2011 mini Server (i7) or 2012 mini (i5)???

[mikethewxguy]

I currently own a 2011 mini server (i7); 16GB RAM & 2 X 256GB SSD's.

With the $100 price drop on 2012 models, I picked up a 2012 mini (i5) thinking it my be a bump up from my 2011...its still sealed (just purchased a few hours ago).

But I am starting to think that it's not really that big of an upgrade and that I should return it and only upgrade to the 2012 mini if it is the i7 version....does that sound about right?

I guess I am just more concerned with my 2011 crapping out...and not having a viable replacement.

Thoughts?

Thanks for listening

 

[VTECaddict]

I think the base version 2012 has on par CPU performance with the 2014, just not as upgradeable. Not sure how that compares to your 2011, but I think the quad core 2012 would be a better upgrade path for you.

 

[Darby67]

I agree, 2012 i7 makes more sense as an upgrade than the i5.

 

[mikethewxguy]

Thanks - and I actually returned the 2012 i5 today and picked up the 2012 i7 mini today...now trying to figure out if it is THAT much better than my 2011 i7.

One quick question, can I simply remove the dual SSD's that I have in the 2011 over to the 2012 without any issues? I would then move the 1TB HDD from the 2012 to the 2011 (and then sell it). Will there be issues on boot up for the 2012?

Many thanks once again....

 

[iosuser]

Thanks - and I actually returned the 2012 i5 today and picked up the 2012 i7 mini today...now trying to figure out if it is THAT much better than my 2011 i7.

One quick question, can I simply remove the dual SSD's that I have in the 2011 over to the 2012 without any issues? I would then move the 1TB HDD from the 2012 to the 2011 (and then sell it). Will there be issues on boot up for the 2012?

Many thanks once again....

I did just that, moving my SSD from my i5 to my newly acquired i7 Mini. It's as if nothing has changed, except in activity monitor I now see 8 CPU threads instead of 4 The only thing that I noticed that wasn't kept was the saved web passwords keychain, which I assume is a security measure.

Does anyone have a tip on how to transfer the keychain to a new computer? I'm getting ready to install Yosemite and am going to do a clean install.