Should I Upgrade??

[tibas92013]

Thinking it is about time to upgrade to OSX "EL Cap" on my MM(late 2012), 2.5 GHz, 16GB Ram, 500GB HD , however, I am concerned about the HD not being able to handle "El Cap" thus having a device with lower speed and other problems. As of this date this MM meets all my computer needs.

So, should I install a internal SSD before upgrading from my present OSX "Mountain Lion"??

 

[Ebenezum]

I think the most important question is: Why you want to upgrade your OS to newer version?

Knowing answer to that question will help giving you better advice...

As for speed El Capitan is likely somewhat slower than Mountain Lion on a hard drive. I haven't been able to find any conclusive speed testing for El Capitan but in my experience with Mac Mini 2014 (8Gb of RAM) and El Capitan 10.11.2 (I no longer have the Mini so can't comment on the latest 10.11.3) it wasn't as fast as one would expect given the Macs age...

Using El Capitan on a SSD within USB3 external case was much better, its one option you might consider if you want to use SSD...

 

[Mlrollin91]

I've been running El Cap since Beta 1 last June on my 2011 iMac. Just the base 21.5" model but I upgraded from 4GB to 8GB. I have not noticed any speed issues since. I have also been running El Cap since Beta 1 on my 2012 11" MBA, again base spec. No issues with speed on that device either.
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I know neither of these devices are Minis, but neither of them are super powerful devices, so I figured my experience may help relate to yours.

 

[treekram]

On my 2012 Mini (2.6Ghz quad-core), I upgraded from Mountain Lion to Yosemite some time ago because there was software (Xcode) which required it. (I had GPU kernel panic problems with 10.10.3-10.10.5 which El Capitan has solved but 10.11.3 is now showing graphic artifacts that are minor annoyances.)

There is a good possibility that you will have to upgrade non-Apple software. That may incur upgrade $ costs and time. For me, some software upgrades were necessary, others I just did because I hadn't upgraded in awhile. Some software no longer worked and there were no solutions to making it work.

My 2014 Mini has an HDD and my 2012 has an SSD, both running El Capitan. My feeling is that my 2012 Mini was more responsive with Mountain Lion with the HDD than my 2014 Mini is with the HDD. I don't think the differences are due to my 2012 being a quad-core, but rather that El Capitan was made presuming users would have an SSD. If my 2014 Mini was my main computer, I would upgrade it to an SSD.

 

[tibas92013]

Thanx to all for your above replies; I would like to add that I also have a 2nd MM(Late 2014), 2.8GHZ, 8GB Ram, 256SSD which is my "Main" computer. I am still running OSX "Yosemite" on this fast "beast" which meets all my present computer needs, however, I do have a few Non-Essential "Apps" which I cannot upgrade without upgrading to OSX "El Cap".

So, based upon your excellent replies to my question now have me leaning toward first going with a "Crucial" Brand External SSD route instead of adding a Internal SSD to my MM(Late 2012).

 

[gsmornot]

Thanx to all for your above replies; I would like to add that I also have a 2nd MM(Late 2014), 2.8GHZ, 8GB Ram, 256SSD which is my "Main" computer. I am still running OSX "Yosemite" on this fast "beast" which meets all my present computer needs, however, I do have a few Non-Essential "Apps" which I cannot upgrade without upgrading to OSX "El Cap".

So, based upon your excellent replies to my question now have me leaning toward first going with a "Crucial" Brand External SSD route instead of adding a Internal SSD to my MM(Late 2012).

I added my SSD internal with a kit from OWC, left the original 500GB HD and created a Fusion drive. I upgraded my RAM to 16GB as well. 8GB of RAM would have been fine but the price was close enough I decided to just max it out. I run El Capitan, no complaints.

 

[Ebenezum]

Thanx to all for your above replies; I would like to add that I also have a 2nd MM(Late 2014), 2.8GHZ, 8GB Ram, 256SSD which is my "Main" computer. I am still running OSX "Yosemite" on this fast "beast" which meets all my present computer needs, however, I do have a few Non-Essential "Apps" which I cannot upgrade without upgrading to OSX "El Cap".

So, based upon your excellent replies to my question now have me leaning toward first going with a "Crucial" Brand External SSD route instead of adding a Internal SSD to my MM(Late 2012).

You might want to look at iFixIt for instructions. Cables are fragile so if you aren't certain about your ability to install SSD its safer to use external SSD. Speed is slightly slower than internal SSD but difference isn't major, another potential drawback is the lack of SMART information but it can be fixed with SMART driver.

Last drawback is the lack of TRIM for USB3 connections, it isn't a problem if your usage is fairly light. Most Thunderbolt enclosures support TRIM but they are expensive compared to USB3 and it may not be worth the price...