Best computer Ive ever bought. I`ve had it since 2012. I upgraded the ram to 16g max and replace the old HD to a 1T SSD, boots lightning fast. I haven't had any issues whatsoever , hasn't slowed down.
Thanks for sharing. I had the same experience so far and these work great for the money. Only issue will be OS version (upgradability soon) but other than that they are work-horses for sure.
I have had since 2012 as well. I5 with 16gb now. I thought it was slowing down but the manual HD was dying and put an ssd in and it is great! I don’t plan on getting rid of it.
Mine has been the best computer purchase ever for me too. I bought the 2.3 ghz i7 new in 2012 and it was completely trouble free under fairly heavy use for 6 years before hard drive problems (probably my fault). Upgrading to an SSD is very easy and doing so has made my machine feel like new. I wish Apple would make another version of the mini that's easily upgradeable like this one.
@Samoshke I bought a Samsung 860 Evo. Install Mac Os on the SSD using an external SATA to USB adapter if you dont mind spending the $10. The physical installation is easy. Just dont overtighten the fan bolts. Make sure you have the Torx and hex bits for you miniscrewdriver kit.
i love my mac mini, i purchased a low end model at best buy, was $300, they had to get the model from back room, they came back bagged it up gave receipt, went to car, opened bag, they accidentally gave me one with i7 -1TB HD, i was in shock they messed up. awesome! i just ordered 2/8GB memory sticks, (8 years later) thats how good it runs! ive never had too many problems with it. best purchase ever. thank you best buy for grabbing the expensive model for me instead of the $300 mac LOL!!!!
I've had mine (Late 2012, i5, 16gb RAM) since it came out. I use most of the Adobe CC programs except After Effects and Premiere. After putting an SSD on it with Catalina OS it's still running good with the latest 2021 Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator; almost as good and fast as the 2018 MacBook Pro I use on the job. Definitely agree with all the points made in the video.
Mac Mini Late 2012. Terrific. I upgraded mine , 16GB Ram, 500GB Samsung EVO850 SSD running MacOS Catalina. I run Studio One 6.5 DAW Recording software, no problem. It boots quickly, I don't use a lot of Plugins, It does everything I want. Thanks for putting out the word, these are still usable computers, plenty of life in them.
Excellent video. I had both the 2012 i5 and i7, recently sold both for top $$$. They served me well for years; had each maxed (RAM & SSD) out and they did perform well, but without a dedicated GPU; video editing was good, not great. Still hanging onto my 2012 15" MacBook Pro/Retina with a dedicated GPU though. Decided to take the money from the sale of the Mac Mini's and put it towards a new iMac 27/i5 to go along with my 2012 Mac Pro. Never looked back. Keep the videos coming. I always enjoy them
Thanks for the nice words. Also, thanks for sharing what you have. I now have a few iMacs and the mac mini and am waiting on the new 14" (I hope) Macbok pro. I usually purchase the older equipment, use for a year or so, and then resell as they don't lose too much value over time. Thanks again and good luck with everything.
@@r.g.4011 Great deal. The 2012 should get newest updates for maybe another year but should work great for years after that. You can also boot off external ssd to speed up. For $300 that is great price. Just a monitor can cost 200. Good luck.
I bought an i5 8gb ram and a 500gb ssd model from a computer shop, and the guy did it for me for £220 (was £250). I plan to use it for my music and I will probably upgrade the ram to 16gb. You have helped me decide to buy it and your enthusiasm is really great so I’ll drop a sub 👍
Nice video, Craig. I'm enjoying your content. I bought my late-2012 Mac Mini late in 2012, 2.6GHz quad-core i7, with whatever the minimum RAM configuration was, and the 1tb Fusion Drive. I paid $1300 for it if I remember correctly. Before I booted it up the first time I plugged in 16gb of RAM - easy and quick to do, totally accessible without tools or sweat unlike the 2018s - and saved some money over getting it with 16gb from Apple. I don't do much video editing or play graphically-demanding games so this was perfect for me. What's weird is that it's STILL perfect for me: Every couple of years I asked myself if I needed a faster/more modern Mac and the answer has always been "no". I'm running Mac OS X 10.15.3 Catalina, I have an external drive with Mojave so I can run 32-bit applications if the need arises, and another external drive purely for backups. When booted from the internal Fusion Drive it's about as fast in actual use as any Mac I've used including 2019 models with all-SSD storage. Even if the next OS can't be "officially" installed this coming fall 2020 I should be able to use the DOSDUDE dosdude1.com/software.html hack on the installer to get it to work. Even if it were to go kerblooie right now or if I needed to get a new Mac for some other reason (compatibility with some other hardware, simple lust, whatever), I've more than gotten my money's worth: $1300 isn't even close to the most I have ever paid for a new Mac (or even a used one) and 7.5 years is already the longest (by far) I've ever used a Mac without feeling at least some niggle to upgrade or replace the thing. I'm using it to write this and it remains my main "at home" Mac.
Thanks again for sharing your information. It's nice to see what systems people have and how they use them. It helps people determine if an older machine will help them accomplish the goals they need to reach. I am like you where I try and hold onto my equipment for a long time as Macs are so expensive. My channel is about helping people see what is out there and your notes help with that. Thanks again.
I bought a used MacMini late 2012 with i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, with MacOS Server and 2 TB spinning drives. I hooked it up in my new Ubiquiti network rack and using it as a file and media server, it works great and fits in my small home rack very well.
Thanks for showing the boot up of this machine. I bought the late-2012 mac mini in 2013 and have been debating trying to revive it with an SSD (it's painfully slow with the mechanical HDD). Your video is exactly what I was hoping to see, as far as performance after upgrading the disk drive.
@@craigneidel Just as an update, I swapped out the drive (well, the guy at my local computer repair shop did), and it's become a usable machine again. Just wanted to add that for anyone else still sceptical: it's definitely worth it.
Have one on my desk with i7, 1TB SSD and 16gb. It’s been running 24x7 for last 7 years. Very hard to beat for reliability, silence and low power draw. Great daily driver.
This is what actually a performance video should be, not people talking in full video and showing the screen 2 times. Best of luck and thanks for such a great video.
Always enjoy seeing someone use their mac mini computer system. However, I would only suggest picking up the older 2012 model if, you do not plan on continuing to upgrade to the newest Apple OS X.10 operating system. If you are, then a better buy might be the current 2020 mac mini knowing that, you should be able to continue to receive operating system upgrades for the next 10-years. As for myself years ago, I selected a used 2010 mac mini (the last model with a built-in DVD super-drive) and paired it with a 27 inch Apple Cinema (none thunderbolt) Display. Prefer to keep mine on a very old operating system OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). So, I can continue to use "Front Row" and "Rosetta" because, I own a lot of vintage software (i.e. Apple Works, Via Voice, Eye-TV, iLife '09, and iWorks '09, etc.
Thanks for your info and sharing. I love hearing what people have. I like the older systems too and got this one for about $275. I usually use them quite a bit and then sell them for about 85% of what I got them for and love used equipment. I need to slim down now as I have a few too many systems for my channel but love collecting and using all the great tech. I'm going to try and do a few more creative videos on the mac mini soon so keep watching and thanks again.
I have the it version and maxed out the ram. I put a SSD and have 2 drives and this is my first real Mac. Love it. I got it for about 200.00 a year or so ago.
I recently bought a 2012 mini with the quad core i7. Upgraded memory to 16gb, threw in a 1Tb SSD, and replaced the thermal paste on the proc. I use it as a music production computer and it handles everything I can throw at it without breaking a sweat.
I've had a 2012 2.3ghz quad core i7 since new. I've put some upgrades in it over the years and am now running 16gb RAM with two Samsung 2TB drives and three 24" monitors. The SSDs made a significant improvement usability and are key to keeping this computer productive as a daily machine. When Remote work became the norm in 2020, the Mini took over daily work duties from my work HP laptop (3 monitors vs a 15" screen was a big reason). This Mac Mini is still killing it. When I finally do upgrade to an M1 or better Mini, the 2012 variant will transition to a server. Love this little machine.
Best to get the i7 Quad Core as long as you're at it. After my G5 died, I bought my MacMini i7, 16GB RAM/1TB HD) Jan 2013, no issues since. Been using 2 monitors (31 via HDMI port and #2 via Thunderbolt port with HDMI adapter). Runs multiple DAWs, SecondLife, etc. Upgrading to SSD soon. Great quiet energy efficient little monster.
I recently got 2 i5 models, and your comment is now making me wonder if i should look into getting an i7 model, which will probably cost at least the same as what i paid for both i5 models combined knowing my luck (and if so, should i get a 2.3ghz, or a 2.6ghz, or is the difference between them so little that i am unlikely to notice either way) I am thinking of doing some upgrades to one of the i5 models, but if i should look into an i7 model, then i won’t bother doing the upgrades to the i5 model (and instead do the upgrades to the i7 model that i get)
Bought two used 2012 Mac Minis for a small design office in 2015. They performed flawlessly for years with multiple users. Perfect computers for all basic office tasks. Thinking about retiring them from the office, taking them home to put more ram, ssd, and Linux on them.
Thanks for sharing Geo. Let us know how it goes. Remember for $190 that is less than an iwatch and you can't get everything but for the money it's a great system.
Your video was awesome, here in Brazil everything from apple is so expensive and this model like yours costs around 2.300,00. And for my light use it will run perfectly, thanks for your content and all explanations.
I didn't even know you could upgrade to Catalina with out the "patch" until a few days ago- I have a 2012 Mac mini I7 16gb of ram 1000gb ssd drive- I upgraded to Catalina from the apple website no problems and it runs great
Just grabbed a 2012 Server Edition i7 2.6 - ram maxed with a 256 ssd for $230. Will add the 1tb ssd soon. Looks new, was used as a media server by previous owner. Added an Apple keyboard and trackpad for $70 and I’m set. Great video, thanks
Just ordered mine - i5-3210m, 16gb Corsair (upgraded), 500 HDD, near-mint. Payed 200$ shipping included. I already ordered a new 240GB Kingston A400 SSD (22$) which I will swap in as soon as it arrives. Not my first Mac, but I lately don't need one as often, and although I'd love the latest, there's no point in paying 1000$ for it. I also had a Hackintosh for a while, but I don't want to go that way anymore... Thanks for your video!
I got this joker I dug it out of my junk drawer. I was legitimately surprised how fast it was. Gotta compliment Apple for their optimization. Granted I wouldn’t use it day to day but I’d say it’s a pretty sweet machine for today. Let a kid use it or something for school or just as a beginner computer to use.
Yes, these systems are pretty fast for how old they are. Imagine using a 2012 PC and this 2012 iMac really has some speed left in it. Thanks for sharing and watching.
Bought the late 2014. Just bought the 2012 for under $150! Returning the late 2014. Looking forward to using the 2012 because it has the i7 2.3gz / 16gb ram & 512gb SSD. Most likely will run OCLP to get Monterey. Good video! Makes me really excited to get mine!
Yes, the 2012s are more expensive and had the 4 cores chips so they should be faster for sure. Just make sure you are getting a good price otherwise I would search for a M1 mac mini used.
Thanks Isaac. I appreciate you letting us know how your system is working. It shows you that you don't need to spend a lot of money to get into the Apple ecosystem. In fact it's nice when you don't spend too much on Apple. Thanks again.
@@ocelotdj8060 hi...if you havnt already then grab the i7 quad core....if you did grab one how do you find it for music production?? as I am thinking of getting one just for a backup
Which processor and how much GB RAM do you have? And which DAW are you using? I‘m planning to buy a used 2012 mac mini with 2.5 GHz Dual Core, 16 GB RAM abd 256 GB SSD. Do you think it is enough for small to mid site projects in Studio One Professional?
@@Georg89 that should do what you need man...I have one with an i7 dual core and the same specs....I use pro logic x and Bitwig ...theres plenty of videos out there that help with reducing cpu if you need that.later down the road..also I would recommend having one or two external ssd drives for your samples etc...cheers
I paid $276 for my 2012 Mac mini, it had 16gb ram and 500hdd i5, but what really got me was the insane level of care it had before not a single scratch and dents or dings. I did an ssd upgrade and I'm really happy with it . I just do regular web browsing some dashcam editing(1080p) and some gamin and I have no problems even it outputs to both a 1440p and a 1080p monitor at the same time .
Thanks for sharing your experience and it nice to hear how people are using the 2012 iMacs. I use it for about the same thing and don't notice any performance differences between this or any of my new Apple systems. They have aged well. Thanks Josue.
Nice video. All my videos are edited on a 2012 Mac Mini. Would like something newer and flasher, but that will have to wait. When I bought it eight years ago,I spec’d it up to 8Gb ram and an i7 processor and has the original HDD. I am running Catalina, which works well. In the eight years I have had it, it has only had one rebuild, because I was curious as to the process. I might do a video on it and do another clean install and see how it goes as a fresh install.
Thanks for sharing your experience on the 2012 mac mini. It's a great little machine especially if you get the i7 model. It's good to hear that everything still works great with Catalina and that has been my experience also. Anyhow thanks for supporting the channel.
Great video... i have mac desktop i5 1000tb but am tired of it as it doesn’t download logic music program lol . Am more of pc guy but i have this 2011 imac desktop and didnt use it much. If i buy this catalina would it do the job? To download new programs and run in my 211 desktop?
Would like to share a bit about my Mac mini 2012, until now Apr 2020, it still working real hard and making money to feed my family, I just ordered Mac mini 2020 for more horse power, I will keep the 2012 running as much as it can be.
Thanks for the info. The 2020 mac mini is a good choice with upgraded SSD if you don't need the portability of the Macbooks. Sounds like you have a good plan. Thanks for watching.
I have a Late 2012 mac mini since they 1st came out. I have the2.3 Intel Core I 7 core and 16 GB of RAM and years ago, I updated to a 1 TB SDD Mercury Electra 6G from the OWC Website . I use it for recording on Pro Tools 12.5. I just ordered a faster 2nd SDD from OWC, which I will install myself. A OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G as a dedicated drive for my Pro Tools sessions. Fantastic computer. It'll now have 2 SSd drives inside.
Thanks for sharing. Yes, the 2012 had the 4 cores and they really are still pretty good. The mac Minis actually got slower in later years for a while and now are much faster with the new M1 chips. But, with that much ram and a quad core you can get some work done for sure.
Hello bro! Thanks so much for this video! I hace one question, do u recomend this kind of Mac for an audio work? I just want to use Logic oñand Pro tools, thats why I need a Mac, because those programs are just for Mac! Thank you so much!
I have to be honest I don't do any audio work on this or any of my Macs. You have seen my videos right:). Just kidding but the i7 I have heard work great with 16 GB or more but hopefully others can post here to let you know. It's really the software and if it is supported longer term on these systems depending what you are using.
I currently own 3 Mac mini i7 quadcore (work, home office, and entertainment room). Very easy to max out Ram and SSD. BEST & MOST AFFORDABLE MAC EVER!!!!
I got one just a few days ago, also running Catalina. I updated to 16 G ram and an SSD, and I'm impressed. It's my first Mac. Configuring nfs client with autofs was quite easy, and documentation is easy to find. It runs Catalina / Win10 / Linux, and the only bad point is the OpenGl is not as fast on Catalina than in Linux and Windows. But anyway I bought it as a secondary computer to see movies in the bedroom, not to play games. I payed it just 120 US $ on Ebay, it came as new with a Superdrive (USB DVD), so I'm happy with it.
after I saw this video. I found a used i5 late 2009 . i upgraded the ram and the ssd . also got a 2nd monitor adaptor. runs fine and protools works fine on high Sierra
Thanks for sharing and yes the 2012 mac minis are great little machines. 4K can be rough (editing) as you can see by my other video but for 1080P they are great. Thanks for watching and good luck with your new system. Post what you got.
Craig Neidel I hope you’re OK with my picking your brain a bit; I got my MacMini from Mac of All Trades, and I have no video. Tried it with my acer monitor (HDMI to VGA adapter), and also directly HDMI to my TV. It does a startup tone and the pilot light goes on, but black screen. I have contacted them; They had me try shutting down, removing the AC cord, wait 15 sec, plug the AC cord back in and 5 sec later start. Didn’t help. I presume I’m gonna return it and get a swap, but anything else you can suggest? Thanks for any assistance...
Please answer my question as I'm really interested buy an mac mini 2012. What's the highest ram can I upgrade? And what other parts are upgradable please 😁
You can put in 16GB. You can also quite easily upgrade to an SSD drive if you wanted to do that. There are many videos online on how to make these changes. Thanks for watching.
@@craigneidel Thanks for a very informative vid. I have one of these coming from Mac of all Trades, $279. I have a 500gb SSD I'd like to put into this thing; I've changed hard drives in other macs before, but but the iFixit instructions look a bit daunting... what do you think?
You can upgrade to a max of 16gb of ram. But the most important upgrade is the SSD upgrade. The machine has two SATA links inside, so you can put two separate 2.5 inch drives in it. One is enough for me, but you could do an SSD and HD if you want, you just have to buy a kit that allows the installation of two drives. Swapping out the HD for an SSD took me about 10 minutes and cost $50. It is not challenging at all if you have experience fixing stuff.
I remember when my elementary school got these computers back in 2012, I was a huge upgrade compared to the eMacs the school used to have. it's a shame I only used to for a year before moving on the middle school.
still waiting for mines to come i really love these mac mini .. like late 2012 are cool machines man :) i'm also quite sure it can run big sur patcher in the future so they will last long, also i'm gonna be looking into the mac mini late 2012 server core i7 quad core will be a interesting model too :) might get one of them too... and catalina life line i say late 2022.
During your SSD Read/Write test, during Write it momentarily jumps up to around 300mb/s because the SSD most likely has DRAM into it which, besides saving location data, also has temporary write buffer that is super duper fast, and then it slows down because it still has to keep transferring data from the DRAM onto the SSD. Read is always much faster than Write in all SSD. I also agree - Mac Mini from 2012 is still such a great computer, especially when it's upgraded with SSD and extra RAM.
Thanks for watching and the info. Yes, I agree. I also think it might be an older SSD and may lack Dram cache limiting performance but your comment makes quite a bit of sense. In any case it shipped with that older SSD and one day I'll replace it with a much more capable unit. And it will only get faster at that point. Thanks again for info.
I also have Late 2015 imac 4k with an i7 and 16gb of ram. Works great has the fusion drive and the display is gorgeous. What do you think of that system? Also, just curious, how fast is your internet connection?
Hello and thanks for watching. The Late 2015 iMac is a good system for sure. I assume it is the 21.5" with the 4K screen. That should be able to handle most modern tasks just fine. My Internet back then was about 80 Mbps or so. I moved and now it is actually like 250 Mbps which is crazy fast but just on download. Upload speeds are like 15 Mbps.
Just got the 2012 i7 2.3ghz with the 256 ssd for £320 and 16gb ram for £57. Still less than half the cost of a lowest spec 2020 mini. Most powerful apps I use Photoshop and Illustrator and they just fly.
Thanks for your experience with the 2012 Mac Mini. The i7 seems to be as fast as the newest models in real world work from my experience. I know benchmarks are different but they are just fast for the money. Thanks for sharing.
Got the same config for around the same price last Monday, plan to use it with Logic Pro X... just finished installing everything so nog real-life tests yet, but it ‘feels’ fast enough.
After installing Catalina on my MacMini (late 2012) the Photos has not been working. Keep getting a Updating Library error and Repairing Library does not fix the problem. I have about 213GB of photos and videos stored on NAS drive that is connected to the MacMini as a location or network device successfully but not sure how to fix this. Anyone else have the same issue?
@@anubhavsinha_pcu I just went to a regular store downtown and asked for a 8 GB RAM stick for the mini (i already had the other one) and they were the ones who recommended, i just chose a mid-range pricing. That was more than enough for the Mac Mini to perform really well
If I may, id say it’s all up to preference to your DAW. I’ve been producing using Logic for a couple of years now and I love it, especially since the UI is so similar to ProTools, which is the industry standard. As long as your not processing full on orchestras you should be fine, but even then you should be able to handle a sizable amount of tracks and plugins if you made any upgrades to you Mac.
I’ve wanted to download Catalina but the download doesn’t show up in my apps. Any suggestions where I can download it? I also have the late 2012 Mac mini
@@craigneidel thanks! Surprisingly my i7 mac mini does it with the stock spinning hard drive! Do you think these mac minis will get any more mac os support? I think they're going to be left on mac os 10.15 catalina. Whats your opinion on that?
Thanks alot! The 2012 looks very fast! Can it be fast with bootcamp and OSX and Windows on it? I want to play Valorant and Quake Live it that's it. On MAC OSX I want to do photoshop, illustrator, Adobe XD, CZcams and Garageband smoothly. Is this possible with an 2012 version? or maybe with an 2011? And You recommend i5 and 8gb ram right?
The i5 or i7 is fast (with SSD) and min 8 GB ram but you should also note that you cannot upgrade the 2012 iMacs to the latest OS. You can look what version you can upgrade this to online. Also, I would make sure the software you want to run will be compatible with the version of OS you can run on this device. That way you won't have any surprises. Good luck and thanks for watching Roy.
I am getting a Mac Mini late 2012 i7 2.3Ghz with 1TB HDD (don't know if still OEM) for my wife, being our first jump to MAC EcoSystem, she is a graphics designer and she's using Adobe PS and AI, I might be trying Adobe Pr and AE just for fun, planning to load it with 16GB Ram what OS should we load at max? What should we know first? Any tips and tricks PS: You are amazing! I am amused to watch your content as well as reading the Q and A down here. Thank you in advance!
Thanks for the nice words and good luck with the machine. I would go with either Mojave or Catalina. Catalina should work good if you have an SSD and 16 GB for sure. Just note that Catalina might be the newest OS you can load on the 2012 after 2020 but it a great entry computer for the price compared to other options. Some of the newer Mac minis are not bad either if you can pick one up for around $700 (like 2018) but the 2012's are nice for the lower cost. Thanks for watching.
I use a 2017 MacBook Air for teaching and it struggles with iMovie. It constantly freezes. I normally have to go into school and use my iMac to complete videos. This is the program I use most often. Have you used iMovie any more since making this video? Is it still performing quickly? I was thinking of buying an upgraded one of these to help create videos at home but I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth it. Also- can you activate and save to iCloud on this model?
If you get a 2012 mac mini with the i7 it will be fast. Just make sure you also get the SSD drive. The i5 are good also as long as you are editing in 1080P. In 4K it will be possible just not a great experience. Also, get as much ram as you can and I recommend 16 GB. Thanks for watching.
Hi Craig! I have a question, I have a mac mini late 2012 server and yesterday I changed one of the two disks for a 1tb ssd. I installed high sierra but got a firmware error and couldn't install it so I installed sierra 10.12. Now I see on the apple page that mac mini late 2012 is compatible with catalina, if I download it from the app store ... do you have any idea if the installation will work? Thank you!
It should. I'm running Catalina on my 2012 Mac Mini. If you have an ssd it should perform pretty good too. As long as it is supported you should not have any issues. You just cannot go past Catalina when the new OS comes out in a few months but Catalina should work.
Thank you for the sharing, I had seen other articles that stated if your system is older than 4 years you should not upgrade to Catalina. Since the video have you experienced any issue with the Catalina OS on mini Mac late 2012?
Thanks Josh. No, it has been running fine for me for sure. Of course you could stay on Mojave and should not have any issues but I have not see any yet on Catalina.
I use a mac mini late 2012 as my main pc along side with my ubuntu laptop and yeah catalina runs file even i have 4gb ram! I can run xcode and do video editing in imovie and it does lag a little on iMovie but yeah it is fine . So update!
I'm running Catalina on the exact model, 8gb upgrade. No problems, but Catalina itself can be problematic. A lot of legacy apps simply won't run, and cannot even be theoretically run; but I still have Sierra on another volume. Catalina his stringent security signing as well; it was a bother getting soundflower installed. There are issues with accessing built-in system sound with Catalina on this box, but newer Macs have reported similar problems. Despite recent Audacity updates that do get a checkbox in the security panel, Audacity will not pick up built-in sound with Catalina on this Mac. Soundflower fixed that. So, there are going to be fiddly bits. Catalina has fiddly bits issues anyway.
Yep, been thinking of buying this, the i7 version. People are selling it for high price here. Low RAM and normal HDD (not even 1TB), for about US500. This is to compliment my macbook pro, mostly for work and multimedia
The prices of these really went up now that people are working from home. I picked mine up for under $300 and they had tons of them before. The price should come down in coming month or two on these.
so i bought this macmini late 2012 my first ever mac that was january of 2013, then still good , upgraded the mac 2015 to 8gb ram, but after catalina it slows down, so i ordered 16gb ram , and planning to change the harddrive to ssd,,, but i am thinking they will not support the macmini 2012 after catalina .... do you think i should upgrade the hd to ssd..... no support anymore next year from apple..... ilove my first mac it serves me well...
Just so you know, the only reason it boots that fast is because of the SSD and RAM upgrade. If someone’s computer doesn’t match that they shouldn’t worry. Might consider adding a disclaimer about that. I upgraded my own Mini with 16gb ram 1T ssd by the way, so I’m not just blabbing lol. Just a friendly statement. Good video, I wish I had made a video of my change and I might have 81k views too! Haha
Thanks for watching and sharing. Yes, I do say it has the SSD in there and always recommend you get an SSD more than anything. They can run fast on only 8 GB ram but you need the SSD on the 2012's for them to feel quick. Hope you can subscribe.
Thanks for watching. Yes, I agree these still work after 10 years just fine except OS is hard to update. Too bad Apple won't allow for that but there are fixes I guess you can do to get it more up to date on the OS level.
I had one of these and was dismayed at how slow the hard drive was in it and didn't want to tear it apart to put in an SSD, so I bought a LaCie external SSD, installed the OS (and some programs) there and plugged it into the Thunderbolt port and I was getting read/write speeds at 420/350 respectively, fast boot times and programs loaded so much faster. So that's always an option if people don't have the tools, time or know-how to swap out the system drive.
I have a few videos on booting off an external SSD to speed up the system. I might do another video soon on booting off an external SSD drive on the 2012 Mac Mini soon. Keep an eye open for that in the next month. So the OS will be on the external drive and it really speeds up the 2012 mac minis to a different level. You not only have apps on the ssd then but also the OS.
If you're pushing the cpu to the max, how loud does the fan get on this mac mini (I have the i7 and it gets really loud, but Im wondering about the i5 fan noise and thermals)?
It's not too loud. To be honest I don't remember any huge fan noises but you hear it a little bit with things like video production. During normal use though I barely hear it and it was something that I really didn't notice. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for the video! I‘m planning to buy a used and upgraded 2012 mac mini with 2.5 GHz Dual Core Intel Core i5, 16 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD. Do you think it is enough for Music Production - small projects in Studio One Professional? Are 330€ a good deal?
That is not a bad price and I do think it should have enough power for what you need it to do. If you needed 100 tracks at once you could run into issues but for smaller projects it should be good. Plus, you can always sell in a year from now for about the same price.
@@Georg89 hello, I want to buy a mac mini for production too, 16gb, i5, 500gb hdd. And I want to use with a lot of tracks, plugins, vst, do you think that it could work for me? How it actually works for you?
@@Ben_Hofmann Hi Benjamin, sorry for the late reply. Basically i think that it might work pretty well, maybe the HDD can be the bottleneck in terms of speed, ssd would be better. But it also depends on how many plugins, vsts, etc. you will be using. For me it worked fine, but unfortunately my mac mini crashed after a few weeks of work and i didn't manage to get it running again, so i switched to a windows tower pc.
It is a great mac to buy on a budget, got one for around 250 and buying ram and an external drive so I can use it on multiple devices and that only doubled the price (most of it was the external drive) PLUS it can run the latest OS... with the upgrading, I'm surprised that apple still supports this
Yes, the 2012 times is limited as it won't get next Big Sur updates but for now it is king of the budget Apple system that is cheap and fast. Thanks for sharing and watching.
I got the base model late 2012 i5 mac mini in 2014( I did not go for the 2014 due to upgradability) and upgraded to a new 512 ssd 16gb 1600 DDR ram. It's still running smooth even today with macOS 12.1 Monterey installed with all the new features it brings. Very easy to upgrade SSD/ram and without any tools. I only wish Apple would make all their new products as easy to upgrade... or at least "upgradable".
Thanks for sharing and I agree that the trend of computers having soldered components really is not good at all. The 2012 are a perfect example of how many years you can get out of a system you can upgrade.
For the 2012 Mac Mini do you recommend Catalina OS or High Sierra OS .... I keep hearing conflicting comments about Catalina . Does the 2011 27 inch imac perform better then the, 2012 mac mini ?
I have run both and didn't notice too many difference to be honest. So I would say Catalina if you are running an SSD but it's up to what you feel comfortable doing. I would say the 2011 iMac is slightly better for certain tasks like video editing because it has a dedicated GPU and the Mac mini doesn't really have a dedicated GPU.
Yes, for basic Photoshop tasks this should work great if you have 8 or 16 GB ram and and SSD. The 2012 systems are great and if you get the i7 version it has 4 cores which might help you even more. Thanks for watching Ian.
Yeah, just max the ram out as I did (latest comment on here). Also I only got 256ssd so iTunes library and personal/work files all on an external. Just use the Mac for apps only.
Can you please tell me.... which port on the Mac Mini back did you plug into the screen, and what connector;s on the end plugs into the screen itsef? Thanks! I got a Man Mini 2.5 i5 dual core, 16gb RAM, 1TB BBD + 1TB Leonovo SSD for £125 n Ebay
The i7 models are more because of the i7 and 16 GB Ram. The real item you need to make this fast is the SSD drive so if that is a spinning drive it might not be the best choice. You can always boot off an external SSD (see my other videos - early videos) and I show you how to do that. Just remember that the 2012s are getting up there for OS update but still nice machines. Thanks Joylyn.
If you are on an extreme budget and just use it for basic stuff like web browsing etc. it might be. If you need all the newest cutting edge apps then maybe not. I guess it really comes down to how you plan on using it. If you can get one for $200 and just use it for basic things then $200 isn't that much.
I still have a 2012 2.3 ghz i7 new...I feel soon I will need a little faster processing for some audio jobs and now I do not know what to do just because I m afraid new software requirement can limit it....but you ve put me some new questions around...
Thanks. Yeah the software (OS) may not be upgradeable after 2020. But, with Catalina on these they should be good systems for a few more years and work with most programs. Thanks for watching Nikola.
I just picked up a Late 2012 6,2 with 2.3 GHz i7 and 16GB RAM. This model is known as the "Server". It still has a spinner driver but even so, it is reasonably fast. SSD is going to make a huge difference. I like the RAM slots, hard drive slot, and numerous ports which disappeared in 2014. Firewire is a boon for my backup drives. Mini is hooked up to a Cinema Display 27 which is 2.5k. My only gripe is lack of GPU. Yes, Intel HD 4000 is good enough for low level computing but the deficit to a dedicated GPU is real. Video playback at 60 fps is acceptable but brittle looking with some flicker. SSD may make a difference in video performance. We shall see. Overall, it is still very usable especially for the 60 dollars I have into it.
Thanks for sharing and yes they work great even in 2023. The main issue is the OS compatibility. Having an SSD will for sure change things and it's like night and day when you install one. I think that will solve any performance issues for sure.
I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro which I updated the RAM to 8GB and 500 GB SSD SATA drive couple years ago. Have been experiencing problems booting and machine runs hot even though I have a cooling lap stand. Is it possible and does it make sense to get a late 2012 Mini as the primary disk for running my MacBook Pro?
Not sure what you mean by getting a 2012 as the primary disk for running MacBook Pro. For the 2011 watch my video for booting off an external drive and that could solve the issue or even upgrade to the 2013 iMac (latest video) and you can get those now for under $200 but get an SSD on it. If you can explain more I'll see what I can help with.
What's up? My workhorse has been a i7 16GB 2012 mac mini for the last 5 years and I'm kind of scared to upgrade to Catalina...should I be scared? I do a lot of video editing in premiere and it requires I upgrade OS in order to run the newest versions of Adobe. Thoughts?
you shouldn't be scared, my mac mini 2012 late still working fine with latest MacOS, go ahead. (Friendly reminder, Catalina get your mac mini a bit warmer than before, even not busy loading, I mean warmer, not hot.)
Yes, once everything is clear on the latest Catalina update give it a try. I have not seen too many issues but sometimes it can depend on the software you are running so it hard to know for sure. But I think the security items etc. might also be a benefit. Let us know how everything goes. Thanks.
Craig Neidel I did it just last night very reluctantly - it froze on “estimated time 27 minutes” for like 3 hours but woke up to a pretty login screen - I’ll be putting the latest version of adobe suite on there today - that will be the true test...this 2012 is kind of amazing - it blows my mind it is still functional and relevant.
It took me 3 tries to install Catalina when I swapped the HD for an SSD, but it eventually worked. This machine will still be functional and relevant probably until the end of 2022, when Catalina will no longer be supported with updates. That will be the end of the road for the 2012 Mac mini. A 10 year run!
I got my i5 model for $140 with 8gb of ram and a 256gb SSD. I swapped out the 8gb stick for 2 4gb sticks. I used the 8gb stick along with an identical one I bought to upgrade my 2012 MacBook Pro 15' to 16gb. the Mac mini is now running macOS 13 Ventura using OpenCore Legacy patcher.
And how does it go with Ventura? Have you found any issues with it? I’ve seen in another videos that this OS with OpenCore still in testing, so that’s the main reason that I’ve not taken the risk to upgrade. I have a Mac mini 2012 i5 16GB ram and 512 SSD running Catalina.
Hey, should I go for a 2nd hand mac mini server ( late 2012, i7, 16gb, 1TB SSD) or a new windows laptop ( i5 10gen, 4/8 gb, 512ssd). My main purpose is Audio works.
That is a tough one. That new laptop might be able to run newer software that you need and that would be the main reason to go with a newer solution if you are using for Audio works.
Can you please assist? @Craig - I am in way to upgrade mac mini late 2012 RAM and i found that my mac-mini is DDR3 PC3 12800S - Shall I make upgrade with the PC3L 12800S ? as per my understanding PC3 has 1.5 v and PC3L has 1.35v - so I believe I can use PC3L in late mac mini 2012? IF YES, Can you assist which combination should I use? [at present its 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3] as I am planning to upgrade to 16GB and which brand?
Hello Anubhav and thanks for watching. I usually don't do specific recommendations since you can imagine if something goes wrong then I'm responsible. But there should be a ton of info on the web about compatibility with the ram and version of the Mac Mini. Thanks for watching and supporting the channel and I really appreciate that for sure.
@@craigneidel can you assist with your specifications- which model you had of Mac mini? Which ram was previously and which is new one which you have used ? I can atleast get some clarity and you will also not in a position of giving any recommendation- just share your specs used pls
You can but need to follow the videos on how to boot off an external hard drive. Also, make sure you get a fast external enclosure and drive capable of like 400 MB/s or more. Then it will speed up the system.
@@craigneidel i have seen a forum post where someone has used a convertor to attach Nvme SSD to SATA 3 , but i dont think there shall be speed advantage since speed depends on port used and motherboard architecture not the adapter in between. May be useful for those who are having Nvme drive already and want to use that instead of purchasing a SATA 2.5" drive ..
I have an old 2013 iMac that has a large display and an upgraded solid state 2tb drive. I can’t run the latest Mac operating system on it so this is limiting what applications I can use. Can I buy an iMac to run new operating system but still use the monitor, drive and CD drive of my old iMac? I have an Ethernet network that and a switch to connect multiple devices.
You should be able to use the same monitor but it depends on ports etc. and if you can convert them. The CD might not work on the new M1 Mac mins but in the end it's worth it as they are much faster and will provide a better experience. I love the old stuff but if it's your main Mac then you might want to upgrade for your main work.
Bought a 2010 Mac mini, 2.4ghz core2duo, 2gb ram, 320gb hdd, superdrive for $120 / spent another $100 It’s now, 2.4Ghz C2d @ 16gb ram, 480gb SSD, 2tb @7200rpm (SuperDrive to hdd mod). This computer will be replacing Apple TV and purely for home theatre, tv internet browsing purposes for the bedroom. I’m bidding for a 2012 Mac mini, which I’ll be doing the same upgrades for the living room theatre pc. It’s purely brilliant that I can see my calendar, message clients, from the comfort of my TVs, MacBooks, iPads, iPhones!
Yes, will try that but the person I purchased this from installed a very slow SSD. I have added SSDs to maybe 20 macs in my lifetime and this one just acts like an SSD with no ram to increase writes etc. I think I'm just going to change it out soon. Thanks for watching and the info on this.
It's not so clear that enabling TRIM is necessary. If you read online about this matter, you get conflicting opinions. Here is the article that I found the most authoritative: eclecticlight.co/2019/08/26/caring-for-ssds-trim-wear-levelling-and-apfs/
I have a 2011 (mid) original owned. How are you installing the latest upgrade Catalina? I‘be got an Apple 256 SSD I purchased. I was gonna clone the hard drive and replace with the SSD but i don’t want all that I have on it. I do want certain apps. So what would be your approach to upgrading this Mac Mini 2011 (mid)? I should say I have a 2T external drive that I have backed up with Time Machine and just brought a 5T external drive to clone with enough space. I don’t have much space on the 2T plus I wan to transfer what on there to the 5t and use the 2T for all homeschooled programs, etc. Trying to figure out what the best way to upgrade. I write and research this is mostly what I want to use my MacMini for.
Hello Linda. I'm not sure exactly what you are asking. You really cannot upgrade the 2011 (only 2012) to Catalina without some changes using Terminal which I don't get into but there is some info out there on that. The 2011 cannot be upgraded to Catalina directly. I guess that is the first part of your question to address. Thanks for watching.
I have a late 2011 and im trying to download GarageBand but it says that the software is too old or something. Can someone tell me how to fix this problem? I really need it for music production.
I have the same 2012 Mac Mini, but need to upgrade from my 4GB to the 16GB, I use photoshop, illustrator and other design programs and it’s been holding up pretty well, now that I’m using an external hard drive for storing and hardly have anything on the Mac itself. But my odd question being that I’m a designer needing the computer for art programs, is it necessary to refresh my HHD with a new one and have a secondary as a SSD all at once, or should I simply replace the old HHD and get a brand new SSD 1 TB? What do you think? If it’s just for storage purposes as most ppl mention, I could easily just use my 4 TB external hard drive as I have been as my source for extra storage and only bother getting a new SSD and simply get rid of the old and slow HHD, right?! 🙏🏻🤔
Thanks for watching Barbara. I would upgrade the ram for sure and if you can (watch the videos out there) I would upgrade the HHD to and internal SSD. It makes the entire process of using photoshop, illustrator and other programs a super nice one and once you do that it's like a new computer. If you don't want to open up the system and replace the HHD with an SSD I have a number of videos on how you can boot off an external SSD drive (boot your OS off that) so that is your primary drive. In my videos I did this on a 2011 iMac and a 2017 iMac but the overall process is the same. You need a very fast enclosure (and use fastest port on Mac Mini) and then get a good SSD. Then go though the process in my other videos to boot off the SSD. You can then keep your internal HHD and boot to that whenever you wanted to (acts like a second computer) or just use that as storage while you boot to the external SSD. In any case the best thing to do with Mac Minis is just replace the internal drive but it can be a little tricky as you need to remove the fan and a few items but really about an hour of work. Good luck with what you decide and thanks again for watching and I hope you can subscribe to my channel.
Craig Neidel thank you so much for the information and for taking the time to reply so thoroughly, it is greatly appreciated. I just saw this reply. I will be doing both the ram and SSD upgrade. I will comment later how it goes. So excited! Thank you. Subscribing now!
Thanks for your video! I have a late 2012 Mac mini as well. Mine has i5 processor with 8 gb of ram and a Samsung ssd 850 EVO 256 gb. Out of the 250 gb, I have 135 gb free. When I run the black magic test, my write is 151 while read is 492. However; if I immediately run it again, I only get 35 write and it seems to never get finished and go to the read test. Any idea what is happening? Would going to a larger ssd or more ram help? Trying to keep my Mac mini running as long as possible!
How is the mac performing? Does it seem snappy. Also are you running the tests at 1GB, 2 GB, ... 5 GB etc. Overall that is rare to see but it could be an error if you feel that the SSDs are performing correctly and fast on the computer. I'll see if I can figure out what could be causing that and let you know if I come up with anything.
@@jamesmabry2261 Ok, thanks. It's not that normal but if it's running OK then I'm not sure you need to replace it. I would see what a 1 GB test says and go from there. It could be struggling under heavy loads but may be quick with smaller files is my guess.
Yes it should work great if it has an upgraded SSD and at least 16 GB Ram. If you go with the i7 version with 4 cores this will a great machine and that version seems faster than the newer mac minis from more recent times. Just make sure you have an SSD and 8 to 16 GB Ram and you should be fine.
yes, the 2012 has a quad core cpu and is much faster. If you can get with an SSD and 8 or 16 GB ram it will be a world of difference over a 2010. Thanks for watching.
The cheapest to get a useful mac is buying a 2009 Mini. Found a server one 2.53Ghz with dual drives: SSD+1TB+8GB for 80 bucks. It runs Catalina too (I prefer Mojave, more stable and faster). Connectivity is also decent with MiniDP, 5XUSB and gigabit ethernet.
Best computer Ive ever bought. I`ve had it since 2012. I upgraded the ram to 16g max and replace the old HD to a 1T SSD, boots lightning fast. I haven't had any issues whatsoever , hasn't slowed down.
Thanks for sharing. I had the same experience so far and these work great for the money. Only issue will be OS version (upgradability soon) but other than that they are work-horses for sure.
I have had since 2012 as well. I5 with 16gb now. I thought it was slowing down but the manual HD was dying and put an ssd in and it is great! I don’t plan on getting rid of it.
Mine has been the best computer purchase ever for me too. I bought the 2.3 ghz i7 new in 2012 and it was completely trouble free under fairly heavy use for 6 years before hard drive problems (probably my fault). Upgrading to an SSD is very easy and doing so has made my machine feel like new. I wish Apple would make another version of the mini that's easily upgradeable like this one.
@Samoshke I bought a Samsung 860 Evo. Install Mac Os on the SSD using an external SATA to USB adapter if you dont mind spending the $10. The physical installation is easy. Just dont overtighten the fan bolts. Make sure you have the Torx and hex bits for you miniscrewdriver kit.
@Samoshke I should also mention that enabling trim has not seemed to affect my write speeds.
i love my mac mini, i purchased a low end model at best buy, was $300, they had to get the model from back room, they came back bagged it up gave receipt, went to car, opened bag, they accidentally gave me one with i7 -1TB HD, i was in shock they messed up. awesome! i just ordered 2/8GB memory sticks, (8 years later) thats how good it runs! ive never had too many problems with it. best purchase ever. thank you best buy for grabbing the expensive model for me instead of the $300 mac LOL!!!!
suggest you use a ssd instead of that HD those speed any computer dramatically compared th HD
I've had mine (Late 2012, i5, 16gb RAM) since it came out. I use most of the Adobe CC programs except After Effects and Premiere. After putting an SSD on it with Catalina OS it's still running good with the latest 2021 Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator; almost as good and fast as the 2018 MacBook Pro I use on the job. Definitely agree with all the points made in the video.
Quero comprar um desse, ou com i7, pra estudar e fazer edições básicas no Lightroom, acha que aguenta bem?
Mac Mini Late 2012. Terrific. I upgraded mine , 16GB Ram, 500GB Samsung EVO850 SSD running MacOS Catalina. I run Studio One 6.5 DAW Recording software, no problem. It boots quickly, I don't use a lot of Plugins, It does everything I want. Thanks for putting out the word, these are still usable computers, plenty of life in them.
Yes, they works great and if you can use Open Core to upgrade the OS most people would not notice they are on a 2021 machine for sure. Thanks.
Excellent video. I had both the 2012 i5 and i7, recently sold both for top $$$. They served me well for years; had each maxed (RAM & SSD) out and they did perform well, but without a dedicated GPU; video editing was good, not great. Still hanging onto my 2012 15" MacBook Pro/Retina with a dedicated GPU though. Decided to take the money from the sale of the Mac Mini's and put it towards a new iMac 27/i5 to go along with my 2012 Mac Pro. Never looked back. Keep the videos coming. I always enjoy them
Thanks for the nice words. Also, thanks for sharing what you have. I now have a few iMacs and the mac mini and am waiting on the new 14" (I hope) Macbok pro. I usually purchase the older equipment, use for a year or so, and then resell as they don't lose too much value over time. Thanks again and good luck with everything.
@@r.g.4011 Great deal. The 2012 should get newest updates for maybe another year but should work great for years after that. You can also boot off external ssd to speed up. For $300 that is great price. Just a monitor can cost 200. Good luck.
I've a Mac mini 2012, upgraded to a 512 gb ssd and 16 gb ram. That thing flies even now in 2020
Yes, these are super fast systems for sure. The 2012's were built really good and work flawlessly for the most part.
I bought an i5 8gb ram and a 500gb ssd model from a computer shop, and the guy did it for me for £220 (was £250). I plan to use it for my music and I will probably upgrade the ram to 16gb. You have helped me decide to buy it and your enthusiasm is really great so I’ll drop a sub 👍
Thanks for watching and the sub. I wish you the best of luck Henry.
@@craigneidel no problem mate👍
Nice video, Craig. I'm enjoying your content.
I bought my late-2012 Mac Mini late in 2012, 2.6GHz quad-core i7, with whatever the minimum RAM configuration was, and the 1tb Fusion Drive. I paid $1300 for it if I remember correctly. Before I booted it up the first time I plugged in 16gb of RAM - easy and quick to do, totally accessible without tools or sweat unlike the 2018s - and saved some money over getting it with 16gb from Apple.
I don't do much video editing or play graphically-demanding games so this was perfect for me. What's weird is that it's STILL perfect for me: Every couple of years I asked myself if I needed a faster/more modern Mac and the answer has always been "no". I'm running Mac OS X 10.15.3 Catalina, I have an external drive with Mojave so I can run 32-bit applications if the need arises, and another external drive purely for backups. When booted from the internal Fusion Drive it's about as fast in actual use as any Mac I've used including 2019 models with all-SSD storage.
Even if the next OS can't be "officially" installed this coming fall 2020 I should be able to use the DOSDUDE dosdude1.com/software.html hack on the installer to get it to work. Even if it were to go kerblooie right now or if I needed to get a new Mac for some other reason (compatibility with some other hardware, simple lust, whatever), I've more than gotten my money's worth: $1300 isn't even close to the most I have ever paid for a new Mac (or even a used one) and 7.5 years is already the longest (by far) I've ever used a Mac without feeling at least some niggle to upgrade or replace the thing. I'm using it to write this and it remains my main "at home" Mac.
Thanks again for sharing your information. It's nice to see what systems people have and how they use them. It helps people determine if an older machine will help them accomplish the goals they need to reach. I am like you where I try and hold onto my equipment for a long time as Macs are so expensive. My channel is about helping people see what is out there and your notes help with that. Thanks again.
I bought a used MacMini late 2012 with i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, with MacOS Server and 2 TB spinning drives. I hooked it up in my new Ubiquiti network rack and using it as a file and media server, it works great and fits in my small home rack very well.
Thanks for showing the boot up of this machine. I bought the late-2012 mac mini in 2013 and have been debating trying to revive it with an SSD (it's painfully slow with the mechanical HDD). Your video is exactly what I was hoping to see, as far as performance after upgrading the disk drive.
Thanks for watching and the nice words.
@@craigneidel Just as an update, I swapped out the drive (well, the guy at my local computer repair shop did), and it's become a usable machine again. Just wanted to add that for anyone else still sceptical: it's definitely worth it.
Have one on my desk with i7, 1TB SSD and 16gb. It’s been running 24x7 for last 7 years. Very hard to beat for reliability, silence and low power draw. Great daily driver.
I agree they do last a long time and if you have an SSD they are still pretty fast. Thanks for sharing A G.
@@craigneidel I have two 0,5GB SSD's in them in Raid 0. 1GB/s read/write
do you reccomend the new M1 ones?
This is what actually a performance video should be, not people talking in full video and showing the screen 2 times. Best of luck and thanks for such a great video.
Thanks for the nice words and for watching.
Always enjoy seeing someone use their mac mini computer system. However, I would only suggest picking up the older 2012 model if, you do not plan on continuing to upgrade to the newest Apple OS X.10 operating system. If you are, then a better buy might be the current 2020 mac mini knowing that, you should be able to continue to receive operating system upgrades for the next 10-years.
As for myself years ago, I selected a used 2010 mac mini (the last model with a built-in DVD super-drive) and paired it with a 27 inch Apple Cinema (none thunderbolt) Display. Prefer to keep mine on a very old operating system OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). So, I can continue to use "Front Row" and "Rosetta" because, I own a lot of vintage software (i.e. Apple Works, Via Voice, Eye-TV, iLife '09, and iWorks '09, etc.
Thanks for your info and sharing. I love hearing what people have. I like the older systems too and got this one for about $275. I usually use them quite a bit and then sell them for about 85% of what I got them for and love used equipment. I need to slim down now as I have a few too many systems for my channel but love collecting and using all the great tech. I'm going to try and do a few more creative videos on the mac mini soon so keep watching and thanks again.
I have the it version and maxed out the ram. I put a SSD and have 2 drives and this is my first real Mac. Love it. I got it for about 200.00 a year or so ago.
I recently bought a 2012 mini with the quad core i7. Upgraded memory to 16gb, threw in a 1Tb SSD, and replaced the thermal paste on the proc. I use it as a music production computer and it handles everything I can throw at it without breaking a sweat.
Yes, pretty crazy the 2012 mac minis were so good and then they actually made them less powerful. Thanks for sharing how you use it.
Bro Audio is not working . Can you suggest anythin? I can't hear even after plugging earphones.
I've had a 2012 2.3ghz quad core i7 since new. I've put some upgrades in it over the years and am now running 16gb RAM with two Samsung 2TB drives and three 24" monitors. The SSDs made a significant improvement usability and are key to keeping this computer productive as a daily machine. When Remote work became the norm in 2020, the Mini took over daily work duties from my work HP laptop (3 monitors vs a 15" screen was a big reason). This Mac Mini is still killing it. When I finally do upgrade to an M1 or better Mini, the 2012 variant will transition to a server. Love this little machine.
Yes, those are great machines and the SSDs are what keep them fast. Thanks for sharing.
Smart users will go 4 this... Thank you .. love it
Thanks for watching Cg.
Best to get the i7 Quad Core as long as you're at it. After my G5 died, I bought my MacMini i7, 16GB RAM/1TB HD) Jan 2013, no issues since. Been using 2 monitors (31 via HDMI port and #2 via Thunderbolt port with HDMI adapter). Runs multiple DAWs, SecondLife, etc. Upgrading to SSD soon. Great quiet energy efficient little monster.
I recently got 2 i5 models, and your comment is now making me wonder if i should look into getting an i7 model, which will probably cost at least the same as what i paid for both i5 models combined knowing my luck (and if so, should i get a 2.3ghz, or a 2.6ghz, or is the difference between them so little that i am unlikely to notice either way)
I am thinking of doing some upgrades to one of the i5 models, but if i should look into an i7 model, then i won’t bother doing the upgrades to the i5 model (and instead do the upgrades to the i7 model that i get)
Bought two used 2012 Mac Minis for a small design office in 2015. They performed flawlessly for years with multiple users. Perfect computers for all basic office tasks. Thinking about retiring them from the office, taking them home to put more ram, ssd, and Linux on them.
Yes, they will work good for that and thanks for watching.
Just bought one for 190$ on ebay, excited to upgrade it
Thanks for sharing Geo. Let us know how it goes. Remember for $190 that is less than an iwatch and you can't get everything but for the money it's a great system.
Your video was awesome, here in Brazil everything from apple is so expensive and this model like yours costs around 2.300,00. And for my light use it will run perfectly, thanks for your content and all explanations.
Thanks for watching Luiz. I appreciate the feedback and good luck with everything.
I didn't even know you could upgrade to Catalina with out the "patch" until a few days ago- I have a 2012 Mac mini I7 16gb of ram 1000gb ssd drive- I upgraded to Catalina from the apple website no problems and it runs great
Thanks for sharing Art. Yes, it works great and no issues for me either. Thanks for showing others what you did and helping people out.
@@craigneidel I didn't even make a back up drive
@@bubonicblanket nice. Glad it worked for you. No backup.. Living on the edge😁
without*
Just grabbed a 2012 Server Edition i7 2.6 - ram maxed with a 256 ssd for $230. Will add the 1tb ssd soon. Looks new, was used as a media server by previous owner. Added an Apple keyboard and trackpad for $70 and I’m set. Great video, thanks
Thanks for watching and good luck. The i7 flies for the year and with all that you should have a good system. Thanks for sharing.
Just ordered mine - i5-3210m, 16gb Corsair (upgraded), 500 HDD, near-mint. Payed 200$ shipping included. I already ordered a new 240GB Kingston A400 SSD (22$) which I will swap in as soon as it arrives.
Not my first Mac, but I lately don't need one as often, and although I'd love the latest, there's no point in paying 1000$ for it. I also had a Hackintosh for a while, but I don't want to go that way anymore...
Thanks for your video!
Wish you the best of luck and thanks for watching Mihai.
I got this joker I dug it out of my junk drawer. I was legitimately surprised how fast it was. Gotta compliment Apple for their optimization. Granted I wouldn’t use it day to day but I’d say it’s a pretty sweet machine for today. Let a kid use it or something for school or just as a beginner computer to use.
Yes, these systems are pretty fast for how old they are. Imagine using a 2012 PC and this 2012 iMac really has some speed left in it. Thanks for sharing and watching.
bought one for $400 about 4 years ago. i5 8gig 128ssd/ Hooked to the 50inch Samsung in the living room as entertainment center. still rocking
Thanks for sharing. Good luck and thanks for watching Tom.
Bought the late 2014. Just bought the 2012 for under $150! Returning the late 2014. Looking forward to using the 2012 because it has the i7 2.3gz / 16gb ram & 512gb SSD. Most likely will run OCLP to get Monterey. Good video! Makes me really excited to get mine!
Yes, the 2012s are more expensive and had the 4 cores chips so they should be faster for sure. Just make sure you are getting a good price otherwise I would search for a M1 mac mini used.
Mac mini 2012 owner here...and still going strong this tiny ass computer 👌🏻. Main use...music production
Thanks Isaac. I appreciate you letting us know how your system is working. It shows you that you don't need to spend a lot of money to get into the Apple ecosystem. In fact it's nice when you don't spend too much on Apple. Thanks again.
Oh thanks for sharing this I want to buy one for the same!! MUSIC PRODUCTION!! What processor do u have? Do u recomend the i7 or i5?
@@ocelotdj8060 hi...if you havnt already then grab the i7 quad core....if you did grab one how do you find it for music production?? as I am thinking of getting one just for a backup
Which processor and how much GB RAM do you have? And which DAW are you using?
I‘m planning to buy a used 2012 mac mini with 2.5 GHz Dual Core, 16 GB RAM abd 256 GB SSD. Do you think it is enough for small to mid site projects in Studio One Professional?
@@Georg89 that should do what you need man...I have one with an i7 dual core and the same specs....I use pro logic x and Bitwig ...theres plenty of videos out there that help with reducing cpu if you need that.later down the road..also I would recommend having one or two external ssd drives for your samples etc...cheers
I paid $276 for my 2012 Mac mini, it had 16gb ram and 500hdd i5, but what really got me was the insane level of care it had before not a single scratch and dents or dings. I did an ssd upgrade and I'm really happy with it . I just do regular web browsing some dashcam editing(1080p) and some gamin and I have no problems even it outputs to both a 1440p and a 1080p monitor at the same time .
Thanks for sharing your experience and it nice to hear how people are using the 2012 iMacs. I use it for about the same thing and don't notice any performance differences between this or any of my new Apple systems. They have aged well. Thanks Josue.
Nice video. All my videos are edited on a 2012 Mac Mini. Would like something newer and flasher, but that will have to wait. When I bought it eight years ago,I spec’d it up to 8Gb ram and an i7 processor and has the original HDD. I am running Catalina, which works well. In the eight years I have had it, it has only had one rebuild, because I was curious as to the process. I might do a video on it and do another clean install and see how it goes as a fresh install.
Thanks for sharing your experience on the 2012 mac mini. It's a great little machine especially if you get the i7 model. It's good to hear that everything still works great with Catalina and that has been my experience also. Anyhow thanks for supporting the channel.
I just bought an i5 base model ...still sealed! Time to upgrade this puppy
Good luck and congrats joe. Wish you the best.
Great video... i have mac desktop i5 1000tb but am tired of it as it doesn’t download logic music program lol . Am more of pc guy but i have this 2011 imac desktop and didnt use it much. If i buy this catalina would it do the job? To download new programs and run in my 211 desktop?
Would like to share a bit about my Mac mini 2012, until now Apr 2020, it still working real hard and making money to feed my family, I just ordered Mac mini 2020 for more horse power, I will keep the 2012 running as much as it can be.
Thanks for the info. The 2020 mac mini is a good choice with upgraded SSD if you don't need the portability of the Macbooks. Sounds like you have a good plan. Thanks for watching.
I have a Late 2012 mac mini since they 1st came out. I have the2.3 Intel Core I 7 core and 16 GB of RAM and years ago, I updated to a 1 TB SDD Mercury Electra 6G from the OWC Website . I use it for recording on Pro Tools 12.5. I just ordered a faster 2nd SDD from OWC, which I will install myself. A OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G as a dedicated drive for my Pro Tools sessions. Fantastic computer. It'll now have 2 SSd drives inside.
Thanks for sharing. Yes, the 2012 had the 4 cores and they really are still pretty good. The mac Minis actually got slower in later years for a while and now are much faster with the new M1 chips. But, with that much ram and a quad core you can get some work done for sure.
Hello bro! Thanks so much for this video! I hace one question, do u recomend this kind of Mac for an audio work? I just want to use Logic oñand Pro tools, thats why I need a Mac, because those programs are just for Mac! Thank you so much!
I have to be honest I don't do any audio work on this or any of my Macs. You have seen my videos right:). Just kidding but the i7 I have heard work great with 16 GB or more but hopefully others can post here to let you know. It's really the software and if it is supported longer term on these systems depending what you are using.
I currently own 3 Mac mini i7 quadcore (work, home office, and entertainment room). Very easy to max out Ram and SSD. BEST & MOST AFFORDABLE MAC EVER!!!!
Yes, the Mac mini is a good machine and easy to upgrade unlike the laptops. I agree they can be good but they lost some power after the 2012 models.
I got one just a few days ago, also running Catalina.
I updated to 16 G ram and an SSD, and I'm impressed. It's my first Mac.
Configuring nfs client with autofs was quite easy, and documentation is easy to find.
It runs Catalina / Win10 / Linux, and the only bad point is the OpenGl is not as fast on Catalina than in Linux and Windows. But anyway I bought it as a secondary computer to see movies in the bedroom, not to play games.
I payed it just 120 US $ on Ebay, it came as new with a Superdrive (USB DVD), so I'm happy with it.
Not bad at all for 120 bucks. SSD is the key.
after I saw this video. I found a used i5 late 2009 . i upgraded the ram and the ssd . also got a 2nd monitor adaptor.
runs fine and protools works fine on high Sierra
Thanks for sharing. Yes, the older OS if the main issue but as for performance it should run great. Thanks again.
I have a late 2012 Mac Mini and it ROCKS!!! I run Logic Pro X all day with lots of plugins ...no problem!!
Thanks for sharing Doug. Yes, they are great systems.
I love my Mac mini 2012!!
Thanks for sharing and yes the 2012 mac minis are great little machines. 4K can be rough (editing) as you can see by my other video but for 1080P they are great. Thanks for watching and good luck with your new system. Post what you got.
I have one of these on the way; I'm coming from a mid-2009 13" Macbook, so I'm hoping this will be a major step up.
It should be. For being so old they are pretty fast as long as you have the SSD for storage (or can add one). Thanks George.
Craig Neidel I hope you’re OK with my picking your brain a bit; I got my MacMini from Mac of All Trades, and I have no video. Tried it with my acer monitor (HDMI to VGA adapter), and also directly HDMI to my TV. It does a startup tone and the pilot light goes on, but black screen. I have contacted them; They had me try shutting down, removing the AC cord, wait 15 sec, plug the AC cord back in and 5 sec later start. Didn’t help. I presume I’m gonna return it and get a swap, but anything else you can suggest? Thanks for any assistance...
Please answer my question as I'm really interested buy an mac mini 2012.
What's the highest ram can I upgrade? And what other parts are upgradable please 😁
You can put up to 16gb of RAM in it, and you can change the storage as well;)
You can put in 16GB. You can also quite easily upgrade to an SSD drive if you wanted to do that. There are many videos online on how to make these changes. Thanks for watching.
@@craigneidel Thanks for a very informative vid. I have one of these coming from Mac of all Trades, $279. I have a 500gb SSD I'd like to put into this thing; I've changed hard drives in other macs before, but but the iFixit instructions look a bit daunting... what do you think?
You can upgrade to a max of 16gb of ram. But the most important upgrade is the SSD upgrade. The machine has two SATA links inside, so you can put two separate 2.5 inch drives in it. One is enough for me, but you could do an SSD and HD if you want, you just have to buy a kit that allows the installation of two drives. Swapping out the HD for an SSD took me about 10 minutes and cost $50. It is not challenging at all if you have experience fixing stuff.
Thx for the video :D
Thanks for watching and supporting the channel. Not sure if you are Frankie or Rick (both first names) but good luck with everything.
I remember when my elementary school got these computers back in 2012, I was a huge upgrade compared to the eMacs the school used to have. it's a shame I only used to for a year before moving on the middle school.
They actually can still work fine if you load Open Core on them. They were nice systems for sure.
still waiting for mines to come i really love these mac mini .. like late 2012 are cool machines man :) i'm also quite sure it can run big sur patcher in the future so they will last long, also i'm gonna be looking into the mac mini late 2012 server core i7 quad core will be a interesting model too :) might get one of them too... and catalina life line i say late 2022.
Also big sur patcher works on this model
@@CRYPTiCEXiLE link to this? Theres nothing from Dosdude1 that I am aware of?
During your SSD Read/Write test, during Write it momentarily jumps up to around 300mb/s because the SSD most likely has DRAM into it which, besides saving location data, also has temporary write buffer that is super duper fast, and then it slows down because it still has to keep transferring data from the DRAM onto the SSD. Read is always much faster than Write in all SSD. I also agree - Mac Mini from 2012 is still such a great computer, especially when it's upgraded with SSD and extra RAM.
Thanks for watching and the info. Yes, I agree. I also think it might be an older SSD and may lack Dram cache limiting performance but your comment makes quite a bit of sense. In any case it shipped with that older SSD and one day I'll replace it with a much more capable unit. And it will only get faster at that point. Thanks again for info.
I also have Late 2015 imac 4k with an i7 and 16gb of ram. Works great has the fusion drive and the display is gorgeous. What do you think of that system? Also, just curious, how fast is your internet connection?
Hello and thanks for watching. The Late 2015 iMac is a good system for sure. I assume it is the 21.5" with the 4K screen. That should be able to handle most modern tasks just fine. My Internet back then was about 80 Mbps or so. I moved and now it is actually like 250 Mbps which is crazy fast but just on download. Upload speeds are like 15 Mbps.
Just got the 2012 i7 2.3ghz with the 256 ssd for £320 and 16gb ram for £57. Still less than half the cost of a lowest spec 2020 mini. Most powerful apps I use Photoshop and Illustrator and they just fly.
Thanks for your experience with the 2012 Mac Mini. The i7 seems to be as fast as the newest models in real world work from my experience. I know benchmarks are different but they are just fast for the money. Thanks for sharing.
I can add that I use Premiere and After Effects as well and they work. And I'm still before upgrading to 16 from 4 gb of RAM;)
Got the same config for around the same price last Monday, plan to use it with Logic Pro X... just finished installing everything so nog real-life tests yet, but it ‘feels’ fast enough.
After installing Catalina on my MacMini (late 2012) the Photos has not been working. Keep getting a Updating Library error and Repairing Library does not fix the problem. I have about 213GB of photos and videos stored on NAS drive that is connected to the MacMini as a location or network device successfully but not sure how to fix this. Anyone else have the same issue?
I upgraded the ram and is working like a dream!!
Good luck with everything
Watching this from my Mac mini 2012.
I upgraded to 1TB SSD & 16 GB RAM.
It works really well.
Thanks for watching Eduardo. Yes, these are little power horses for the age. They do work well.
Cool. I‘m planning to buy one, too. How about the OS? Will it be possible to upgrade in the next years?
@eduardo - can you pls share link of the ram which you have used in your late 2012 Mac mini upgrade ?
@@anubhavsinha_pcu I just went to a regular store downtown and asked for a 8 GB RAM stick for the mini (i already had the other one) and they were the ones who recommended, i just chose a mid-range pricing.
That was more than enough for the Mac Mini to perform really well
I have a question bro, would you recommend this mac for music as in ableton or Logic Pro?
If I may, id say it’s all up to preference to your DAW. I’ve been producing using Logic for a couple of years now and I love it, especially since the UI is so similar to ProTools, which is the industry standard. As long as your not processing full on orchestras you should be fine, but even then you should be able to handle a sizable amount of tracks and plugins if you made any upgrades to you Mac.
I’ve wanted to download Catalina but the download doesn’t show up in my apps. Any suggestions where I can download it? I also have the late 2012 Mac mini
just curious, can you play 4k youtube video with the core i5? My core i7 2012 mac mini plays 4k youtube no problems whatsoever.
Yes for sure. No issues at all on mine with ssd.
@@craigneidel thanks! Surprisingly my i7 mac mini does it with the stock spinning hard drive! Do you think these mac minis will get any more mac os support? I think they're going to be left on mac os 10.15 catalina. Whats your opinion on that?
Just bought a used one, gonna upgrade it to a 500gb ssd and 8GB of ram.
Thanks for sharing Thomas. Should be a nice system once you are done with the upgrade.
I recommend you upgrade to 16g Ram
@@ItsDopeSponge I recommend 128 gb ram
@@HypeXtra With a Mac mini you could only upgrade to 16g ram
@@ItsDopeSponge I was just kidding and also I didn’t know that the dude upgraded to 8gb because that’s what he wanted
Thanks alot! The 2012 looks very fast! Can it be fast with bootcamp and OSX and Windows on it? I want to play Valorant and Quake Live it that's it. On MAC OSX I want to do photoshop, illustrator, Adobe XD, CZcams and Garageband smoothly. Is this possible with an 2012 version? or maybe with an 2011? And You recommend i5 and 8gb ram right?
The i5 or i7 is fast (with SSD) and min 8 GB ram but you should also note that you cannot upgrade the 2012 iMacs to the latest OS. You can look what version you can upgrade this to online. Also, I would make sure the software you want to run will be compatible with the version of OS you can run on this device. That way you won't have any surprises. Good luck and thanks for watching Roy.
8 years later mine is running Mojave perfectly with 8GB Ram. Amazing machine.
For sure they are great. Funny design hasn't changed in almost ten years too.
I have two 2012 Mac Minis. Both 16GB Ram and one is an i7 other is i5 both pretty good systems.
Yes, they are great right now for the age. Thanks for sharing Seamus.
Wich one do u recomend? The i5 or the i7?? Thanks for reading me ;)
@@ocelotdj8060 i7 100% if you got the money for it.
i just bought one of these for 90 bucks, i'm stoked
Make sure it has ssd or replace drive. Congrats
I am getting a Mac Mini late 2012 i7 2.3Ghz with 1TB HDD (don't know if still OEM) for my wife, being our first jump to MAC EcoSystem, she is a graphics designer and she's using Adobe PS and AI, I might be trying Adobe Pr and AE just for fun, planning to load it with 16GB Ram what OS should we load at max? What should we know first? Any tips and tricks
PS: You are amazing! I am amused to watch your content as well as reading the Q and A down here. Thank you in advance!
Thanks for the nice words and good luck with the machine. I would go with either Mojave or Catalina. Catalina should work good if you have an SSD and 16 GB for sure. Just note that Catalina might be the newest OS you can load on the 2012 after 2020 but it a great entry computer for the price compared to other options. Some of the newer Mac minis are not bad either if you can pick one up for around $700 (like 2018) but the 2012's are nice for the lower cost. Thanks for watching.
I use a 2017 MacBook Air for teaching and it struggles with iMovie. It constantly freezes. I normally have to go into school and use my iMac to complete videos. This is the program I use most often. Have you used iMovie any more since making this video? Is it still performing quickly? I was thinking of buying an upgraded one of these to help create videos at home but I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth it. Also- can you activate and save to iCloud on this model?
If you get a 2012 mac mini with the i7 it will be fast. Just make sure you also get the SSD drive. The i5 are good also as long as you are editing in 1080P. In 4K it will be possible just not a great experience. Also, get as much ram as you can and I recommend 16 GB. Thanks for watching.
Hi Craig! I have a question, I have a mac mini late 2012 server and yesterday I changed one of the two disks for a 1tb ssd. I installed high sierra but got a firmware error and couldn't install it so I installed sierra 10.12. Now I see on the apple page that mac mini late 2012 is compatible with catalina, if I download it from the app store ... do you have any idea if the installation will work? Thank you!
It should. I'm running Catalina on my 2012 Mac Mini. If you have an ssd it should perform pretty good too. As long as it is supported you should not have any issues. You just cannot go past Catalina when the new OS comes out in a few months but Catalina should work.
@@craigneidel Thanks so much Craig!! have a good day!
Thank you for the sharing, I had seen other articles that stated if your system is older than 4 years you should not upgrade to Catalina. Since the video have you experienced any issue with the Catalina OS on mini Mac late 2012?
Thanks Josh. No, it has been running fine for me for sure. Of course you could stay on Mojave and should not have any issues but I have not see any yet on Catalina.
I use a mac mini late 2012 as my main pc along side with my ubuntu laptop and yeah catalina runs file even i have 4gb ram! I can run xcode and do video editing in imovie and it does lag a little on iMovie but yeah it is fine . So update!
@@craigneidel The only problem I have on mine is that it doesn't want to auto sleep so I have to manually sleep it everytime I leave the computer.
I'm running Catalina on the exact model, 8gb upgrade. No problems, but Catalina itself can be problematic. A lot of legacy apps simply won't run, and cannot even be theoretically run; but I still have Sierra on another volume. Catalina his stringent security signing as well; it was a bother getting soundflower installed. There are issues with accessing built-in system sound with Catalina on this box, but newer Macs have reported similar problems. Despite recent Audacity updates that do get a checkbox in the security panel, Audacity will not pick up built-in sound with Catalina on this Mac. Soundflower fixed that.
So, there are going to be fiddly bits. Catalina has fiddly bits issues anyway.
Yep, been thinking of buying this, the i7 version. People are selling it for high price here. Low RAM and normal HDD (not even 1TB), for about US500. This is to compliment my macbook pro, mostly for work and multimedia
The prices of these really went up now that people are working from home. I picked mine up for under $300 and they had tons of them before. The price should come down in coming month or two on these.
@@craigneidel guess its not the right time to buy it. The price is insane for a machine thats almost 10 years old
so i bought this macmini late 2012 my first ever mac that was january of 2013, then still good , upgraded the mac 2015 to 8gb ram, but after catalina it slows down, so i ordered 16gb ram , and planning to change the harddrive to ssd,,, but i am thinking they will not support the macmini 2012 after catalina .... do you think i should upgrade the hd to ssd..... no support anymore next year from apple..... ilove my first mac it serves me well...
Currently debating that myself. 2012 with 2.3 i7/16GB but original 1TB HDD still humming. I am at the upgrade to SSD or sell place...
Just so you know, the only reason it boots that fast is because of the SSD and RAM upgrade. If someone’s computer doesn’t match that they shouldn’t worry. Might consider adding a disclaimer about that. I upgraded my own Mini with 16gb ram 1T ssd by the way, so I’m not just blabbing lol. Just a friendly statement. Good video, I wish I had made a video of my change and I might have 81k views too! Haha
Thanks for watching and sharing. Yes, I do say it has the SSD in there and always recommend you get an SSD more than anything. They can run fast on only 8 GB ram but you need the SSD on the 2012's for them to feel quick. Hope you can subscribe.
Great summary . I mean 10 years later . I got mine from apple direct . I would ask which PC would ever compete.
Thanks
Thanks for watching. Yes, I agree these still work after 10 years just fine except OS is hard to update. Too bad Apple won't allow for that but there are fixes I guess you can do to get it more up to date on the OS level.
i bought one and slapped 8gb ram in it. runs great!! I even edit off it (nothing crazy!) quick machine for the old mechanical hdd
Thanks for sharing David. Yes, these work great for the basics and still work good in 2020. The Mac Mini (2012) is a good system for sure.
I had one of these and was dismayed at how slow the hard drive was in it and didn't want to tear it apart to put in an SSD, so I bought a LaCie external SSD, installed the OS (and some programs) there and plugged it into the Thunderbolt port and I was getting read/write speeds at 420/350 respectively, fast boot times and programs loaded so much faster. So that's always an option if people don't have the tools, time or know-how to swap out the system drive.
I have a few videos on booting off an external SSD to speed up the system. I might do another video soon on booting off an external SSD drive on the 2012 Mac Mini soon. Keep an eye open for that in the next month. So the OS will be on the external drive and it really speeds up the 2012 mac minis to a different level. You not only have apps on the ssd then but also the OS.
If you're pushing the cpu to the max, how loud does the fan get on this mac mini (I have the i7 and it gets really loud, but Im wondering about the i5 fan noise and thermals)?
It's not too loud. To be honest I don't remember any huge fan noises but you hear it a little bit with things like video production. During normal use though I barely hear it and it was something that I really didn't notice. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for the video!
I‘m planning to buy a used and upgraded 2012 mac mini with 2.5 GHz Dual Core Intel Core i5, 16 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD. Do you think it is enough for Music Production - small projects in Studio One Professional? Are 330€ a good deal?
That is not a bad price and I do think it should have enough power for what you need it to do. If you needed 100 tracks at once you could run into issues but for smaller projects it should be good. Plus, you can always sell in a year from now for about the same price.
@@craigneidel Ok, thanks for your reply. I will use 20-30 tracks at maximum, 50% recorded audio, 50% VSTs. :-)
@@craigneidel Thanks for your reply. I receidved it and started my first project recently. Let‘see how it goes. :)
@@Georg89 hello, I want to buy a mac mini for production too, 16gb, i5, 500gb hdd. And I want to use with a lot of tracks, plugins, vst, do you think that it could work for me? How it actually works for you?
@@Ben_Hofmann Hi Benjamin, sorry for the late reply. Basically i think that it might work pretty well, maybe the HDD can be the bottleneck in terms of speed, ssd would be better. But it also depends on how many plugins, vsts, etc. you will be using. For me it worked fine, but unfortunately my mac mini crashed after a few weeks of work and i didn't manage to get it running again, so i switched to a windows tower pc.
It is a great mac to buy on a budget, got one for around 250 and buying ram and an external drive so I can use it on multiple devices and that only doubled the price (most of it was the external drive) PLUS it can run the latest OS... with the upgrading, I'm surprised that apple still supports this
Yes, the 2012 times is limited as it won't get next Big Sur updates but for now it is king of the budget Apple system that is cheap and fast. Thanks for sharing and watching.
late 2012 i5 4gb RAM and 500GB HDD for $80! upgraded to 16gb of ram and 240gb ssd for $70, so all around $150 is still a steal at those specs!!
I must say that is a pretty good deal. Can't go wrong when you purchase one for the price of a good dinner out.
I got the base model late 2012 i5 mac mini in 2014( I did not go for the 2014 due to upgradability) and upgraded to a new 512 ssd 16gb 1600 DDR ram. It's still running smooth even today with macOS 12.1 Monterey installed with all the new features it brings. Very easy to upgrade SSD/ram and without any tools. I only wish Apple would make all their new products as easy to upgrade... or at least "upgradable".
Thanks for sharing and I agree that the trend of computers having soldered components really is not good at all. The 2012 are a perfect example of how many years you can get out of a system you can upgrade.
For the 2012 Mac Mini do you recommend Catalina OS or High Sierra OS .... I keep hearing conflicting comments about Catalina .
Does the 2011 27 inch imac perform better then the, 2012 mac mini ?
I have run both and didn't notice too many difference to be honest. So I would say Catalina if you are running an SSD but it's up to what you feel comfortable doing. I would say the 2011 iMac is slightly better for certain tasks like video editing because it has a dedicated GPU and the Mac mini doesn't really have a dedicated GPU.
would a 2012 mac mini be suitable for editing templates on Photoshop there around 500mb each or can anyone recommend a basic option thanks
Yes, for basic Photoshop tasks this should work great if you have 8 or 16 GB ram and and SSD. The 2012 systems are great and if you get the i7 version it has 4 cores which might help you even more. Thanks for watching Ian.
@@craigneidel no thanks for the reply was also thinking on the ipad pro 11 inch as I can use this for other projects as well ?
Yeah, just max the ram out as I did (latest comment on here). Also I only got 256ssd so iTunes library and personal/work files all on an external. Just use the Mac for apps only.
@@andrewhanford461 thanks andrew
Can you please tell me.... which port on the Mac Mini back did you plug into the screen, and what connector;s on the end plugs into the screen itsef? Thanks!
I got a Man Mini 2.5 i5 dual core, 16gb RAM, 1TB BBD + 1TB Leonovo SSD for £125 n Ebay
I would just do a search on Google to see how to connect a monitor. There are a few options so you want to make sure your monitor is compatible.
Hi I found a late 2012 mac mini online. It's has 2.3Ghz, i7 quad core, 1TB HDD, and 16GB RAM for $436 is that a little pricey or just ok?
The i7 models are more because of the i7 and 16 GB Ram. The real item you need to make this fast is the SSD drive so if that is a spinning drive it might not be the best choice. You can always boot off an external SSD (see my other videos - early videos) and I show you how to do that. Just remember that the 2012s are getting up there for OS update but still nice machines. Thanks Joylyn.
Hi Craig, do you still think the 2012 is worth buying? Apple didn't include it in the latest update.
If you are on an extreme budget and just use it for basic stuff like web browsing etc. it might be. If you need all the newest cutting edge apps then maybe not. I guess it really comes down to how you plan on using it. If you can get one for $200 and just use it for basic things then $200 isn't that much.
I still have a 2012 2.3 ghz i7 new...I feel soon I will need a little faster processing for some audio jobs and now I do not know what to do just because I m afraid new software requirement can limit it....but you ve put me some new questions around...
Thanks. Yeah the software (OS) may not be upgradeable after 2020. But, with Catalina on these they should be good systems for a few more years and work with most programs. Thanks for watching Nikola.
I just picked up a Late 2012 6,2 with 2.3 GHz i7 and 16GB RAM. This model is known as the "Server". It still has a spinner driver but even so, it is reasonably fast. SSD is going to make a huge difference. I like the RAM slots, hard drive slot, and numerous ports which disappeared in 2014. Firewire is a boon for my backup drives. Mini is hooked up to a Cinema Display 27 which is 2.5k. My only gripe is lack of GPU. Yes, Intel HD 4000 is good enough for low level computing but the deficit to a dedicated GPU is real. Video playback at 60 fps is acceptable but brittle looking with some flicker. SSD may make a difference in video performance. We shall see. Overall, it is still very usable especially for the 60 dollars I have into it.
Thanks for sharing and yes they work great even in 2023. The main issue is the OS compatibility. Having an SSD will for sure change things and it's like night and day when you install one. I think that will solve any performance issues for sure.
I have a late 2011 MacBook Pro which I updated the RAM to 8GB and 500 GB SSD SATA drive couple years ago. Have been experiencing problems booting and machine runs hot even though I have a cooling lap stand. Is it possible and does it make sense to get a late 2012 Mini as the primary disk for running my MacBook Pro?
Not sure what you mean by getting a 2012 as the primary disk for running MacBook Pro. For the 2011 watch my video for booting off an external drive and that could solve the issue or even upgrade to the 2013 iMac (latest video) and you can get those now for under $200 but get an SSD on it. If you can explain more I'll see what I can help with.
What's up? My workhorse has been a i7 16GB 2012 mac mini for the last 5 years and I'm kind of scared to upgrade to Catalina...should I be scared? I do a lot of video editing in premiere and it requires I upgrade OS in order to run the newest versions of Adobe. Thoughts?
you shouldn't be scared, my mac mini 2012 late still working fine with latest MacOS, go ahead. (Friendly reminder, Catalina get your mac mini a bit warmer than before, even not busy loading, I mean warmer, not hot.)
Yes, once everything is clear on the latest Catalina update give it a try. I have not seen too many issues but sometimes it can depend on the software you are running so it hard to know for sure. But I think the security items etc. might also be a benefit. Let us know how everything goes. Thanks.
Craig Neidel I did it just last night very reluctantly - it froze on “estimated time 27 minutes” for like 3 hours but woke up to a pretty login screen - I’ll be putting the latest version of adobe suite on there today - that will be the true test...this 2012 is kind of amazing - it blows my mind it is still functional and relevant.
It took me 3 tries to install Catalina when I swapped the HD for an SSD, but it eventually worked. This machine will still be functional and relevant probably until the end of 2022, when Catalina will no longer be supported with updates. That will be the end of the road for the 2012 Mac mini. A 10 year run!
I am looking to buy a Mac mini 2012 someone is selling it for $300 with mice and keyboard is this a good deal?
Yes, that is a good price with keyboard and mouse. Good luck and have fun. See if you can get one with an SSD.
I'm selling mine and a keyboard and mouse come with it for 250
I got my i5 model for $140 with 8gb of ram and a 256gb SSD. I swapped out the 8gb stick for 2 4gb sticks. I used the 8gb stick along with an identical one I bought to upgrade my 2012 MacBook Pro 15' to 16gb. the Mac mini is now running macOS 13 Ventura using OpenCore Legacy patcher.
Thanks for sharing. Yes, with OpenCore you can upgrade to newest OS for sure. Thanks for watching and sharing.
And how does it go with Ventura? Have you found any issues with it? I’ve seen in another videos that this OS with OpenCore still in testing, so that’s the main reason that I’ve not taken the risk to upgrade. I have a Mac mini 2012 i5 16GB ram and 512 SSD running Catalina.
@@Jhn_Freeman it’s pretty nice, no issues so far.
Hey, should I go for a 2nd hand mac mini server ( late 2012, i7, 16gb, 1TB SSD) or a new windows laptop ( i5 10gen, 4/8 gb, 512ssd). My main purpose is Audio works.
That is a tough one. That new laptop might be able to run newer software that you need and that would be the main reason to go with a newer solution if you are using for Audio works.
I’d personally go Windows Laptop. If you wanted desktop functionality you could always hook up an external monitor and mouse and keyboard.
Can you please assist? @Craig - I am in way to upgrade mac mini late 2012 RAM and i found that my mac-mini is DDR3 PC3 12800S - Shall I make upgrade with the PC3L 12800S ? as per my understanding PC3 has 1.5 v and PC3L has 1.35v - so I believe I can use PC3L in late mac mini 2012? IF YES, Can you assist which combination should I use? [at present its 4GB 1600 MHz DDR3] as I am planning to upgrade to 16GB and which brand?
Hello Anubhav and thanks for watching. I usually don't do specific recommendations since you can imagine if something goes wrong then I'm responsible. But there should be a ton of info on the web about compatibility with the ram and version of the Mac Mini. Thanks for watching and supporting the channel and I really appreciate that for sure.
@@craigneidel can you assist with your specifications- which model you had of Mac mini? Which ram was previously and which is new one which you have used ?
I can atleast get some clarity and you will also not in a position of giving any recommendation- just share your specs used pls
If I buy a 2014 model, could I use an external SSD instead of taking the Mac mini apart , would this work and how should I do it?
You can but need to follow the videos on how to boot off an external hard drive. Also, make sure you get a fast external enclosure and drive capable of like 400 MB/s or more. Then it will speed up the system.
Which latest SSD i can put in my Macmini late 2012 as of today? Are the latest stick type Nvme compatible? Already have 16gb RAM
I think it takes the standard 2.5" SSD like Samsung evo etc. and it will run quite a bit faster for sure. Thanks Waqas.
@@craigneidel i have seen a forum post where someone has used a convertor to attach Nvme SSD to SATA 3 , but i dont think there shall be speed advantage since speed depends on port used and motherboard architecture not the adapter in between. May be useful for those who are having Nvme drive already and want to use that instead of purchasing a SATA 2.5" drive ..
I have an old 2013 iMac that has a large display and an upgraded solid state 2tb drive. I can’t run the latest Mac operating system on it so this is limiting what applications I can use. Can I buy an iMac to run new operating system but still use the monitor, drive and CD drive of my old iMac? I have an Ethernet network that and a switch to connect multiple devices.
You should be able to use the same monitor but it depends on ports etc. and if you can convert them. The CD might not work on the new M1 Mac mins but in the end it's worth it as they are much faster and will provide a better experience. I love the old stuff but if it's your main Mac then you might want to upgrade for your main work.
Bought a 2010 Mac mini, 2.4ghz core2duo, 2gb ram, 320gb hdd, superdrive for $120 / spent another $100 It’s now, 2.4Ghz C2d @ 16gb ram, 480gb SSD, 2tb @7200rpm (SuperDrive to hdd mod). This computer will be replacing Apple TV and purely for home theatre, tv internet browsing purposes for the bedroom. I’m bidding for a 2012 Mac mini, which I’ll be doing the same upgrades for the living room theatre pc.
It’s purely brilliant that I can see my calendar, message clients, from the comfort of my TVs, MacBooks, iPads, iPhones!
Thanks for sharing how you use your Mac minis Derek. Yes, the older systems can still work great and are worth the money.
You should enable trim function for faster SSD write speed. ;)
Yes, will try that but the person I purchased this from installed a very slow SSD. I have added SSDs to maybe 20 macs in my lifetime and this one just acts like an SSD with no ram to increase writes etc. I think I'm just going to change it out soon. Thanks for watching and the info on this.
It's not so clear that enabling TRIM is necessary. If you read online about this matter, you get conflicting opinions. Here is the article that I found the most authoritative: eclecticlight.co/2019/08/26/caring-for-ssds-trim-wear-levelling-and-apfs/
Just got one for $252 with 8gb RAM and 500 gb HD. It also came with a wireless keyboard and mouse
Nice, that is a good price for sure. And you can turn around and sell it in two years for $200 so it will really only end up costing like $50.
@@craigneidel 🙌 I see a bunch being sold for $300 or so. I definitely got a steal
I have a 2011 (mid) original owned. How are you installing the latest upgrade Catalina? I‘be got an Apple 256 SSD I purchased. I was gonna clone the hard drive and replace with the SSD but i don’t want all that I have on it. I do want certain apps. So what would be your approach to upgrading this Mac Mini 2011 (mid)?
I should say I have a 2T external drive that I have backed up with Time Machine and just brought a 5T external drive to clone with enough space. I don’t have much space on the 2T plus I wan to transfer what on there to the 5t and use the 2T for all homeschooled programs, etc. Trying to figure out what the best way to upgrade. I write and research this is mostly what I want to use my MacMini for.
Hello Linda. I'm not sure exactly what you are asking. You really cannot upgrade the 2011 (only 2012) to Catalina without some changes using Terminal which I don't get into but there is some info out there on that. The 2011 cannot be upgraded to Catalina directly. I guess that is the first part of your question to address. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for responding
I have a late 2011 and im trying to download GarageBand but it says that the software is too old or something. Can someone tell me how to fix this problem? I really need it for music production.
You need to upgrade your OS or try and find an older version of the software online.
I have the same 2012 Mac Mini, but need to upgrade from my 4GB to the 16GB, I use photoshop, illustrator and other design programs and it’s been holding up pretty well, now that I’m using an external hard drive for storing and hardly have anything on the Mac itself. But my odd question being that I’m a designer needing the computer for art programs, is it necessary to refresh my HHD with a new one and have a secondary as a SSD all at once, or should I simply replace the old HHD and get a brand new SSD 1 TB? What do you think? If it’s just for storage purposes as most ppl mention, I could easily just use my 4 TB external hard drive as I have been as my source for extra storage and only bother getting a new SSD and simply get rid of the old and slow HHD, right?! 🙏🏻🤔
Thanks for watching Barbara. I would upgrade the ram for sure and if you can (watch the videos out there) I would upgrade the HHD to and internal SSD. It makes the entire process of using photoshop, illustrator and other programs a super nice one and once you do that it's like a new computer. If you don't want to open up the system and replace the HHD with an SSD I have a number of videos on how you can boot off an external SSD drive (boot your OS off that) so that is your primary drive. In my videos I did this on a 2011 iMac and a 2017 iMac but the overall process is the same. You need a very fast enclosure (and use fastest port on Mac Mini) and then get a good SSD. Then go though the process in my other videos to boot off the SSD. You can then keep your internal HHD and boot to that whenever you wanted to (acts like a second computer) or just use that as storage while you boot to the external SSD.
In any case the best thing to do with Mac Minis is just replace the internal drive but it can be a little tricky as you need to remove the fan and a few items but really about an hour of work. Good luck with what you decide and thanks again for watching and I hope you can subscribe to my channel.
Craig Neidel thank you so much for the information and for taking the time to reply so thoroughly, it is greatly appreciated. I just saw this reply. I will be doing both the ram and SSD upgrade. I will comment later how it goes. So excited! Thank you. Subscribing now!
Thanks for your video! I have a late 2012 Mac mini as well. Mine has i5 processor with 8 gb of ram and a Samsung ssd 850 EVO 256 gb. Out of the 250 gb, I have 135 gb free. When I run the black magic test, my write is 151 while read is 492. However; if I immediately run it again, I only get 35 write and it seems to never get finished and go to the read test.
Any idea what is happening? Would going to a larger ssd or more ram help? Trying to keep my Mac mini running as long as possible!
How is the mac performing? Does it seem snappy. Also are you running the tests at 1GB, 2 GB, ... 5 GB etc. Overall that is rare to see but it could be an error if you feel that the SSDs are performing correctly and fast on the computer. I'll see if I can figure out what could be causing that and let you know if I come up with anything.
@@craigneidel it seems to be running pretty good. I am running the test at the 5gb. I get the spinning ball once in awhile.
@@jamesmabry2261 Ok, thanks. It's not that normal but if it's running OK then I'm not sure you need to replace it. I would see what a 1 GB test says and go from there. It could be struggling under heavy loads but may be quick with smaller files is my guess.
Would it be good for music production? FL Studio 20, Pro Tools, etc
Yes it should work great if it has an upgraded SSD and at least 16 GB Ram. If you go with the i7 version with 4 cores this will a great machine and that version seems faster than the newer mac minis from more recent times. Just make sure you have an SSD and 8 to 16 GB Ram and you should be fine.
@@craigneidel Thank you sir! I'm glad to hear it!
I have a Mac Mini 2010 but I want to know if the 2012 will do a difference in speed or performance! Will appreciate a response
yes, the 2012 has a quad core cpu and is much faster. If you can get with an SSD and 8 or 16 GB ram it will be a world of difference over a 2010. Thanks for watching.
@@craigneidel What about a 2014?
The cheapest to get a useful mac is buying a 2009 Mini. Found a server one 2.53Ghz with dual drives: SSD+1TB+8GB for 80 bucks. It runs Catalina too (I prefer Mojave, more stable and faster). Connectivity is also decent with MiniDP, 5XUSB and gigabit ethernet.
Thanks for sharing.