Hello, my mother has a Mac Mini (late 2012) with a 2.5 GHz Dual Core Intel Core I5, 4 GB of memory, and 500 GB SATA Disk HD. She only uses it for surfing the net, email, writing papers, etc...If I were going to do only one upgrade, what would you recommend? Funds are tight.
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Which upgrade do you recommend for Mac Mini (late 2012)
- Thread starter gottabegood
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Cheap SATA SSD to replace the spinner. Done this on several old Macs, makes them feel much newer.
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And upgrade the RAM at least to 2 x 4 GB until it is available at relatively cheap prices (DDR3 is soon phased totally out). Still available in some computer stores and elsewehere. So you get some warranty.
But of course you can buy is used. Doesn't really matter.
But of course you can buy is used. Doesn't really matter.
I would think twice about putting an internal SSD into that Mini, it involves disassembly of the computer and there are fragile parts that can be damaged, especially when they are getting old. Lots of posts here from people who thought they could do it but ended up having problems. If funds are tight, this could end up being an even bigger problem.
I suggest getting a USB 3 external SSD, all you have to do is plug is it. I have run two 2012 Mini's this way and it works very well. I like the Samsung T3, T5 and T7, but you should be able to find less-expensive options too. I also agree that you should upgrade the RAM, that is dead-easy (was designed to be upgraded) and will help a lot.
I suggest getting a USB 3 external SSD, all you have to do is plug is it. I have run two 2012 Mini's this way and it works very well. I like the Samsung T3, T5 and T7, but you should be able to find less-expensive options too. I also agree that you should upgrade the RAM, that is dead-easy (was designed to be upgraded) and will help a lot.
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If your funds are tight, memory upgrade would be a better deal for her, because email, surfing the net and writing papers are not going to benefit greatly from a faster SSD other than booting up to screen faster. Having more than 4Gb of RAM is going to benefit her greatly if she has a browser, email app and writing app all running together. Even 1 stick of 8Gb DDR3 memory will substantially improve performance by a bit. My Mini has 12Gb of RAM, one of which is a 4Gb stick and the other came from my deceased Acer laptop with a DDR3L 8Gb stick. It works in my Mini and speeds up server function over only 8Gb of RAM which it was from. I know it's not dual channel, but 12Gb is better than 8Gb or 4Gb of RAM for that matter in terms of speed. Yes, I also have a SSD in my Mini, but having 12Gb of RAM reduces the need for memory paging back to the SSD and browsing with Edge or Brave is FASTER with multiple tabs on as well as fulfilling our family's network server duties with 12Gb rather than with 8Gb. And upgrading memory is simple with the Mini 2012. Just pop the plastic saucer plate on the bottom and then replace. Hope this helps.
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I agree with (and to summarize) what @Boyd01 and @iluvmacs99 stated...
Upgrade/add RAM as it is the cheapest, simplest, and probably the most effective. You can use a Mac-centric reseller such as OWC*:
eshop.macsales.com
However, it's not necessary (for example):
If budget, time, and effort further permit, an external SSD would be helpful (for example)
* Despite the ease of RAM installation in the 2012 Mac mini, don't hesitate to utilize OWC's free installation videos:
eshop.macsales.com
Upgrade/add RAM as it is the cheapest, simplest, and probably the most effective. You can use a Mac-centric reseller such as OWC*:
Memory Upgrades for 2012 Mac mini Unibody Models
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If budget, time, and effort further permit, an external SSD would be helpful (for example)
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* Despite the ease of RAM installation in the 2012 Mac mini, don't hesitate to utilize OWC's free installation videos:
How to Install Hardware Upgrades in the Mac mini (2012)
OWC's step-by-step videos of how to install memory, a hard drive, or a Bluetooth module shield in the Apple Mac mini (Late 2012).
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I have a TB3 SSD connected to a 2011 Mini Server with 4GB RAM. It has made the computer feel a lot faster and provides faster performance than a single internal SATA III SSD would. I would like to upgrade the RAM too at some point.
Connecting a TB3 SSD is not cheap (Mini -> TB(1/2) cable -> Apple TB3 to TB2 adapter -> TB3 dock -> TB3 SSD) but, then the 2011 Mini doesn't have USB3. A USB3 SSD is a great option for a 2012 Mini.
Connecting a TB3 SSD is not cheap (Mini -> TB(1/2) cable -> Apple TB3 to TB2 adapter -> TB3 dock -> TB3 SSD) but, then the 2011 Mini doesn't have USB3. A USB3 SSD is a great option for a 2012 Mini.
OP wrote:
" 4 GB of memory, and 500 GB SATA Disk HD. She only uses it for surfing the net, email, writing papers, etc...If I were going to do only one upgrade, what would you recommend? Funds are tight."
OK, you need 3 cheap things:
1. ONE 8gb RAM DIMM. Replace the topmost DIMM (when the back plate is off). This will give her 10gb of installed RAM, probably all she'll ever need.
Hmmm... see you already added RAM.
BUT... that's not going to be enough.
You need a faster drive, So... keep going...
2. A 500gb 2.5" SATA "bare" SSD. Buy "for price", not speed. Then get...
3. An enclosure for the SSD:
This stuff won't cost very much.
Then do this:
a. Put the SSD into the enclosure, plug it into the Mini.
b. Erase/format the SSD to "Mac OS extended with journaling enabled, GUID partition format".
c. Download CarbonCopyCloner from here:
www.bombich.com
CCC is FREE to download and use for 30 days -- costs you nothing to do this.
d. Use CCC to "clone" the contents of the internal drive to the SSD.
e. Go to the startup disk pref pane and set the SSD to be the new boot drive.
f. Reboot. Do you get a good boot from the SSD?
If so, all done!
" 4 GB of memory, and 500 GB SATA Disk HD. She only uses it for surfing the net, email, writing papers, etc...If I were going to do only one upgrade, what would you recommend? Funds are tight."
OK, you need 3 cheap things:
1. ONE 8gb RAM DIMM. Replace the topmost DIMM (when the back plate is off). This will give her 10gb of installed RAM, probably all she'll ever need.
Hmmm... see you already added RAM.
BUT... that's not going to be enough.
You need a faster drive, So... keep going...
2. A 500gb 2.5" SATA "bare" SSD. Buy "for price", not speed. Then get...
3. An enclosure for the SSD:
SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)
SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)
tinyurl.com
This stuff won't cost very much.
Then do this:
a. Put the SSD into the enclosure, plug it into the Mini.
b. Erase/format the SSD to "Mac OS extended with journaling enabled, GUID partition format".
c. Download CarbonCopyCloner from here:
Download CCC - Bombich Software
d. Use CCC to "clone" the contents of the internal drive to the SSD.
e. Go to the startup disk pref pane and set the SSD to be the new boot drive.
f. Reboot. Do you get a good boot from the SSD?
If so, all done!
Thank you. I'll see how she likes the memory upgrade. If she wants to spend more, I'll look into an enclosure for an SSD.OP wrote:
" 4 GB of memory, and 500 GB SATA Disk HD. She only uses it for surfing the net, email, writing papers, etc...If I were going to do only one upgrade, what would you recommend? Funds are tight."
OK, you need 3 cheap things:
1. ONE 8gb RAM DIMM. Replace the topmost DIMM (when the back plate is off). This will give her 10gb of installed RAM, probably all she'll ever need.
Hmmm... see you already added RAM.
BUT... that's not going to be enough.
You need a faster drive, So... keep going...
2. A 500gb 2.5" SATA "bare" SSD. Buy "for price", not speed. Then get...
3. An enclosure for the SSD:
SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)
SABRENT 2.5 Inch SATA to USB 3.0 Tool Free External Hard Drive Enclosure [Optimized for SSD, Support UASP SATA III] Black (EC-UASP)tinyurl.com
This stuff won't cost very much.
Then do this:
a. Put the SSD into the enclosure, plug it into the Mini.
b. Erase/format the SSD to "Mac OS extended with journaling enabled, GUID partition format".
c. Download CarbonCopyCloner from here:
CCC is FREE to download and use for 30 days -- costs you nothing to do this.Download CCC - Bombich Software
d. Use CCC to "clone" the contents of the internal drive to the SSD.
e. Go to the startup disk pref pane and set the SSD to be the new boot drive.
f. Reboot. Do you get a good boot from the SSD?
If so, all done!
"If she wants to spend more, I'll look into an enclosure for an SSD."
If her main complaint is about "speed", the only way to fix it is with an SSD.
RAM is going to give very little improvement in that area...
If her main complaint is about "speed", the only way to fix it is with an SSD.
RAM is going to give very little improvement in that area...
@Fishrrman That's not exactly/entirely true. If we're talking about time to boot, launch an application, load a movie, and the like, yes, an SSD will cause a big improvement and RAM will probably provide none. However, if we're talking about writing a paper while doing research via the Web and listening to streaming content -- after opening the apps and document -- having enough RAM to cache everything makes storage speed moot. I can attest to it not having any storage media attached to this mini that exceeded ~125 MB/s in write or read until a month or so ago, including the even unknown to me <10 MB/s write performance of APFS on a Fusion Drive.
So, unless @gottabegood's mother shuts down and reboots the Mac for each use throughout the day or closes out of apps long enough for the system to purge the instance in RAM, the (upgraded to) 10 GB of RAM should be plenty to hold her workflow all day.
So, unless @gottabegood's mother shuts down and reboots the Mac for each use throughout the day or closes out of apps long enough for the system to purge the instance in RAM, the (upgraded to) 10 GB of RAM should be plenty to hold her workflow all day.
Guess we'll have to agree to disagree about that. IMO, a SSD makes a huge difference in the overall Mac experience. Windows open immediately, apps start with one or two bounces in the dock. When I got my first MacBook Air in 2011 this was a real revelation, using MacOS was a completely different experience and I could never go back after that.
No idea how others use their Macs, but I need to open apps, look at folders in the Finder, copy files, set preferences, etc. throughout the day. I suppose if somebody just sits and uses Safari all day, that could be different. I don't personally know anyone like that, but no doubt they exist.
No idea how others use their Macs, but I need to open apps, look at folders in the Finder, copy files, set preferences, etc. throughout the day. I suppose if somebody just sits and uses Safari all day, that could be different. I don't personally know anyone like that, but no doubt they exist.
I'm not saying HDD to SSD doesn't provide a snappier, smoother experience, especially for certain tasks. However, if all of the apps, documents, widgets, menulings, and so on fit in RAM, the experience should be unhindered when everything is loaded. I'm not aware of the exact timeframe for garbage collection, etc, but even after you quit an app, the OS maintains it in RAM -- possibly until that space is needed. And RAM is still faster than any SSD.
Furthermore, in my case, having 16 GB of RAM and primarily using my Mac for Web-based tasks: online classes, email, general surfing, etc*, the system is able to cache 5 GBs of additional files, e.g., non-essential, occasionally accessed system files. So, unless I manipulate a large file, those occasional, few MB accesses would be well handled by even a 5,400 RPM drive. And, as already been advised to the OP, if you can, the next upgrade should be an SSD.
(Currently open apps include Activity Monitor, Chrome, Firefox, Mail, Messages, OpenOffice, Safari, a VPN client, plus several background services: Air Video HD Server, cloud syncing, Folding@Home, etc.)
* Focusing on finishing up my degree, one more general and an internship I use a PC laptop for. Which is why I haven't jumped on an Apple Silicon Mac upgrade quite yet, which I will use for iOS app development.
Furthermore, in my case, having 16 GB of RAM and primarily using my Mac for Web-based tasks: online classes, email, general surfing, etc*, the system is able to cache 5 GBs of additional files, e.g., non-essential, occasionally accessed system files. So, unless I manipulate a large file, those occasional, few MB accesses would be well handled by even a 5,400 RPM drive. And, as already been advised to the OP, if you can, the next upgrade should be an SSD.
(Currently open apps include Activity Monitor, Chrome, Firefox, Mail, Messages, OpenOffice, Safari, a VPN client, plus several background services: Air Video HD Server, cloud syncing, Folding@Home, etc.)
* Focusing on finishing up my degree, one more general and an internship I use a PC laptop for. Which is why I haven't jumped on an Apple Silicon Mac upgrade quite yet, which I will use for iOS app development.
I remember when I got the 2011 MacBook Air to replace my 2008 MacBook Pro that had an internal hard drive. Both computers had 4gb RAM. It took so long to open a program on the MacBook Pro, I tried not to quit apps when I was done, just to avoid the wait next time.
On the MacBook Air, apps felt like they loaded instantly, so I would quit when done because they were quick to open again. Permanently changed the way I used my Mac and resulted in more free memory.
On the MacBook Air, apps felt like they loaded instantly, so I would quit when done because they were quick to open again. Permanently changed the way I used my Mac and resulted in more free memory.
I have a 2011 Mini Server with 4GB RAM (I probably should upgrade that to 16GB). When I boot it off an external SSD, things that used to take a while such as deleting large files now happen practically instantly.
It's great that such old Macs are still working well after so many years.
It's great that such old Macs are still working well after so many years.
When I was working in the non-profit agency selling used computers to low income families and writers, the number selling request is a machine that can run Google Suite with 8Gb of RAM for email and writing and usually they stay with a spinning hard drive. Sort of the mirrored the needs of the OP's mother. 8Gb of RAM is the minimum and most of the time, these people would upgrade RAM rather than adding a SSD.
Let me give you some perspective of why having more RAM is important.
My Asus running with 8Gb of ram with a FAST Nvme M.2 blade drive and loading up all of these applications that my Mac Pro needed with 24Gb of RAM and guess what happened?!? It struggled and lags and stutters on video playback compared to the Mac Pro despite it being 9 years older. If I am to keep apps below the 8Gb RAM threshold for the PC, then things are much faster than my Mac Pro which it should be, but if I overload it way over its RAM limits, then the PC stutters and lags regardless if my Nvme onboard is fast or not. Eventually, I'll upgrade my PC to 32Gb of RAM because I need it, but the NVMe blade drive and memory swaps is not a substitute for more RAM though.
My sister is running a Mac Mini 2014 with just a slow 5400RPM drive. Yes, loading Mojave is slow and loading up her design software is slow as well, but once they are in memory, then her computer is very responsive due to that she has lots of RAM available for her Mini. If everything is in RAM, then everything runs at its intended computer speed. In fact, I told her she can speed it up with an SSD and I even demonstrated it to her via an external SSD I have. She saw it, but said but why? She told me she's got better things to spend other than a SSD. Everyone needs a bit different, though if you really need FAST loading speeds, then the SSD helps immensely.
I always recommend my clients to try and max out RAM as they can, because ultimately you are going to spend the majority of your time doing things with the apps already loaded in RAM, so having maxed out RAM would be more beneficial for a performance standpoint after all apps and the OS are loaded into RAM. Yes, the response of loading apps are faster with a SSD, but when people are writing, they are not writing and starting and stopping apps. That's simply not realistic. People write and do email while their apps are running, and not starting and stopping apps every keystroke they hit. A SSD is not a substitute for more RAM if more RAM is needed to load all the apps and data.
Let me give you some perspective of why having more RAM is important.
My Asus running with 8Gb of ram with a FAST Nvme M.2 blade drive and loading up all of these applications that my Mac Pro needed with 24Gb of RAM and guess what happened?!? It struggled and lags and stutters on video playback compared to the Mac Pro despite it being 9 years older. If I am to keep apps below the 8Gb RAM threshold for the PC, then things are much faster than my Mac Pro which it should be, but if I overload it way over its RAM limits, then the PC stutters and lags regardless if my Nvme onboard is fast or not. Eventually, I'll upgrade my PC to 32Gb of RAM because I need it, but the NVMe blade drive and memory swaps is not a substitute for more RAM though.
My sister is running a Mac Mini 2014 with just a slow 5400RPM drive. Yes, loading Mojave is slow and loading up her design software is slow as well, but once they are in memory, then her computer is very responsive due to that she has lots of RAM available for her Mini. If everything is in RAM, then everything runs at its intended computer speed. In fact, I told her she can speed it up with an SSD and I even demonstrated it to her via an external SSD I have. She saw it, but said but why? She told me she's got better things to spend other than a SSD. Everyone needs a bit different, though if you really need FAST loading speeds, then the SSD helps immensely.
I always recommend my clients to try and max out RAM as they can, because ultimately you are going to spend the majority of your time doing things with the apps already loaded in RAM, so having maxed out RAM would be more beneficial for a performance standpoint after all apps and the OS are loaded into RAM. Yes, the response of loading apps are faster with a SSD, but when people are writing, they are not writing and starting and stopping apps. That's simply not realistic. People write and do email while their apps are running, and not starting and stopping apps every keystroke they hit. A SSD is not a substitute for more RAM if more RAM is needed to load all the apps and data.
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Thank you everyone! I went with 8 GB of Patriot memory and she was blown away with the difference it made in terms of speeding up her computer. She stated that she used to go to the kitchen for about 30 minutes just to let it boot up. That may be an exaggeration on her part, but it was definitely quite a bit longer than it is now. She also stated that opening apps and getting to use them, like Safari for example, is quite a bit faster.
She is quite happy with the improvements, and doesn't feel the need to add an SSD. For my standards, it is still very slow so I plan on getting her an external drive as well in about a month.
She is quite happy with the improvements, and doesn't feel the need to add an SSD. For my standards, it is still very slow so I plan on getting her an external drive as well in about a month.
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My girlfriend's i5 2012 Mac Mini occasionally became unresponsive when switching between apps already loaded. She's running High Sierra with 4 GB RAM and the orignal 5200 rpm drive. I looked at memory usage with the Activity Monitor, and it seemed pretty clear it was starving for more RAM.
I have an i7 2012 Mac Mini in which I installed an SSD and 16 GB RAM soon after I got it in 2014 (I quickly ordered a new quad core 2012 as soon as I saw how slow the 2014 models were). I agree it is very nice to have an SSD, and mine helps me with all the starting and stopping of apps and photo and video work, but my girlfriend mostly just uses the same apps (a browser, iTunes, and a couple of others) and leaves them loaded all the time, so in her case, the upgrade to 8 GB (2 x 4GB cards) really made a big difference. In fact, it was a bigger improvement than I had expected. When she gets rid of her computer, I'll throw an SSD in it and use it for something myself ;-)
I have an i7 2012 Mac Mini in which I installed an SSD and 16 GB RAM soon after I got it in 2014 (I quickly ordered a new quad core 2012 as soon as I saw how slow the 2014 models were). I agree it is very nice to have an SSD, and mine helps me with all the starting and stopping of apps and photo and video work, but my girlfriend mostly just uses the same apps (a browser, iTunes, and a couple of others) and leaves them loaded all the time, so in her case, the upgrade to 8 GB (2 x 4GB cards) really made a big difference. In fact, it was a bigger improvement than I had expected. When she gets rid of her computer, I'll throw an SSD in it and use it for something myself ;-)