generous return policy, sticking them with a returned item that will need to be sold at best as a refurb. I know their high prices factor in regret returns of perfectly fine devices, but just as people say don’t support them by buying if you think the prices are too high, I don’t want to contribute to their need to factor in returns of perfectly functioning products in their pricing model....
Click to expand...

You can get 32GBs of crucial RAM on Amazon.de for just €220! Way cheaper and the Mac Mini 2018 is very easy to upgrade. took me 10 minutes.
 
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kaibob said:
Not me (I5, 256, 16). My mini works great and I have it set up just the way I like it. I'm still a bit irritated at the price, but I'd buy exact same computer again.
Click to expand...

Same here - perfect workhorse for years to come.
 
Hessel89 said:
You can get 32GBs of crucial RAM on Amazon.de for just €220! Way cheaper and the Mac Mini 2018 is very easy to upgrade. took me 10 minutes.
Click to expand...
That is a very good price. I am having trouble finding it on Amazon UK but will keep looking. Thanks!
 
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Thanks Wig321!

Edit: Just ordered it and an iFixit toolkit. Should have it tomorrow. Thanks again!

Edit 2: 32gb RAM installed today. I took my time and all went fine. Thanks!
 
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I just boxed mine up. It is an i7/16/512.

My reason for returning it has absolutely nothing to do with performance at all. In fact, overall the mini was fantastic, almost too good. I say almost too good because I found myself tethered to my desk more than I thought I would. I thought between the mini, my 10.5" iPad Pro, and 2013 13" MBP that I would have an excellent mix. What ended up happening was I shied away from using the iPad and MacBook Pro. So today I went to the Apple Store and got a 2018 13" MacBook Pro. This lets me continue to be portable while giving me enough performance, albeit at an eye-watering cost.

I love the mini, but in the end I think a portable is just a better fit for me and my workflow. It is easier to use in a dual monitor setup and gives me portability that I value more than I previously realized.
 
Cashmonee said:
I just boxed mine up. It is an i7/16/512.

My reason for returning it has absolutely nothing to do with performance at all. In fact, overall the mini was fantastic, almost too good. I say almost too good because I found myself tethered to my desk more than I thought I would. I thought between the mini, my 10.5" iPad Pro, and 2013 13" MBP that I would have an excellent mix. What ended up happening was I shied away from using the iPad and MacBook Pro. So today I went to the Apple Store and got a 2018 13" MacBook Pro. This lets me continue to be portable while giving me enough performance, albeit at an eye-watering cost.

I love the mini, but in the end I think a portable is just a better fit for me and my workflow. It is easier to use in a dual monitor setup and gives me portability that I value more than I previously realized.
Click to expand...

Funny, how that’s exactlty the opposite for me. I got myself an iPad Pro 11 inch for christmas (A purchase I’d have never made if I didn’t have unused credit in a webshop) but I’m selling it because I find it turns me too much into a content consumer as opposed to a content creator, with the Mac Mini. The iPad Pro is amazing, and definitely a nice look into Apple’s future, but it for me it’s too much of a distraction.
 
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