Which Mac mini? 2,6GHz 8GB RAM and 1TB SATA or 1,4GHz 4GB RAM and 1TB FusionDrive?

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ste.guerro Author

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Which Mac mini? 2,6GHz 8GB RAM and 1TB SATA or 1,4GHz 4GB RAM and 1TB FusionDrive?

I'm looking for a Mac mini to be used, connected through HDMI to my TV, for media entertainment purposes.

which model among the 2 below would you suggest me?

Mac mini 2,6GHz (as is, with 8GB RAM and 1TB HDD SATA)

or

Mac mini 1,4GHz (with 4GB RAM) but configured with a 1TB HDD Fusion

The price of the above two configurati in is almost equivalent.

Both will be equipped with Apple's wireless mouse and keyboard

thank you very much

iPhone 6, iOS 9.1

Posted on Nov 29, 2015 8:42 AM

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Answer 1

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Nov 29, 2015 8:46 AM in response to ste.guerro

Get the

Mac mini 2,6GHz (as is, with 8GB RAM and 1TB HDD SATA)

4GB of memory is not really enough and just a rotating HD is fine for your application.

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Answer 2

Lanny

Level 6

13,183 points

Nov 29, 2015 8:49 AM in response to ste.guerro

Mac mini 1,4GHz (with 4GB RAM) but configured with a 1TB HDD Fusion

Either there is a typo, or this model doesn't exist. The only MacMini that was 1.4 Ghz dates back to 2005, a truely obsolete machine. It wouldn't be even capable of using a Fusion drive.

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Answer 3

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Nov 29, 2015 8:53 AM in response to Lanny

The base model 2014 Mac Mini is:

1.4GHz

1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz) with 3MB on-chip shared L3 cache

https://www.apple.com/mac-mini/specs/

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Answer 4

ste.guerro Author

Level 1

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Nov 29, 2015 8:57 AM in response to lllaass

Thank you Illaass, as far as you know it will be possibile in the future to replace the 1TB HDD SATA of the 2,6GHz with an SSD? or alternatively it will be possibile to add a 4GB RAM in the 1,4GHz (Or substitute the 4GB with an 8GB)?

Lanny in italian Apple Store the basic versione of current Mac mini (2015) has an Intel i5 CPU at,4GHz (569€)

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Answer 5

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Nov 29, 2015 9:04 AM in response to ste.guerro

Memory is soldered in place and can't be upgraded.

The rotating HD can be replaced with an SSD. It requires a special torx driver

Here is a video

https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Mac+Mini+Late+2014+Hard+Drive+Replacement/32815

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Answer 6

Lanny

Level 6

13,183 points

Nov 29, 2015 9:15 AM in response to lllaass

Okay, I misinterpreted that the OP was looking at 2 used models.

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Answer 7

ste.guerro Author

Level 1

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Nov 29, 2015 9:18 AM in response to lllaass

Wow it's quite complicated the replacement and I don't think that Genius guys will help me with that

In any case I will buy the 2,6GHz one thanks to everybody

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Answer 8

lllaass

Level 10

210,411 points

Nov 29, 2015 9:24 AM in response to ste.guerro

If you are mechanically inclined the replacement is not that hard. The replacement for the 2012 Mac Mini is very similar and I had no problem with replace its HD.

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Answer 9

ste.guerro Author

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Nov 29, 2015 9:45 AM in response to lllaass

It's definetively too much complicated for me... :-)

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