Worth upgrading 2012 i5 to 2012 i7 for $200?

[Che Castro]

i currently have the 2012 Mac mini i5 with 500gb ssd , 16gb ram
I don’t plan on upgrading to any 4k Mac mini in the next couple of years , i could sell this Mac for $200 on eBay and get the i7 2012 for $400 and just use my old 16gb ram and 500g ssd

Mostly I just use the Mac mini for normal web browsing and as a plex server , most of my plex content is 720p but sometimes transcoding does happen with people

Or should I just wait for the Mac mini 2018 i3 to get cheaper in the next 2 years , keep using my current one , I always wanted the i7 when I bought the i5 but it was too much at the time , maybe is too late now ? Since is so old

 

[Heelpir8]

I'm on a 2012 i5 Mini as well. Keep in mind that the upcoming macOS 10.15 Catalina is very likely the last OS update the 2012 Minis will receive. That alone would keep me from getting the 2012 i7 in 2019. If that wouldn't be an issue for you then it might be fine. However, the 2018 i3 is also much faster than the 2012 i7.

 

[for this]

Looks like the one you currently have is still adequate for your needs. Even though it's not the one you dreamed to have.

$200 and you're still stuck with an old model. It just satisfies your "old" want. Will you be happy enough after getting the 2012 i7 in 2019?

I would forget it and wait to get one of the 2018 or whatever available when I'm ready to buy.

 

[MacsRSour]

the 2018 i3 is supposedly faster than the 2012 i7, I'd save the $200 and get a refurb i3 at some point.