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What do you use your Mac Mini for?
- Thread starter LERsince1991
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Honestly, mostly computer games via Bootcamp. I've recently added the Thunderbolt display and it really brings out the Mini's flaws when I try to run something high end.
It is a good system though, my primary desktop, better specs than my new '14 MacBook Pro thanks to upgrades. It ought to hold me over until Cannonlake hits the market. Probably buy myself a nice high-end iMac then.
It is a good system though, my primary desktop, better specs than my new '14 MacBook Pro thanks to upgrades. It ought to hold me over until Cannonlake hits the market. Probably buy myself a nice high-end iMac then.
I have an entire Mac Mini dedicated to use as a volume control on my HDTV! Really, that's all it does - takes the audio-in from my TV's "headphone" port, which does not respond to the TV's volume controls of course, and lets me remotely adjust the volume before spitting it to my speakers. (You'll need a little app running, I think it is called "Linein???")
So it looks like a headphone port, but is actually "line out." (Why? Because they manufactured the TV with unusably poor speakers to force you to purchase a soundbar, and if they give you a volume control that works with an actual headphone jack you'll just plug-in all those nice speakers you have laying around and won't buy their soundbar! That's why!) So I decided to stick it to the man and figure out a way to utilize one of my own perfectly nice self-powered analog speaker-sets, which only needed a functional remote volume-control between the "line out" and the self-amplified speakers. Using an old Mac Mini with one of those old white remotes works great for that!
I used to use it as a client to stream games from my gaming rig to the TV, but there really wasn't much point most of the time, and then a STEAM update broke Mac > PC bluetooth XBone controller streaming anyway.
So it looks like a headphone port, but is actually "line out." (Why? Because they manufactured the TV with unusably poor speakers to force you to purchase a soundbar, and if they give you a volume control that works with an actual headphone jack you'll just plug-in all those nice speakers you have laying around and won't buy their soundbar! That's why!) So I decided to stick it to the man and figure out a way to utilize one of my own perfectly nice self-powered analog speaker-sets, which only needed a functional remote volume-control between the "line out" and the self-amplified speakers. Using an old Mac Mini with one of those old white remotes works great for that!
I used to use it as a client to stream games from my gaming rig to the TV, but there really wasn't much point most of the time, and then a STEAM update broke Mac > PC bluetooth XBone controller streaming anyway.
I used my 2011 Mac mini to drive a 1080p tv and also do stuff like control a printer, backup photos, and stuff like that. I held off on getting a 4k tv for years waiting for a Mac mini that could drive it. Finally I got a 4k tv and got rid of the Mac mini. Replaced with an iPad that sits in the living room and streams things to the tv. Its much nicer having a tablet on the coffee table than having a keyboard and trackpad there. I don't think there will ever be an updated Mac mini, at some point you have to move on.
Still waiting for one, but when I get one it will be for design and programming, and it will be my primary device for everything: internet browsing, media consumption, gaming...everything that I usually do with computers.
I may be old fashioned, but desktop is still king for me.
I may be old fashioned, but desktop is still king for me.
I have two minis that I use regularly.
Home - 2012 2.3GHz Quad i7, 16GB RAM, 2x 2TB HDDs internal and 1x 4TB HDD external. This is my home server. It is used as a media server for my Apple TV, an encoding machine, as well as the web server for my personal website and a wiki that my wife runs. I also use it for Time Machine backups for multiple Macs in my home. It performs its duty beautifully, putting out little heat and using little power, which is all that I ask.
School - 2012 1.5GHz i5, 12GB RAM, 120GB SSD, 1TB HDD external. This is my projector slave machine at school. I have a 2010 i3 iMac that I use on my desk as my main computer, and I have the mini hooked into the projector. I control it via screen sharing; I use this setup because I want a very speedy computer to show the kiddos things on, and the mini handles everything I throw at it with aplomb. It also just sits there quietly performing its duty flawlessly. It is also used as a Time Machine server for my Macs at school as well as a few other teachers'.
Home - 2012 2.3GHz Quad i7, 16GB RAM, 2x 2TB HDDs internal and 1x 4TB HDD external. This is my home server. It is used as a media server for my Apple TV, an encoding machine, as well as the web server for my personal website and a wiki that my wife runs. I also use it for Time Machine backups for multiple Macs in my home. It performs its duty beautifully, putting out little heat and using little power, which is all that I ask.
School - 2012 1.5GHz i5, 12GB RAM, 120GB SSD, 1TB HDD external. This is my projector slave machine at school. I have a 2010 i3 iMac that I use on my desk as my main computer, and I have the mini hooked into the projector. I control it via screen sharing; I use this setup because I want a very speedy computer to show the kiddos things on, and the mini handles everything I throw at it with aplomb. It also just sits there quietly performing its duty flawlessly. It is also used as a Time Machine server for my Macs at school as well as a few other teachers'.
2012 Quad i7 16GB & SSD.
I use the above primarily as a Plex server, download manager, iTunes server, Photos server and for Photo editing. It also sees use for more general tasks like occasional browsing, video and audio editing and regular backups to external drives.
I use the above primarily as a Plex server, download manager, iTunes server, Photos server and for Photo editing. It also sees use for more general tasks like occasional browsing, video and audio editing and regular backups to external drives.
If I get one, it will be my primary computer:
School (Documents, taking online courses), video conversion and editing, photo editing, writing, surfing the web, almost anything with content.
School (Documents, taking online courses), video conversion and editing, photo editing, writing, surfing the web, almost anything with content.
I have a small hadron collider in my basement. I use my 2014 mini to control that. It works nicely. Creates much better black holes than any windows PC.
I'm waiting for the new Mac Mini so I can finally replace my Windows desktop computer for everything.
I use my 2012 Mac Mini to revive Macrumors threads that were started in 2015...
My primary computer is a 2015 13" MBP. Although my initial intention when I got the MBP was to sell my 2012 i7 Mac mini, I decided to keep it around as a backup in case anything happened to my MBP. When it became unusably slow, I replaced the stock 1 TB HDD with a 2.12 TB Fusion drive and was amazed at the increase in speed. I again considered selling it earlier this year because the resale value remains high, but I still like the idea of having a backup computer.
As for what I actually use the mini for, I've gradually been ripping my large DVD collection in the background when I work on my MBP. It also has all my peripherals attached (scanner, audio/MIDI interface, printer, external media drives, cable for my Sony mirrorless camera), which is very convenient. Finally, it has my iTunes library, my Photos library, and all of my Dropbox files, none of which would fit on my MBP's 256 GB SSD. It's still fast enough for most of what I do. The only thing that makes it feel dated is lack of support for my 4K monitor, which I use with my MBP. (It works at lower resolutions with the mini, but text is a bit fuzzy.)
My mini has been an awesome computer. I paid $679 for it in the Apple Refurbished Store in early 2013, spent $100 to upgrade the RAM to 16 GB, and spent another $150 on the Fusion drive (120 GB SSD + 2 TB HDD). I once again considered selling it before the rumored "Mac mini Pro" is announced (we should know soon whether it's an actual thing), which likely would cause the resale value of 2012 minis to drop -- but then I'd be without a backup computer, and I'm guessing the new mini probably will be more expensive than the previous ones have been, seeing how the rumors say it will be aimed at pros.
My wife has a 2012 i5 mini, which I upgraded with a 1.12 TB Fusion drive, and it's her only computer. She just does basic tasks, and it's fast enough for her. Barring component failure, I figure we'll get another two or three years of use from our minis, and then they'll either become file servers or be put to rest in a storage cabinet with our 2008 MBP and 2009 white MB, both of which still work.
[doublepost=1538758238][/doublepost]
Ha! Seriously, in 2015, did you think you'd still be using your 2012 mini in 2018? And do you think we'll revive this thread again in 2021?
As for what I actually use the mini for, I've gradually been ripping my large DVD collection in the background when I work on my MBP. It also has all my peripherals attached (scanner, audio/MIDI interface, printer, external media drives, cable for my Sony mirrorless camera), which is very convenient. Finally, it has my iTunes library, my Photos library, and all of my Dropbox files, none of which would fit on my MBP's 256 GB SSD. It's still fast enough for most of what I do. The only thing that makes it feel dated is lack of support for my 4K monitor, which I use with my MBP. (It works at lower resolutions with the mini, but text is a bit fuzzy.)
My mini has been an awesome computer. I paid $679 for it in the Apple Refurbished Store in early 2013, spent $100 to upgrade the RAM to 16 GB, and spent another $150 on the Fusion drive (120 GB SSD + 2 TB HDD). I once again considered selling it before the rumored "Mac mini Pro" is announced (we should know soon whether it's an actual thing), which likely would cause the resale value of 2012 minis to drop -- but then I'd be without a backup computer, and I'm guessing the new mini probably will be more expensive than the previous ones have been, seeing how the rumors say it will be aimed at pros.
My wife has a 2012 i5 mini, which I upgraded with a 1.12 TB Fusion drive, and it's her only computer. She just does basic tasks, and it's fast enough for her. Barring component failure, I figure we'll get another two or three years of use from our minis, and then they'll either become file servers or be put to rest in a storage cabinet with our 2008 MBP and 2009 white MB, both of which still work.
[doublepost=1538758238][/doublepost]
Ha! Seriously, in 2015, did you think you'd still be using your 2012 mini in 2018? And do you think we'll revive this thread again in 2021?
2012 mini is our living room htpc, open emu box for playing snes/nes/n64/playstation games on the big screen and itunes/media/file server for the rest of the house.
it is the last new mac i actually bought new at the store, the day after the specs for the 2014 mini were announced
since then i've bought a 2012 nr macbook pro and a 2011 imac, both of which if they ever need replacing will likely be replaced with similar machines
i like all of them because they can be opened up to replace and upgrade parts
it may be an irrational fear but the t2 chip freaks me out so i'm interested to see if a new mini is released if it's compelling enough for me to think about buying one or not
it is the last new mac i actually bought new at the store, the day after the specs for the 2014 mini were announced
since then i've bought a 2012 nr macbook pro and a 2011 imac, both of which if they ever need replacing will likely be replaced with similar machines
i like all of them because they can be opened up to replace and upgrade parts
it may be an irrational fear but the t2 chip freaks me out so i'm interested to see if a new mini is released if it's compelling enough for me to think about buying one or not
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As an ironic follow-up to my previous post, on Friday, one of the apps on my MBP asked for a keychain password. I keep all of my passwords in 1Password, but that one wasn't there, so I took a guess. My guess was wrong, and the app wouldn't give me another chance -- I was just locked out, which had never happened to me before. So I did some research and found a post saying to delete a certain file in Library. I did, and then Apple Mail immediately told me that I needed to re-enter my Gmail passwords. They didn't work, so I rebooted. At the sign-on screen, the Guest User account had been replaced by a red circle with a hexadecimal number instead of "Guest User". I was able to log on via my administrator account, but it made me disable FileVault first. I couldn't find any instance of anyone having a problem similar to this. Had I been hacked, or had something just become corrupted? I figured that the safest thing to do was to log out of my accounts and do a clean install of Mojave. I don't store any unique data files on my MBP (one of the by-products of having a 256 GB SSD), and I took the opportunity to simplify my MBP, reinstalling only those apps I use on it.
So how does that relate to this thread? I decided to make my 2012 Mac mini my primary computer. It contains all my apps and all my data files, which are backed up to Dropbox, a Time Machine backup drive, and a Carbon Copy Cloner bootable backup drive. All my peripherals are connected. I connected my 4K monitor, and maybe I'm imagining this, but at 2560 x 1440, fonts look a little sharper under Mojave than they did under High Sierra -- not as sharp as with my 2015 MBP, but better than my old 1080P monitor at native resolution. The mini is fast enough for MS Office, Adobe CC, Logic Pro, and the other apps I use as a hobbyist and for my job when I work from home. I'm glad I didn't sell the mini, and I still think I can get another two or three years out of it.
So how does that relate to this thread? I decided to make my 2012 Mac mini my primary computer. It contains all my apps and all my data files, which are backed up to Dropbox, a Time Machine backup drive, and a Carbon Copy Cloner bootable backup drive. All my peripherals are connected. I connected my 4K monitor, and maybe I'm imagining this, but at 2560 x 1440, fonts look a little sharper under Mojave than they did under High Sierra -- not as sharp as with my 2015 MBP, but better than my old 1080P monitor at native resolution. The mini is fast enough for MS Office, Adobe CC, Logic Pro, and the other apps I use as a hobbyist and for my job when I work from home. I'm glad I didn't sell the mini, and I still think I can get another two or three years out of it.
My 2012 i7 quad has been upgraded to 16GB RAM, a 250GB SSD (Samsung EVO 250) and has 4 external drives. I originally bought it via Macstadium and it sat in their data center in Atlanta for around 3 years, it's now home and still on 24/7 still running headless on my desk.
Main uses:
SSH
Proxy server
Plex
VPN
CCTV (SecuritySpy)
File server (backups etc)
Homebridge
2006 Mini (Core Duo) - SSH, proxy and backups
2009 Mini Server - temporarily mothballed for now
Main uses:
SSH
Proxy server
Plex
VPN
CCTV (SecuritySpy)
File server (backups etc)
Homebridge
2006 Mini (Core Duo) - SSH, proxy and backups
2009 Mini Server - temporarily mothballed for now