Currently this Mac mini runs well with an SSD and 4 gb ram however... I am hesitant to upgrade unless it stays the same or improves in general. Does anyone have sound advice they can share on the optimum OS for this old Mac mini?
Mac mini, macOS 10.14
A Mac Mini (Late-2014) model can run up to macOS 12.x Monterey.
You can upgrade the internal SSD to a third party NVMe SSD which would operate faster than the original Apple OEM SSD, but whether the performance would be noticeable is hard to say since it would depend on how you use this computer and its workloads. However, you would need to install macOS 12.x Monterey while the original Apple OEM SSD is still installed internally in order to update the computer's system firmware. Once the computer's system firmware has been updated, then you can install a third party SSD internally and macOS Monterey will install just fine to it. The OWC Aura SSD is the best choice since it is a drop in replacement and is fully supported by OWC.
However, the 4GB of RAM is very unfortunate since that is extremely limiting especially for later versions of macOS, but as @OldGoat67 mentioned, the RAM in this model cannot be replaced or upgraded after purchase since it is soldered to the Logic Board. If the system had 8GB of RAM, then I would say go for the third party SSD upgrade, however, with the 4GB of RAM you are stuck with, I feel it is probably a waste of money to upgrade the SSD.
Also, @OldGoat67 is correct.....32 bit software is not supported on later versions of macOS 10.15+ so you would definitely want to make sure all your third party apps can be upgraded to 64 bit, or you can find alternatives. Definitely uninstall any third party 32 bit apps before upgrading to any later versions of macOS especially if those apps require running an uninstaller to remove them.
If the Mini is running slower than it used to run, then maybe you should look at possible software issues affecting system performance. You can run EtreCheck and post the report here so we can review it for clues.
Another concern is whether you have just an SSD currently or whether it has a Fusion Drive setup and the hard drive portion is starting to fail.
How do you use this Mac Mini?
A Mac Mini (Late-2014) model can run up to macOS 12.x Monterey.
You can upgrade the internal SSD to a third party NVMe SSD which would operate faster than the original Apple OEM SSD, but whether the performance would be noticeable is hard to say since it would depend on how you use this computer and its workloads. However, you would need to install macOS 12.x Monterey while the original Apple OEM SSD is still installed internally in order to update the computer's system firmware. Once the computer's system firmware has been updated, then you can install a third party SSD internally and macOS Monterey will install just fine to it. The OWC Aura SSD is the best choice since it is a drop in replacement and is fully supported by OWC.
However, the 4GB of RAM is very unfortunate since that is extremely limiting especially for later versions of macOS, but as @OldGoat67 mentioned, the RAM in this model cannot be replaced or upgraded after purchase since it is soldered to the Logic Board. If the system had 8GB of RAM, then I would say go for the third party SSD upgrade, however, with the 4GB of RAM you are stuck with, I feel it is probably a waste of money to upgrade the SSD.
Also, @OldGoat67 is correct.....32 bit software is not supported on later versions of macOS 10.15+ so you would definitely want to make sure all your third party apps can be upgraded to 64 bit, or you can find alternatives. Definitely uninstall any third party 32 bit apps before upgrading to any later versions of macOS especially if those apps require running an uninstaller to remove them.
If the Mini is running slower than it used to run, then maybe you should look at possible software issues affecting system performance. You can run EtreCheck and post the report here so we can review it for clues.
Another concern is whether you have just an SSD currently or whether it has a Fusion Drive setup and the hard drive portion is starting to fail.
How do you use this Mac Mini?
Hey HW, thanks for your reply. Yes both you and John have it pretty clear, the 4gb Ram is the limiting factor. Surprisingly this old Mac mini zips pretty well for the tasks we need, simple things really. We purchased several of these at the same time and without quite checking the reasons why, this one unit is a rabbit compared to the turtle like pace of the others. The auto update was what got me curious, Apple "says" to upgrade to Monterey and I thought wow, Mac mini future looks bright!
Frankly, as long as it keeps going as is, I am happy happy, knock on wood.
Appreciate the feedback, cheers!
upgrading Mac mini late 2014 from Mojave too...?
