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which Mac mini?
- Thread starter Dsouza
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I think....
more RAM can make things easier and sometimes snappier in situations when exists various apps open, large documents and so on. Not so sure about an important performance gain between these 2 minis, based only in the CPU, for the purposes you shares, though
more RAM can make things easier and sometimes snappier in situations when exists various apps open, large documents and so on. Not so sure about an important performance gain between these 2 minis, based only in the CPU, for the purposes you shares, though
I upgraded from a 2006 MacBook that can do Adobe CS6 suite, photo editing, and video to a 2012 Mac Mini base model with 16 GB and it was a good choice.
It works faster, and I have no complains about my 2006 MacBook, I just wanted to upgrade after 6 years.
It works faster, and I have no complains about my 2006 MacBook, I just wanted to upgrade after 6 years.
Go with the base model because you won't gain anything for your uses by spending $200 more for the quad-core i7 CPU.
4GB RAM is OK for basic use but future OS and software updates may require more RAM. And if you do more than the basics or like to have many windows/tabs/apps open simultaneously additional RAM is the way to go. If you can spend a little more money get 16GB.
Don't forget to budget for an external drive for data backups. For even better data security add off-site backup via CrashPlan in addition to an external drive.
If you only want to backup 10GB or less it's only $2.50/month. See how big your user Home folder is; if it is within the 10GB sign-up for the lowest-price plan. If you have more than 10GB then the Unlimited Plan what you need. Monthly prices are discounted if you select an annual or multi-year plan. CrashPlan can also backup external drives connected to your Mac.
4GB RAM is OK for basic use but future OS and software updates may require more RAM. And if you do more than the basics or like to have many windows/tabs/apps open simultaneously additional RAM is the way to go. If you can spend a little more money get 16GB.
Don't forget to budget for an external drive for data backups. For even better data security add off-site backup via CrashPlan in addition to an external drive.
If you only want to backup 10GB or less it's only $2.50/month. See how big your user Home folder is; if it is within the 10GB sign-up for the lowest-price plan. If you have more than 10GB then the Unlimited Plan what you need. Monthly prices are discounted if you select an annual or multi-year plan. CrashPlan can also backup external drives connected to your Mac.
I bought the base model for similar uses and absolutely love it. I intended to put 8GB of RAM in it but bought 16GB because RAM is pretty cheap. I might put an SSD in it later but it absolutely flies right now, so I don't see the need.
I own the "base" model mid-2010 27" iMac. Love the machine, but looking at replacing with a MM due to a much faster computer & ease of self installing SSD, etc.
That being said, I can see one reason not to go with a base model anything.
The 2010 & up 27" iMacs are capable of utilizing 32Gb of RAM, but my "base" model i3 can only max out at 16Gb of RAM. This information was not available at the time of my purchase.
Had I purchased the next model up, I would be able to benefit from such a bonus. As we do not know what the future holds, it's nice to not be limited by saving a few bucks on the front end.
That being said, I can see one reason not to go with a base model anything.
The 2010 & up 27" iMacs are capable of utilizing 32Gb of RAM, but my "base" model i3 can only max out at 16Gb of RAM. This information was not available at the time of my purchase.
Had I purchased the next model up, I would be able to benefit from such a bonus. As we do not know what the future holds, it's nice to not be limited by saving a few bucks on the front end.