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questions to owners

adamcarvell

adamcarvell

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 15, 2013
349
31
warwickshire england
im about to buy a mac mini should I wait for the new release if there is one or get the current model cheaper and go for the higher spec i7.
the i5 is coming down in price in the uk . got me thinking whether to wait for new release and get the i7 when that becomes cheaper.
what the graphics like on them?
are there any common faults or are they just very good little machines im hoping for ?.
and do they run hot ?.
 
They are excellent since the 2011, and the Haswell will not improve much I guess. If you want i5, the 2011 Radeon, the 2012 entry and probably the 2014 entry will roughly perform the same. If you don't mind gaming, it does not matter much. Is MediaMarkt/Saturn in the UK? Here they have VAT-free days twice a year, and if you buy a Mini then, you won't find its power any cheaper for the next 2 years.

They don't run hot. They feel hot, because the aluminium conducts the heat well, but the temp stays well in a normal range. 75°C for a full running quad core is nothing to worry about.
 
The 2011 + 6630M is the best graphics performer of the bunch. Assuming the haswell version gets the Iris Pro, then it'll be a decent bit better than that.

Otherwise, it'll be pretty close to the same (about 25% better than the 2012 version).
 
no not into gaming just internet and movies. But want something that will last a few years if I buy current model off amazon say I will go for i5 and upgrade the ram get me an external hd drive and dvd writer for burning discs or just get the top i7 one. is it easy to transfer files off my old pc onto the mini mac if so how ? I isn't no spring chicken anymore behind the times with technology.

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so I guess im asking is the i7 1ghd worth the extra money ( that's my budget) or th i5 with external hd and dvd writer a better option ?.
 
Is there any reason you immediately need the dvd drive and the external hard drive? I'd probably lean toward getting the things that can't be upgraded in the short term.

My mini is a dual 2.6ghz i7 with the Fusion drive and I have no complaints about the performance.
 
adamcarvell said:
no not into gaming just internet and movies. But want something that will last a few years if I buy current model off amazon say I will go for i5 and upgrade the ram get me an external hd drive and dvd writer for burning discs or just get the top i7 one. is it easy to transfer files off my old pc onto the mini mac if so how ? I isn't no spring chicken anymore behind the times with technology.

----------

so I guess im asking is the i7 1ghd worth the extra money ( that's my budget) or th i5 with external hd and dvd writer a better option ?.
Click to expand...

If Internet and movies are your main uses, and you want a new computer now, the current base model Mini should fit your needs for a good few years.

If you are in no hurry, waiting for an update is likely to reveal evolutionary changes, rather than anything revolutionary.

My early 2009 base model Mini, upgraded with an extra 4 GB of RAM and updated OS X still works just fine. I reckon it has a few years left in it for my humble work, photography (some used in the local rag and sports websites) and general communication needs.
 
Easy way would just be via an external hard drive or flash drive, or even use Dropbox. Not difficult to do at all, just like copying files from any one computer to another.
 
Whether you buy now, or wait, depends on your current situation.

That is, is your current setup running ok, and will it serve you another 2-3 months?

It's _possible_ (no promises) that we may see an updated Mini appear in the late January/February/March time frame.

Whether you can hold out that much longer, is up to you.

I -WOULD NOT- buy a late 2012 i5 Mini now. You would be buying the lowest-powered version of a release more than a year old.

Buy the 2.3ghz i7 in the "minimum configuration". You can add RAM and an SSD later, but once you have the Mini, you are "stuck with" the CPU inside for as long as you own it.
 
Fishrrman said:
Whether you buy now, or wait, depends on your current situation.

That is, is your current setup running ok, and will it serve you another 2-3 months?

It's _possible_ (no promises) that we may see an updated Mini appear in the late January/February/March time frame.

Whether you can hold out that much longer, is up to you.

I -WOULD NOT- buy a late 2012 i5 Mini now. You would be buying the lowest-powered version of a release more than a year old.

Buy the 2.3ghz i7 in the "minimum configuration". You can add RAM and an SSD later, but once you have the Mini, you are "stuck with" the CPU inside for as long as you own it.
Click to expand...

I bought one a few days ago and NO regrets. It's fast enough and should Apple release a new Mini it will be better than what's available right now i5 and i7. My vote is to spend the least and you can always sell it for minimal loss and put the money towards the new Mini whenever they get released.
 
my gut feeling is buy the i7 as I cant upgrade the processor and ssd drive had a look at the video I wouldn't be confident enough of fitting that . but im sure I read someone had one externally with the o/s installed on it and booted up from that instead is that hard to do ?.
 
adamcarvell said:
my gut feeling is buy the i7 as I cant upgrade the processor and ssd drive had a look at the video I wouldn't be confident enough of fitting that . but im sure I read someone had one externally with the o/s installed on it and booted up from that instead is that hard to do ?.
Click to expand...

You can buy a ssd and mount in a external enclosure. Use USB3 port to connect
and clone osx to the ssd. Use sys pref to assign ssd as boot disk. OWC has external ssd drives or you can build your own.
 
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