New 2014 mini or stick to my old 2007 2GHz Core 2 Duo

[cobby10]

I need a little persuasion. I want to upgrade since I'm well outside of my standard upgrade cycle.....

I currently have a 2007 Mini 2GHz Core 2 Duo 2GB ram with a 1Tb HD. Running 10.7

That little machine has lasted for 7 years now as my general purpose desktop. No real heavy lifting email, Internet & iTunes box. iPhoto has started to drag a bit and I know OS X 10 won't make the cut. The question is, even if I upgraded to the maxed out 2014 i7, am I going to make it another 5+ years with that upgrade?

The clock has run out of time years ago for 2007 Mini. But I'm not overly impressed with the 2014 line up. If I did upgrade, Am I just upgrading to upgrade to fulfill my tech itch, or is it a solid upgrade. I know the benifets and the negatives, but I'm not as excited as I was hoping to be about the Mini 2014 line up.

Anyone have any advise? Looking for a push to clear my indecisiveness.

 

[Joelburman]

Have you actually considered putting a SSD in the 2007 model?
I think that might actually be a good lowbudget patch-up upgrade.

As for the 2014 model I think its overkill. If I were you I'd be on the lookout for the 2011 i5 model since its not as in demand as the 2012 version. Sure you loose USB 3.0 ports but you gain SATA III compared to the 2010 model and before it. At least in Sweden the 2011 models are around the same price as the 2010 version.

 

[TruckdriverSean]

I need a little persuasion. I want to upgrade since I'm well outside of my standard upgrade cycle.....

I currently have a 2007 Mini 2GHz Core 2 Duo 2GB ram with a 1Tb HD. Running 10.7

That little machine has lasted for 7 years now as my general purpose desktop. No real heavy lifting email, Internet & iTunes box. iPhoto has started to drag a bit and I know OS X 10 won't make the cut. The question is, even if I upgraded to the maxed out 2014 i7, am I going to make it another 5+ years with that upgrade?

The clock has run out of time years ago for 2007 Mini. But I'm not overly impressed with the 2014 line up. If I did upgrade, Am I just upgrading to upgrade to fulfill my tech itch, or is it a solid upgrade. I know the benifets and the negatives, but I'm not as excited as I was hoping to be about the Mini 2014 line up.

Anyone have any advise? Looking for a push to clear my indecisiveness.

Get what YOU want.

While the 2014 May be a controversial model, not everyone is going to render Pixar-level movies from the tight confines of the International Space Station.

Considering you've made a 2007 Mac Mini last this long, you'll probably be stupid happy with the 2014 i5 ($699 or $999) so long as you don't need Internet forum reassurance. This is the internet after all.

Unless your uses have changed, that is. If you really have started rendering Pixar level movies from the ISS, you should of course get a 2012 quad.

 

[DmbShn41]

If your intent on upgrading software at least, through newer hardware, I second the 2011 model. I have a 2011 i3, and its served me great since Jan 2012. Just recently dropped a 1 TB drive in the second slot, migrated iTunes to there, freeing up 400GB on the stock 500GB. Soon, I'll put a 120GB SSD in place of the 500GB, speeding it up slightly more. Already upgraded RAM to 8GB, fine for all my needs.

eBay check shows some decent deals, this one below:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-Mac-M...4600642?pt=Apple_Desktops&hash=item3a9dbe58c2

My preference, FWIW, would be to invest in a 2011/2012 model, and upgrade. I like the new Mac mini's, but am not a fan of the MBA treatment with no option to upgrade after factory.

 

[Fishrrman]

After eight years, it's time for something new (or newer).

If you get a 2014 Mini, get the "mid-level" model and consider a fusion drive.

You might also try a refurbished "late 2012" 2.3ghz i7 Mini (but you'll have to add RAM yourself, probably an SSD as well).

Either will run circles 'round the old one.

Then again, you could hold out for a Broadwell Mini, but that's almost certainly a year away yet, minimum....

 

[Micky Do]

I need a little persuasion. I want to upgrade since I'm well outside of my standard upgrade cycle.....

I currently have a 2007 Mini 2GHz Core 2 Duo 2GB ram with a 1Tb HD. Running 10.7

That little machine has lasted for 7 years now as my general purpose desktop. No real heavy lifting email, Internet & iTunes box. iPhoto has started to drag a bit and I know OS X 10 won't make the cut. The question is, even if I upgraded to the maxed out 2014 i7, am I going to make it another 5+ years with that upgrade?

The clock has run out of time years ago for 2007 Mini. But I'm not overly impressed with the 2014 line up. If I did upgrade, Am I just upgrading to upgrade to fulfill my tech itch, or is it a solid upgrade. I know the benifets and the negatives, but I'm not as excited as I was hoping to be about the Mini 2014 line up.

Anyone have any advise? Looking for a push to clear my indecisiveness.

Consider more RAM and an SSD.

When repairs were needed for my original 2005 Mini it was more cost effective to replace it with with a base model early 2009 Mini. That came with just 1 GB of RAM. The G4 processor in the original was about obsolete by then anyway; had been within months of being released.

I installed iWork and upgraded to Snow Leopard soon after I bought it. By late 2012 it was was struggling. It was slow to do anything and beach balls were frequent. An extra 4 GB of RAM and an upgrade to Mountain Lion made it seem like new again.

Now I am using iPhoto a lot more, and it can get a bit laggy on that, but for most other Apps it works just fine.

With the 120 GB HDD getting on in years, and over half full, I reckon on installing a 256 GB SSD, and maybe adding another 4 GB od RAM. It should see me right for a few more years.

 

[Joelburman]

I agree that adding 2gb of ram would help a lot. Where are you located?
I have 2x2gb original ram sticks for my 2010 mini that I could donate to you. I live in Sweden though so not sure about the shipping costs.

 

[paulrbeers]

I need a little persuasion. I want to upgrade since I'm well outside of my standard upgrade cycle.....

I currently have a 2007 Mini 2GHz Core 2 Duo 2GB ram with a 1Tb HD. Running 10.7

That little machine has lasted for 7 years now as my general purpose desktop. No real heavy lifting email, Internet & iTunes box. iPhoto has started to drag a bit and I know OS X 10 won't make the cut. The question is, even if I upgraded to the maxed out 2014 i7, am I going to make it another 5+ years with that upgrade?

The clock has run out of time years ago for 2007 Mini. But I'm not overly impressed with the 2014 line up. If I did upgrade, Am I just upgrading to upgrade to fulfill my tech itch, or is it a solid upgrade. I know the benifets and the negatives, but I'm not as excited as I was hoping to be about the Mini 2014 line up.

Anyone have any advise? Looking for a push to clear my indecisiveness.

First off, ignore the people who mention adding more RAM. Even if you upgrade the RAM the best you are going to get is 3GB. Many are forgetting that the 2007 used DDR2 and was a 32bit only Mini (how quickly we forget)...

People who hate the 2014 Mini's are those of us who bought quad core 2012 mini's. It's hard to take a step back from an overall power standpoint even if relatively unnecessary in 95% of day to day tasks.

Quite honestly, the Mid-Mini will run circles around your Mini. Also, since it is the latest and greatest, it will have support by Apple for a very long time (5 years give or take). If you went with a 2011 or possibly even 2012, there are no guarantee you will see support for the next 5+ years. Further, since you've made do with a lowly 2ghz core2duo for this long, any Core i series dual core will feel amazing. Also, a 2014 will give you USB 3.0, SATAIII, Dual Thunderbolt 2 ports, an HDMI port, etc. etc. etc.... These are all things you do not have today. What do you give up? A built in DVD drive and that's about it. Swap out the Mechanical drive at some point with an SSD and you will have a machine that will probably do you well for the next 5 years...

Just my .02 worth.

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I agree that adding 2gb of ram would help a lot. Where are you located?
I have 2x2gb original ram sticks for my 2010 mini that I could donate to you. I live in Sweden though so not sure about the shipping costs.

It's a 2007. Your Ram in your 2010 is DDR3 not DDR2.

 

[spatlese44]

I don't think you're wrong that it's about time to upgrade. You're falling off the supported side of the 2007 machines life and there's a fairly large difference between C2D and i5/i7 machines. Whatever you do, I'd say your next machine has to have some form of SSD (fusion or just SSD). I think I have similar needs and typical replacement cycle mentality to you. I went from a 2009 mini to a 2012 i7, which I thought was frivolous at the time, but I wanted to be able to mirror and it just wasn't possible without upgrading. I went for the quad-core and skipped the fusion drive and am sorry that I did. Honestly, a base model 2014 with a fusion drive would smoke my quad core for most of what you want to do. SSDs are just that important. Considering the configuration options, I'd go for the mid-level model that comes with 8GB and add the fusion drive. Realize that you can't upgrade ram later, so 8GB is a good idea. Also, though you could theoretically put in an SSD later, there are issues with getting TRIM to work that though not impossible, might be best avoided and get it right away. Forget about all the hype that nobody is happy with the latest upgrade. This new machine should be fast enough for you for the next 7 years. Maybe longer. I'm not sure what you might be waiting for with the next upgrade, unless a 4k display is something in your near future.

 

[cobby10]

First off, ignore the people who mention adding more RAM. Even if you upgrade the RAM the best you are going to get is 3GB.

Yeah, I upgraded the RAM 2 or 3 years ago with matching 1Gb sticks. I guess it was old mentality not to buy unmatched sticks or 2 x 2GB sticks and 1GB be unused.

I kinda agree that a mid 2014 would do me best. I dont see the benefit of buying a 2012 and spending additional money on Ram and SSD. for the $200-300 cost savings of a used computer, that money can go towards RAM or SSD of a mid tier 2014.

 

[Mizouse]

I would definitely upgrade to a 2012/2014 model.

It was a night and day difference for simple things such as surfing the net and watching 1080p/4K YouTube videos when I upgraded from my PC with a 2.4ghz core 2 duo, 8gb ram, 256gb SSD and fresh win 7 install to a refurb 2.3 i7 mini with 4gb ram and 1TB platter.

I upgraded last week to a 250GB Samsung Evo SSD that I'm externally USB3.0 booting from and it just flies. With the speed of the SSD, I actually feel like I don't need to upgrade the ram just yet even when using LR5