need help choosing a MAC MINI

[kaitlin4599]

so my mom currently has a mid 2015 dual core macbook pro with high siera on it and google chrome as well as some other apps rather then waste time trying to get her macbook laptop up to par i figured id just buy her a cheap used mac mini and give her one of my old monitors so she can use mac but im not sure what year of mac mini to get her i was thinking the 2018 mac mini would be good but i have no idea price wise looking to keep it under 300$ for a used one if possible

edit m y mom just needs a basic mac mini that supports the latest os for web browsing so she doesnt need anything fancy

 

[Bigwaff]

edit m y mom just needs a basic mac mini that supports the latest os for web browsing so she doesnt need anything fancy

2018 Mac mini only “cheap” mini you might possibly find for $300USD or less which supports latest OS.

 

[Boyd01]

MacSales has used i7 8gb/512gb Mini's for $349, they include a limited warranty. For $379, you can get it with 16gb RAM or 32gb for $399. The SSD cannot be upgraded. I imagine you could get one for less from a private seller, but you probably wouldn't get any kiind of warranty with that. Apple has refurbed m2 8gb/512gb Mini's in their own store, they will have the same warranty as new but you cannot upgrade anything on that model.

 

[ubinko]

Oof.. for a much better machine and for futureproofing, you could get a base M4 mini for around 500 bucks. I'm not sure how much longer intel macs will be supported for.

Otherwise.. try looking in FB Marketplace for an M1 or M2 mini bargain.

 

[topgunn]

I realize it is 33% more than your $300 budget but Best Buy is selling a new M2 Mac mini for $399.

 

[MBAir2010]

My Mac mini from 2021 has that M1 chips that won't go obsolete in the future.
I think OWC usually has a few no today tho for a great price, or even a refurb from the  store will be nice.

the problem with older computers now is banks or financial institutions won't support Intel Macs soon, or Windows 10
my neighbor has a nice HP form 2015 that her bank is not supporting anymore soon, even with windows11.

 

[Basic75]

so my mom currently has a mid 2015 dual core macbook pro with high siera on it and google chrome as well as some other apps rather then waste time trying to get her macbook laptop up to par i figured id just buy her a cheap used mac mini and give her one of my old monitors so she can use mac but im not sure what year of mac mini to get her i was thinking the 2018 mac mini would be good but i have no idea price wise looking to keep it under 300$ for a used one if possible

edit m y mom just needs a basic mac mini that supports the latest os for web browsing so she doesnt need anything fancy

If her current computer hasn't been wiped and installed from scratch in say the last five years I'd strongly recommend doing that first. Unless you have money to burn.

 

[Fishrrman]

You might consider buying either an m4 or perhaps an m2 Mini from the Apple online refurbished store. Numerous choices available.

Refurbished Mac - Mac mini

Save up to 15% on a refurbished Mac mini. Tested and certified by Apple including a 1-year warranty. Free delivery and returns.

www.apple.com

DO NOT buy any Mac now (Mini or anything else) unless it has 16gb of RAM (or more).
For an internal SSD, I'd consider 512gb to be "the minimum", as well.

 

[bzgnyc2]

My Mac mini from 2021 has that M1 chips that won't go obsolete in the future.

Based on Apple's track record, I wouldn't assume that. I'd give that Mac about 2-3 years more than the Mac Mini 2018. Especially if it only has 8GB of RAM.

I think OWC usually has a few no today tho for a great price, or even a refurb from the  store will be nice.

the problem with older computers now is banks or financial institutions won't support Intel Macs soon, or Windows 10
my neighbor has a nice HP form 2015 that her bank is not supporting anymore soon, even with windows11.

Perhaps for Windows 10 but I doubt websites will drop Intel Macs before Apple drops OS support for them. Even if Apple drops Intel for this fall with macOS 16, Sequoia will be supported for at least ~ 2.5 more years. Then some websites may drop support for that version's Safari. Though less clear if/when they will drop support for 3rd-party browsers running on that OS (e.g. when they will drop the last version of Firefox that still runs on Sequoia).

Which is not to say that a Mac Mini 2018 (Intel) would be a good investment for anyone's mom but let's overstate when they will become obsolete.

For the original posters' situation, this Mac Mini i7 32/128GB for $289 isn't a bad deal for the next 2-3 years:

Apple Mac Mini (Late 2018) Core i7 3.2GHz 6-core 8th Gen, 32GB RAM, 128GB PCIe SSD, Wi-Fi + Bluetooth, MacOS Mojave 10.14.1 - Space Gray

BRAND NEW FACTORY SEALED --- Apple Mac mini (Late 2018) Core i7 3.2GHz 6-core 8th Gen, 32GB RAM, 128GB PCIe SSD, Wi-Fi + Bluetooth, MacOS Mojave 10.14.1 - Space Gray

www.amazon.com

Just note that an Apple refurb Mac Mini M4 16/256GB for $509 may have 2-3x longer usable life than the Mac Mini 2018 and will likely run a bit snappier during those last few years, too. So unless extremely tight cash flow, the refurb M4 is about the same cost per year and somewhat better value overall. Unless someone has a need for Intel compatibility (e.g. run other OS and/or native Intel docker binaries), >32GB of RAM, Mac Pro 2019 features, etc, it's hard to justify spending money on an Intel-based Mac these days.

 

[kaitlin4599]

If her current computer hasn't been wiped and installed from scratch in say the last five years I'd strongly recommend doing that first. Unless you have money to burn.

the issue is her 2015 macbook pro even if rhe ssd is wiped she would still have issues with chrome and other apps not working due to the fact chrome no longer supports os high siera or anything earlier than the 2020 mac os

 

[bzgnyc2]

the issue is her 2015 macbook pro even if rhe ssd is wiped she would still have issues with chrome and other apps not working due to the fact chrome no longer supports os high siera or anything earlier than the 2020 mac os

While spending $3-500 on a Mac Mini would likely provide a better experience, for longer, that laptop should be able to run macOS Monterey, which is compatible with the latest Brave, Firefox, etc.

I can't speak that model, but the 2016 MacBook Pro 15-inch with 16GB of RAM and discrete graphics runs macOS Monterey fine. The 2015 has a Hawell processor rather than a Skylake and perhaps older discrete graphics, so not sure how different it would be running Monterey.

But assuming hers does have 16GB of RAM and discrete graphics, I would try a clean install of Monterey and the latest Brave, etc.

 

[Timpetus]

You can probably get by just fine with either a 2018 Mini or an M1 Mini, but for just a little extra, the M4 is really hard to beat. It'll absolutely blow her old Mac out of the water, and if you or anyone you know has access to an email that ends in .edu you can get it for $499 by performing a simple verification check.

 

[sw1tcher]

Just buy her an M4 Mac mini for $499 and be done with it instead of trying to save $100 or so on a old and used M2 Mini or whatever that will probably have less than 16GB RAM

$499 from Apple Education store and Micro Center (price match at Best Buy if you don't have a Micro Center near you). It was $449.99 at Micro Center, but sale has expired.

I certainly wouldn't waste my money on an Intel-based Mac mini at this point.

 

[Squiggles Chitter]

Use oclp and put macOS Sonoma on her laptop.

 

[Mactech20]

Just buy her an M4 Mac mini for $499 and be done with it instead of trying to save $100 or so on a old and used M2 Mini or whatever that will probably have less than 16GB RAM

$499 from Apple Education store and Micro Center (price match at Best Buy if you don't have a Micro Center near you). It was $449.99 at Micro Center, but sale has expired.

I certainly wouldn't waste my money on an Intel-based Mac mini at this point.

I agree with this.

If you buy a 2018 you will be in the same position 2 years from now.

At least get an M1. That way she will get support way longer and be on the Apple Silicon bandwagon

2020 Apple Mac Mini with Apple M1 Chip (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) - Silver (Renewed)

This pre-owned or refurbished product has been professionally inspected and tested to work and look like new. How a product becomes part of Amazon Renewed, your destination for pre-owned, refurbished products: A customer buys a new product and returns it or trades it in for a newer or different m...

www.amazon.com

 

[sw1tcher]

I agree with this.

If you buy a 2018 you will be in the same position 2 years from now.

At least get an M1. That way she will get support way longer and be on the Apple Silicon bandwagon

2020 Apple Mac Mini with Apple M1 Chip (8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) - Silver (Renewed)

This pre-owned or refurbished product has been professionally inspected and tested to work and look like new. How a product becomes part of Amazon Renewed, your destination for pre-owned, refurbished products: A customer buys a new product and returns it or trades it in for a newer or different m...

www.amazon.com

I'd spend the extra $220 to buy a brand new M4 Mac mini 16GB memory / 256GB storage over a used and refurbished M1 Mac mini 8GB memory / 256GB storage for $279.95.

Look at it this way. For the extra $220, you're getting a 1 year Apple warranty vs a 90 day warranty, 8GB more memory, a much faster CPU and GPU, and at least another 4 years of support over the M1 Mac mini.

Another alternative is the MacRumors Marketplace. Someone's selling an M4 Mac mini for $420 shipped. That's just $140 more than the refurbished M1 Mac mini.

 

[Basic75]

the issue is her 2015 macbook pro even if rhe ssd is wiped she would still have issues with chrome and other apps not working due to the fact chrome no longer supports os high siera or anything earlier than the 2020 mac os

According to MacTracker a 2015 MacBook Pro should run macOS 12 Monterey from 2021 without patches.