Welcome to the club. Mine arrives on Tuesday. If a new mini with amazeballs specs magically drops on Tuesday (or the following tuesday) as well, I might reconsider...
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
The "I just ordered / bought / got my new/refurb Mac mini" threads, merged
- Thread starter MacRansom
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Welcome to the club. Mine arrives on Tuesday. If a new mini with amazeballs specs magically drops on Tuesday (or the following tuesday) as well, I might reconsider...
I'm thinking even if something new comes out, you can look for it to go the way of everything else lately with the hard soldered RAM and the like. Have to think if that's a trade off worth making. With the 2.6 i7 and 8GB of RAM, I can always add RAM to eek out a bit more performance, or swap in an SSD. If you go to SSD based computers only with hard soldered RAM, so you could make the Mini considerably smaller.
I'll keep the ability to swap out bits, even with a bit of a speed boost.
Same here. I just sold my Mac Pro 5,1. If the new mini is all glued and soldered together I would consider buying a 2012 2.6 i7 as my primary Mac system. That way my 2012 2.3 i7 Mac/Windows machine could become a Windows-only mini. Being able to run both systems at the same time is really helpful.
New Mini finally arrived today, and thanks to some quick thinking, I was able to catch it before it sat in the local FedEx warehouse for a day before being delivered (it would have technically been on time even still), and picked it up this morning. Now if I would have only been home for the UPS guy with the keyboard, I wouldn't have to be borrowing the keyboard from my work Mac.
Things are switched per pretty quickly, and now it's just odds and ends. I can tell a difference from the work computer to this one in not having the Fusion drive, but still a very sold machine. Very responsive and was handling installing app after app without so much as a hint of a beach ball.
Things are switched per pretty quickly, and now it's just odds and ends. I can tell a difference from the work computer to this one in not having the Fusion drive, but still a very sold machine. Very responsive and was handling installing app after app without so much as a hint of a beach ball.
Great little machine
I have a number of MacBooks in my house but decided I needed one central machine to act as a server. I bought the base Mac Mini from the refurb store, along with a cheap 23" monitor and a 2nd hand Mac keyboard from ebay. The Mac Mini now gets used all the time, it is great for just about everything, including games. I have installed OS X server and added a couple of 2TB/3TB drives for storage, I am playing around with the OS X Server update caching and time machine features.
The one upgrade I did was to replace the stock 500GB hard drive with a 1TB Momentus XT Hybrid drive, the Mac Mini is now nearer to the performance of an SSD MacBook. Followed all the instructions I found on the web, only took around 20 minutes.
I have a number of MacBooks in my house but decided I needed one central machine to act as a server. I bought the base Mac Mini from the refurb store, along with a cheap 23" monitor and a 2nd hand Mac keyboard from ebay. The Mac Mini now gets used all the time, it is great for just about everything, including games. I have installed OS X server and added a couple of 2TB/3TB drives for storage, I am playing around with the OS X Server update caching and time machine features.
The one upgrade I did was to replace the stock 500GB hard drive with a 1TB Momentus XT Hybrid drive, the Mac Mini is now nearer to the performance of an SSD MacBook. Followed all the instructions I found on the web, only took around 20 minutes.
The Great - The Mini
Exactly...
As I remarked in another thread:
"Long Live the Mac Mini.....If Only Apple Lets It"
The Mac Mini is a well and truly brilliant product, as much so as the MacBook Air, in my opinion.
All the hallmarks of the genius of Jobs, under whose leadership the product was created.
And so it is a pity that the world's biggest IT company has given the Mac Mini's update so little priority lately.
With 98,000 employees, surely a few could get to work on a new Mac Mini?
In the meantime, it must be conceded, the existing Mac Mini remains fairly great...
Exactly...
As I remarked in another thread:
"Long Live the Mac Mini.....If Only Apple Lets It"
The Mac Mini is a well and truly brilliant product, as much so as the MacBook Air, in my opinion.
All the hallmarks of the genius of Jobs, under whose leadership the product was created.
And so it is a pity that the world's biggest IT company has given the Mac Mini's update so little priority lately.
With 98,000 employees, surely a few could get to work on a new Mac Mini?
In the meantime, it must be conceded, the existing Mac Mini remains fairly great...
Hey guys just thought I would post that I got my core i5 Mac Mini today. Despite the not huge specs this is a fantastic computer. I went ahead and got it because of the upgradable ram to 16gb so its future proofed pretty well and well, it's a mac, nothing is better but a better mac. I used to have a really nice core i7 cMBP but had to get rid of it and had been without a computer for a little bit and refused to buy a windows computer so I just decided to get this little baby and it looks sexy as hell on my desk, is very very quiet, super fast...couldn't be happier. 
After rebuilding my Win7 media server last weekend, it crashed again last night. need a full rebuild. tiered of rebuilding.
Just ordered a referb, I7, Mini server, with 2x 1TB disk and 4GB ram.
Just streaming music and movies with it so I believe that 4GB should be enough.
Just ordered a referb, I7, Mini server, with 2x 1TB disk and 4GB ram.
Just streaming music and movies with it so I believe that 4GB should be enough.
after months in the 'The New Mac Mini is almost Certainly Coming' thread I pulled the trigger today on a 2.6 i7 and had some memory shipped from Amazon. I can't rebuild the original Core Duo mini I still have chugging away any more times so it's time for it to retire.
I figured getting max processor and memory should keep me going for another 8 or so years, as long as the old one's been working away.
This is for video transcoding, of which I seem to do lots, Xcode server builds and general dogsbody work around the place.
2-4 business days .. sigh .. after waiting so long you'd think the few extra days would be easy huh!
I figured getting max processor and memory should keep me going for another 8 or so years, as long as the old one's been working away.
This is for video transcoding, of which I seem to do lots, Xcode server builds and general dogsbody work around the place.
2-4 business days .. sigh .. after waiting so long you'd think the few extra days would be easy huh!
Despite the possibility of a refresh happening "anytime now" for a long while, I also picked up a new mini. Actually, a refurb base i5 model. It's my first refurb Mac and I'm very pleased, not a scratch on it and operates like brand new. This is for work to replace my early 2009 mini that meet an unfortunate earlier-than-planned demise. I needed a replacement right away, so I snagged the refurb base model as soon as I saw one available.
I added a new 128GB SSD and 8GB of RAM I had from another computer and this thing really flies. It's perfect for all of my day-to-day tasks. After using it for a few weeks now, for almost all tasks I don't notice much of a speed difference between this and my 15" 2012 rMBP. The minis are really such great machines and I hope Apple keeps them around.
I added a new 128GB SSD and 8GB of RAM I had from another computer and this thing really flies. It's perfect for all of my day-to-day tasks. After using it for a few weeks now, for almost all tasks I don't notice much of a speed difference between this and my 15" 2012 rMBP. The minis are really such great machines and I hope Apple keeps them around.
Hi guys
I ordered the mac mini basic, from the refurbished apple store...
Mine is coming with 8GB, is what they had there available...so Im guessing that's apple ram. I can't afford more ram, but I'm sure this will suffice.
Do mac minis come with HDMI to HDMI cable? Just thinking what cables I will need to connect to a monitor.
I don't have money to buy a good Dell monitor, some friends of mine who do photography on a budget have a viewsonic I have a tight budget, so I found one that came out in june I can only afford this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K6E8ACU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
I ordered the mac mini basic, from the refurbished apple store...
Mine is coming with 8GB, is what they had there available...so Im guessing that's apple ram. I can't afford more ram, but I'm sure this will suffice.
Do mac minis come with HDMI to HDMI cable? Just thinking what cables I will need to connect to a monitor.
I don't have money to buy a good Dell monitor, some friends of mine who do photography on a budget have a viewsonic I have a tight budget, so I found one that came out in june I can only afford this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K6E8ACU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Comes (in UK at least) with HDMI to DVI adapter.
I have received my second Mini (2.3 i7) on Tuesday, will replace my older i5 unit, really liked process of restoring my apps and files using time machine. As for hardware upgrades just swapped RAM with i5 one so rocking 16GB now, will probably upgrade to SSD at some point (just like i did with i5).
Shame my Apple keyboard is starting to give up the ghost after only 10 months...
I did have a Apple keyboard (the real one, wired) start to go bad after just a few months. The Apple Store gave me a new one and it's been perfect ever since. That keyboard and a noisy GPU on a Mac Pro have been the only failures on six personal Macs. Not too bad at all!
That's too bad. I've been using a wired Apple keyboard for four years at work and a wireless one for about the same time at home. Both have been flawless, never giving me any problems. They're my favorite keyboards I've ever had.
Well, talked to Apple but they send me back to original seller - Amazon - and now replacement keyboard is on its way to me.
I'm really getting sick of people saying that the late 2012 mac mini is out of date. I've had my base i5 model for about 2 weeks now even with just the 4 gigs of ram (i'm planning on upgrading to 16) and it is one of my favorite macs i've ever had. I like it better than my mid 2012 cMBP with the 2.9GHz core i7. It seems to be faster because it's always plugged in so it eeks more out of the processor since it's not limited by a battery. I love my new mac mini. Once I upgrade the ram I know I will get at least 4 or 5 years out of it. 
Your i5 Will Improve With Age!
Yeah, I hear you KingKen1986. The late 2012 Mac mini remains a great machine despite the griping. Threads on these forums have discussed the limited benefits that a Haswell based update would offer but folks still yearn for the next model.
A wise man once said "nothing is better but a better mac". Apple might want to explore basing an advertising campaign on that idea. While Microsoft thrashes about with attempts to sell their Surface by dissing iPads and MacBooks, Apple could ignore them by defying comparison with anything less than a "Better Mac".
Your plan to boost your memory will make your fine computer even better. If after boosting the RAM to 8Gb or 16Gb you want an even more dramatic performance boost you can add an SSD to your system. Installing even a small SSD in your empty drive bay would enable you to combine it with your 500Gb spinner as a Fusion drive. Configured that way your Mac mini would perform like a system with a relatively large SSD.
Out of date indeed! Like you, I expect that my late 2012 will still be going strong long after the operating system upgrades leave it behind.
Yeah, I hear you KingKen1986. The late 2012 Mac mini remains a great machine despite the griping. Threads on these forums have discussed the limited benefits that a Haswell based update would offer but folks still yearn for the next model.
A wise man once said "nothing is better but a better mac". Apple might want to explore basing an advertising campaign on that idea. While Microsoft thrashes about with attempts to sell their Surface by dissing iPads and MacBooks, Apple could ignore them by defying comparison with anything less than a "Better Mac".
Your plan to boost your memory will make your fine computer even better. If after boosting the RAM to 8Gb or 16Gb you want an even more dramatic performance boost you can add an SSD to your system. Installing even a small SSD in your empty drive bay would enable you to combine it with your 500Gb spinner as a Fusion drive. Configured that way your Mac mini would perform like a system with a relatively large SSD.
Out of date indeed! Like you, I expect that my late 2012 will still be going strong long after the operating system upgrades leave it behind.
Last edited:
went to best buy to cop the i5 and got hype when an employee said i would receive the 100 dollar student discount.. so the price went from 550 to 450.. i thought i had hit the jackpot.. so after waiting for awhile to get the email.. i got impatient and told him i would come back..
came back after getting chipotle.. another employee helped me and hastily informed that the 100 discount is for MacBooks and iMacs.. not the mini.. then said he would look out for me.. dude came back with an open box i7 and i left paying 650. i was hyped.
love this computer.. so happy to retire my 2002 blackbook finally..
definitely need an SSD and another 16 gb..
came back after getting chipotle.. another employee helped me and hastily informed that the 100 discount is for MacBooks and iMacs.. not the mini.. then said he would look out for me.. dude came back with an open box i7 and i left paying 650. i was hyped.
love this computer.. so happy to retire my 2002 blackbook finally..
definitely need an SSD and another 16 gb..
Just put 16 gigs of ram in my late 2012 core i5 mini that Iv'e had for about 2 1/2 weeks now...all I can say is wow, really opened this baby up. That is a must do upgrade for anyone that just got a mac mini because the difference is amazing. I love this machine, especially now!
Picked up an open box I5 Mini at MicroCente today for $494. It was still new wrapped in the original package with the paper seal warning on it so it was just an open box Mini. Has the full one year warranty. I'm going to upgrade to Mavericks right away.
I was using my 2008 black MacBook with a Bookendz dock so that I could plug in all my external drives.
Only thing missing was the HDMI adaptor but I already had a mini port adaptor from my now destroyed 2010 MB so I'm all setup now.
Very happy with my purchase. If a new Mini comes out, I'll likely get it after the new year.
I was using my 2008 black MacBook with a Bookendz dock so that I could plug in all my external drives.
Only thing missing was the HDMI adaptor but I already had a mini port adaptor from my now destroyed 2010 MB so I'm all setup now.
Very happy with my purchase. If a new Mini comes out, I'll likely get it after the new year.
Well after having really enjoyed having my late 2012 mac mini with the core i5 processor for 2 weeks...it crashed. I had just recently expanded the ram to 16 gigs, switched the ram modules back to the old ones and was still experiencing freezings, random reboots/shutdowns, application lockups. So I left the old ram in there and still had the receipt for both the ram and the mini which I had both bought at BestBuy. Got to my local BestBuy to exchange (my local BestBuy rocks). Well unfortunately they were out of the core i5 models but guess what, they said if I take back the ram modules (which were 170 bucks after tax) and my mini (which I had gotten on sale for 550 bucks) they would throw me the core i7 version at no charge for my troubles!!! ARE YOU ******** ME I thought to myself, well they sure enough did. Here I am typing on the quad core i7 late 2012 mini...I could not believe it, I felt like I was committing a crime or something getting away with that deal...LOL....but oooohhhh baby does this quad core soar! THANK YOU BESTBUY!
