Late 2012 mac mini upgraded which OS should I run.

[Satman82]

I have a late 2012 mac mini with 2.5 ghz I5, 16 gb ram, and 256 ssd. It's currently running on Sierra 10.12.6. Which OS should I be running to get the most out of my mac mini. Without slowing it down.

 

[glenthompson]

Depends on what software you need to run. I have a similar model running as a file server and it’s on Mojave. If you need to run old 32 bit apps, go no higher than it. As a minimum you should be on High Sierra for APFS support. Catalina should probably run fine.

 

[scgf]

I'm running Big Sur on mine. It has an SSD inside and runs like a champ. Patching Big Sur to run on unsupported macs is pretty easy - just a case of following some instructions step by step.

Home - Patched Sur

Welcome to the new way for installing macOS Big Sur on your Mac.

bensova.gitbook.io

 

[Satman82]

Depends on what software you need to run. I have a similar model running as a file server and it’s on Mojave. If you need to run old 32 bit apps, go no higher than it. As a minimum you should be on High Sierra for APFS support. Catalina should probably run fine.

I'm using it as a streaming computer. Just Netflix and other streaming sites thru Chrome.

 

[Fishrrman]

Well... if it's running fine now, you could just leave it as it is?

If you feel that you still need an "upgrade" of some sort, I'd take it to Mojave and leave it there for the rest of its life...

 

[fricotin]

Catalina runs fine except for auto sleep.

 

[MBAir2010]

Mojave kicked ass on the macmini late 2012 with 10GB ram!
but
the bluetooth, wifi and air drop were dismal and annoying even running any OSX
in a non-metal furniture room, so away that went! (in mid 2019)