New mac mini 2012 vs new 2018

[thehighwaystar]

Hi !
On January/2017 I ve bought a 2012 Mini 2.3 i7 brand new for a remote project that, in the end, did not materialize. So I have it still unused. Of course the benchmark and speed of the 2018 i5 and i7 are obvious outstanding but for those who upgraded from this old model to a new one and who works basically on Logic and audio (in my case , 32 tracks maximum and my only use of the machine will be over audio works ) , did you experience a real advantage on day-by-day usage that could justify selling the old one invest in a brand new 2018 model ? I m asking cause one of my bad skill technological knowledge is previewing how new Mac OSX in the future will impact the Logic possible new features considering new processors, plataform etc and its issues like T2 chip, obligatory retina display, etc . I must say I m very comfortable with High Sierra now on a 2012 Imac but I really would like to get a 'start' with a machine where it can be still good for next 3 year on that scenario - even not easy upgradable.
Thank you.
Ricardo

 

[madrag]

I got my 2018 Mac Mini yesterday, and my previously Mini was a 2012 (i7 2.6GHz).

The improvement is incredible for most of the tasks, (not a pro/regular Logic user, so I can just give you my experience with other use cases).

I believe the 2012 will be a solid computer for at least two more years, but if I were you, I would upgrade to the new one, if you can sell the 2012 Mini, the cost of the new one won't be that high and it pays to have a newer machine in this case.

Some aditional toughts:
If keeping the 2012 Mini, replace the HDD with an SSD, it makes a huge difference (and you won't even consider getting the 2018 version, although the SSD used in the 2018 is outstanding in terms of speed, I got the 512GB and it writes at a speed of 1800MB/s and reads at 2770MB!).

If you get the 2018, buy with the standard 8GB RAM and get the extra RAM from Crucial or other supplier, unless you have the money to spend on Apple's memory. The same for the 2012, max it to 16GB, that's what I did on day -5 (I got the RAM before buying the Mac). Logic likes RAM, and the more you have, the better.

Use external drives, unless you can afford the price of a bigger internal SSD.

For the 2018, you may need some dongles/adapters, just take a look at the connections and figure out what you'll need.

 

[HenryAZ]

The obvious speed increases, already mentioned. The 2018 has a slew of upgrades in the ports department. Obviously, the 4 thuderbolt 3 ports, which double as USB-C (USB @ 10Gbps). Displayport support (via the TB3 ports)is now upgraded to 1.4, and HDMI is upgraded to 2.0, which will drive a 4k monitor at 60Hz. I believe the 2012 only supports up to 2560x1440 for a maximum monitor resolution. I am running a 4k (UHD) 32" monitor at true 4k resolution (3840x2160) on my 2018 Mini, from one of the TB3 ports. Unfortunately, my monitor is a few years old and does not recognize HDMI 2.0, or I would run the monitor off the HDMI 2.0 port.

 

[bigfatipod]

I’m in the same boat as OP. I have a 2012 QC 2.7 with two 2tb SSDs. I’ve gone back and forth on upgrading to a 2018. The 2012 is running great, but given how far between the mini upgrades are, I think it’s inevitable that I end up with the 2018 at some point.

 

[thehighwaystar]

Madrag, HenryAZ, Bigfatpod. thank you very much your inputs and time....I live in Brazil where an upgrade will cost almost the same value of the sold mini but the my main worry is the impact of the new speed thunderbolt ports technology on future interfaces, connections, etc.... what makes me think to sell it now.
Logic is also offering great "Tempo" sync features on recent releases and I m afraid at some point it makes me outdated on OSX too for new stuff .
On the other side, , reading about Mojave x Mini 2018 issues on OSX forum, it would be cool if you could downgrade to High Sierra in the new mac mini 2018 for a start , in my opinion.
It s a mess and incredible people with high tech skilll not knowing if a problem comes com T2 chip, Mojave, Mini hardware, 64/32 bits software, 3rd part hardware or software....Definitely I don't have this approach.
By the way, the advice for a external ssd is a value tip which I was not considering - thank you all.