Hello all we'll the title should say for my wife's use. Anyhow she had a custom built of that is only about 2 years old this ran solid until the day before yesterday when the hard drive crashed. Anyway I am not setting her up on another PC . I would like to buy her a mini as I have one I use for music movies etc. my question is would the 2001 refurb model be good for her. It's usually used for typing documents and visiting sites for online classes not much more. Or should I go with a 2012 model? What's the difference I see some have more less ram and the graphics card is different but that's all.
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Which mini to buy for my use?
- Thread starter Droidrage729
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For basic needs a basic computer should be fine. There is no need to go for top specs, maximum RAM, and so on. If you are going to upgrade to the Mavericks OS (being free, it's a no brainer) the minimum RAM required is 2 GB, but 4 GB is recommended.
If having an optical drive on board is important, go for the 2010. From 2011 on the Mini lost the optical drive, but you can plug in an external one.
My base model 2009 still suits me. It came with 1 GB of RAM, to which I added another 4GB when upgrading to Mountain Lion.
If having an optical drive on board is important, go for the 2010. From 2011 on the Mini lost the optical drive, but you can plug in an external one.
My base model 2009 still suits me. It came with 1 GB of RAM, to which I added another 4GB when upgrading to Mountain Lion.
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I would recommend nothing earlier than the "Late 2012" Mini.
This will give you USB3 -- the biggest improvement in Mac technology in the last five years.
My suggest is to look for a late 2012 with the 2.3ghz i7.
They show up from time to time.
If she can hold out a bit longer, you might consider waiting until the next-generation Mini is released.
At that point, you could either:
1. Buy the newest model, or
2. Pick up a "late 2012" at closeout pricing.
This will give you USB3 -- the biggest improvement in Mac technology in the last five years.
My suggest is to look for a late 2012 with the 2.3ghz i7.
They show up from time to time.
If she can hold out a bit longer, you might consider waiting until the next-generation Mini is released.
At that point, you could either:
1. Buy the newest model, or
2. Pick up a "late 2012" at closeout pricing.
I was told the problem with the previous computer was we had a power outage while it was running and it tried the hard drive. I have my mini plugged in during countless power outs with no problem. Do macs generally have those issues Mac minis specifically?
The problem may have been a surge, which can sometimes be associated with a power outage. It may be a good idea to use a surge protector.
Where I live now the electric supply is prone to fluctuations and power outages are fairly common. Everyone using a desktop computer uses a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply), which has also has surge protection. None the less, my first UPS was cooked by a massive surge (that left half the South of Thailand without power for several hours). The power supply of my first Mini packed up too, I suspect from working hard dealing with the fluctuating voltage. There were times when there was not enough power to my apartment to kick the fluorescent lights into life.
Since then There have been some improvements. For one the mains power supply has been boosted with a new line and a larger transformer has been installed. I have installed an earth system in my apartment, so now use three pin plugs, thus no longer get shocks off electric appliances. I also replaced the original UPS with one that has AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation).
Everything has been sweet since. My UPS is nearly five years old now and on to its second battery (normal, batteries do wear out and need replacement from time to time). My Mini is over four years old and there is no sign of any problem with the power supply. And finally, I do not get a shock off my computer or any other appliances.
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Is your recommendation based on what you feel is desirable, or the OP's fairly simple needs?
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Thank you everyone for your suggestions the PC doctor so to speak advised me we lost most of our files to to an improper shut down could have been the power outage or a rogue kid. Either way I'm going to set her up on a new 2012 mini and get her using pages for her papers so even if the mini goes bad her homework will be intact. Also getting a 1 tb external for back up.
Well done on making the decision. Just plug in the external drive, switch on Time Machine and the job's right.
With a new computer you will get Mavericks. It comes with an updated version of Pages, free. I paid for iWork when I got my 2009 Mini, and am fairly pleased with it. Although Word has more features, Pages has all I need and seems more intuitive, so it is what I prefer use.
I do have Mac:Office 2008 loaded, but seldom use it. Interestingly, if I get any documents with Thai script doesn't work. If I open the document in Pages, everything is there, though the formatting sometimes needs to be tidied up.
If it is a 2011 mini with Radeon for a good price, get it. It is still in high demand as up till now, it has the most powerful graphics and allows 3 displays. The CPU performance is on par with the new i5 entry models, and it runs Snow Leopard if that is your piece of cake. That alone will make it retain value better than an entry 2012 and probably even an entry 2014 model.
In what way do you need any of that for a browser and a word processor?!
Any computer will do those tasks just fine. Personally, I'd suggest just buying a new hard drive for the PC but if it must be a Mac mini then it really depends on what else is needed (DVD drive for example). I wouldn't place any concern on the hardware specs for the uses you've set out.
Well windows 8 isn't working out. I want to move her to OS X for sure. Other then that yea browsing and word processing school projects here and there nothing crazy. She does not need a drive but a SuperDrive is 60 bucks at best buy so if she needed one of just get it I never see her using cd roms ever
Tell me about it. I tried it out after release not expecting much and with no intentions of relying on it and still hated it!
I'd suggest getting the cheapest 2010 onwards base model mini that you can get. If the difference between the cheapest 2010 and the cheapest 2011 is slim (like £20) then go for the 2011 but it won't be like the extra power will be needed or anything. I've read on here that 2010 minis can go for more than the 2011 due to the Superdrive so that may play to your advantage.
Brother I really try not to bash an os just for the sake of it but that os has been an absolute nightmare. I mean almost a year later and we still feel around the os like we just got it. Her PC and an old laptop are the last 2 windows devices we have. Everything else is iPhone iPad or Mac. So I'm not too upset her PC crapped out. Other then the money spending I couldn't be happier. We are going to sell her PC tower for whatever it's worth and get a mini just makes sense at this point.
Haha yea...I thought Vista was alright so that gives you an idea of how bad I though 8 was/is.
I bought a mini for my wife just before they eliminated the DVD drive. She previously had a white box PC that served her well for close to 8 years. She is much happier with the Mac - fewer problems, no constant updating of anti-virus programs, etc. She did need Microsoft Office for Word, so bought that.
The important thing about any computer, mac or windows, is to have a full backup offline so you can recover quickly in case of power failure/disk death/stolen/etc...
The important thing about any computer, mac or windows, is to have a full backup offline so you can recover quickly in case of power failure/disk death/stolen/etc...
