Which one is better? modified 2012 vs 2014

[mjar]

Hi,

I purchased 2 Mac mini and i want to keep only one with general better performance after adding SSD & RAM.

1-Refurbrished 2012 base model 2.5GHz with new 500 gb SSD And new 16 GB RAM (Cost will be $740: $416 for the mini and $324 for SSD&RAM)


2- New 2014 mid model 2.6GHz with 500 gb SSD and the stock 8 GB RAM.
(Cost will be $834: $630 for the mini and $204 for SSD)


Which one is better performance for everyday user?

 

[stiligFox]

Hi,

I purchased 2 Mac mini and i want to keep only one with general better performance after adding SSD & RAM.

1-Refurbrished 2012 base model 2.5GHz with new 500 gb SSD And new 16 GB RAM (Cost will be $740: $416 for the mini and $324 for SSD&RAM)


2- New 2014 mid model 2.6GHz with 500 gb SSD and the stock 8 GB RAM.
(Cost will be $834: $630 for the mini and $204 for SSD)


Which one is better performance?

Keep in mind - the new Mac Mini cannot have it's RAM updated after the fact. So if you think you may ever need 16GB, you would need to get it up front.

 

[thunng8]

Hi,

I purchased 2 Mac mini and i want to keep only one with general better performance after adding SSD & RAM.

1-Refurbrished 2012 base model 2.5GHz with new 500 gb SSD And new 16 GB RAM (Cost will be $740: $416 for the mini and $324 for SSD&RAM)


2- New 2014 mid model 2.6GHz with 500 gb SSD and the stock 8 GB RAM.
(Cost will be $834: $630 for the mini and $204 for SSD)


Which one is better performance for everyday user?

2014 model wil have better performance.

Cpu by about 15% and graphics by about 50%.

Only downside is ram is not upgradeable.

 

[bks35]

i just bought mac mini late 2012.i couldnt decide which one is better.then i compare two versions (late 12 vs 14).if you want to upgrade your mac you choose 12's models.because 14' r nt avaible for upgrade.i take 16 gb ram for mac mini 12 and bench points are better than 14s

 

[iososx]

Too close to call. Either will suffice quite nicely.

 

[redheeler]

Hi,

I purchased 2 Mac mini and i want to keep only one with general better performance after adding SSD & RAM.

1-Refurbrished 2012 base model 2.5GHz with new 500 gb SSD And new 16 GB RAM (Cost will be $740: $416 for the mini and $324 for SSD&RAM)


2- New 2014 mid model 2.6GHz with 500 gb SSD and the stock 8 GB RAM.
(Cost will be $834: $630 for the mini and $204 for SSD)


Which one is better performance for everyday user?

The 2014 will be a better performer if you don't absolutely need the extra RAM. The integrated GPU is the biggest improvement but the CPU will also be slightly faster.

However, if you want to save some cost you could just keep the 2012 with 8 GB RAM upgrade instead of 16 and it should work just fine for most tasks.

 

[Fishrrman]

Well, if you don't need 4-core capabilities for -most- of the time, the "better" one would have been the one you DIDN'T buy:
The "midrange" 2014 Mini, upgraded to 16gb of RAM and a fusion drive (or SSD)...

 

[mcarling]

Another difference that might matter if you have a wildly fast Internet connection is that the 2014 mini supports 802.11ac. I do agree with the other posters that the main advantage of the 2014 mini would be dramatically faster graphics. Other than that, I think most people would not be able to notice which one was faster, running everyday software.

 

[kaibob]

I pretty much agree with what the other forum members have posted above. One thing I might add is that the PCIe SSD in the 2014 Mini may be significantly faster. The only article I have been able to find on this is:

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/11/not-the-upgrade-we-were-hoping-for-the-2014-mac-mini-reviewed/

 

[mcarling]

One more detail to be aware of: The 2012 mini has one Thunderbolt 1 port and one Firewire port. The 2014 mini has two Thunderbolt 2 ports and no Firewire.