Upgrading from mid-2011 Mini worth it??

[GalileoSeven]

As the title suggests, I'm debating on replacing my old mid-2011 Mini with a 2020 M1 model (this one). I'd use it as a media/movie server and also for some casual web browsing (YouTube & Social Media mainly). My iMac fills that role now, but it's a good deal larger than the other monitors on my desktop and I'd like to reclaim a bit of space. Seeing as how there's no other room on my desk or in my office for it, I was thinking about packing that one away and dusting off the aforementioned 2011 mini. That brings up its own quandary though.

I have upgraded the RAM to 8GB, but it's stuck with a traditional HD and has topped out at High Sierra. Being so old, would it be worth using until the HD just gives out (or slows down to the point of being unusable), or, given my use case (this isn't a mission-critical machine), would upgrading make more sense? I plan on getting it set up this weekend to see how it performs after all this time.

 

[teksurv]

You could put a SATA SSD in the 2011. That said I would go with the M1 as it will be supported (OS and security) for years to come. I have had the M1 since January, my use case is similar. Plex for movies and Music app for streaming local music. The power draw of the M1 model is also significantly less coming from my 2018 intel mini.

 

[Fishrrman]

"As the title suggests, I'm debating on replacing my old mid-2011 Mini with a 2020 M1 model"

Why don't you wait 4-6 more weeks until the NEW m1x Minis are announced?

Fearless prediction:
If you buy an m1 Mini NOW, by the end of the year you're going to be a very unhappy camper when you see "what you missed" by only weeks...

 

[Boyd01]

Never hurts to wait if you can. But it sounds like the current m1 would be more than enough for a "media/movie server and casual web browsing". The new m1x (?) is likely to be over-powered for that kind of use and will surely be much more expensive, since it is slated to replace the current higher-spec intel Mini's.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

It's the old time/effort/money trade-off. I don't doubt the 2011 will be fine as a media server for as long as it lasts, but how much time will you need to spend to set it up? If it's not a lot, then why not use it until it expires? And considering its a relatively easy-to-upgrade mini, the effort that would go into replacing the HD won't be all that bad (I might do that job now, before configuring it as a media server). If configuration will take some work, maybe you want to do that once on a new machine rather than deal with a setup now and a migration/transfer to a new machine a year or two down the road.

In terms of raw performance, as a media server that old mini should be able to do the job. A new mini would be way more computer than you need for the purpose. Do you really want to have your best-performing computer just sitting in a corner as a glorified jukebox?

 

[GalileoSeven]

It's the old time/effort/money trade-off. I don't doubt the 2011 will be fine as a media server for as long as it lasts, but how much time will you need to spend to set it up? If it's not a lot, then why not use it until it expires? And considering its a relatively easy-to-upgrade mini, the effort that would go into replacing the HD won't be all that bad (I might do that job now, before configuring it as a media server). If configuration will take some work, maybe you want to do that once on a new machine rather than deal with a setup now and a migration/transfer to a new machine a year or two down the road.

In terms of raw performance, as a media server that old mini should be able to do the job. A new mini would be way more computer than you need for the purpose. Do you really want to have your best-performing computer just sitting in a corner as a glorified jukebox?

Indeed. This was the prime dilemna I had/have. My movies and such are stored on external HDs, so there's no configuration per se, just more of a plug and play job (I use an old Apple TV to stream to).

So far, browsing and other performance seems to be snappy enough, even slightly snappier that my iMac. Going to keep using it this weekend and see if it keeps holding up like this.

Thanks for all the input so far.

 

[teohyc]

It's easy to decide.

If the new technology (M1 Mac Mini) going to help you save time and money compared to your old Mac Mini.

I have a 2012 Mac Mini that I use for playing movies and I'll use that until it can no longer be used.