Will Catalina or Big Sur Down these Macs?

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Level 1

4 points

Will Catalina or Big Sur Down these Macs?

Hi,

I am running some old macOS versions on a Late Mac Mini 2014 Mac Mini and I really need to upgrade to at least 10.15 because of some software I want to keep using. Will Catalina slow it down too much? Could I even go up to Big Sur without a noticeable performance hit? I run some general writing, office, and web surfing apps like Scrivener, Mail, Messages, Numbers, Firefox and some server functions. I need to start using Word and Excel on this machine. My specs are:

Processor: 3 GHz Intel Core i7

Memory: 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Graphics: Intel Iris 1536 MB

Thanks for any input,

M. D. Skell

:)

Mac mini, OS X 10.11

Posted on Jan 15, 2021 2:58 PM

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Answer 1

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tbirdvet

Level 6

13,821 points

Jan 15, 2021 4:54 PM in response to M. D. Skell

If you cannot use Mojave (more 32bit app compliant than Catalina) I would skip Catalina and go with Big Sur The thing that will not work with Catalina or Big Sur is Time Machine with mail. Aside from that it is fine.

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Answer 2

M. D. Skell Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 17, 2021 10:29 AM in response to FoxFifth

Thanks, FoxFifth, for your response.

I should have made it more clear in my question that I am aware Big Sur is compatible with the 2014 Mac Mini. What I was trying to find out, from someone who'd actually upgraded, was how well their machine ran with Big Sur.

Sorry that wasn't clear. Thanks again for taking time to respond.

Smiles,

M. D. Skell

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Answer 3

M. D. Skell Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 17, 2021 10:38 AM in response to tbirdvet

Thanks for your response, tbirdvet.

I wish I could use Mojave but the apps I need aren't compatible that far back. It's good to know Big Sur will not create noticeable slow downs on the 2014 Mac Mini. That is every bit as important to me as compatibility. I'd just like to be sure I understand what you're saying about Mail and Time Machine: Is it the case that Time Machine doesn't backup Mail under Catalina and Big Sur?

Kind Regards,

M. D. Skell

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Answer 4

FoxFifth

Level 10

469,407 points

Jan 15, 2021 3:06 PM in response to M. D. Skell

A 2014 Mac Mini can be upgraded to Big Sur. See compatibility section of How to upgrade to macOS Big Sur - Apple Support

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Will Catalina or Big Sur Down these Macs?

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