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Should I buy a current Mac mini

A

Acidreigns

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 16, 2014
59
0
So I've been tossing around the idea of getting a Mac mini for a while now. Problem being I've been watching all the rumours about a new mini coming this month or next.

Currently Futureshop is selling the i5 for $499 so it's $100 off. Sale ends today and the local store has several in stock.

You guys think I should wait or just take the plunge?
 
You've not stated how you'll use the Mac, but I will say, seeing a hundred dollars off, makes it a tempting offer. If it were me, I'd do it.
 
Well I wouldn't be really doing anything to intense. I have a gaming rig so I would be using the Mac mini more for everyday use. Watching movies web email sort of thing. It would be my first Mac.
 
Personally, I'd wait. Nothing frustrates me more than buying a piece of hardware and then having something better come out within weeks. The hundred bucks might ease that pain,but not enough for me :)

Enjoy your first mac and be sure to take your time :) Many people I know do not sign up for icloud and therefore miss the experiences that unify their macs and iPhones/iPads. Also, many I know don't open the App Store. It will be your best source for software and free versions of Pages, Keynote and Numbers as well as iPhoto and iMovie.

Enjoy it and expect a brief learning curve!
 
If it's not going to drive you nuts if a new model came out shortly, then go for it. A lot of people are playing the waiting game, including me, but I would go nuts if a new model came out :roll eyes:
 
That's a pretty good deal, i'd get it. I bought a i7 2.6Ghz mini around a month ago. Great little machine. While I keep looking at the nMP as I would like more capable graphics for gaming, i just don't think it's worth the money for my requirements. A $499 mini however, that's a bargain as a general purpose computer. Just add an third-party SSD if you can, that makes all the difference to real-world performance.
 
wwchris said:
Personally, I'd wait. Nothing frustrates me more than buying a piece of hardware and then having something better come out within weeks. The hundred bucks might ease that pain,but not enough for me :)

Enjoy your first mac and be sure to take your time :) Many people I know do not sign up for icloud and therefore miss the experiences that unify their macs and iPhones/iPads. Also, many I know don't open the App Store. It will be your best source for software and free versions of Pages, Keynote and Numbers as well as iPhoto and iMovie.

Enjoy it and expect a brief learning curve!
Click to expand...

Well getting a Mac defiantly makes sense. I already have an iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV.

From what I've been reading the i5 model I'm looking at still packs a punch and I won't be gaming on it.
 
A never ending cycle.

Acidreigns said:
So I've been tossing around the idea of getting a Mac mini for a while now. Problem being I've been watching all the rumours about a new mini coming this month or next.

Currently Futureshop is selling the i5 for $499 so it's $100 off. Sale ends today and the local store has several in stock.

You guys think I should wait or just take the plunge?
Click to expand...

Rumours about a new Mac Mini this month or next have been going on for several months.

If you want / need one now, get one now.

If not, wait…. there may be a new model this month or next, or the one after that. It could even be this Tuesday or next, or any other day of the week. Then again, it could be three or four or more months away.

And then there will be another update several months to a year or two after that…….

Then there will be a thread or two or three or four or more speculating when the next new Mac Mini will be released.
 
Micky Do said:
Rumours about a new Mac Mini this month or next have been going on for several months.
Click to expand...

HA, you got that right, it's driving me crazy...if I only knew now it would be 8-12 months away I'd just buy now. It's the "around the corner" that bothers me.
 
MrGuder said:
HA, you got that right, it's driving me crazy...if I only knew now it would be 8-12 months away I'd just buy now. It's the "around the corner" that bothers me.
Click to expand...

I honestly think it will be announced after April, when the Mac pro's finally ship. People will laugh about the notion that the mini and pro are related, but I honestly believe the thinking at apple is that they don't want a single sale of a MP to be lost to a mini. Those laughing simply say a "$5k computer does compare to a $700 computer". When is reality, folks who would think about the base $3k model, might reconsider, and go with a max mini, if the specs match what the core of what they are using a desktop for.

Apple has built an empire by convincing folks to upgrade to the next model. Be it low base storage in the iPad, lack of graphics in the Mac mini and air, removing dGPU in the new 15" mbp base model, etc... So there are those who would go with a base model Mac Pro, even when a mini could do what they require. For those folks, the mini update will definitely come after the Mac pros are shipping in April.
 
Acidreigns said:
Well I wouldn't be really doing anything to intense. I have a gaming rig so I would be using the Mac mini more for everyday use. Watching movies web email sort of thing. It would be my first Mac.
Click to expand...

The delta in performance between successive generations of Intel processors has been slowing over the past few years - especially for use cases like yours. Current Ivy Bridge, even older Sandy Bridge processors are going to be good for few more years.

Now if you are into gaming, media editing and processing - then it's a different ball game. If all you foresee doing on this am mini is email/ web browsing - I will recommend taking the $100 discount now.
 
It's mostly about you. If after the new version comes out, you'd still buy the old one for 150 less, get the old one now. If you want features likely to be in the new version, like AC wireless and dual thunderbolt, hang out for a bit longer.

Also consider the utility a machine bought today would provide. Even if waiting only costs you 3 weeks, the value of whatever you're doing in those 3 weeks may be worth more than whatever loss you may feel by 'missing out'.
 
With 100 off, you have about 1.5 year of price erosion of the Mini taken off. So no new model will offer you more bang for the buck the next 1.5 years, and you can sell it for the same price in 1.5 years.
 
So I ended up buying one, they had run out of i5s by the time I got there. So they discounted an i7 model for me. Little more than I wanted to pay but I still got a lot of bang for my buck.
 
Acidreigns said:
So I ended up buying one, they had run out of i5s by the time I got there. So they discounted an i7 model for me. Little more than I wanted to pay but I still got a lot of bang for my buck.
Click to expand...
You'll be very happy with it I'm sure, and if you're not you'll be able to sell it pretty easily. My ancient 2009 Mini (with Ram upgrade and new hdd) is still serving me very well for general home use of the type you want yours for.

What RAM did you get by the way? 8GB is desirable but not essential (I know it's after the event but in my opinion 8GB i5 is "better" than i7 with 4GB).
 
I'm also in the market for a Mac mini and am planning to buy one as soon as possible, but I'm waiting to see what the refresh brings. However, if it were me and I had the chance to get one at a $100 savings I'd do it now.

As others have stated, if you're not worried about a new version being released in the next few months, I'd grab it now. Even the current Mac min will serve you well for many years.
 
Jambalaya said:
You'll be very happy with it I'm sure, and if you're not you'll be able to sell it pretty easily. My ancient 2009 Mini (with Ram upgrade and new hdd) is still serving me very well for general home use of the type you want yours for.

What RAM did you get by the way? 8GB is desirable but not essential (I know it's after the event but in my opinion 8GB i5 is "better" than i7 with 4GB).
Click to expand...

Right now I have 4GB but I'll be upgrading it when I get paid. Just set it up, liking it so far!
 
Acidreigns said:
Right now I have 4GB but I'll be upgrading it when I get paid. Just set it up, liking it so far!
Click to expand...

I can't wait to get mine, thinking about making it the core of a home entertainment system. And, I'm glad Apple made the RAM user-upgradeable.
 
melting market differences between models..

Count Blah said:
I honestly think it will be announced after April, when the Mac pro's finally ship. People will laugh about the notion that the mini and pro are related, but I honestly believe the thinking at apple is that they don't want a single sale of a MP to be lost to a mini. Those laughing simply say a "$5k computer does compare to a $700 computer". When is reality, folks who would think about the base $3k model, might reconsider, and go with a max mini, if the specs match what the core of what they are using a desktop for.

Apple has built an empire by convincing folks to upgrade to the next model. Be it low base storage in the iPad, lack of graphics in the Mac mini and air, removing dGPU in the new 15" mbp base model, etc... So there are those who would go with a base model Mac Pro, even when a mini could do what they require. For those folks, the mini update will definitely come after the Mac pros are shipping in April.
Click to expand...



+1
So much truth, exactly this.

I think Apple has unofficially a big Problem. When you compare Geekbench scores of the past year, the big difference between the separate models are melting away quickly. - Way too quick for Apples taste.
Now, since there is Iris Pro GPU available, the new mac mini might be very close to the new MacPro. This is one of the main reason Apple stalls the mac mini to the "maximum latest possible release date" to not cannibalise other higher margin products.
The market forces Apple to finally offer a quad core mac mini in combination with a decent GPU, - a real first for Apple. Differentiation of the product portfolio will become more difficult. I am real curious how Apple will try to castrate the mac mini this time to keep the difference.
Maybe it will come in the new time capsule or AppleTV package. This way they can fool the customer by telling them about the limitation in heat dissipation or other felony stories.
I take bets...

:)
 
Even when they did put a dGPU in the mini, they gimped it as much as possible by offering 1/2 the standard amount of VRAM at the time, to point folks towards the iMac/MBP.
 
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