The "I just ordered / bought / got my new/refurb Mac mini" threads, merged

[Adz76]

Loving it!

Just built my new mini up, 2012 i7 quad which I picked up from Amazon as soon as the RAM was confirmed as not user upgradeable. Just added 16GB of Crucial RAM and a 256GB Samsung 850 Pro with a fresh install of Yosemite, so far I'm loving it! If funds allow I'll swap out the HDD for a second SSD.

 

[crazzapple]

Lots of people picking up the 2012s... glad to see apple's customers are smarter than apple thinks they are.

Edit: I still think it's possible apple can fix the mini in 2015/16. They've done it before when they added the removed firewire back into the macbook pros, so it's possible the lack of quad-core and upgradable ram can be corrected.

 

[JackieInCo]

Lots of people picking up the 2012s... glad to see apple's customers aren't as dumb as apple thinks they are.

I got mine back in September thinking that Apple may have the RAM soldered.
With the way they've been going, I was not surprised when it came true.

 

[rvs007]

Lots of people picking up the 2012s... glad to see apple's customers are smarter than apple thinks they are.

Edit: I still think it's possible apple can fix the mini in 2015/16. They've done it before when they added the removed firewire back into the macbook pros, so it's possible the lack of quad-core and upgradable ram can be corrected.

The main reason with them dropping the quad-core for the 2014 models is because for the Haswell processors, the quad-core requires a different socket than the dual-core. Hence, they would have had to design two different internals to support quad-core models. So if the next generation of Intel processors follow the same trend, then Apple may continue to not offer quad-core models.

 

[rrl]

The main reason with them dropping the quad-core for the 2014 models is because for the Haswell processors, the quad-core requires a different socket than the dual-core. Hence, they would have had to design two different internals to support quad-core models. So if the next generation of Intel processors follow the same trend, then Apple may continue to not offer quad-core models.

People, please don't believe this poor excuse. Apple could have easily gone the all-quad core/all-Iris Pro route of the 15" MacBook Pro. This was nothing more than an awful money grab. Hopefully, Apple will pay for this intentional crippling and lockdown.

 

[crazzapple]

The main reason with them dropping the quad-core for the 2014 models is because for the Haswell processors, the quad-core requires a different socket than the dual-core. Hence, they would have had to design two different internals to support quad-core models. So if the next generation of Intel processors follow the same trend, then Apple may continue to not offer quad-core models.

THis is a company sitting on billions upon billions of dollars in $$$cash$$$ and you don't think they can design one extra circuitboard?

 

[keekl]

Just bought a base 2012 refurb from apple site~$419~like others disappointed in new release but not ready to give up OS X altogether..thought about the quadcore mentioned above but just don't need that much computer so left it for someone else...long overdue to replace my old '06 mini even though it still runs pretty great

Any ideas to which version OS X will be installed?

Arrived Thurs~last night did the migration which went very well, didn't even have to log back into programs at all when I opened them up on the new mini. It had Mavericks installed, will do the upgrade to 10.10 today...now just have to learn all the differences in the jump from Snow Leopard to Yosemite

 

[ZipZilla]

now just have to learn all the differences in the jump from Snow Leopard to Yosemite

You too, huh. I am jumping from a 2007 Mini with Snow Leopard to a 2012 Mini with Yosemite on it and I feel like I am on a different planet.

 

[keekl]

You too, huh. I am jumping from a 2007 Mini with Snow Leopard to a 2012 Mini with Yosemite on it and I feel like I am on a different planet.

Migration worked so well it still kind of seems like the same computer except for this jerky scrolling issue on the browsers

 

[keekl]

Migration worked so well it still kind of seems like the same computer except for this jerky scrolling issue on the browsers

..and discovered none of my '06 Pages will open in the new Pages app downloading a trial of 09 iWork to use pages to convert so they can be opened with new Pages....seriously?

Price of waiting too long to upgrade stuff...but then if it worked fine why would I bother? Oh well I figured there'd be issues, at least the music plays and the email is all good so...

 

[mjlee]

Migration worked so well it still kind of seems like the same computer except for this jerky scrolling issue on the browsers

I've just had a scrolling issue that was similar, it turned out to be BetterTouchTool causing it.
As I only use it for window snapping, I went for BetterSnapTool instead and now all is working well again.

 

[keekl]

I've just had a scrolling issue that was similar, it turned out to be BetterTouchTool causing it.
As I only use it for window snapping, I went for BetterSnapTool instead and now all is working well again.

 

[Cassady]

Aw shucks. Stupid question guaranteed...

Just managed to pick up a 2012 i7 2.3 at same price as a 2012 i5. Having only ever owned 1 Mac (2012 cMBP), I'm clueless as to how the software licensing works?

Will all my MAS purchases simply install over on the new Mini when I set up my Apple account?

And then - the other apps purchased directly - will that depend on the individual licensing requirements of those apps? Bookends; 1Password; Devonthink; MsOffice for Mac etc.? Any guidance will be greatly appreciated!

 

[itsOver9000]

Will all my MAS purchases simply install over on the new Mini when I set up my Apple account?

Yep

And then - the other apps purchased directly - will that depend on the individual licensing requirements of those apps?

Yep

 

[scottsjack]

Aw shucks. Stupid question guaranteed...

Just managed to pick up a 2012 i7 2.3 at same price as a 2012 i5. Having only ever owned 1 Mac (2012 cMBP), I'm clueless as to how the software licensing works?

Will all my MAS purchases simply install over on the new Mini when I set up my Apple account?

And then - the other apps purchased directly - will that depend on the individual licensing requirements of those apps? Bookends; 1Password; Devonthink; MsOffice for Mac etc.? Any guidance will be greatly appreciated!

Having moved several Mac installs around this year I can tell you this. For 1Password just download and install it. Then use your key to activate it. I usually copy and past the 1Password folder from one computer to another. You can also export it from one machine and import that export file into your new one. Make sure to secure erase the non-encrypted export file.

MS Office is a cluster that depends on how many machines your license allows for and how many times you've installed it. Office for Mac will not uninstall and free up a license like Office for Windows does.

If it fails to activate because it has been used the maximum number of times you have to activate it by phone. Essentially you'll be explaining to the nice man in India that you do not have more Office installations than your license allows. It has worked every time for me. I've got two office licenses that allow for five installs. I'm only using three but it has been on so many computers that I always have to call in.

 

[Cassady]

Yep

Yep

Thanks.

One benefit of purchasing through the MAS store that I never thought of before!

----------

Having moved several Mac installs around this year I can tell you this. For 1Password just download and install it. Then use your key to activate it. I usually copy and past the 1Password folder from one computer to another. You can also export it from one machine and import that export file into your new one. Make sure to secure erase the non-encrypted export file.



MS Office is a cluster that depends on how many machines your license allows for and how many times you've installed it. Office for Mac will not uninstall and free up a license like Office for Windows does.



If it fails to activate because it has been used the maximum number of times you have to activate it by phone. Essentially you'll be explaining to the nice man in India that you do not have more Office installations than your license allows. It has worked every time for me. I've got two office licenses that allow for five installs. I'm only using three but it has been on so many computers that I always have to call in.

Appreciate the reply. Figured MS Office would be tricky. Needed to do that, after reinstalling my Parallels VM machine - obviously saw it as a 'new' machine. Will probably commit to Office 365 sometime next year (educational discount), which will make that problem disappear.

Will try downloading the download/license route on the others, and see what happens.

 

[NeilHD]

Ordered a 2012 I7 2.3 quad-core with 1TB yesterday off the Refurb store (after 2 days of refreshing!), then got 16Gb Crucial Ram from Amazon.

Not sure if I should get a SSD to make it a Fusion or not... I'm in the UK and it seems the kits are harder to get?

 

[rvs007]

Ordered a 2012 I7 2.3 quad-core with 1TB yesterday off the Refurb store (after 2 days of refreshing!), then got 16Gb Crucial Ram from Amazon.

Not sure if I should get a SSD to make it a Fusion or not... I'm in the UK and it seems the kits are harder to get?

I got a chance to compare a 2012 i7 2.3 quad-core with 4GB of RAM & 1TB HDD, vs. the same model with 16GB of RAM & 1TB fusion drive. It's noticeably faster and less swapping. For example, when I switch users, the stock model would need time to swap before switching to the login screen. But with the upgrades, the switch is instantaneous. I would recommend doing both upgrades as that's really all you can do to maximize the performance of this generation of Mac Mini's.

 

[NeilHD]

I got a chance to compare a 2012 i7 2.3 quad-core with 4GB of RAM & 1TB HDD, vs. the same model with 16GB of RAM & 1TB fusion drive. It's noticeably faster and less swapping. For example, when I switch users, the stock model would need time to swap before switching to the login screen. But with the upgrades, the switch is instantaneous. I would recommend doing both upgrades as that's really all you can do to maximize the performance of this generation of Mac Mini's.

In the end I decided to do it so ordered a 250gb Samsung SSD today that I'll put in before starting to use it

 

[Trusteft]

My first Apple computer (I did use one in the mid 80's and an iMac in 2005, but just for a couple of programs) arrived. It's a new Mac Mini late 2012 edition, with the 2.3Ghz Quad core cpu and 2 1TB drives, my guess is they are 5400rpm.
I haven't used it yet, too busy right now. I already have 16GB ready to be installed.
I am not sure if I will install one or more SSDs to replace the mechanical drives, or wait use the mac and then decide. Though I have no idea how to do anything with it, including cloning or whatever.
Anyway, one last thing, DAMN IT'S HEAVY!

 

[itsOver9000]

Anyway, one last thing, DAMN IT'S HEAVY!

Heavy? I haven't picked up or moved my mini for months but I don't recall being bothered by the weight.. Mine only has one 1TB HDD though, maybe that's the reason. lol
The mini spec sheet says it weighs just a little over 2.5lbs. Far cry from what my last tower desktop weighed, probably ~25+ lbs.

 

[rvs007]

Heavy? I haven't picked up or moved my mini for months but I don't recall being bothered by the weight.. Mine only has one 1TB HDD though, maybe that's the reason. lol
The mini spec sheet says it weighs just a little over 2.5lbs. Far cry from what my last tower desktop weighed, probably ~25+ lbs.

I think he meant it as a joke because it's far lighter and more compact than any computer I've ever used.

Since getting the dual-core i5 a few weeks ago, I've actually "upgraded" twice. In the refurb. store the quad-core i7s came back in stock, so I quickly grabbed it before it disappeared again. Then a few days later, the quad-core i7s with a 1TB fusion drive was in stock, and I figure it would save me the hassle of having to install a SSD myself. So I opted for that. So now for the family we are running a quad-core i7 w/ 1TB fusion drive and 16GB of RAM that I bought from Newegg. I guess in terms of upgrades, I've pretty much maxed it out. And it's very noticeable between the base model and this one I have. Significantly less swapping and snappier feel overall.

 

[Kentuckienne]

I am not sure if I will install one or more SSDs to replace the mechanical drives, or wait use the mac and then decide.

I also tried the "wait and see how fast it is" approach with my i7 quad-core model, and let me emphasize the "wait" part. I instantly regretting not waiting for the new model which was almost certainly coming, and immediately ordered 16 MB RAM and an SSD from OWC. Installed it with great trepidation. I haven't timed it, but the computer now boots in something like 10 seconds so it's gone over to the "see" side of wait and see. I'd use it for a bit just to make some videos of it booting so you'll remember how slow it was, and to make sure it doesn't have some dreadful problem that will require it to be returned. Then install the SSD and be happy.

 

[rvs007]

Yes, booting up with the fusion drive (off the SSD partition) is like 10 seconds. Lightning quick.

 

[Trusteft]

Heavy? I haven't picked up or moved my mini for months but I don't recall being bothered by the weight.. Mine only has one 1TB HDD though, maybe that's the reason. lol
The mini spec sheet says it weighs just a little over 2.5lbs. Far cry from what my last tower desktop weighed, probably ~25+ lbs.

As I said, it feels heavier than I expected it to be. Facts are irrelevant.
BUT, it does feel much heavier than my mini Shuttle PC, and that has an internal optical drive.

I think he meant it as a joke because it's far lighter and more compact than any computer I've ever used.

Since getting the dual-core i5 a few weeks ago, I've actually "upgraded" twice. In the refurb. store the quad-core i7s came back in stock, so I quickly grabbed it before it disappeared again. Then a few days later, the quad-core i7s with a 1TB fusion drive was in stock, and I figure it would save me the hassle of having to install a SSD myself. So I opted for that. So now for the family we are running a quad-core i7 w/ 1TB fusion drive and 16GB of RAM that I bought from Newegg. I guess in terms of upgrades, I've pretty much maxed it out. And it's very noticeable between the base model and this one I have. Significantly less swapping and snappier feel overall.

It's definitely far from the lighter or smaller PC I have ever used. That would be my Windows 8.1 Tablet from Acer which is much lighter. My Shuttle mini PC is also lighter. Actually I also used an Atari Portofolio, but I can't remember how heavy that was.
Anyway, it wasn't a complain, it was an observation I made.

I also tried the "wait and see how fast it is" approach with my i7 quad-core model, and let me emphasize the "wait" part. I instantly regretting not waiting for the new model which was almost certainly coming, and immediately ordered 16 MB RAM and an SSD from OWC. Installed it with great trepidation. I haven't timed it, but the computer now boots in something like 10 seconds so it's gone over to the "see" side of wait and see. I'd use it for a bit just to make some videos of it booting so you'll remember how slow it was, and to make sure it doesn't have some dreadful problem that will require it to be returned. Then install the SSD and be happy.

I am not one of those who care about boot times. If it loads in 10 seconds or 2 min, it's the same thing for me. I am not going to start up the computer to enter the keycodes to lunch the ICBMs before the enemy missiles strike me. I can afford few more seconds once a day or something.

I am going to use this mac solely for video editing. Other than system software updates I am not even going to have it plugged in the internet (for safety reasons mainly). I am not so certain if going for SSDs would be the best move for this machine yet. Let's face it, it's not exactly a powerhouse to begin with. If I decide I am satisfied with the Mac experience and I decided to get a more powerful one, then sure.