$550 for a 2012 Mac Mini quad-core

[digitalhen]

Hi guys,

I have the opportunity to get a Mac Mini, 2012 vintage, with the 2.3Ghz quad core CPU, 16GB ram and a 1TB fusion. $550.

Trying to work out if it's a good deal? The other path I'm looking at is Intel's brand new Skull Canyon NUC with new ram and a full SSD but the total cost there will be closer to $900. I'd probably make this a Hackintosh.

My concern is the Mac Mini will rapidly become out of date, since it's already 4 years old.

Context: platform agnostic! I code/web server, use Illustrator professionally, play media, and want something that will serve well as Pled server (no worries about storage I have a nas)

 

[grcar]

$550.

That is a very good price for the quad core even without the upgrades.

 

[loby]

That is a very good price for the quad core even without the upgrades.

Very low price for what it offers. Good deal as that mini is hard to fine right now (quad core i7). As far as being outdated soon, that depends on what Apple has next up its sleeve as far as the OS X (or OSMac). I have the same mini, but with a 512 SSD running OS X El Capitan and it works well, even editing video with an external thunderbolt (runs better with OS X Yosemite). So what you will be doing with it is fine. If you go with any newer Adobe video or effects software (After Effects and Premiere Pro) I would maybe consider not....for the GPU has poor performance with the mini's.

The 2012 Mac mini would have been the ultimate killer system for the price if the GPU was better....(I know...I have to get over it), but we may not see a good mini ever again... Understand that Apple just wants it to be an entry unit, but some people like the small foot print. Yes, the Mac Pro has a small foot print, but the price per technology currently is not worth it...

 

[jpietrzak8]

I also agree that this is an extremely good price for that selection of hardware. OWC currently has almost the same machine (8GB RAM rather than 16) being offered for $999.

My concern is the Mac Mini will rapidly become out of date, since it's already 4 years old.

Hmm. Depends on what you consider "out of date". Apple seems to maintain support for their machines for roughly 7-9 years (looking at their current support levels), but then, I'm still using a Mini that Apple dropped support for years ago...

 

[Mainiac]

Definitely buy it or put me in touch with who's selling it if you aren't going to buy it.

I just bought a base 2014 Best Buy display model yesterday for $355. I know it's not ideal but I won't be using it for anything intensive. I'd much rather spend the extra $200 and get your setup.

 

[Fishrrman]

That's a very good price, considering the extra RAM and fusion drive.

I have the late-2012 Mini myself, and it's still running as well now as when I first set it up in January 2013.

I would agree that the new Intel "Skull Canyon" is a "large leap ahead" of the late-2012 Mini, particularly in graphics. If you're confident about hackintoshin', it could be a good buy.

However, so long as you don't demand -too much- from it, graphics-wise, I'll predict you could get 2,3,4 or more years out of the 2012 Mini, easily.

 

[MultiFinder17]

My concern is the Mac Mini will rapidly become out of date, since it's already 4 years old.

Even though it is a 2012, realize that it's only one generation behind the current. Apple's been taking a year or two between mini updates as of late, so I'd imagine that the 2012s are going to be supported for some time to come

 

[bent00]

I have never bought/built a hackintosh, but in researching it, it sounds like there are always a few quirks that prevent it from running 100% as a mac, and software updates are always a problem. In a practical way, a 2012 mac mini will have a longer lifespan than a 2016 hackintosh as it will most likely (based on my 2008 MacBook Pro running El Cap) be good for every new operating system update for another 5+ years. The hackintosh will be a faster machine but at the price of your additional time & effort to keep it running plus a certain amount of downtime for upgrades.

 

[Fancuku]

Trying to work out if it's a good deal? The other path I'm looking at is Intel's brand new Skull Canyon NUC with new ram and a full SSD but the total cost there will be closer to $900. I'd probably make this a Hackintosh.

Is that $900 for the larger NUC with the quad i7?

 

[digitalhen]

Is that $900 for the larger NUC with the quad i7?

Yes, plus the RAM and SSD

 

[ActionableMango]

I have the opportunity to get a Mac Mini, 2012 vintage, with the 2.3Ghz quad core CPU, 16GB ram and a 1TB fusion. $550.

What a terrible deal on such an undesirable model! You should immediately PM me with that seller's contact information so that I can scold him.

Immediately! Before some poor sucker buys it!

 

[digitalhen]

What a terrible deal on such an undesirable model! You should immediately PM me with that seller's contact information so that I can scold him.

Immediately! Before some poor sucker buys it!

Hahahahahahah! Well, I think maybe someone has beaten me to it anyway.

 

[Fancuku]

If you can Hackintosh the new NUC, then definitely go with it. Completely new machine with quad i7, Iris 530 graphics which is three times faster than the pathetic HD4000 of the mini, and M.2 SSD. Not sure if it's PCI-E slot but if it is then you are going to great read and write speeds.
The prices that these minis are selling for, make zero sense to me.