Which Mac Mini should I buy?

[tokyodan]

I found two new 2011-2012 Mac Minis. The general specs are the same (2.5GHz Core i5/4GB/500GB) but one is a late-2012 MD387J/A for 87,500 yen. The other is a mid-2011 MC816J/A for 74,500 yen.

The reason I ask is because the mid-2011 MC816J/A has an AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics processor with dedicated 256 MB of GDDR5 memory, while the MD387J/A has an Intel HD Graphics 4000.

Also the MC816J/A is titled 'NO ODD MC816J/A'. What does that 'NO ODD' mean?

 

[talmy]

"NO ODD" means no optical disk drive

 

[Micky Do]

If you plan on keeping the Mac Mini a while, go for the more recent model. It will be supported further out for parts and OS updates than the older one.

If you reckon on keeping your Mini for just a year or two, you might like to save a few yen and take the cheaper option.

Mac Minis lost the on board optical disc drive (ODD) with the 2011 update. Controversial at the time, but really not a bad thing for the least reliable component of many computers. An external ODD makes more sense.

 

[troy14]

I found two new 2011-2012 Mac Minis. The general specs are the same (2.5GHz Core i5/4GB/500GB) but one is a late-2012 MD387J/A for 87,500 yen. The other is a mid-2011 MC816J/A for 74,500 yen.

The reason I ask is because the mid-2011 MC816J/A has an AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics processor with dedicated 256 MB of GDDR5 memory, while the MD387J/A has an Intel HD Graphics 4000.

Also the MC816J/A is titled 'NO ODD MC816J/A'. What does that 'NO ODD' mean?

While the AMD 6630M might seem tempting because it has a "Dedicated" GPU, the Intel 4000 is about the same/better performance. I would choose the 2012, it has USB 3.0 (vs 2.0 on the 2011).

 

[Fishrrman]

2012 has USB3 vs. 2011 which has only USB2.

No brainer...

 

[tokyodan]

Some **** must have read this and jumped in and bought that 2012 Mini right out of my shopping cart.

 

[LiveM]

They're the best Minis aside from the quad core, and are very, very in demand.

 

[gsmornot]

Some **** must have read this and jumped in and bought that 2012 Mini right out of my shopping cart.

Don't feel bad about the 2011 though. If you see one for a good price take a chance on it. Add an SSD to the spinning drive and make your own Fusion, upgrade the RAM to 8 or 16 and you will have a great little system.

 

[mountain]

Don't know why people are willing to pay high price for the 2012 mini. Even though there's an option for quad core and ram up-gradable but it's pretty old now. Can't wait until the iPhone profit is plunge so they can start focusing on improving the desktop/laptop lines and give us the option to upgrade again.

 

[Fancuku]

Don't know why people are willing to pay high price for the 2012 mini. Even though there's an option for quad core and ram up-gradable but it's pretty old now.

I don't understand it either. A quad i7 does not warrant 90% of new price for a 3 year old machine.
To each their own though.

 

[LiveM]

It's more powerful, upgradeable and repairable - I think I see a reason!

 

[talmy]

One really shouldn't consider the age of a computer (except possibly for repair parts). What matters is will it do the intended job. For heavy processing, the quad core minis (especially the 2012) cannot be beat by any mini before or since. But for more general tasks (excluding games) just about any mini with a Core2Duo or better will be fine, especially with an SSD upgrade. The minis are known for being the most reliable Macs. I'd say they are always a good buy.