Should I Buy A 'Mac mini' Now?

[mr.steevo]

No way I'd attempt a drive up grade. My plan is to buy a base mini once the new one is released, use it until the next new release, buy the new new mini then sell the first one for ~$100 less of what I paid for it. Why bother upgrading when I can just buy new for less than $100 a year in total?

 

[XcodeCrazy]

No way I'd attempt a drive up grade. My plan is to buy a base mini once the new one is released, use it until the next new release, buy the new new mini then sell the first one for ~$100 less of what I paid for it. Why bother upgrading when I can just buy new for less than $100 a year in total?

Not a smart idea! Macs are computers made to last! If all you're doing is buying one and constantly waiting for the next one to come out, you're not going to even enjoy the one you have. And good luck, too! No one's going to buy a previous generation Mac mini for only $100 less than the price you originally bought it at! They'd rather just buy the new one!

BTW, just heard Mac OS X Lion's release is expected on July 14, 2011. Click the link below to see the article:

http://9to5mac.com/2011/07/01/apple-to-ship-os-x-lion-on-july-14th/

 

[Tulpa]

That's what would put me off upgrading the HDD in a Mini. I have fingers like sausages and when I watched the upgrade process on Youtube my first thoughts were "you have got to be joking".

I know how you feel. While upgrading the RAM in my 2010 mini (supposedly an easy process) I dropped one of the sticks onto the motherboard below and had to retrieve it with a tweezers, a very harrowing process as I'm sure there are plenty of objects on both stick and motherboard that don't respond well to tweezer tips or sweat (which was gushing out of my forehead as there was no AC in the room). Of course the money I saved by not having Apple install the memory was close to half the cost of a mini anyway, so it was probably worth the risk.

 

[AppleDApp]

I dropped one of the sticks onto the motherboard below and had to retrieve it with a tweezers,

how do you pull that off?

 

[Tulpa]

how do you pull that off?

The dropping came naturally due to my clumsy nature. I probably couldn't teach it to anyone else if I tried.

The retrieval is even harder to describe. There's basically a nice memory stick-sized gap below the RAM housing and it wedged flat in there. A flerking nightmare, I tell you... but there was, luckily, a happy ending, as I was able to get it out and it still worked when I installed it.

 

[mr.steevo]

Not a smart idea! Macs are computers made to last! If all you're doing is buying one and constantly waiting for the next one to come out, you're not going to even enjoy the one you have. And good luck, too! No one's going to buy a previous generation Mac mini for only $100 less than the price you originally bought it at! They'd rather just buy the new one!

BTW, just heard Mac OS X Lion's release is expected on July 14, 2011. Click the link below to see the article:

http://9to5mac.com/2011/07/01/apple-to-ship-os-x-lion-on-july-14th/

Where I live people are advertising 2009 mini's for $500 and G4 mini's for $300.

I believe I have a fair chance of selling it for what I want.

 

[Tulpa]

Where I live people are advertising 2009 mini's for $500 and G4 mini's for $300.

I believe I have a fair chance of selling it for what I want.

Anyone who's buying them for those prices (with no warranty to boot) is insane. I mean, in the case of the 2010 mini you can get a refurbished one from Apple with a 1 year warranty for $100 less than the original price...and that's the current generation.

And keep in mind that the technology in "new" minis is currently fairly old, so there's not as much contrast between new and old ones as there will be if/when the new minis come out with new technology.

 

[cocacolakid]

No way I'd attempt a drive up grade. My plan is to buy a base mini once the new one is released, use it until the next new release, buy the new new mini then sell the first one for ~$100 less of what I paid for it. Why bother upgrading when I can just buy new for less than $100 a year in total?

Your plan basically works. The $100 might be closer to $150, but still, think of it as leasing a car where you are paying to have the latest model.

Those 2010 unibody mini's sell on eBay all day long for $550+. People must not know they sell around that same price refurbed from Apple.

 

[philipma1957]

Your plan basically works. The $100 might be closer to $150, but still, think of it as leasing a car where you are paying to have the latest model.

Those 2010 unibody mini's sell on eBay all day long for $550+. People must not know they sell around that same price refurbed from Apple.

ebay price of 550 is tax free ebucks is 2 % off ebates is 2% off use an ebay credit card with paypal 2% off so 11 plus 11 plus 11 is 33 bucks.

cost 517 for a 2010 mini.

599 at apple store plus tax in some like IL 10 percent 659. that is a 142 dollar difference .

Ebay has other promos 10% coupon once in a while etc.
So that same 2010 used mini may be under 470.
Many times the used mini will be able to get 3yr warranty from square trade for 75 dollars. So now for a smart buyer on ebay gets 3yr warranty with breakage for 545. vs 659 plus 100 for apple care total 759 from apple refurb.


I sold minis for 4 years on ebay most buyers are CA and IL. They are happy to buy them most do what I just wrote above.

 

[mr.steevo]

Your plan basically works. The $100 might be closer to $150, but still, think of it as leasing a car where you are paying to have the latest model.

Those 2010 unibody mini's sell on eBay all day long for $550+. People must not know they sell around that same price refurbed from Apple.

Exactly.

I haven't met one person who knows about the Apple refurb store.

 

[Tulpa]

ebay price of 550 is tax free ebucks is 2 % off ebates is 2% off use an ebay credit card with paypal 2% off so 11 plus 11 plus 11 is 33 bucks.

cost 517 for a 2010 mini.

599 at apple store plus tax in some like IL 10 percent 659. that is a 142 dollar difference .

Ebay has other promos 10% coupon once in a while etc.
So that same 2010 used mini may be under 470.
Many times the used mini will be able to get 3yr warranty from square trade for 75 dollars. So now for a smart buyer on ebay gets 3yr warranty with breakage for 545. vs 659 plus 100 for apple care total 759 from apple refurb.


I sold minis for 4 years on ebay most buyers are CA and IL. They are happy to buy them most do what I just wrote above.

So the lowest possible price on eBay when the stars align just right is less than the highest possible price at the Apple refurb store. Also, you don't charge for shipping for ebay sales? Cause it's nowhere in your calculation, and neither is the cut that eBay is taking from the sale price (ie, you sell for 550 but you don't get 550).

And of course a refurb from the Apple store is probably in better condition than one bought from a random eBay seller.

 

[Mobius 1]

I bought a 2010 Mac Mini about 6 months ago and I love it. First Mac I ever bought. I bought the entry-level 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 320GB 5400rpm HD. It ran sufficiently until I really started using multiple things on my Mini every day.

I upgraded the RAM to 8GB, and there has been no issue since. I recently added a 60GB OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 3G SSD and put it in my machine, and everything is running damn saucy. It almost as if I got a new processor. The SSD is the greatest improvement you can make to the machine, no doubt. It boots in 14-17 seconds with all apps open and running (via startup items), and shuts down in 2.

Though the 60GB SSD is a small amount of storage, all it has is Mac OS 10.6, and my personal documents. All of my Movies, Music, Podcasts and Mobile Apps (for iPhone and iPad) are on my Server.

But more importantly, your decision. I would expect a very minimal Mac Mini upgrade this year. Maybe an i3 2.0+ GHz processor, same RAM, and same HD options.

Personally, I would buy it now, and upgrade all the parts you can. Max out the RAM to 8GB, and replace the HD with an SSD.

Here are the links:

8GB RAM Upgrade:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/8566DDR3S8GP/

Mercury Extreme Pro 3G SSD:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/Mercury_Extreme_SSD_Sandforce/Solid_State_Pro

I hope my response helps you in your decision. Happy 4th!

-Alex

great, i don't even have the money to buy their 40GB SSD

 

[cocacolakid]

great, i don't even have the money to buy their 40GB SSD

Prices are dropping slowly on SSD's, and there are more brands than just OWC (which in my brief shopping is one of the more expensive brands, but they claim their SSD's do not slow down over time like some brands supposedly do).

Take a look at eBay, you can often find a 60gb for $75 or so. Not bad at all. Although you will need an external HD to actually store media files on, so if you don't have one already, that's another cost to figure in, but you can just get an external 2.5" case and re-use the HD in your Mini now.

 

[cocacolakid]

So the lowest possible price on eBay when the stars align just right is less than the highest possible price at the Apple refurb store. Also, you don't charge for shipping for ebay sales? Cause it's nowhere in your calculation, and neither is the cut that eBay is taking from the sale price (ie, you sell for 550 but you don't get 550).

And of course a refurb from the Apple store is probably in better condition than one bought from a random eBay seller.

If you sell something on eBay for say $550, depending on the category and how you sold it (auction or buy it now/fixed price), the amount of fees could vary from $25-42 or so. Paypal will add something around $17-18 or so. Charging a reasonable shipping just pays for itself. Bottom line, that $550 item could net the seller $480-500 or so.

If the OP bought a brand new Mac Mini and the price doesn't change from the current model, that's $699 plus tax, although there are plenty of places online to get a new model with no tax and free shipping depending on what state you live in (Amazon, B&H, etc.). So it would really cost about $200 or so to keep upgrading to the new one every time there is a change (if the market stays the same, and with Macs it's pretty consistent).

After saying all of that, I looked at completed auctions on eBay for the past two weeks and there are a lot of 2010 Mini's that have sold for closer to $650. Meaning out of pocket to upgrade to the next one would be closer to $100.

On the other hand, I've bought a few refurbished items from the Apple Store and they look like new and have the same warranty. But as one person said, not a lot of people are aware the online Apple Store sells refurbished products, it's not posted at the top of the store, you have to dig a bit to find them.

I would also recommend anyone buying anything from eBay to prefer to buy from someone with a Top Seller rating. It won't completely eliminate your odds of getting a bad transaction, but it helps.

 

[mr.steevo]

I'll be selling locally. No PayPal or Ebay fees.

 

[CFoss]

Hello guys, well i am a graphic designer and these days i am also learning professional video editing. So i am very much confused that which machine should i buy, some people refer me mac mini, they told me that mac is used in professional video editing.
So what do you think guys, should i buy it. Remember that my budget is currently low, or should i choose some intel core processors like i3 or i5. Suggest me something guys as u r helping XcodeCrazy. It will be much appreciated.
Some of my friends are saying me that i should wait and buy a good kmachine because video editing requires a good processor and RAM.
While searching on internet, i have also found some other machines which are in my range, they are very inexpensive laptops which i can easily buy.
Another person is selling me Mac Mini with these specs:

Operating system Mac OS X Snow Leopard
Power 84 W PSU (7 A@12 V)
CPU Intel Core 2 Duo
Storage capacity 320 GB
1 TB (server)
4 GiB DDR3-1066(server)

Should i buy this?

Wait for the Mac Mini refresh that's coming out soon (hopefully). That system is quite outdated now.

 

[Tulpa]

Hello guys, well i am a graphic designer and these days i am also learning professional video editing. So i am very much confused that which machine should i buy, some people refer me mac mini, they told me that mac is used in professional video editing.
So what do you think guys, should i buy it. Remember that my budget is currently low, or should i choose some intel core processors like i3 or i5. Suggest me something guys as u r helping XcodeCrazy. It will be much appreciated.
Some of my friends are saying me that i should wait and buy a good kmachine because video editing requires a good processor and RAM.
While searching on internet, i have also found some other machines which are in my range, they are very inexpensive laptops which i can easily buy.
Another person is selling me Mac Mini with these specs:

Operating system Mac OS X Snow Leopard
Power 84 W PSU (7 A@12 V)
CPU Intel Core 2 Duo
Storage capacity 320 GB
1 TB (server)
4 GiB DDR3-1066(server)

Should i buy this?

That's the 2010 mini server edition, which you can also get at Apple's best-kept secret, the online Refurbished Store, for $849 with a one year warranty and free shipping. I don't know how much the person is offering it for but in a lot of cases sellers attempt to charge more than Apple does!

I don't know how good that is for video editing...I know the C2D is awful for encoding. The iMac is a more powerful option and has been recently updated; you can get a quad core i5 one for $1019 or an i3 one for $929 at the Refurbished Store. Though you should be aware that its glossy screen is loved and hated by various groups.

But if you're willing to wait, the new mini (assuming it is indeed coming out by Aug) will almost certainly have i3 and cost less than the iMacs. No way it's going to have quad core though, which is a huge help in video applications.

 

[XcodeCrazy]

Exactly.

I haven't met one person who knows about the Apple refurb store.

Then, I guess you don't know very many people: http://goo.gl/jZM2
BTW, that's the link, and no matter how much you argue about it, you WILL NOT be able to sell a Mac mini for $100 less than a current generation price for three main reasons:

1) The leap between Core 2 Duo and Sandy Bridge is among the biggest leap ever - You get much more for your money now that Sandy Bridge is here.
2) The warranty would likely be up and would almost be considered cheaper just to buy a new one (more bang for your buck).
and 3) Technology changes rapidly - No one wants the crap that someone's trying to get rid of!

Thanks for the suggestions, guys, I think I'm going to wait, and thank you mr.steevo for helping me prove a point.

 

[XcodeCrazy]

Hello guys, well i am a graphic designer and these days i am also learning professional video editing. So i am very much confused that which machine should i buy, some people refer me mac mini, they told me that mac is used in professional video editing.
So what do you think guys, should i buy it. Remember that my budget is currently low, or should i choose some intel core processors like i3 or i5. Suggest me something guys as u r helping XcodeCrazy. It will be much appreciated.
Some of my friends are saying me that i should wait and buy a good kmachine because video editing requires a good processor and RAM.
While searching on internet, i have also found some other machines which are in my range, they are very inexpensive laptops which i can easily buy.
Another person is selling me Mac Mini with these specs:

Operating system Mac OS X Snow Leopard
Power 84 W PSU (7 A@12 V)
CPU Intel Core 2 Duo
Storage capacity 320 GB
1 TB (server)
4 GiB DDR3-1066(server)

Should i buy this?

Hi, twenty20. Mac minis are great computers (and by next generation will obviously be better), however, they're not here for intensive editing. I've talked to many Apple Store Experts and although Final Cut Pro X will run on a Mac mini, it's not recommended - They keep referring me to the MacBook Pro, iMac or Mac Pro, however, I have the same problem as you - MONEY!!! I can't afford a MacBook Pro, iMac or Mac Pro - Mac mini low - end configurations are the only Macintosh computers in my price range and I need a decent 'new' Mac for my co-op position at Rogers TV next semester. And I will never buy a PC again!!!!!!!!! Macs are so much more consistent and reliable - I would recommend someone like you a Mac mini, however, much like myself, I'd wait until the next generation is released with a better CPU. Hope this helped!

 

[Lankyman]

XcodeCrazy states...... And I will never buy a PC again!!!!!!!!! Macs are so much more consistent and reliable

Urban myth - I have both and have found both to be equally reliable. Windows 7 has changed the game, added to which the hardware in both machines are regular off the shelf parts. An Intel PC is an Intel PC is an Intel PC....period.

 

[zedsdead]

Hi, twenty20. Mac minis are great computers (and by next generation will obviously be better), however, they're not here for intensive editing. I've talked to many Apple Store Experts and although Final Cut Pro X will run on a Mac mini, it's not recommended - They keep referring me to the MacBook Pro, iMac or Mac Pro, however, I have the same problem as you - MONEY!!! I can't afford a MacBook Pro, iMac or Mac Pro - Mac mini low - end configurations are the only Macintosh computers in my price range and I need a decent 'new' Mac for my co-op position at Rogers TV next semester. And I will never buy a PC again!!!!!!!!! Macs are so much more consistent and reliable - I would recommend someone like you a Mac mini, however, much like myself, I'd wait until the next generation is released with a better CPU. Hope this helped!

FCP-X will run fine on the new Mac Mini for regular editing and things of that sort. If you're doing high end compositing or something, then you need something bigger.

 

[emaja]

3) Technology changes rapidly - No one wants the crap that someone's trying to get rid of!

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Some people don't care about latest and greatest or even if their tech is up to date. To them, $100 is $100.

You'd be surprised at what some people will pay for stuff that you call "crap." I put my tech stuff on eBay when I want to get rid of it. I use a standard auction, but put a "pie in the sky" price for a "Buy It Now" price. More often then not people choose BIN and I get what I want for it and they pay what they want for it. I do not deceive anyone in any way, but we both come out ahead.

 

[XcodeCrazy]

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Some people don't care about latest and greatest or even if their tech is up to date. To them, $100 is $100.

You'd be surprised at what some people will pay for stuff that you call "crap." I put my tech stuff on eBay when I want to get rid of it. I use a standard auction, but put a "pie in the sky" price for a "Buy It Now" price. More often then not people choose BIN and I get what I want for it and they pay what they want for it. I do not deceive anyone in any way, but we both come out ahead.

Then, some people are dumb.

 

[emaja]

Then, some people are dumb.

Not saying I completely disagree with you, but to some people $100 is worth it. Not to me, but then I am probably at the other extreme where I update too often.

 

[XcodeCrazy]

Not saying I completely disagree with you, but to some people $100 is worth it. Not to me, but then I am probably at the other extreme where I update too often.

Yeah, that is just my personal opinion. All I'm basically saying is, I would never pay that much for a used computer. Just makes more sense to buy a new one. But like you said, $100 could be a big deal to some people, and if that's the case, I really would just recommend the Refurbished Store. But buying a computer someone else has previously used for only $100 less than the current asking price is ridiculous. And BTW, thanks for the comments everyone, I'm going to hold on to my money and buy a new one when the next generation Mac mini comes out!