Apple® - Mac mini - 4GB Memory - 1TB Hard Drive

I'm an iOS developer, and my 2006 MacPro was, while otherwise reliable and sufficient for my needs, no longer able to run the latest versions of MacOS or the iPhone developer software. I REALLY wanted to get a new MacPro (the one that looks like a tiny cylinder), but I also couldn't wait until it was released at the end of 2013 to get one. So, I decided to get an interim Mac to replace my machine. After much consideration, I took a chance on the Intel Core i7 (w/4 CPU cores) MacMini with a 1TB hard drive and 4GB of RAM. My hope was that, given 6+ years of CPU advancements, the 2012 MacMini would be at least close in performance to the 2006 MacPro. It is. My old set up consisted of a 1TB primary drive, so it was a simple matter to use the built-in Migration Assistant to move all my stuff over. I was more worried that I wouldn't be able to attach all three of my monitors to the MacMini, but I was easily able to do so. The Mini comes with an HDMI->DVI adapter, and I had a mini-DisplayPort -> DVI adapter and my USB->DVI adapter worked perfectly with the Mini, so, the three monitors were no problem. The only real issue I had was that the 4GB of RAM that come standard with the Mini simply aren't enough for what I do. I regularly have 15+ applications open, including development environments, Windows VMs, spreadsheets, e-mail and all the other apps I need to run my business and do my actual development work. Frankly, out of the box, the Mini was not up to this challenge. (My MacPro had 16GB of RAM in it, and I had forgotten just how "roomy" that is.) Fortunately, this is another place where the Mini is a better choice than an iMac. Unlike the iMac, the Mini is easily expandable when it comes to RAM, and can accommodate up to 16GB of RAM (using 2, 8GB DIMMs). So, a couple days after I purchased the Mini, I loaded it up with the full 16GB of RAM, and it's performed like a champ ever since. (And, to their credit, Best Buy also had the RAM I needed, and it was cheaper than any mail-order price I could find, which was surprising.) The only other issue I've had is that when I'm really pushing it, the Mini can get very warm. Like, 90-degrees Celsius warm. (I've lost computers to malfunctioning fans in the past, so I always run temperature monitoring software to give me a head's up that a fan has gone dead.) Honestly, most folks won't ever run as many apps as I do, or push the Mini as hard, but if you do, be sure to add an external fan, or mount the Mini in such a way that it's got good air-flow around it. All in all, the Mini is an excellent box, and I'm glad I got it, rather than an iMac. It's a perfect replacement machine for an older Mac and, while not as cheap as a no-name Windows box, the performance, reliability and amount of free, useful software you get with it (iWork and iLife), really make it a worthwhile purchase.

I bought this computer, to attach to a living room HD television. You can attach it to either a VGA port or an HDMI Port. The VGA port, requires an extra $30 adaptor, which I purchased. If you own an Apple TV ($99), you can, also, airplay the image, to your Apple TV. This may be a good solution, for those who want to view it on a larger screen, without cables. Airplay is possible on all Macs running the newest OS. The Apple TV, is a nice product, that does more than just play Netflix ($8 a month), especially, if you already own other Apple devices, such as an iPhone, iPod Touch 5G, iPad/iPad Mini or a Mac. The moment I plugged it in, the television recognized it, and it worked, the first-time I booted it up. I bought the Apple Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse too. All I had to do was turn-on the mouse and keyboard, and the computer found it. I didn't have to go into any settings, to recognize the devices. It works with my older, wireless and wired and wireless PC keyboards and mice too. It comes with 4 GB of RAM, but I found, that I needed more. Not everyone, will need more RAM, but I like to edit video, and watch movies. So, I upgraded it to 16GB of RAM. Each 8GB stick of RAM costs $80, so I put $160 worth of RAM into the computer. I'm glad I did, because, now, it runs a lot better smoother. Upgrading the RAM is very easy, on the Mac Mini. On the bottom, of the machine, is a circular, black, piece of of plastic, with two finger holes. You insert your fingers and twist, and it comes right off. After that, its as simple as unplugging and plugging a cartridge into an older video game console, although, you can have a tech, like those at Geek Squad, perform this upgrade for you, if you'd prefer not to do the upgrade yourself. All Macs, including the Mac Mini, come with free software and a free Operating system. What do I mean by free? Well, it comes with iWork and iLife. iWork consists of Pages (Word), Numbers (Excel), and Keynote (PowerPoint). iLife consists of GarageBand (Audio Editing), iPhoto (Graphics Editing), iMovie (Video Editing), iBook (eBook Reader), iTunes (Music Player/Store), Apple App Store, PhotoBooth (Picture Taker. This requires a webcam, since the Mac Mini does not include a webcam. I recommend the Logitech C920 Webcam ($80)) iMessages (Text Chat), and FaceTime (Video/Audio Chat (also requires an external webcam)). The Mac Mini came with OS X Mountain Lion, but I was quickly, and easily able to upgrade the Operating System, via the Apple App Store, to OS X Mavericks. This is a free upgrade. All future OS upgrades will be free, and available in the Apple App Store. This is true, even on older Macs. So, with OS X, you get free office software and free operating systems). I was able to run Windows Programs on my Mac Mini too. This does not work out of the box. You do need to install some software, to be able to run Windows programs. You'll either need to install Windows 7 or greater into BootCamp, or you'll need Parallels, or VMWare, or Oracle Virtual Box (Free). Personally, I used CrossOver ($40), because it was the most compatible, with my Windows software. I loaded an app, called Boxer (Free), to run DOS software too. I'd highly recommend any of these options to those wanting to run Windows or DOS programs, on their Mac. This Mac Mini comes with an i7 Quad-Core processor, which is very powerful. It has an extremely small footprint, but it packs a lot of power, into that small space. It does this, by using laptop parts, so you're getting MacBook Pro quality hardware, without the MacBook Pro price. Although, my Brother owns two MacBook Pros, and he loves his Apple laptops, and I'd highly recommend them, if you need a laptop, but if you only want a desktop, the Mac Mini is a great, powerful computer, at a very affordable price. The computer, is stylish and quiet too, meaning its perfect for a living room, or a bedroom. Not everyone cares, how their computer looks, but everyone can appreciate a quiet machine. The only cons, are that there are Macs with better graphics cards, but the included graphics card, will work great on an HD monitor/TV. The image quality looks great, on my 40" Samsung HDTV. The other con, is that it does not include an optical drive, so I had to purchase the Apple SmartDrive ($80), which is an optical drive, that connects via a USB cable. This takes-up one of the 4 USB 3.0 ports, but it does match the aluminum case of the Mac Mini, so its not an eye sore, and I still have 3 USB 3.0 ports, which, is a lot of ports. I wound-up purchasing a Lacie Porsche Designed 9233 External 3 TB Hard Drive, to do back-ups. LaCie makes the best Mac External Hard Drives, and they last for years, as long as you keep them turned-off, when you're not using them. Any hard drive will burn-out, if its always left-on. I wouldn't recommend the Apple Time Capsule, simply because there is no off switch, and the hard drive will wear-out, before the router. The LaCie 9233 has the same colour aluminum casing as the Mac Mini, which makes it perfect for those who want to display it beside their Mac, like in a living room. Its 3TB, because you want a back-up drive, that's 2 to 3 times larger than your computer's hard drive, so it can properly back-up the system, without getting full. Every mac contains a program, called Time Machine, which automates the back-up process. You can either do a Data Restore or a Full Restore. A Data Restore, is if you, accidentally, delete a file and want to recover it. A Full Restore, is if you need to recover your entire system, like when you get a virus. A full restore, will erase your Macs internal hard drive, and replace it with an exact copy, from the external hard drive, of what your system used to look like, before the problem. It saves you a lot of time and heartbreak, because you don't loose anything, and everything, including your passwords and personal settings will be restored, just as you originally set them. The hard drive, also, comes in the 9230 model, which is identical to the 9233 model, but in gun-metal black aluminum, and the 9230 model, is $30 less expensive. Silver - LaCie Porsche Designed 3 TB External Hard Drive 9233 ($160) Black - LaCie Porsche Designed 3 TB External Hard Drive 9230 ($130) Either is great. It just depends what colour you prefer, and how much you want to spend. Both can be purchased from BestBuy.com. This is not an All-in-One computer, like the iMac, the MacBook Air, or the MacBook Pro. This does not have a screen, or come with a keyboard or mouse. It is a desktop, similar to the Mac Pro. However, It works with any modern television, or monitor, and it works with PC or Mac mice or keyboards. It will work with Wired or Wireless devices, as long as those wired devices are USB. If all you want is a small, affordable, powerful computer, than this is the computer, for you. The Mac Mini comes in 3 versions, two of which are available from BestBuy. The first is the $600 i5, 500GB version, and the second is the $800 i7, 1TB version. If you want more, you can purchase the $1,000, i7, 2TB Server version, from Apple.com, but most people, don't need that version, and any Mac can run OS X Server. OS X Server, is $20 in the Apple App Store. 1TB, is more than enough, for most people. I have a lot of stuff, on my Mac Mini, and I, still, have 850 GB available. Its going to take me a very, very long time to fill this hard drive. I would recommend the Mac Mini to anyone who wants a new desktop computer.

Love this device so far. I'm coming from a 2008 MBP that died due to logic board failure during my last week of college. After much deliberation and trying to wait for a potential update to the line, I chose to purchase this Mini when it was on an End of Summer Sale. I was originally worried about potential computing limitations, but it has been perfect thus far. I am a heavy browser user, having more tabs than I need opened at any given time. The system also comes preloaded with the Apple productivity suite (I've always used Microsoft, even on my old Mac), which I have found to be nice so far. The UI is very simple and minimalistic and oddly beautiful. For those who have not used these programs before, they have functions that allow you to easily convert between Microsoft and Apple versions. The OS was a change for me. I never upgraded my old MBP past OSX.5, so jumping all the way to Mavericks was a bit dramatic. I can't attest to how the system will perform under very heavy CPU usage at this time. Other than aforementioned day-to-day tasks, I really only plan on using it for programming. The 4GB RAM is fine for me right now, but I will still consider upgrading in the future, along with possibly an SSD. Honestly though, it boots quicker than you will probably ever need and you will probably just keep it in sleep mode when it's not being used. Setup: 23" ASUS LED connected via HDMI AmazonBasics 7-port USB 2.0 hub AmazonBasics bluetooth keypad for iOS Apple wired mouse

This is an excellent Mac for anyone interested in jumping into the Apple world. I can't stress enough that this is geared mainly toward the budget conscious as well as anyone just curious about Apple computers in general. However, it is a definite downgrade for someone that already owns an iMac or Macbook Pro. I recently moved from being a PC/Windows only user to an Apple Mac only user. I love Macs for their quality, reliability, and security. After having purchased a Macbook Pro with Retina and this Mac Mini I don't think I could ever go back to using a PC ever again. I am a college student, so the majority of my Mac Mini use is to research and write papers. I have an affinity for making short films as well. I had to upgrade the Mac Mini's small amount of memory (4GB) to a more formidable amount (16GB) to accommodate the speed that I need to edit my films. Otherwise, the 4GB DDR3 Ram is plenty for basic use. I ended up purchasing a 3TB Airport Time Capsule and an Apple TV to compliment my Macbook Pro and Mac Mini purchase. I love how well Apple products work together, Mac Mini included. I can back up my Mac Mini to the Time Capsule automatically via Time Machine. I can also stream all of my movies and music stored on my Mac Mini or Time Capsule to my Apple TV in my living room. This is a great beginning Mac that I would recommend it to anyone interested in becoming a first-time Mac owner.

I decided to pick up another one of these when Apple decided to abandon the Mac Mini project by stepping it back instead of forward. Why would Apple solder on ram and kill two processors, and otherwise limit the humble little Mac Mini further? Maybe to put the aftermarket people like OWC out of business...? I don't know, ask them. But in my mind, Haswell or not, the newest version of the Mac Mini is a step down and that revision made the price break on this guy a real bargain. I own several Mac Minis. I run them with 16GB ram and a SSD in the spare drive slot. Forget making those mods yourself if you buy a new one! Yeah, you're stuck with whatever they solder onto the logic board. Hey Apple! Ever here of RAM failing? You cannot ask for a sweeter little computer that runs OSX for this kind of coin. You can load them with Parallels and run CAD and the other programs that are Windows only or run better on Windows machines, like the software for my CNC. With the quad i7s, you can run 4 threads on the OSX side and 4 on the W7 side and use the computer like a PC and a Mac with a KVM switch. It is certainly better than running some of these programs on an expensive PC laptop. With this little guy bought at a discount I will move an older MM to the shop and run the new one as my office desktop. These things are lighting fast with a SSD and use so little power I just leave them on 24/7. If you do turn them off, and I suppose you should, they boot in about 12 seconds! No, it is not as fast as an i7 W7 machine for complex CAD work with programs like Revit or Inventor... but I don't do that work on this machine. And while it is not exactly a laptop, you can take it with you if you are moving about and are perhaps concerned about theft. Sorry but my water cooled i7 PC is not about to go in a briefcase! So will Apple ever really go forward again with the Mac Mini? I don't know that either, but this one was priced right and if I have to retire my oldest one, I am sure it will call the quits someday; all I can ask is that this one lasts long enough for Apple to undue its mistaken direction with the Mac Mini and bring it back to the utilitarian design that they abandoned to save a few cents. If you can still find a quad i7 with Mountain Lion or Mavericks, buy it. This review... typed on a Mac Mini!

I've been wanting an i7 desktop but wanted to switch from Windows 8 to OSX. I found MacBooks a bit pricey for my budget and I was afraid of being one coffee spill away from a $1500+ dollar brick which is why I chose to piece together a desktop. I've been pleasantly surprised with the i7 Mac Mini. It has bluetooth capabilities (excellent for bluetooth speakers, keyboard and mouse), USB 3.0, small footprint and I like it's visual appeal not to mention all the free software that comes with buying a Mac Mini. It handles my iTunes library and works great as a server using a $19 app. The app is pretty cheap for home server software. The only down side to this desktop is the amount of out of box memory but it's easily upgradable if your needs require more. After all this I can still run my favorite version of Microsoft Windows by using the Boot Camp software. This Mac mini will meet my needs for a very long time.

After a life of all PC's - I felt like now was the time to try out an Apple in a little way before going into debt to see if I would prefer to use Apple iMacs or Mac Pros. So far the only regret I have is not purchasing it with Geek Squad Certification. Had to return the unit to Best Buy to have previous owner's Apple ID removed from the unit. Best Buy did go out of their way to take care of the problem and ever since I am teaching myself the Apple user interface. The 1 Tb hard drive is currently at 1/10th used and seems very spacious with all of the files, photos and videos I've added todate. Having a limited number of USB 3.0 slots is a bit of a nuisance but so far not a deal killer. Two of the USB slots are being used for my old key board and mouse. Over-all very happy and might plan on gifting this unit to one of my daughters and up-grade to a full iMac or Mac Pro in the next couple of years.

I use it primarily for video editing. After I bought it, I immediately threw in 16gb of RAM and a 120gb SSD, and just use the 1tb hard drive that it came with as external storage. The computer was good before I modded it, but now this thing FLIES!!! I can open even the most labor intensive programs in no time. As with all Apple products, it is built very well and feels solid. I know that it will last for many, many years.