[Jonno74]

Hi everyone

I need a bit of advice, I am after a Mac Mini, this will be my first Mac as I have used PC and windows all my life, but I have a Iphone and Ipad etc so I feel it is time to make life easier between everything

Anyway my main use for this Mac Mini would be for Media. (iTunes library, films, some dvd ripping - encoding, remote access etc on ipad and just general use) I am no photographer or graphic artist so would not have intensive work or games.

So I live in the UK and from what I can see I have 3 options:

1) Buy the Mid Range 2014 Mini and keep it at standard specs 2.6ghz, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD at 569 (expensive to max out with Apple)
2) Buy a Late 2012 Quad Core I7, 16GB, 256SSD at 779
3) Buy a Late 2012 Dual Core I5, 16GB, 256SSD at 679

cost is a little bit of a consideration for me as money does not grow on trees lol and for the use I want it for.

Both option 2 and 3 would be refurbished models and I could reduce the cost on 2 and 3 by not maxing the machine straight away and upgrading it at later stage. I can configure option 2 and 3 to any specification and cost goes according

I would like your views and thoughts and what you think the sweet spot would be for specs and models and my needs, I was just going to get the mid range 2014 but now I am not so sure.

thanks

[warcraftWidow]

For those uses even the base 2014 Mac mini would be ok. And for any of them, you'll also need to budget for an external DVD drive since none of them include one and you mention DVD ripping as one of your uses. For choices #2&3, you'll probably want an external hard drive as well since 256GB is not likely to be enough if you have a lot of video media.

[Jonno74]

yes I am aware that the Mini's don't come with DVD Drives, I do however still have a PC which I could use for encoding etc or I have actually got a external DVD drive already that I believe is mac compatible

Again if I get a SSD it wont be enough space and external hdd would be required and I have them already on my PC.

A friend said to prioritise it in order of HDD, RAM and then Processor and get as much RAM as I can afford but what do you think ? Regarding ram? and what does everyone think of refurbished Macs ? and the prices I quoted for best option, just wish you could upgrade the RAM on 2014

My PC is several years old but i have had no issues with it and it is a 4GB RAM Quad Core as a note

[warcraftWidow]

I would prioritize it by hard drive (not space but speed-SSD, if you can, then Fusion drive, then standard internal hard drive), then RAM, then processor.

[iEd]

If like you mentioned you are not doing any video or photo editing or music production. 8 gig of ram would be enough with option 1 with the 1TB drive at 569 and it's the latest model.
I'm using a 2014 MacBook Air for the same tasks as you with 4gig of ram with a 128 gig SSD and slim external 2TB hard drive.

[Jonno74]

Thanks for the advice so far, i am leaning towards the mid range 2014 model because of more RAM and better processor but I went to my local computer store today, they are selling off at clearance prices a 2012 Model at 379. I believe it is a 2.5ghz Processor and 4GB RAM and 500GB HDD.

Do you think this is a better deal than the mid range 2014 ? I know the new models have better Graphics, faster Processor etc but will I see a big difference ? I am thinking that with the 379 deal I can at least max the RAM at a later stage and change HDD if I wanted top which is impossible with the new ones.

What do you guys think is my best option and performance differences etc.

[Habbanero]

The 379 2012 mini lets you spread the cost by doing things in stages.

If you know a student you can get some pretty good deals direct from apple if you phone the education sales team.

[Habbanero]

They are on 0800 048 0408

[Habbanero]

And, lastly, the student purchase comes with free apple care extending your warranty out to 3 years.

[Algus]

16 GB RAM is really ridiculous. If you're doing some heavy photo editing (a better computer to go with that RAM is called for) you might touch it but probably not. The only time I get close to utilizing that power is when I'm booted to Windows and drawing a ton of it to video with the HD 4000. It was a ~GREAT~ upgrade over the 4 GB I had factory, but I have a sneaking suspicion that 8 GB would have given me the boost I wanted.

Fortunately with the user moddable versions, it is easy enough to find cheaper RAM kits so I don't feel like I wasted my money bumping to 16.

My thoughts are that if you want that quad-core CPU and think you're going to use it, the 2012 Mini is still unbeatable but for typical users, you'll be fine with the baseline on the 2014 Minis.

[PeltFrelken]

Get something with 8GB RAM, nothing lower. OS X loves RAM.