Which is best?

[timswf2015]

Hi.. hope this isn't a stupid question. I have a mid 2011 Mac Mini server 2GHz Core i7 2x500GB. I need to buy a new Mac Mini for the family. Which is the better one to selfishly keep for me - the existing one, or the new 2.6GHz Core i5 1TB I'm planning to buy? Best regards Tim

 

[maflynn]

What is the planned usage for the Mac mini.

Its hard to state which machine best fits the needs, when the needs aren't stated.

Both are great machines, but if the usage is just facebook, emails, and office apps, both machines will be fine.

 

[timswf2015]

use

Hi good point - for both machine, some video editing in iMovie and photo work in iPhoto plus web/email basics. Best regards Tim

 

[paulrbeers]

Hi good point - for both machine, some video editing in iMovie and photo work in iPhoto plus web/email basics. Best regards Tim

From a purely Multi-threaded CPU standpoint, the 2011 wins (geekbench shows 8563 vs 6590). However, iMovie can use Intel Quicksync and Haswell has the fastest quicksync yet. Beyond iMovie, none of the rest of your stuff really will benefit from a faster CPU. Further, the 2014 has dual thunderbolt ports and USB 3.0.

I would go into the negatives of the 2014's, but I think they have been well documented.

 

[timswf2015]

Thank you both - based on this advice I'll probably keep it simple and keep the old one for me and set up the new one for my family. Best regards Tim

 

[BeatCrazy]

The new one, as your describing and, will be better. I had both a 2011 mini and just got the 2014 you're considering. I'll try for a write up this weekend.