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Worth buy today -- 23/09/2020 This mac mini?
- Thread starter vasim
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Apple has discontinued the 128gb SSD version of the i3 Mini and now offers 256gb in the base model (with 8gb memory) for USD $799 (683 euros). Here in the US, I believe you can get the 128gb version for $599 in Apple's refurbished store (these are "like new" with full warranty). Can you purchase refurbished Macs from Apple in Greece? If so, you might want to check. But I know that Apple products are more expensive in the EU, so your price is probably not bad. Here in the US, we have to pay sales tax on top of Apple's price and that varies depending on your location. For example, a $799 Mini would actually cost me $855 when you add the tax.
Aside from the cost, that Mini is a pretty decent machine although the 128gb SSD is very small and cannot be upgraded. You can, of course, use external disks to increase storage. 8gb of memory might be a problem, depending on your usage. There are a number of threads here on that topic, and the consensus is generally that you should get 16gb if possible.
But you have not told us anything about what you will do with the Mini, so it's difficult to say whether you should buy it.
Aside from the cost, that Mini is a pretty decent machine although the 128gb SSD is very small and cannot be upgraded. You can, of course, use external disks to increase storage. 8gb of memory might be a problem, depending on your usage. There are a number of threads here on that topic, and the consensus is generally that you should get 16gb if possible.
But you have not told us anything about what you will do with the Mini, so it's difficult to say whether you should buy it.
I understand that you can't buy fron the US, but can you buy directly from Apple? I know this is possible in some other EU countries, and they have access to the refurbished Macs. But if the same Mini with 256gb costs 995 euros, then 699 sounds like a good price. Note that there is no such thing as a 2020 Mini, just a 2018 Mini. In 2020 Apple put the 256gb SSD on the base model and did not change anything else.
I don't work with xcode, but am guessing that 8gb of memory might be a problem - 1.5gb is allocated to the onboard graphics, which only leaves 6.5gb for everything else. You can upgrade the memory yourself, but it involves taking the Mini apart and Apple does not officially approve of that.
I don't work with xcode, but am guessing that 8gb of memory might be a problem - 1.5gb is allocated to the onboard graphics, which only leaves 6.5gb for everything else. You can upgrade the memory yourself, but it involves taking the Mini apart and Apple does not officially approve of that.
No it's ok. Today I am working successfully all these apps through a Macbook Air 2015. So this means that this machine will be ready for my job. My problem is the durability of the machine. Because it is two years old already and there is a successor to that also.
I just bought that exact same Mac Mini brand new from UK ebay last week for £390 (424 euros). I'd recommend looking around, the seller I bought it from would shipped to me in France so it's likely they would ship to Greece too. 700 euros is not a good price for that Mini today but I am very happy with it for 424, it was a steal.
Edit: It's worth reiterating that there is no successor to the i3, 128GB Mac Mini. The Mac Mini you can buy on the Apple store today is the exact same except for having double the SSD size.
Edit: It's worth reiterating that there is no successor to the i3, 128GB Mac Mini. The Mac Mini you can buy on the Apple store today is the exact same except for having double the SSD size.
Thanks guys. I will not proceed with this purchase and I will start looking at ebay for a cheaper device.
Thank you again. You saved my money
Thank you again. You saved my money
You can get the same i3 computer brand new for about 573 + 16 EUR postage fee from UK on eBay.
Look:
Maybe even for less if you use the search and find other sellers.
Look:
Apple Mac mini Desktop - MRTR2B/A (October, 2018) for sale online | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple Mac mini Desktop - MRTR2B/A (October, 2018) at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!
www.ebay.co.uk
Maybe even for less if you use the search and find other sellers.
But the price is already too high... What is the difference between 699 euros?You can get the same i3 computer brand new for about 573 + 16 EUR postage fee from UK on eBay.
Look:
Apple Mac mini Desktop - MRTR2B/A (October, 2018) for sale online | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Apple Mac mini Desktop - MRTR2B/A (October, 2018) at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!www.ebay.co.uk
Maybe even for less if you use the search and find other sellers.
The price is shown as british Pounds.
£529.99 + 14.99 = £545
or in Euros:
578 + 16 = 594 €
699 - 594 = ?
If you want to see the price in Euro, switch to ebay.de:
£529.99 + 14.99 = £545
or in Euros:
578 + 16 = 594 €
699 - 594 = ?
If you want to see the price in Euro, switch to ebay.de:
Apple Mac mini Desktop - MRTR2B/A (October, 2018) günstig kaufen | eBay
Finden Sie Top-Angebote für Apple Mac mini Desktop - MRTR2B/A (October, 2018) bei eBay. Kostenlose Lieferung für viele Artikel!
www.ebay.de
I got this model about 3 weeks ago from currys (U.K. electronics store) ebay shop for 475. Not sure if that deal is still on but there was a £25 ebay discount voucher.
seemed like a good deal at the time. Especially as it’s going to be used solely as a file sever with external hard drives and as a HTPC.
But there are good deals on this due to the pitiful amount of internal storage.
seemed like a good deal at the time. Especially as it’s going to be used solely as a file sever with external hard drives and as a HTPC.
But there are good deals on this due to the pitiful amount of internal storage.
The price is shown as british Pounds.
£529.99 + 14.99 = £545
or in Euros:
578 + 16 = 594 €
699 - 594 = ?
If you want to see the price in Euro, switch to ebay.de:
Apple Mac mini Desktop - MRTR2B/A (October, 2018) günstig kaufen | eBay
Finden Sie Top-Angebote für Apple Mac mini Desktop - MRTR2B/A (October, 2018) bei eBay. Kostenlose Lieferung für viele Artikel!www.ebay.de
It's about 100 euros cheaper... I will try to find a cheaper mini in order to wait for the new Macs with arm processor. I think it does not worth to invest on a Mini like that...
So what is a fair price dude for a machine like this? Let me explain to you what I am trying to do.
I am a happy owner of a mac mini 2011 currently working web development
I own a Macbook Air 2015 (that that was upgraded on 2016 with 8GB Ram) for mobile app development (XCode and Android Studio)
I am planning to pass 2011 to my daughter to learn about Macs and replace it with a new and then replace my MBA with an ARM Mac.
What do you advice me to buy?
I am totally confused.
I am a happy owner of a mac mini 2011 currently working web development
I own a Macbook Air 2015 (that that was upgraded on 2016 with 8GB Ram) for mobile app development (XCode and Android Studio)
I am planning to pass 2011 to my daughter to learn about Macs and replace it with a new and then replace my MBA with an ARM Mac.
What do you advice me to buy?
I am totally confused.
The machine is good, I have an i3 Mini and I just switched my i5 Mini for a 15" MacBook Pro. Either the i5 or i3 is suitable for what you need. It's not that the machine isn't good, it's that the price is quite expensive. I bought an i3 Mini a few weeks ago for 450 euros on eBay, brand new. If you keep an eye on Ebay for European sellers who will ship to Greece you can find a great deal in no time.
However, the 685 euros that you just mentioned is significantly better. Although that's a little above what I personally think they're worth right now it's not a terrible price.
Thanks mate. I will try to watch some sellers in order to find one cheaper. I don't want to invest more on a Mac Mini.
As I said, I am covered with MBA 2015 for updated software and get one new Mac Mini just because I like desktops.
My expectation is to invest on an ARM Mac in the near future.
As I said, I am covered with MBA 2015 for updated software and get one new Mac Mini just because I like desktops.
My expectation is to invest on an ARM Mac in the near future.
Good idea, I got lucky with mine because I got it for £390 plus postage but I'm only seeing £500 right now. It's changing all the time on eBay though.
The i3 Mac Mini is an incredibly capable machine. It’s performance is on par with the current entry-level MacBook Pro and 4K iMac.
Because it is using a CPU with at least 65 W TDP (that is on par with its desktop cousins).
The i3 mini is very capable. I'm using one with Photoshop, Lightroom, Pro Tools, and more, and it beats my i5 2017 imac and certainly my old 2008 mac pro.
But I would say that you really should have more than the basic 8GB ram to not strangle it. It's easy to get it to 16 or 32 for less than 200 euros. Videos on youtube.
A couple of things, though; I noticed right away when I got mine, that Bluetooth was terrible. (See my other posts about this.) But if you can have bluetooth devices close by, or use wired devices, you're fine. The other thing; there is no GPU, it's all done by the CPU. I can see some lagging when scrolling thru loads of images in Lightroom, and I wonder if an i5 or i7 would have been better, I don't know.
I have the basic one with a tiny 128gb flash ssd. It was a mistake, had I known I never would have bought it. The seller had misinformed me, and I got a some of my money back. Now, I started to install stuff on that disk, and as I did, I copied large files and folders over to an external SSD creating symbolic links on the internal, that "points" to the external, like aliases. Things like Photos, Music, and Movies folders. They work just fine on a fast external ssd on thunderbolt.
Now I have all system, program and essential files on the insanely fast internal (2600/650 mb/s read/write speed), it's 50% used, and large data on 450/450 mb/s external.
So, I got a pretty capable, current computer for about 500 dollars, pluss 100 for 16gb ram.
But I would say that you really should have more than the basic 8GB ram to not strangle it. It's easy to get it to 16 or 32 for less than 200 euros. Videos on youtube.
A couple of things, though; I noticed right away when I got mine, that Bluetooth was terrible. (See my other posts about this.) But if you can have bluetooth devices close by, or use wired devices, you're fine. The other thing; there is no GPU, it's all done by the CPU. I can see some lagging when scrolling thru loads of images in Lightroom, and I wonder if an i5 or i7 would have been better, I don't know.
I have the basic one with a tiny 128gb flash ssd. It was a mistake, had I known I never would have bought it. The seller had misinformed me, and I got a some of my money back. Now, I started to install stuff on that disk, and as I did, I copied large files and folders over to an external SSD creating symbolic links on the internal, that "points" to the external, like aliases. Things like Photos, Music, and Movies folders. They work just fine on a fast external ssd on thunderbolt.
Now I have all system, program and essential files on the insanely fast internal (2600/650 mb/s read/write speed), it's 50% used, and large data on 450/450 mb/s external.
So, I got a pretty capable, current computer for about 500 dollars, pluss 100 for 16gb ram.