I guess 123macmini is dead?
Background (feel free to skip)
My first mac was a Mac Mini, good times. I bought a 13" MBP new in mid(?) 2010 and sold the Mini. The 8 year old MBP has been a CHAMP but its getting a bit long in the tooth. I'm itchy for a new or newer MBP but when you upgrade the hard drive the price goes through the roof.
To keep or not to keep...
I thought I was buying a late 2012 mini on eBay recently. The ad was incorrect, however, and it is a mid 2010. The seller proclaims it to be an honest mistake and honestly it was too cheap to be a 2012, I offered $250 and he took it, it was $265 shipped. It showed up with a wireless keyboard, not mentioned in the ad, and a wireless magic mouse 2, not mentioned in the ad. These, used, are worth +/- $50 used according to recent eBay sales (take that for what it is). The model I received, mac mini, sells for +/- $150 on eBay (again take that for what it is). At first I thought I would just send it back, but the seller offered a $65 partial credit to keep it, I asked for $85 and his response was to meet in the middle at $75. I have not yet accepted the offer.
Needs
Our 13" MBP has a lot of media on it that we stream to ATV4's and other devices, its running a WD Hybrid 1TB drive. Without that media a new or newer MBP wont need such a large hard drive, which would lower the cost. I would like a Mac mini to house all of our media and I also need it to run home assistant with a ZWave USB adapter as opposed to running it on a raspberry pi.
Upgrades
According to OWC, the upgraded ram in my MBP will go right into the mac mini, and the 1TB WD Hydrid drive, well, yeah, it will go into the mini as well. I think, but I am not sure, that I still have the original hard drive for my mac mini as well as the original 4gb ram. I will have to check though, I tend to sell those items after I swap them out but I kept a 2gb ram with the 8gb stick I put in the MBP. I know this isn't ideal, they are not a matched pair, but our computing needs are very, very basic.
Decision Time
So I can be in this Mac Mini for under $200 with a wireless keyboard and mouse (though I don't really need them once the device is up and running), I'll access it through whatever MBP I have (new or old). I could sell them of course. I think I can break even or maybe even come out a little ahead selling the old MBP, possibly selling the wireless keyboard and mouse and put all of those funds towards a new or newer MBP. Is there anything glaringly obvious that would make the 2012 mini a better option for our needs than the 2010? I don't think a 2012 can be touched for anywhere less than double what I could possibly be in this 2010 for.
[doublepost=1540419105][/doublepost]UPDATE:
I found the original ram and hard drive from the MBP. So my upgrades for the mini are already paid for. The upgraded hard drive would work on a 2012 but my understanding is the ram would be different.
Background (feel free to skip)
My first mac was a Mac Mini, good times. I bought a 13" MBP new in mid(?) 2010 and sold the Mini. The 8 year old MBP has been a CHAMP but its getting a bit long in the tooth. I'm itchy for a new or newer MBP but when you upgrade the hard drive the price goes through the roof.
To keep or not to keep...
I thought I was buying a late 2012 mini on eBay recently. The ad was incorrect, however, and it is a mid 2010. The seller proclaims it to be an honest mistake and honestly it was too cheap to be a 2012, I offered $250 and he took it, it was $265 shipped. It showed up with a wireless keyboard, not mentioned in the ad, and a wireless magic mouse 2, not mentioned in the ad. These, used, are worth +/- $50 used according to recent eBay sales (take that for what it is). The model I received, mac mini, sells for +/- $150 on eBay (again take that for what it is). At first I thought I would just send it back, but the seller offered a $65 partial credit to keep it, I asked for $85 and his response was to meet in the middle at $75. I have not yet accepted the offer.
Needs
Our 13" MBP has a lot of media on it that we stream to ATV4's and other devices, its running a WD Hybrid 1TB drive. Without that media a new or newer MBP wont need such a large hard drive, which would lower the cost. I would like a Mac mini to house all of our media and I also need it to run home assistant with a ZWave USB adapter as opposed to running it on a raspberry pi.
Upgrades
According to OWC, the upgraded ram in my MBP will go right into the mac mini, and the 1TB WD Hydrid drive, well, yeah, it will go into the mini as well. I think, but I am not sure, that I still have the original hard drive for my mac mini as well as the original 4gb ram. I will have to check though, I tend to sell those items after I swap them out but I kept a 2gb ram with the 8gb stick I put in the MBP. I know this isn't ideal, they are not a matched pair, but our computing needs are very, very basic.
Decision Time
So I can be in this Mac Mini for under $200 with a wireless keyboard and mouse (though I don't really need them once the device is up and running), I'll access it through whatever MBP I have (new or old). I could sell them of course. I think I can break even or maybe even come out a little ahead selling the old MBP, possibly selling the wireless keyboard and mouse and put all of those funds towards a new or newer MBP. Is there anything glaringly obvious that would make the 2012 mini a better option for our needs than the 2010? I don't think a 2012 can be touched for anywhere less than double what I could possibly be in this 2010 for.
[doublepost=1540419105][/doublepost]UPDATE:
I found the original ram and hard drive from the MBP. So my upgrades for the mini are already paid for. The upgraded hard drive would work on a 2012 but my understanding is the ram would be different.
