dear luke after about a decade away from windows, IM using a Lenovo All in one desktop form a year back and i must say windows aint bad at all. Been 30 daysof moderate usage as a home desktop. Satisfying. Plus I got xbox pass for AOE 4. Average specs on this Raizen processor but dude im no (hardcore) gamer. Windows 10 on ssd loads in 8 seconds, no joke.
I picked up the same a couple years ago and upgraded to 16gb ram and added a 500gb ssd and left in the 1tb spinner. It hangs on the back of a 27" monitor with a Vesa mount, which is a great pairing. My investment was a great deal more than yours, so you certainly got a good deal.
Definitely! I bought mine here in Germany for 177 EUR (197 USD) just to have an up-to-date machine now with running Catalina natively (and it's just an I5). Since I was using my Mini Mid 2011 for a while and was watching your videos, you made me "want more Apple"... so I went for a 2012 Mini to have Catalina. In the end of this year I will decide if I upgrade. But as I am no gamer and no graphics artist, the Mac is my daily driver for web, TH-cam and so on. Thanks to you I am now a "little fan boy" - and you made me buy a Macbook Pro 2012 i5, thanks to your very informative video about these machines. 🙂 Got it for just 160 EUR (178 USD) and it's a real beauty. Keep up the good work - your videos are really entertaining and they contain really useful and well-founded information!!
@@saurabhjitsingh7137 It's not even fucking relevant. He. She. It. 'He' in this context was just some random pronoun for 'the seller' and in any case is likely to be accurate considering most people selling I.T. kit are MALE. Get over your over-woke self!
I had a cinema display I turfed because it was 19 inch. There are hacks and mods people have done to get a native dvi port out of the back and add in a power plug so no crazy adaptors are needed
I have a 23" Cinema HD from 2004. It is my facourite monitor. I also use an 4K Dell, but i have to say that the Cinema Display has better colors. In Europe it costs jus 100€. (130$)
It's honestly not as exciting as it sounds fella. I get 1950 in cinebench r23 on 1 core vs the 3200 score he got on 4 cores. I nearly fell asleep waiting for it to complete. Luckily I have 9 more cores, but you don't have that option with this.
@@Seb512 oh okay mate. How about. Comparatively good value, but not a sensible purchase for those on a busy schedule or without a truckload of patience?
@@ru55ells I'll agree with that mate, as if you have the time and patience to fix these Mac's, then go for it, but like you said, if you are busy or don't have a lot of experience, then don't bother
I'm still using a late 2009 mini with a 2.26GHz P7550 C2D, 8GB RAM and an SSD with High Sierra. Great machine, even in 2022. It would be useless for any type of professional work, unless it was writing or other light things, but it's still great for web, email, and 720p TH-cam.
Use the same one, but it's running under Debian ^^ However, I don't really know why, but Ethernet is 100mbit only, whatever câble or port I use on my router (AirPort Extreme AC)
My main desktop is even older a 2010, mac mini (the last model with a built-in DVD super-drive) paired with an Apple 27-inch (none thunderbolt) display and, is also running OS X 10.13 High Sierra (smile...smile).
Heck the new Mac Mini is still base at 8gb RAM, is what sells me the idea to buy a used 16gb RAM mini…. Like $600 for 8gb of ram, vs $175 for a refurbished with 16gb of ram….
I was surprised yesterday to discover that Monterey is still supported on the 2014 Mac Minis. 8 year old machines, upgraded to the current OS in about 45 minutes.
I don't know if we should be surprised, Windows can be installed in very old computers. I can run the newest version of Void Linux and all of the newest BSDs on my 2008 Macbook
I just scored a 2012 i7 "Server" for $60. It came with 16GB RAM. It got a 1TB SSD. It is driving a Cinema Display 27 and plays 60fps 2.5k video with ease. I wish it was the 2.6GHz version which would have made this the most optioned Mini for 2012.
I found a 2011 base model thrown out by my school w/ 16gb of ram and a 500gb hard drive. I didn’t use it that much apart from installing a SSD to just test if it worked, but it’s surprisingly alive and well. Something I learned that 2 very skinny screwdrivers that comes with m.2 heat sinks is a viable alternative to the ifixit pry tool in a pinch
I got into MacOS last year in april with this exact machine, though I have the base model. It cost me 170€ which included the Mac with its original hard drive, 8 gigs of RAM, a first gen Magic Mouse and a full size wired Apple Magic keyboard, so I got quite a lot for what I paid back then in my opinion. I have been using it as my main machine, patched it to Big Sur and even used Monterey with it and while it does take a while to load some things it is a great machine! I installed a second drive and I am using the original hard drive for Time Machine backups and I also got 16 gigs of RAM on eBay so I would say it is specd out quite well. Great Mac to get into MacOS and also upgrading and repairing them, it is a lot of fun!
Just got the 2012 mac mini i7 server edition with 10gb ram in perfect condition for $150 Though Haven’t patched mine yet. Is Monterey running smoothly on yours?
I think the most impressive thing to me is that you found an OEM power brick for the 30” display! I hope it wasn’t more expensive than the mini and the monitor combined… But the mini seems like a pretty sweet deal!
The ports on the adapter are not thunderbolt, it's a mini-display port. And the power plug on the monitor did not plug into a G5, it always needed the power brick that you showed.
This Mac mini (server version) became my main driver during lockdown despite having 2 other more powerful Macs - paired with GTX Black Titan eGPU, 24” Apple Cinema Display (2006) and 24” 4K NEC, dual booting to Windows 10 for work and macOS 10.14 for after work it still is an amazing workhorse. Next step will be Big Sur upgrade due to security upgrades so looking forward to your experience with that 👌🏻
We used those studio monitors in the print shop at my old college back in '09. They looked great for the time and had a distinct smell to them that was a little different from other Apple products. Not Retina or anything, but paired with a Mac Pro and Photoshop, they were amazing
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In this video the monitor just doesn't deliver - the colors look overblown and faded, but Luke is cheering about it like some overly cool innovation.
I also bought a 2014 Mac mini to use with my 30" Cinema HD Display, until the Mac minis with the new form factors come out (M1 Pro/Max and M2 in 2022). I got an 8 GB with dual-core i5-4278U, which is more than sufficient for business applications and VPN once upgraded with an NVMe SSD. I wasn't interested in the 2012 Mac mini, since I wanted full Monterey support. As for the 30" Cinema Display, check to see if it supports HDCP or not. Luckily, mine fully supports HDCP, but the earliest 30" models do not. BTW, in Monterey, if I plug my wired Apple USB keyboard into the display, the brightness control buttons occasionally don't work right after waking from sleep. However, they work perfectly if I plug the keyboard directly into the Mac mini. Also, if I plug my mouse's USB RF transmitter into the display, it won't wake up the Mac, but it wakes the Mac fine if I connect it directly to the Mac mini (or with some USB 3 hubs).
@@EugWanker I have the same Mini. I did put in a 1TB SSD at some point, and it runs fairly well - it IS starting to show it's age with Monterey, though. I keep holding out for an M2/M1 Pro/whatever new Mini (the M1 doesn't quite have the graphics performance I'm looking for) and then I'll upgrade. My 30" is NOT HDCP compliant. It's one of the old ones, unfortunately. That said, I can still stream almost anything as long as I use Chrome. Weird.
@@mattalki Chrome limits Netflix to 720p on macOS, which is why you can stream it without HDCP. Safari needs HDCP to stream at 1080p on the 30" Apple Cinema Display.
I have 3 late 2012 Mac Minis that I picked up used over the years. Mac Mini 1 is running Yosemite so I can run my older PS, illustrator, & indesign for my comic strip, product label design, & self publishing. Mac Mini 2 running Catalina for my wife to use as an email/web browser machine & older versions of MS Office. Mac Mini 3 for my home entertainment system (replacing an old raspberry pi) & webcam for zoom. I paid no more than $150 for them (last one cost me $99) all used. Am quite happy with them in 2022.
I just got me an i7 2,3 GHz, already equipped with 16 GB or Samsung RAM, already swapped HD for an SSD (a 240 GB Kingston) and was running macOS Maverick, from Ebay. Using the famous OCLP (open core legacy patcher), I updated that machine to macOS 14 Sonoma and it works like a charme. The quad-core CPU still is a solid machine in those old Mac Minis.
Yes! More vintage monitor goodness! I could not have afforded that monitor back then... I'm still using my 2011 Mac Mini. It's been such excellent value these past 11 years!
2012 Mini is the best Mac there is, cheap, quiet, small and most importantly, upgradeable. It fits two drives which are easy to swap, memory is easy to add and with those upgrades it’s fast enough for normal usage, web browsing etc.
A few months ago, I bought 3 "untested" Mac Mini 2011 for 100$ CAD. Two of them didn't had fans, one didn't had the SATA cable, they all came with 2GB of RAM and none had the bottom cover (annoying, but not neccesary to run). I bought the fans and cables on eBay for really cheap, used RAM I had lying around (and bought a 16GB kit on one of them for myself), put almost brand new 500GB HDD I got from work (all replaced by SSD really quickly, so they're basically waiting to be recycled) and I sold two of them on Marketplace for really cheap. All in all, I spent like 225$ on everything (and that's because of the 60$ RAM, the fans and cables cost like 40$) and sold two of them for 225$ (so probably around 175$ USD, that includes 8GB of RAM, an 500GB HDD for one and an old 120GB SSD for one the other), so the last one was essentially free. Even with a measly dual-core i5 and an Intel HD Graphics 3000, those old Mac Mini are really usable machine, then can even run Monterey with OpenCore Legacy Patcher (not that I would recommend it, it doesn't really add anything on that hardware over Catalina). They're certainly not that fast, but I wouldn't complained if I had to use one, it's still a lot better than an iPad for me.
This is a great post. This is the kind of thing that Luke used to do all the time, to pay his way through college. He would buy older Apple computers fix them up, and then selling them for a profit so way to go (smile...smile).
I’ve used a few Cinema Displays through the years, even primarily used a 30” for a while last year. They really are great displays, but the main problem they all seem to have is image retention. I’ve never experienced anything permanent, but it doesn’t take much for something to stick on the screen for a little bit. I believe these displays received a silent refresh around 2006 to update the back lighting to be more efficient.
Loved my 2012 Mac Mini, I picked up the 2.3 i7 model from Apple refurbished for like $550 back in 2014. It was my first Mac and I upgraded it to 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD. Used it until 2020 when i upgraded to a 2018 i7. A bit disappointed in the performance between the 2012 and 2018 for my day to day use, but appreciate the updated IO and the T2 chip for h.265. Also a bit sour as i got the 2018 model just outside of the return period when the M1 model was announced. Going to stick with the 2018 until maybe the redesigned mini with M1 Pro come out.
Impressive set up for around $350! I would have installed a 1 TB SSD and called it a day. Macs hold their value quite well and this 2012 Mac Mini Is no exception.
Great video, Luke! That Mac Mini can easily be upgraded to Big Sur or Monterey. I think your viewers would be super into a pros/cons video of upgrading a Mac to an "unsupported" OS level! Can tell you my late-2013 iMac running Big Sur (via Patched Sur) runs dramatically better than it ever did under Catalina....
@@karenweiner1857 It only receives security updates. That means its unsupported, plus its nearing the end of its update cycle since we're two new feature updates ahead now and apple usually doesn't support past OSX versions after two years.
I bought a fully working mid 2010 mac mini with high sierra preloaded for $80 Also i have a 30” cinema display myself. I’m lucky enough that my main pc has a dual link dvi port. my monitor was given to me by my brother in law, as well as the power brick, so if i wanted to i could use it with my main (windows) pc. I’m also lucky enough to have a 2008 mac pro so i can use it with that as well.
I grabbed an upgraded 2012 mac mini with a 512GB SSD and 16GB of RAM and love it - I just wanted it to learn the OS and it's been fantastic for that and even a bit of gaming.
I have a second-hand 2010 Mac Mini to which I added an 8Gb memory upgrade and an external hard drive. Its been my media centre for almost a decade now. Th existing HDD is old, but works and the CD/DVD drive is dead, but the Mini works and its more than good enough for video conversion offline/overnight.
I found a 2012 Mac Mini on ebay for $95 Canadian. I doubled the ram to 8gigs and it's my favourite thing - i have it connected to my drawing monitor using Krita, and it's great. Can't say the same for most Windows machines from 2012...
Great video, highly recommend the OWC kit for dual drives, so easy to do, even for a novice like me. I ended up popping one of the soldered cables off accidentally...and when I turned it on, the only thing that didn't work was the LED on the front showing the computer was powered up. Worked perfect otherwise, for music production. You literally cannot go wrong with these!
I'm a pro drummer and I kept my 2012 to run in my studio even tho I own an M1. At the end of the day the M1 is for streaming concerts and browsing the web as well as some video and photo editing. Because my audio interface, which is still great, doesn't work with Apple silicon, I striped my 2012 down, changed drive, and upgraded to the latest possible OS. It runs my multi-track recording needs like a charm!
Got a 2011 Mac Mini not too long ago for free, a business was going to throw it away thinking it was an old Apple TV. 500GB SSD, put in 8GB of RAM I had lying around, upgraded it to Catalina through the DosDude patcher, and it feels like a new computer and runs really smoothly. Exciting stuff.
Last year I bought precisely that model on eBay for $190, but mine did include RAM (8GB), hard drive (500GB rotational) and 2.5 GHz Dual Core i5 CPU. Then I upgraded to 16GB of RAM and a 500GB SSD. Both drives remain installed, but the SSD is primary.
I bought two late 2014 Mac Minis from eBay with free shipping. The first one is an Intel Core i7 with 256gb SSD and 8gb RAM for $175. Second one is Intel Core i5 2.8GHz, 8gb RAM and 1tb fushion drive for $150. Bought 2 Apple thunderbolt displays (27”). One for $170 and the other for $175 from local FB marketplace. I think I got a very solid deals here.
I love refurbing the old minis. I install a 240GB boot SSD and a secondary 1TB rotating rust drive for time machine backup. 16GB of RAM and you have a very nice little self contained package. Total in invested is normally $150-230
I'm running a pair of 23" Cinema Displays on my M1 Mac Mini. The cables are a bit obnoxious but the displays are great performers and look great! It's amazing how they can still function so well after like 18 years.
Typing from a late 2012 Mac mini i5 with 10gb of ram and duo hard disk combo (Samsung 860 Pro 250gb + Hitachi 1,5 TB). Still using this machine in 2022, I received Catalina updates just yesterday. I use it for browsing the web, watch TH-cam contents like this one, sending emails and listening to music. Got it for 400€ back in 2014...I think it's one of the Best Buy of my whole life. PS: definitely interested in that 30" Cinema Display video
bought a 2011 MacMini, has 64-bit dual core Intel cpu @ 2.3 GHz, 16GB memory (max possible), and upgraded to SSD storage. Also clean install of 2017 MacOS High Sierra, which still gets security patches. Installed latest Brave browser, LibreOffice, and Spotify. Is now the daily driver for the spouse and guarantte that this 20011 computer, as speced, is more than sufficient daily driver computer for probably over 80 or even 90 percent of home computer users.
My 2012 Mini I bought from new and is still going - use it for music. I exchanged the HDD for a SSD and upgraded it to 12gb and it's still going strong nearly a decade later with OCLP giving me Monterey!
The cine displays are surprisingly good even these days, I currently am using a 27" one and its been awesome. Big ol chonky boi it might be but its done me proud considering how little I've paid for it.
I still have an Apple Studio Monitor from the generation before that one (23" 1920x1200, w/ the plastic bezel/leg, Circa 1999). Over 22 years old, not a single pixel has gone dark and it works fantastic. Apple Monitors last Forever (at least the older ones)...
My nephew recently picked that monitor up from a seller on Facebook Marketplace for $25. I kid you not. He now uses it with his Mac Mini as you have here.
I did a similar upgrade to a 2012 Mac mini and upgraded the OS to Catalina, which is officially supported on the 2012s. Despite it's age it's very snappy.
That sounds so cool. If Apple ever decides to sell a mac mini model with either a M1 pro processor chip or a M1 max processor chip, I will be buying it (smile...smile).
I used a 30” Cinema Display as my main monitor from about 2011 to 2020. Unbelievable colour and good sharpness. Really solid monitor, just hope the PSU doesn’t go. Oh and the Dual Link DVI is all it needs for a display signal, the USB and FireWire are just pass throughs for the ports on the back.
Just picked up the same model Mac mini, added 16 gigs of RAM and 500 GB SSD, all Crucial, for $54 in 2023. Will try connecting it to two Thunderbolt Displays.
I know you might not see this. But since you’re good with tinkering. What if you like do a build where throw an m1 behind that. Like Remove the panel. Get a display adapter for that ribbon cable. Or something of the sort and custom build your own “iMac Pro”
I found a 30” Cinema Display for $15 with a bad power supply. I modded the power supply with a $20 Amazon power supply and it works. Great display still.
It would be great, if you would make a video about the upgrade process to Monterey!! I bought for Christmas an Mac Pro 4,1 and updated the firmware to 5,1 , installed an nvme ssd and swaped the graphic card and the CPU but i couldn´t install Monterey with a patcher. So now i run the latest version of Mojave. I also bought the 20´´ cinema display so it would also be great if you make a video about it.
I paid $600 for the 2012, i7 Mac Mini with 16gb of memory in 2016 and thought I had reached Nirvana. It wasn't until the M1 in 2019 that I upgraded. My old 2012 is now the main computer of my partner and she loves it. I also have a 2009 Mac Mini in case I need to use an older OS.
Video idea: make a video series about the apple ecosystem's evolution throughout the years like, a 2009 eco system, a 2012 etc and review how viable they are for modern use
I have an Apple Cinema 20” which is all my space will allow but I really love it. I’d be really interested in seeing a video about any of these in the future.
I'm shopping for a Quad i7 mini for my newly acquired Lighting 27" display. Nice to see I'm not wasting my time and that it will be an adequate machine. (Replacing a 1.4ghz 8mb 21.5 iMac) Looking like $150-$200 is the current market for these highly desirable, last of the upgradable Mac Minis.
Just upgraded my 2012 Mac mini with an SSD and Catalina. Night and day difference from the 5400speed 1TB drive it came with!!! Already had 16GB ram. Thanks for the suggestion!
Entertaining video, but very skeptical of your sponsor promo. Stock video footage, slick sales pitch, “if it sounds too good to be true” folks. Then, everybody is doing it pitch. Be careful out there folks!
I payed $220 for a 2014 Mac mini which was 'untested' because it was missing power cord. When I got it, it had i7, 1TB Flash, 16GB ram and the box. not sure if it was worth the price, but its still really usable.
This video gives me great ideas for the Mac Mini that I'm using now, a late 2012 dual core i5 running Catalina with 16GB (2 x 8) ram. Didn't realize the SSD swap out was so simple! Appreciate the education Luke! 👊😎
@@liamk2982 it runs decent. I use it as my entertainment machine hooked up to my bedroom TV, so it's not being driven hard in any way. Eventually I wanna use it for my home studio, hence the reason for the SSD upgrade. Now I also have an older iMac (late 2010 or 2011) that has been shutting down sporadically and running very hot! I figure the fan is dying and that the hard-drive will eventually fail too. Bluetooth seems to be dead on it already! Still I'm considering an SSD upgrade just to keep her alive. I've learnt so much from your videos dude! Keep up the good works! 👊😎
I know this is an older post, but I gotta throw this in. Value is really perceived by the end Custer. I am a case for that. I have a 2014 i5 dual core that I use for my Plex server. An unfortunate event took place and its power cord was disconnected. Hard drive toasted. I was quoted $200 to replace it. I found a late 2914 i7 dual core with 16gb and a 512gb ssd from OWC for less than $300, with a 3 year warranty! For the intended use, this was a steal for me. It was in EC and has been performing much better (expected) than my original machine! So remember that if it is what you need for the job, it could be the best value on the planet!
I had this Mac mini a couple of years ago and then the 2014 version a year later. 2012 Mac mini is storage and RAM upgradable, the 2014 is storage upgradable only.
The 30inch cinema display was never intended to be powered by a G5 or Mac Pro, the power supply came with it. Also the adaptor is not thunderbolt, it's just displayport so you can use it on older mac or even a windows PC
Did I get a good deal on this 2012 Mac mini? What upgrades would you give to a machine like this?
dear luke after about a decade away from windows, IM using a Lenovo All in one desktop form a year back and i must say windows aint bad at all. Been 30 daysof moderate usage as a home desktop. Satisfying. Plus I got xbox pass for AOE 4. Average specs on this Raizen processor but dude im no (hardcore) gamer. Windows 10 on ssd loads in 8 seconds, no joke.
Come on, Luke, that´s a great deal! :) Upgrading with a SSD, max RAM, fair enough.
Thats what I like to call.. A Sore-Dick-Deal
I picked up the same a couple years ago and upgraded to 16gb ram and added a 500gb ssd and left in the 1tb spinner. It hangs on the back of a 27" monitor with a Vesa mount, which is a great pairing. My investment was a great deal more than yours, so you certainly got a good deal.
Definitely! I bought mine here in Germany for 177 EUR (197 USD) just to have an up-to-date machine now with running Catalina natively (and it's just an I5).
Since I was using my Mini Mid 2011 for a while and was watching your videos, you made me "want more Apple"... so I went for a 2012 Mini to have Catalina. In the end of this year I will decide if I upgrade. But as I am no gamer and no graphics artist, the Mac is my daily driver for web, TH-cam and so on.
Thanks to you I am now a "little fan boy" - and you made me buy a Macbook Pro 2012 i5, thanks to your very informative video about these machines. 🙂
Got it for just 160 EUR (178 USD) and it's a real beauty.
Keep up the good work - your videos are really entertaining and they contain really useful and well-founded information!!
Based on the missing ram, and the different CPU, I wonder if the seller grabbed the wrong unit to ship to you.
seller himself got scammed while selling it 😂
@@saurabhjitsingh7137 how do you know its not?
@@saurabhjitsingh7137 It's not even fucking relevant. He. She. It. 'He' in this context was just some random pronoun for 'the seller' and in any case is likely to be accurate considering most people selling I.T. kit are MALE. Get over your over-woke self!
@@jonvincentmusic damn looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today LOL
That seems pretty likely, often times bulk sellers will mix up little things like that
I'd be interested in a video about the monitor, specs like that from 2004 sound crazy!
I had a cinema display I turfed because it was 19 inch. There are hacks and mods people have done to get a native dvi port out of the back and add in a power plug so no crazy adaptors are needed
I have a 23" Cinema HD from 2004. It is my facourite monitor. I also use an 4K Dell, but i have to say that the Cinema Display has better colors. In Europe it costs jus 100€. (130$)
me too :)
Not compatible with streaming services as they need an hdcp connection.
@@iFuff It is, but only with PC or Mac
A quad-core i7 Mac Mini at that price is an absolute steal - great job Luke!
It's honestly not as exciting as it sounds fella. I get 1950 in cinebench r23 on 1 core vs the 3200 score he got on 4 cores. I nearly fell asleep waiting for it to complete. Luckily I have 9 more cores, but you don't have that option with this.
@@ru55ells True, but you'd be lucky to get even a dual core in that condition under $100
@@Seb512 oh okay mate. How about. Comparatively good value, but not a sensible purchase for those on a busy schedule or without a truckload of patience?
@@ru55ells I'll agree with that mate, as if you have the time and patience to fix these Mac's, then go for it, but like you said, if you are busy or don't have a lot of experience, then don't bother
@@Seb512 I was thinking patience in operation. But that's a good point
I'm still using a late 2009 mini with a 2.26GHz P7550 C2D, 8GB RAM and an SSD with High Sierra. Great machine, even in 2022. It would be useless for any type of professional work, unless it was writing or other light things, but it's still great for web, email, and 720p TH-cam.
Use the same one, but it's running under Debian ^^
However, I don't really know why, but Ethernet is 100mbit only, whatever câble or port I use on my router (AirPort Extreme AC)
My main desktop is even older a 2010, mac mini (the last model with a built-in DVD super-drive) paired with an Apple 27-inch (none thunderbolt) display and, is also running OS X 10.13 High Sierra (smile...smile).
Same here. We use it for a crypto node. And for Popcorntime.
Heck the new Mac Mini is still base at 8gb RAM, is what sells me the idea to buy a used 16gb RAM mini…. Like $600 for 8gb of ram, vs $175 for a refurbished with 16gb of ram….
I was surprised yesterday to discover that Monterey is still supported on the 2014 Mac Minis. 8 year old machines, upgraded to the current OS in about 45 minutes.
Support for them has been great by Apple. This is because there's a ton of Mac Mini's kicking around in schools!
@@opikafafa5974sus
@@InstantLuc More likely because it took Apple forever to update the Mac Mini so it couldn't drop support just like that. Ditto the trashcan Mac Pro.
I don't know if we should be surprised, Windows can be installed in very old computers. I can run the newest version of Void Linux and all of the newest BSDs on my 2008 Macbook
@@galindomenafrancisco3187 The surprise is that *Apple* supports it, not that the hardware supports it! 😇
I just scored a 2012 i7 "Server" for $60. It came with 16GB RAM. It got a 1TB SSD. It is driving a Cinema Display 27 and plays 60fps 2.5k video with ease. I wish it was the 2.6GHz version which would have made this the most optioned Mini for 2012.
I found a 2011 base model thrown out by my school w/ 16gb of ram and a 500gb hard drive. I didn’t use it that much apart from installing a SSD to just test if it worked, but it’s surprisingly alive and well. Something I learned that 2 very skinny screwdrivers that comes with m.2 heat sinks is a viable alternative to the ifixit pry tool in a pinch
I got into MacOS last year in april with this exact machine, though I have the base model. It cost me 170€ which included the Mac with its original hard drive, 8 gigs of RAM, a first gen Magic Mouse and a full size wired Apple Magic keyboard, so I got quite a lot for what I paid back then in my opinion. I have been using it as my main machine, patched it to Big Sur and even used Monterey with it and while it does take a while to load some things it is a great machine! I installed a second drive and I am using the original hard drive for Time Machine backups and I also got 16 gigs of RAM on eBay so I would say it is specd out quite well. Great Mac to get into MacOS and also upgrading and repairing them, it is a lot of fun!
nice! good luck in the future with your little mac project 😄
Just got the 2012 mac mini i7 server edition with 10gb ram in perfect condition for $150
Though Haven’t patched mine yet. Is Monterey running smoothly on yours?
@@amdeus There are occasional stutters and of course some things may have to load a little bit longer but other than that no problems really.
I think the most impressive thing to me is that you found an OEM power brick for the 30” display! I hope it wasn’t more expensive than the mini and the monitor combined… But the mini seems like a pretty sweet deal!
The ports on the adapter are not thunderbolt, it's a mini-display port. And the power plug on the monitor did not plug into a G5, it always needed the power brick that you showed.
This Mac mini (server version) became my main driver during lockdown despite having 2 other more powerful Macs - paired with GTX Black Titan eGPU, 24” Apple Cinema Display (2006) and 24” 4K NEC, dual booting to Windows 10 for work and macOS 10.14 for after work it still is an amazing workhorse. Next step will be Big Sur upgrade due to security upgrades so looking forward to your experience with that 👌🏻
Thats a shit setup for the money
We used those studio monitors in the print shop at my old college back in '09. They looked great for the time and had a distinct smell to them that was a little different from other Apple products. Not Retina or anything, but paired with a Mac Pro and Photoshop, they were amazing
In this video the monitor just doesn't deliver - the colors look overblown and faded, but Luke is cheering about it like some overly cool innovation.
I actually run a 2014 Mac Mini with a 30" ACD. The 30" is still a helluva nice monitor. No, it's not 4K, but it still looks GREAT!
I also bought a 2014 Mac mini to use with my 30" Cinema HD Display, until the Mac minis with the new form factors come out (M1 Pro/Max and M2 in 2022). I got an 8 GB with dual-core i5-4278U, which is more than sufficient for business applications and VPN once upgraded with an NVMe SSD. I wasn't interested in the 2012 Mac mini, since I wanted full Monterey support. As for the 30" Cinema Display, check to see if it supports HDCP or not. Luckily, mine fully supports HDCP, but the earliest 30" models do not. BTW, in Monterey, if I plug my wired Apple USB keyboard into the display, the brightness control buttons occasionally don't work right after waking from sleep. However, they work perfectly if I plug the keyboard directly into the Mac mini. Also, if I plug my mouse's USB RF transmitter into the display, it won't wake up the Mac, but it wakes the Mac fine if I connect it directly to the Mac mini (or with some USB 3 hubs).
@@EugWanker I have the same Mini. I did put in a 1TB SSD at some point, and it runs fairly well - it IS starting to show it's age with Monterey, though. I keep holding out for an M2/M1 Pro/whatever new Mini (the M1 doesn't quite have the graphics performance I'm looking for) and then I'll upgrade. My 30" is NOT HDCP compliant. It's one of the old ones, unfortunately. That said, I can still stream almost anything as long as I use Chrome. Weird.
@@mattalki Chrome limits Netflix to 720p on macOS, which is why you can stream it without HDCP. Safari needs HDCP to stream at 1080p on the 30" Apple Cinema Display.
Still my favorite kind of vid on the channel. Thanks for still including these older upgrade budget style vids every once in a while.
Just got a 15 MacBook Pro (2014) , i7, gtx 750M, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD for 110USD.
I have 3 late 2012 Mac Minis that I picked up used over the years. Mac Mini 1 is running Yosemite so I can run my older PS, illustrator, & indesign for my comic strip, product label design, & self publishing. Mac Mini 2 running Catalina for my wife to use as an email/web browser machine & older versions of MS Office. Mac Mini 3 for my home entertainment system (replacing an old raspberry pi) & webcam for zoom. I paid no more than $150 for them (last one cost me $99) all used. Am quite happy with them in 2022.
I had a mac mini 2011 lying around: upgraded it to 8GB and 1TB SSD and the OS to High Sierra. It's still a very decent machine.
I still have a 2012 quad core i7, 16GB RAM Mac Mini that I upgraded the HD to SSD. I use it to back up my iPhone and iPad. It's a solid little machine
Is a $35 Mac mini 2010 in great condition worth it? Only problem is that it doesn’t have a os
I just got me an i7 2,3 GHz, already equipped with 16 GB or Samsung RAM, already swapped HD for an SSD (a 240 GB Kingston) and was running macOS Maverick, from Ebay. Using the famous OCLP (open core legacy patcher), I updated that machine to macOS 14 Sonoma and it works like a charme. The quad-core CPU still is a solid machine in those old Mac Minis.
I am so glad that you bring these types of video back awesome work.
Yes! More vintage monitor goodness! I could not have afforded that monitor back then... I'm still using my 2011 Mac Mini. It's been such excellent value these past 11 years!
2012 Mini is the best Mac there is, cheap, quiet, small and most importantly, upgradeable. It fits two drives which are easy to swap, memory is easy to add and with those upgrades it’s fast enough for normal usage, web browsing etc.
How much time would be usable as a professional computer?
A few months ago, I bought 3 "untested" Mac Mini 2011 for 100$ CAD. Two of them didn't had fans, one didn't had the SATA cable, they all came with 2GB of RAM and none had the bottom cover (annoying, but not neccesary to run). I bought the fans and cables on eBay for really cheap, used RAM I had lying around (and bought a 16GB kit on one of them for myself), put almost brand new 500GB HDD I got from work (all replaced by SSD really quickly, so they're basically waiting to be recycled) and I sold two of them on Marketplace for really cheap.
All in all, I spent like 225$ on everything (and that's because of the 60$ RAM, the fans and cables cost like 40$) and sold two of them for 225$ (so probably around 175$ USD, that includes 8GB of RAM, an 500GB HDD for one and an old 120GB SSD for one the other), so the last one was essentially free. Even with a measly dual-core i5 and an Intel HD Graphics 3000, those old Mac Mini are really usable machine, then can even run Monterey with OpenCore Legacy Patcher (not that I would recommend it, it doesn't really add anything on that hardware over Catalina). They're certainly not that fast, but I wouldn't complained if I had to use one, it's still a lot better than an iPad for me.
This is a great post. This is the kind of thing that Luke used to do all the time, to pay his way through college. He would buy older Apple computers fix them up, and then selling them for a profit so way to go (smile...smile).
I’ve used a few Cinema Displays through the years, even primarily used a 30” for a while last year. They really are great displays, but the main problem they all seem to have is image retention. I’ve never experienced anything permanent, but it doesn’t take much for something to stick on the screen for a little bit. I believe these displays received a silent refresh around 2006 to update the back lighting to be more efficient.
Yeah my 30" does that too. I have to power cycle it many times so the ghosting of the image goes away.
Loved my 2012 Mac Mini, I picked up the 2.3 i7 model from Apple refurbished for like $550 back in 2014. It was my first Mac and I upgraded it to 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD. Used it until 2020 when i upgraded to a 2018 i7. A bit disappointed in the performance between the 2012 and 2018 for my day to day use, but appreciate the updated IO and the T2 chip for h.265. Also a bit sour as i got the 2018 model just outside of the return period when the M1 model was announced. Going to stick with the 2018 until maybe the redesigned mini with M1 Pro come out.
Now go and buy m2 mac mini really good offer. just 599$
The third proprietary connector from the display goes to the power supply not the GPU. It was designed for the MacPro originally.
Impressive set up for around $350! I would have installed a 1 TB SSD and called it a day. Macs hold their value quite well and this 2012 Mac Mini Is no exception.
Great video, Luke! That Mac Mini can easily be upgraded to Big Sur or Monterey. I think your viewers would be super into a pros/cons video of upgrading a Mac to an "unsupported" OS level! Can tell you my late-2013 iMac running Big Sur (via Patched Sur) runs dramatically better than it ever did under Catalina....
To be fair Catalina had a ton of performance issues even on top end devices
Catalina is still supported though
@@karenweiner1857 It only receives security updates. That means its unsupported, plus its nearing the end of its update cycle since we're two new feature updates ahead now and apple usually doesn't support past OSX versions after two years.
Could you let us know how you did it?
@@karenweiner1857 And the performance is garbage compared to Big Sur or Monterey on the same hardware.
I bought a fully working mid 2010 mac mini with high sierra preloaded for $80
Also i have a 30” cinema display myself. I’m lucky enough that my main pc has a dual link dvi port. my monitor was given to me by my brother in law, as well as the power brick, so if i wanted to i could use it with my main (windows) pc. I’m also lucky enough to have a 2008 mac pro so i can use it with that as well.
I grabbed an upgraded 2012 mac mini with a 512GB SSD and 16GB of RAM and love it - I just wanted it to learn the OS and it's been fantastic for that and even a bit of gaming.
I have a second-hand 2010 Mac Mini to which I added an 8Gb memory upgrade and an external hard drive. Its been my media centre for almost a decade now. Th existing HDD is old, but works and the CD/DVD drive is dead, but the Mini works and its more than good enough for video conversion offline/overnight.
I found a 2012 Mac Mini on ebay for $95 Canadian. I doubled the ram to 8gigs and it's my favourite thing - i have it connected to my drawing monitor using Krita, and it's great. Can't say the same for most Windows machines from 2012...
I def wanna see a video on that monitor. It might be cool to do something with the newer Apple Thunderbolt Display too
Great video, highly recommend the OWC kit for dual drives, so easy to do, even for a novice like me. I ended up popping one of the soldered cables off accidentally...and when I turned it on, the only thing that didn't work was the LED on the front showing the computer was powered up. Worked perfect otherwise, for music production. You literally cannot go wrong with these!
I'm a pro drummer and I kept my 2012 to run in my studio even tho I own an M1. At the end of the day the M1 is for streaming concerts and browsing the web as well as some video and photo editing. Because my audio interface, which is still great, doesn't work with Apple silicon, I striped my 2012 down, changed drive, and upgraded to the latest possible OS. It runs my multi-track recording needs like a charm!
Got a 2011 Mac Mini not too long ago for free, a business was going to throw it away thinking it was an old Apple TV. 500GB SSD, put in 8GB of RAM I had lying around, upgraded it to Catalina through the DosDude patcher, and it feels like a new computer and runs really smoothly. Exciting stuff.
Last year I bought precisely that model on eBay for $190, but mine did include RAM (8GB), hard drive (500GB rotational) and 2.5 GHz Dual Core i5 CPU. Then I upgraded to 16GB of RAM and a 500GB SSD. Both drives remain installed, but the SSD is primary.
What an interesting video! Great job Luke.
I'd also be interested in a 2004 Monitor Video
Just bought a 2012 Mac Mini i7 Server edition with 10gb ram for $150
Love your repair videos! Please do more. Of any Mac!!! Keep up the great work. Thanks!
I bought two late 2014 Mac Minis from eBay with free shipping. The first one is an Intel Core i7 with 256gb SSD and 8gb RAM for $175. Second one is Intel Core i5 2.8GHz, 8gb RAM and 1tb fushion drive for $150. Bought 2 Apple thunderbolt displays (27”). One for $170 and the other for $175 from local FB marketplace. I think I got a very solid deals here.
I love refurbing the old minis. I install a 240GB boot SSD and a secondary 1TB rotating rust drive for time machine backup. 16GB of RAM and you have a very nice little self contained package. Total in invested is normally $150-230
I'm running a pair of 23" Cinema Displays on my M1 Mac Mini. The cables are a bit obnoxious but the displays are great performers and look great! It's amazing how they can still function so well after like 18 years.
I still love the 30”
Oh man, that keyboard totally triggered me.
Typing from a late 2012 Mac mini i5 with 10gb of ram and duo hard disk combo (Samsung 860 Pro 250gb + Hitachi 1,5 TB). Still using this machine in 2022, I received Catalina updates just yesterday. I use it for browsing the web, watch TH-cam contents like this one, sending emails and listening to music. Got it for 400€ back in 2014...I think it's one of the Best Buy of my whole life.
PS: definitely interested in that 30" Cinema Display video
bought a 2011 MacMini, has 64-bit dual core Intel cpu @ 2.3 GHz, 16GB memory (max possible), and upgraded to SSD storage. Also clean install of 2017 MacOS High Sierra, which still gets security patches. Installed latest Brave browser, LibreOffice, and Spotify. Is now the daily driver for the spouse and guarantte that this 20011 computer, as speced, is more than sufficient daily driver computer for probably over 80 or even 90 percent of home computer users.
I have a mid 2010 in my room I use exclusively for web browsing. Works just fine!
My 2012 Mini I bought from new and is still going - use it for music. I exchanged the HDD for a SSD and upgraded it to 12gb and it's still going strong nearly a decade later with OCLP giving me Monterey!
And it's the 2.5Ghz I5 not the I7 too
The cine displays are surprisingly good even these days, I currently am using a 27" one and its been awesome. Big ol chonky boi it might be but its done me proud considering how little I've paid for it.
I still have an Apple Studio Monitor from the generation before that one (23" 1920x1200, w/ the plastic bezel/leg, Circa 1999). Over 22 years old, not a single pixel has gone dark and it works fantastic. Apple Monitors last Forever (at least the older ones)...
$75 mac book mini? Fake. Obviously. You will not find Mac books mini with less than $300. Does. Does not matter the year.
My nephew recently picked that monitor up from a seller on Facebook Marketplace for $25. I kid you not. He now uses it with his Mac Mini as you have here.
I’m sill using diary this little monster, UPGRADED with 512 SSD and 16GB RAM. I love it
I did a similar upgrade to a 2012 Mac mini and upgraded the OS to Catalina, which is officially supported on the 2012s. Despite it's age it's very snappy.
I just upgraded my in-laws' 2012 mac mini to the new M1 base model. Huge difference!
That sounds so cool. If Apple ever decides to sell a mac mini model with either a M1 pro processor chip or a M1 max processor chip, I will be buying it (smile...smile).
My 2012 Mac Mini, i7, 16gb, 1tb ssd. is running well with 13.4. It is my everyday computer. 27" curved Monitor. Cheers.
The end card music is ALWAYS so on point.
I used a 30” Cinema Display as my main monitor from about 2011 to 2020. Unbelievable colour and good sharpness. Really solid monitor, just hope the PSU doesn’t go. Oh and the Dual Link DVI is all it needs for a display signal, the USB and FireWire are just pass throughs for the ports on the back.
Just picked up the same model Mac mini, added 16 gigs of RAM and 500 GB SSD, all Crucial, for $54 in 2023. Will try connecting it to two Thunderbolt Displays.
It's 2023 and I'm watching this video on my Sony TV using a 2012 Mac Mini. It's a great Mac for Amazon Prime, TH-cam, Disney +, etc.
I know you might not see this. But since you’re good with tinkering. What if you like do a build where throw an m1 behind that. Like
Remove the panel. Get a display adapter for that ribbon cable. Or something of the sort and custom build your own “iMac Pro”
I found a 30” Cinema Display for $15 with a bad power supply. I modded the power supply with a $20 Amazon power supply and it works. Great display still.
Just got my t9500 in the mail today. Gonna do a CPU swap on an iMac 2007. Love the old upgrade aspect of this channel.
Yes, me too Luke please keep the vintage Apple computer upgrades coming.
I paid 60 bucks for my 2012 Mac mini. I upgraded the memory to 16GB and installed a 1TB SSD and connects to my NAS. Now it's a Plex server.
I always enjoy the twists in your videos, when you encounter a hitch. I love what you do. Thanks for all your work and passion
Yes 30" display video please, still my favorite display. Been looking for one for years
Omfg that keyboard is the only thing I see 😭 my eyes
These are my favourite of your videos
It would be great, if you would make a video about the upgrade process to Monterey!! I bought for Christmas an Mac Pro 4,1 and updated the firmware to 5,1 , installed an nvme ssd and swaped the graphic card and the CPU but i couldn´t install Monterey with a patcher. So now i run the latest version of Mojave. I also bought the 20´´ cinema display so it would also be great if you make a video about it.
I paid $600 for the 2012, i7 Mac Mini with 16gb of memory in 2016 and thought I had reached Nirvana. It wasn't until the M1 in 2019 that I upgraded. My old 2012 is now the main computer of my partner and she loves it. I also have a 2009 Mac Mini in case I need to use an older OS.
Video idea:
make a video series about the apple ecosystem's evolution throughout the years like, a 2009 eco system, a 2012 etc and review how viable they are for modern use
I have an Apple Cinema 20” which is all my space will allow but I really love it. I’d be really interested in seeing a video about any of these in the future.
The Late 2012 Mini was the last great upgradable Mini. I have one. Love it.
I have a 2012 Mac Mini that runs my home network, same one you’re featuring. Works great!
I'm shopping for a Quad i7 mini for my newly acquired Lighting 27" display. Nice to see I'm not wasting my time and that it will be an adequate machine. (Replacing a 1.4ghz 8mb 21.5 iMac) Looking like $150-$200 is the current market for these highly desirable, last of the upgradable Mac Minis.
Just upgraded my 2012 Mac mini with an SSD and Catalina. Night and day difference from the 5400speed 1TB drive it came with!!! Already had 16GB ram. Thanks for the suggestion!
Entertaining video, but very skeptical of your sponsor promo. Stock video footage, slick sales pitch, “if it sounds too good to be true” folks. Then, everybody is doing it pitch. Be careful out there folks!
the fact that you can add a second drive is amazing!
I payed $220 for a 2014 Mac mini which was 'untested' because it was missing power cord.
When I got it, it had i7, 1TB Flash, 16GB ram and the box. not sure if it was worth the price, but its still really usable.
3:34 and this is the point where I drool perfuslly 🤤
Hell yeah please talk more about the pro display
that monitor is a hoot. I totally want to see a video on that. I love stuff like this. Old macs fascinate me.
This video gives me great ideas for the Mac Mini that I'm using now, a late 2012 dual core i5 running Catalina with 16GB (2 x 8) ram. Didn't realize the SSD swap out was so simple! Appreciate the education Luke! 👊😎
How you finding the i5? I went with the base 2012 model and waiting on it coming. Got a new SSD and 16gb ram to upgrade it
@@liamk2982 it runs decent. I use it as my entertainment machine hooked up to my bedroom TV, so it's not being driven hard in any way. Eventually I wanna use it for my home studio, hence the reason for the SSD upgrade.
Now I also have an older iMac (late 2010 or 2011) that has been shutting down sporadically and running very hot! I figure the fan is dying and that the hard-drive will eventually fail too. Bluetooth seems to be dead on it already!
Still I'm considering an SSD upgrade just to keep her alive.
I've learnt so much from your videos dude! Keep up the good works! 👊😎
my school is selling those for 50$ should I get one?
I own this exact model, still chugging along!
I know this is an older post, but I gotta throw this in. Value is really perceived by the end Custer. I am a case for that. I have a 2014 i5 dual core that I use for my Plex server. An unfortunate event took place and its power cord was disconnected. Hard drive toasted. I was quoted $200 to replace it. I found a late 2914 i7 dual core with 16gb and a 512gb ssd from OWC for less than $300, with a 3 year warranty! For the intended use, this was a steal for me. It was in EC and has been performing much better (expected) than my original machine! So remember that if it is what you need for the job, it could be the best value on the planet!
Gotta love that Cinema Display. In fact, I'm watching this on a 20" Cinema Display! Still works great.
I had this Mac mini a couple of years ago and then the 2014 version a year later. 2012 Mac mini is storage and RAM upgradable, the 2014 is storage upgradable only.
As a MacBook M1 user I’m jealous of all the connection possibilities of this machine.
Thanks Luke, always loved the Mac Mini, but that display...OMG...that DISPLAY LOLOL....wow...
The 30inch cinema display was never intended to be powered by a G5 or Mac Pro, the power supply came with it. Also the adaptor is not thunderbolt, it's just displayport so you can use it on older mac or even a windows PC
Would deffo love to see an episode on the monitor
This is the reason I subscribe to this channel, well, except for the ad. I vote for fixing more old macs.
Only hands featuring a stamp! And the video was great too. I enjoy watching the upgrades.
I've lusted after that 30" cinema display since '04. She's a real beauty.
Great one, luke! 💜