Thanks. Very helpful and encouraging. I hear what you're saying about the i7 but I think the 2012 machines with i7 would be out of my budget. I'll check though. Bear in mind I'm mostly browsing and word processing.
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What spec Mac Mini do I need?
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The dual-core i5s may be a lot cheaper; the quad core i7s have really held their value because they are still the only quad core option. And the dual-core i5 also has USB 3.0, which I'd really recommend if you ever want to consider booting from an external SSD. Frankly I wouldn't even consider the 2011s or earlier for that reason, unless they already had an internal SSD and could be had for a good price.
I agree that an external USB 3.0 SSD is a great solution on the 2012 and 2014 Mini. I have setup both a 2012 base mini and 2012 2.6ghz quad mini this way with a Samsung 500gb and 1tb T3 ssd's. The quad also has an original Apple 256gb internal SSD and this is what I get.
And here's the USB 3.0 Samsung 1tb T3 SSD on the same mini
So the 10% number is close for write speed but there's a bigger gap for reading the SSD. And you should see an ever bigger gap with the internal SSD on a 2014 mini because it has a faster internal interface. Nevertheless, it works very well and would also let you purchase a less expensive hard drive based mini now, then add the external drive later as budget allows. I suspect that most users would not notice much difference between internal vs external.
Thanks guys. I'm leaning towards the 2014 1.4GHz with the ordinary hard drive and adding an SSD later when I can afford it.
IMO unless your expectations are very low, it's a big mistake to get that model, especially the base version with 4gb RAM.
I would tend to agree, especially since *nothing* in the 2014s is user upgradeable (not easily, anyway). At least the 2012s have user-serviceable RAM, so if you need more RAM (or your installed RAM craps out), no biggie. In the 2014? If the RAM dies, or if you got the base 4 GB option and it became insufficient given a change in usage or increased demands of future OS and apps, too bad.
That said, we don't know the exact usage case as well as the OP does.
He stated: "I use the computer mainly for writing, Scrivener being my favourite app. I surf the web a lot, write e-mails and watch YouTube videos. I also listen to music in Spotify and iTunes"
Not familiar with scrivener. But you will likely notice the slowness every time you open a program, especially with more than one open at the same time. The main reason to get the 2014 over the 2012 would be the newer graphics chip, but you need to go with the higher spec models to get the Iris graphics.
You also get faster wifi on the 2014, but you need a router that supports 802.11ac and if you have a 2009 mini now, you probably also have an old router. Of course, with a desktop machine you can just use an ethernet cable and get connectivity that's almost twice as fast as wifi anyway.
Then there's also an advantage to a new computer, with full Apple warranty support. But none of these would be enough make me choose a base 2014 over the base 2012 with 8gb, a SSD and a 6 month warranty. That machine will literally run circles around the base 2014 model in most applications.
£480 plus postage for a 2012 quad core.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Apple-Ma...847393?hash=item4b4185fd61:g:QisAAOSwY4tasncs
For light usage and £500 budget, you don't appear to put any immediate time constraints on a purchase. How about waiting until after WWDC before making your mind up? For light usage an SSD later would be fine on just about any used 2012/2014 Mini.
The 2014 base model (1.4GHz) could really do with 8Gb of RAM for future use, and I would expect any future refresh to include 8Gb of RAM as standard without overly affecting the price. Currently, refurb 1.4GHz 2014 models can be had for £399 in the Apple refurb store - rarer models with 8Gb of RAM are usually vastly overpriced at £479 in the refurb store.
I'm anticipating something to happen with the Mini sooner rather than later not least because Apple will probably want the experience on future versions of macOS to be decent with every currently available Mac so for that reason alone they must want to do away with the Mini because they will have to keep supporting it for several years after the they stop selling it and I feel that Apple must know that Intel will stop making the Haswell CPUs at some point.
With such light usage, have you considered a bluetooth keyboard and iPad combination? Scrivener is available on iOS and you can then take that combination on the road if you wish.
The 2014 base model (1.4GHz) could really do with 8Gb of RAM for future use, and I would expect any future refresh to include 8Gb of RAM as standard without overly affecting the price. Currently, refurb 1.4GHz 2014 models can be had for £399 in the Apple refurb store - rarer models with 8Gb of RAM are usually vastly overpriced at £479 in the refurb store.
I'm anticipating something to happen with the Mini sooner rather than later not least because Apple will probably want the experience on future versions of macOS to be decent with every currently available Mac so for that reason alone they must want to do away with the Mini because they will have to keep supporting it for several years after the they stop selling it and I feel that Apple must know that Intel will stop making the Haswell CPUs at some point.
With such light usage, have you considered a bluetooth keyboard and iPad combination? Scrivener is available on iOS and you can then take that combination on the road if you wish.
Thanks for the ongoing feedback. ziggy29, no way would I now consider a 2011 or earlier machine. And its good to hear that the i5 with USB 3.0 may be capable of booting reasonably well from an external SSD i.e. the one I already have in my 2009 Mac Mini.
Nevertheless, it works very well and would also let you purchase a less expensive hard drive based mini now, then add the external drive later as budget allows. I suspect that most users would not notice much difference between internal vs external. Very encouraging Boyd01, if I found the existing “spinner” hard drive to be too slow.
Okay there is some confusion going on. I thought I made it clear earlier on that I would only consider the budget 2014 model with 8GB RAM. As you all suggest 4GB is far too little for a machine that I hope will last a long time even if word processing is my main activity. I’ve been checking out my finances again and wondering if I couldn’t stretch to £570. That would be £100 more than the 2012 refurbished model I have been considering. But it would buy the standard 2.66 GHz 2014 Mac Mini (with 8GB RAM) from Apple’s refurbished store when one comes up. That’s basically a new machine compared to the 2012 model which will be at least 4 years old. How would you guys react to that comparison between 2012 and 2014? Bear in mind the 2014 machine will have a longer life span in terms of upgradeable operating systems.
But sublunar and dogslobber have a good point. I should wait until WWDC to see what happens there. IF the Mac mini is on its way out then I should do everything I can to make sure I have the most up-to-date Mac Mini I can afford that will keep me going until I have a best-seller(!) and can afford the Mac Pro. I haven’t had a lot of dealings with the iPad but I like the set up I have with a big screen in front of me. I rarely go “on the road” anyway. And Scrivener’s version of iOS is behind the times.
When is WWDC? I think I would be a fool to rush into a purchase before it. Meantime i can play with putting Sierra on my 2009 machine. Thanks guys.
Nevertheless, it works very well and would also let you purchase a less expensive hard drive based mini now, then add the external drive later as budget allows. I suspect that most users would not notice much difference between internal vs external. Very encouraging Boyd01, if I found the existing “spinner” hard drive to be too slow.
Okay there is some confusion going on. I thought I made it clear earlier on that I would only consider the budget 2014 model with 8GB RAM. As you all suggest 4GB is far too little for a machine that I hope will last a long time even if word processing is my main activity. I’ve been checking out my finances again and wondering if I couldn’t stretch to £570. That would be £100 more than the 2012 refurbished model I have been considering. But it would buy the standard 2.66 GHz 2014 Mac Mini (with 8GB RAM) from Apple’s refurbished store when one comes up. That’s basically a new machine compared to the 2012 model which will be at least 4 years old. How would you guys react to that comparison between 2012 and 2014? Bear in mind the 2014 machine will have a longer life span in terms of upgradeable operating systems.
But sublunar and dogslobber have a good point. I should wait until WWDC to see what happens there. IF the Mac mini is on its way out then I should do everything I can to make sure I have the most up-to-date Mac Mini I can afford that will keep me going until I have a best-seller(!) and can afford the Mac Pro. I haven’t had a lot of dealings with the iPad but I like the set up I have with a big screen in front of me. I rarely go “on the road” anyway. And Scrivener’s version of iOS is behind the times.
When is WWDC? I think I would be a fool to rush into a purchase before it. Meantime i can play with putting Sierra on my 2009 machine. Thanks guys.
It never hurts to delay a computer purchase, as long as you don't need it right now. IMO the chance of a new Mini at WWDC is close to zero. I can't recall any recent mac that was introduced without lots of rumors way in advance, and there have been none about the mini. I think the chances of Apple discontinuing the mini completely are actually quite high.
I think the 2.6ghz 8gb 2014 mini would be fine for you, but my impression was that you couldn't afford it. But for the long run, you can't upgrade the RAM on the 2014 Mini at all, so you will always be stuck with 8gb.
I think the 2.6ghz 8gb 2014 mini would be fine for you, but my impression was that you couldn't afford it. But for the long run, you can't upgrade the RAM on the 2014 Mini at all, so you will always be stuck with 8gb.
I would be stretching my budget but I might manage it. 8GB is not a huge amount but for word processing and browsing it will probably be enough for a long time yet. I've been reading reports that suggest a Mac Mini might appear at WWDC but I'm not holding my breath. I will wait anyway.
Would love to see those reports, because I have been following it pretty closely and have seen nothing (aside from "wishful thinking").
Yeah, I'd call that wishful thinking. There is no "news" in that article, it's just an opinion that a new mini should be coming since it hasn't been updated in so long. And since there's an upcoming Apple event, maybe it might be announced if it actually exists.
That is not what I would call a "rumor". A credible rumor would be Apple ordering components that are highly likely to be used in a mini and not some other device, or a photo of a circuit board secretly snapped at some facility. There has been nothing like this since 2014. And that article rolls out the same tired Phil Schiller and Tim Cook quotes that mean absolutely nothing.
I would not base any purchasing decisions on that. But there's probably no harm in waiting since you don't have an immediate need. OTOH, when Apple introduced the 2014 Mini there was such widespread disappointment that the Apple Refurb Store quickly sold out of all the 2012 models. If you read back to that period in the forums here, you will see people posting "2012 mini sightings" at the refurb store. Within hours they were usually gone. Not sure that people will be in such a rush to get a 2014 the next time the mini is updated (or discontinued). Although Apple could turn it into a little box with no legacy ports and an Apple CPU that won't be compatible with your software/hardware. That might cause all the refurbs to disappear.
That is not what I would call a "rumor". A credible rumor would be Apple ordering components that are highly likely to be used in a mini and not some other device, or a photo of a circuit board secretly snapped at some facility. There has been nothing like this since 2014. And that article rolls out the same tired Phil Schiller and Tim Cook quotes that mean absolutely nothing.
I would not base any purchasing decisions on that. But there's probably no harm in waiting since you don't have an immediate need. OTOH, when Apple introduced the 2014 Mini there was such widespread disappointment that the Apple Refurb Store quickly sold out of all the 2012 models. If you read back to that period in the forums here, you will see people posting "2012 mini sightings" at the refurb store. Within hours they were usually gone. Not sure that people will be in such a rush to get a 2014 the next time the mini is updated (or discontinued). Although Apple could turn it into a little box with no legacy ports and an Apple CPU that won't be compatible with your software/hardware. That might cause all the refurbs to disappear.
No great hurry but I'll be keeping my eyes on the Apple Refurb Store and see what comes up. 2012 models just seem too old now and whatever I buy it will have to last. Better to buy new when my demands on a computer are pretty low. This 2009 2.26GHz can't come out looking well in terms of performance by today's standards or even 2014's but it's fine for me so I think I'll be relatively easy to please.
Your usage sounds pretty basic. You might be happy with an Intel NUC https://www.amazon.com/Intel-BOXNUC...ie=UTF8&qid=1524781141&sr=8-1&keywords=nuc7i3 running Linux Mint (test it out on your computer now: https://community.linuxmint.com/tutorial/view/744) rather than waiting for a new Mini. This is what I did anyways and I am very happy.
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WWDC is early June, before that is the results call on Tuesday, May 1. If Apple wanted to they could do a press release launch any time after that for products that aren't worth mentioning at a WWDC. Simple refreshes. But with potentially a full set of Mac releases again and 6 core Coffee Lake CPUs on the horizon and perhaps an iPhone SE2 to launch that seems unlikely for at least some of the products expected- the sheer marketing power of the core/thread increase demands some sort of presentation. And it remains to be seen if Apple remain bloody minded about the 2016/17 MacBook Pro touch bar design which has split the user base.
The MacWorld article linked earlier is just a roundup of various links that have been seen in threads such as this one. Not unlike the buyers guide that MacRumors have.
The MacWorld article linked earlier is just a roundup of various links that have been seen in threads such as this one. Not unlike the buyers guide that MacRumors have.
Thanks for the heads-up sublunar. Watching with anticipation with one eye on the Apple Refurbish store. Thanks for your input krause734 but why would I want to run Linux when all my software is Mac and I particularly want the new Mac Scrivener 3?
Apple has abandoned their desktops. So do you want the latest hardware more or that program more? I see that program is available on Windows and you can run it in Linux using Wine.
I take your point but I don't like Windows and their version of Scrivener has not caught up. I also use a lot of Mac apps and would miss them and the way Macs work. So I'm sticking with Mac as long as I can. Then Linux would be my next choice.