mac_shinobi Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 Hi In the market and looking for a 2012 mac mini, just wanted to know 1) What sites should I be looking on to get me a reasonable one in terms of price etc, so far have looked on ebay / apple re furbed and krcs, not sure if there are any other sites I could look on or at ? 2) How easy are the 2012 mac mini's to upgrade as far as RAM and storage ie SSD / hard drives etc ? Price wise I am hoping for around £400 or there abouts, For that amount am I better off looking at a 2011 mac mini ? Was just hoping for USB 3 and faster RAM etc @Arthur or anyone else Thanks
Arthur Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 How easy are the 2012 mac mini's to upgrade as far as RAM and storage i.e. SSD / hard drives etc? RAM is easy. Just take off the bottom cover. HDD isn't too difficult either, but will take longer since there's more to unscrew. Were you thinking of replacing the HDD with an SSD or adding an SSD to a Mac mini that already had a HDD?
3s-gtech Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 We have upgraded a few Mac Minis of the same type (but 2011 model). Pretty easy to do the HDD->SSD, you need a T6 hex bit which isn't usually found in normal multi-tool kits. RAM is easier than pretty much any other machine, as stated.
mac_shinobi Posted November 25, 2015 Author Posted November 25, 2015 I have the tools so Torx etc For now just swap original HDD to an SSD and up the RAM to 16gb Any chance of anyone finding some good deals regardless of ebay / apple site / krcs or any where else ? Hoping to have a bluetooth apple keyboard and magic touchpad included if possible Am hoping to buy the ram and ssd seperately
Zoom7000 Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 The 2012 model will be pretty expensive on Ebay. It's the last model that Apple released with a Quad Core CPU and user changeable RAM, so it's price has shot up ever since the new one was announced. I wish I had picked one up, instead waiting for the new one, only to get shafted! Sincerely hope they replace it with a MUCH better model soon, but I seriously doubt that user changeable RAM will ever return to a device where they have already gone to soldered RAM
mac_shinobi Posted November 25, 2015 Author Posted November 25, 2015 The 2012 model will be pretty expensive on Ebay. It's the last model that Apple released with a Quad Core CPU and user changeable RAM, so it's price has shot up ever since the new one was announced. I wish I had picked one up, instead waiting for the new one, only to get shafted! Sincerely hope they replace it with a MUCH better model soon, but I seriously doubt that user changeable RAM will ever return to a device where they have already gone to soldered RAM Which is why I want the 2012 model as want to upgrade RAM and then replace the original factory hard drive to an SSD Possibly looking at an i5 model which are cheaper than the i7 models, an i5 is more than good enough for what I will use it for, air play , itunes and watching movies and maybe some other things. My best bet is ebay then basically ?
Arthur Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 My best bet is ebay then basically? Yeah. If you're lucky you might be able to get one for about £300 or so. There was one that sold recently for £350 and that came with 16GB RAM. 1
jamin100 Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 I have a 2012 i7 Mini that i have upgraded to 16GB RAM and added a 256GB SSD alongside the 1TB mechanical drive. Its a great little machine and will serve me well for quite a few years to come. The RAM installation was very simple. Adding the SSD was a bit harder, you basically have to slide the power supply out the back and then the logic board in order to get the to hard drive area. Very do-able though and probably took me around an hour. Plenty of youtube / ifixit guides detailing exactly what to do... 1
mac_shinobi Posted November 25, 2015 Author Posted November 25, 2015 (edited) I don't have an issue with doing it like you say regards to guides on ifixit / youtube and the likes. I need help finding a great bargain on ebay if that is possible for a 2012 mac mini with an i5 or i7 and standard config and if possible with an apple keyboard and touchpad ( magic touchpad ) and I will purchase the 16gb RAM and SSD myself, I can and will add an additional hard drive using a ribbon cable kit etc later on. Thanks guys - just need help finding a bargain It will more than likely be an i5 cpu which is fine for what I will use it for. Found this one but no keyboard or touchpad etc : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Apple-Mac-Mini-Core-i5-2-5GHz-8GB-RAM-500GB-HD-Late-2012-/181942112436? I am just struggling to confirm if they are 2012 mac mini's or not as some of the processor speeds don't seem correct etc, just want to ensure that what I am ordering on ebay is actually a 2012 mac mini, and not 2011 or something else Edited November 25, 2015 by mac_shinobi
mac_shinobi Posted November 25, 2015 Author Posted November 25, 2015 What about this one : Apple Mac Mini (Late2012 ModelA1347) & Apple wireless Keyboard & Magic trackpad | eBay
Arthur Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 The Core i5-3210M in the Late 2012 Mac mini runs at 2.5 GHz with a Turbo Boost speed of 3.1 GHz. What about this one That looks fine. 1
mac_shinobi Posted November 25, 2015 Author Posted November 25, 2015 The Core i5-3210M in the Late 2012 Mac mini runs at 2.5 GHz with a Turbo Boost speed of 3.1 GHz. That looks fine. Sent a message to see if I could possibly make an offer or buy it now as hate bidding
ass17 Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 I love my 2012 mini, even running the standard 4gb RAM, the SSD upgrade made all the difference. 20 seconds to desktop from cold boot. Oh so fast!
mac_shinobi Posted November 25, 2015 Author Posted November 25, 2015 I love my 2012 mini, even running the standard 4gb RAM, the SSD upgrade made all the difference. 20 seconds to desktop from cold boot. Oh so fast! What ssd did you get and how much did it cost etc I am contemplating either a 512gb 850 pro or the 850 evo by samsung I am bidding on a 2012 mini now. Find out on saturday if I win it or not lol
ass17 Posted November 25, 2015 Posted November 25, 2015 I went for 850 Evo 120gb last year. But I'm now thinking 850 pro 240gb
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