Thread?
Do we have a place here on this site for posting stuff for sale? I looked around but didn't see anything. I've got an unused 2012 2.5 refurb that I need to move (got a 2012 2.6 before I had a chance to deploy it)
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Thinking of buying a used mini... need recommendations...
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Thread?
Do we have a place here on this site for posting stuff for sale? I looked around but didn't see anything. I've got an unused 2012 2.5 refurb that I need to move (got a 2012 2.6 before I had a chance to deploy it)
Hey, good call, I should've provided the link when I posted - it's here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2012-mac-mini-2-5-ghz-i5-500gb-hdd-4-16-gb-ram.1892233/
FYI, that's in the Marketplace, which is the "For Sale" area, where you'd want to post your equipment, and I believe there's a minimum post count before you're allowed to start a thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/marketplace.132/
Hope that helps
If you do a fair bit of gaming, the Iris 5100 GPU in the 2014 models (2.6 and up) is going to be 50-75% more powerful than the HD 4000 in the 2012 models, and worth considering. The problem, of course, is price and budget. If you go with a 2012, the HD 4000 is going to be adequate for many games , and you can google around to see what experience people have for a particular game on that GPU as it's fairly common.
Another thing, ironically enough, to watch out for is: OSX version vs Windows version of a given game. Some games will run better if you bootcamp into windows and run the windows version instead of the OSX version. The issue there is a combo of drivers (mostly) and API programming : Apple's Open GL stack vs MS's DirectX. When I was working on OSX source engine, circa Snow Leopard/Lion, the OS/Driver difference was pretty bad, but it's gotten better with each succeeding release of OSX.
Hey, good call, I should've provided the link when I posted - it's here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2012-mac-mini-2-5-ghz-i5-500gb-hdd-4-16-gb-ram.1892233/
FYI, that's in the Marketplace, which is the "For Sale" area, where you'd want to post your equipment, and I believe there's a minimum post count before you're allowed to start a thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/marketplace.132/
Hope that helps
Thanks. Apparently I've not done enough here to earn access to it yet.
I really don't do much gaming. I have some games, but it's mostly something I find on the App Store that looks interesting. I don't have much time so I don't buy many, but I wanted to make sure I'm able to do some gaming.
I ended up getting an '11 2.5 mini. I haven't received it yet, hopefully I get it by Tuesday, since I'm off, but I don't think that'll happen with Independence Day and all.
The Fusion drive is always worth more. The processor difference between the 2.6GHz and the 2.8GHz (and even the 3.0GHz) is only less than 5%.
The Fusion Drive can give you 90% of the performance of a full SSD.
The sweet spot is basically the 2.6/8/1TB Fusion option.
I wasn't thinking about the 2011s, but you are going to do just fine with that one. Good choice, and hope you got it for a sweet price.
In terms of raw CPU power, the Sandy Bridge cpu in it a lot better than the Core 2 Duo in the 2010s, but since then (in the 2012 and 2014 models) the IPC gains are much more modest. (plus it turbos up to 3.2 Ghz)
As for graphics, you got the only Mac Mini year that had a discrete GPU - the Radeon HD 6630m, which I find to be just a tad better than the HD 4000 in the 2012s - It'll do just fine for the games you are likely to play.
Both the RAM (super easy) and Hard Drive (a little involved) are upgradable, which you can do at your own pace and desire (if they aren't upgraded already).
Thanks. I just wish I was able to find a good price on a 2012, mainly for USB 3.0. And the main part of that is because I get annoyed doing TM backups every week or so. I guess with a desktop I can just leave it plugged in, or plug it in and not worry about it. With a MBP I have to deal with having to wait for it to finish before unplugging it.
I haven't had a desktop in almost 9 years and I have no idea where I'm going to put it. I'm actually a bit excited about it, but I'm not sure how long I'm going to keep it. I'm waiting for USB-C to come mainstream to Macs before seriously upgrading.
I haven't had a desktop in almost 9 years and I have no idea where I'm going to put it. I'm actually a bit excited about it, but I'm not sure how long I'm going to keep it. I'm waiting for USB-C to come mainstream to Macs before seriously upgrading.
Are those normal incremental Time Machine (TM)backups that you perform on a weekly basis? The connection ease and added speed of AC WiFi could possibly solve your backup problem. Network connections can sometimes provide solutions for inconvenient or slow backups. Ethernet cables connect my mini and Seagate GoFlex Home to my router (AirPort Extreme). Most of the time, I do not even notice when TM performs backups of this mini.
If your backups are the larger complete type, the speed of solutions based on USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, or Ethernet might be essential.
Well, I was looking at newer models, than the '11 I purchased, and looked at the buyer's guide on here, and it looks like they'll all be updated sometime in September. More than likely, the new thing with be USB-C, it'd be cool to have Lightning, and faster CPUs.
Since I'm not in desperate need for something right now, I thought I'd get an older, inexpensive mini and wait to see what Apple has to offer. I know there's always going to be updates but with the possibility being so close I just thought I'd wait.
They're incremental over USB 2.0 to an external HDD. I've considered getting a TC so it can backup smaller chunks throughout the day vs. waiting 10-15 days sometimes and backing up a whole bunch.