The "I just ordered / bought / got my new/refurb Mac Mini" threads, merged

[ashleykaryl]

My experience with Apple on new computers has been pretty woeful over the last 23 years. This is the first time they have sent the wrong computer though. Normally they are dead on arrival or wholly unreliable and eventually replaced after a few botched repairs. When you get a good one like my current Mac Pro they are fantastic, but I tend to think their general quality control is awful. Certainly not what you would expect on premium priced products.

 

[honestone33]

My experience with Apple on new computers has been pretty woeful over the last 23 years. This is the first time they have sent the wrong computer though. Normally they are dead on arrival or wholly unreliable and eventually replaced after a few botched repairs. When you get a good one like my current Mac Pro they are fantastic, but I tend to think their general quality control is awful. Certainly not what you would expect on premium priced products.

Well stated! Fortunately, I've never needed to "enhance" basic configurations of a Mac, and thus can get it from a third party, and less expensive!

 

[ashleykaryl]

Well stated! Fortunately, I've never needed to "enhance" basic configurations of a Mac, and thus can get it from a third party, and less expensive!

I have always upgraded the ram myself, but my understanding with the mini is that this voids the warranty. Also it has become very clear to me that Apple are becoming progressively more tricky with OS updates whenever they find non Apple parts. Since installing a Samsung SSD and a new video card on my Mac Pro, OS updates have been like Russian roulette, even if the parts are supposedly compatible.

 

[newellj]

I have always upgraded the ram myself, but my understanding with the mini is that this voids the warranty.

I don't believe that's correct, unless the claim is attributable to the RAM itself or user error/botched installation. My Mini was serviced under Apple Care even though the original HDD had been moved to the secondary drive bay, an SSD had been installed in the primary drive bay, the RAM had been user-replaced and I had installed BT shielding.

 

[ashleykaryl]

I don't believe that's correct, unless the claim is attributable to the RAM itself or user error/botched installation. My Mini was serviced under Apple Care even though the original HDD had been moved to the secondary drive bay, an SSD had been installed in the primary drive bay, the RAM had been user-replaced and I had installed BT shielding.

If you have changed something inside the computer it gives Apple a very easy means of refusing to carry out repairs under warranty. They simply say work has been carried out using non Apple parts by a non authorised agent and therefore void at their sole discretion.

Before replacing my daughter's MBP under warranty Apple had an authorised service agent go over every detail to ensure it was completely original and in pristine condition. Any scuffs or scratches would have been noted as signs of possible neglect or mishandling. They had already replaced the logic board after three months and I think they were looking for reasons to avoid the replacement when just about everything else had gone wrong in less than a year.

If Apple issue OS updates that specifically look for Apple parts and it all goes wrong you don't have a leg to stand on with third party upgrades installed yourself, just as would be the case if you tried modifying your car in a similar way. In that case it is even worse, because it would likely invalidate your insurance.

I was extremely reluctant to pay those crazy prices but I get the sense this is the way Apple are going. They want us to buy top spec machines direct from their store and then buy new ones without attempting upgrades. Apple themselves state that the ram is not user upgradeable. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205041#one

 

[newellj]

Apple might...but I sent them a very thoroughly user-modified Mini, and they repaired it under warranty.

If you messed with the drive and the fault is the drive, that's easy.

If you messed with the drive on a 2012 and one of the cables or connectors is damaged, that's easy, too.

But if you swapped the RAM and the drive fails, there's no connection and even if you had to argue about it a little, there's no reason to deny warranty coverage.

The fact is that I've never had to argue with anyone at Apple about any dead or significantly misbehaving product.

 

[Che Castro]

Any chance of a mac mini SE this year ? much cheaper Mac mini

 

[ashleykaryl]

The fact is that I've never had to argue with anyone at Apple about any dead or significantly misbehaving product.

I upgraded the ram on my original Mac Pro, which is obviously easy and Apple never made a fuss over that, however the 2018 mini is specifically listed as having non user installable ram and indicates that it should be ordered at time of purchase from Apple. It's there on their website with that link I posted.

Apple were pretty awful when I had to deal with them on the MBP and there is just no way a customer should have to go back & forth like that for the best part of a year before they are supplied with a reliable product. Apart from the warranty, products have to be fit for purpose as a matter of law in the UK, but in equal measure you cannot customise your machine by installing various 3rd party parts and automatically expect Apple to ignore it when something goes wrong. They have the get out clause at their disposal.

 

[philipma1957]

Finally arrived about a week late and it's the wrong computer. After all that waiting they sent me an 8 gig machine, when it should have been 32 gigs, so this one is going back tomorrow and we are starting from scratch. The replacement is coming over by standard delivery so that will no doubt take another 3 weeks. Really not impressed.

That would really get me annoyed. I waited a long time to order a Mac mini as I thought they was too much money for them. I finally was able to get an i5 and a decent price. I have been happy so far.

 

[ashleykaryl]

It wasn't good. To give Apple credit the replacement is being sent by UPS rather than Fedex/TNT and the initial forecast for delivery has been cut quite substantially. It is now in Germany and due for delivery on Monday. Fingers crossed it is all OK this time.

 

[SPBR]

My first Mac upgrade since 2013.

Ordered the i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB and the space grey keyboard, got 10% off the total through a reward scheme that my employer is part of. Yeah I know I could take it apart and upgrade the memory myself but I really couldn’t be bothered this time.

Just got a notification that my new Mac Mini has been shipped and will be with me by the 2nd June ?

 

[Gumbycat]

Received my Mac mini from Apple on April 16, 2020. The standard i5, 8GB RAM with 512GB . Bought my Space Gray Keyboard and White Magic Mouse 2 from Micro Center. Also bought an External SSD 512GB for extra storage and an External 4TB Drive for Time Machine Backups.

 

[yellowhelicopter]

Do you guys think 380$ is an ok price for 2014 MGEQ2 model (2.8Ghz 1TB Fusion)? It's attractive because it's boxed, full original set, and in perfect state almost like new, even bottom cover is scratchless, made in 2016.

 

[boswald]

Just bought my first Mac; it's a pretty low-spec for the decade, but it'll serve me well as a general purpose machine until I can afford a better one. Loving the experience so far!

 

[Monotremata]

Welp guess Ill be heading over here from the Mac Pro forums soon.. Ordered an i7 w/16GB last Friday, just got my shipping notification from Adorama about 20 minutes ago. First new Mac Ive bought since my 800Mhz G4 Quicksilver 2002 heh. My 2010 Mac Pro has been cruising along just fine up until that last Logic update, now all of a sudden it cant keep up with the basics anymore. Whatever Apple.. Got the audio drives already in a new Oyen TB3/USB-C enclosure waiting to go. Just gotta grab an egpu for some gaming eventually. Might as well keep the RX570 I ran out and bought just for Mojave last year in use..

Are Thunderbolt cables and adapters REALLY that expensive?? I guess my MOTU interface is gonna stay on USB for a little while longer hah.

 

[ashleykaryl]

Welp guess Ill be heading over here from the Mac Pro forums soon..

I think you will be pretty happy with the new machine, though it takes a little time to work through if your set up is at all complicated. I ended up buying a bunch of external drives and a USB hub to more or less match the set up I have on the Mac Pro. If you use USB 3.1 2nd gen with external SSD drives it's pretty fast without the cost of thunderbolt.

Speed wise I imagine it would be about the same as your Mac Pro. It's faster than my 8 Core 2.4GHz, though both are still quite usable for what I need. It's generally a smooth performer, though I find it a little disconcerting how high the temperatures rise under load and I can only hope Apple has done their homework. Make sure you keep it in a space with good ventilation and it should be fine.

 

[brontemc]

Hey guys

Apologies if this is a dumb question but can't seem to find an answer anywhere.

I've just ordered a new mini but I'm wondering if I'll need a wired keyboard or mouse for set up? I've only got bluetooth of both. The mouse is logitech with one of their proprietary USB dongles (plus BT) if that changes anything.

 

[ashleykaryl]

You should be fine. Just plug it in and switch it on. It worked that way for me with a Tecknet mouse that has a dongle and no problems connecting the Apple wireless keyboard. It should search for the keyboard automatically.

 

[brontemc]

You should be fine. Just plug it in and switch it on. It worked that way for me with a Tecknet mouse that has a dongle and no problems connecting the Apple wireless keyboard. It should search for the keyboard automatically.

Great, thanks!

 

[Saurav Shrestha ⚡️]

I had been moping about getting an i3 vs i5 (at $300 more) but I bit the bullet and went to MicroCenter and got the i3/256/8 for $740 and I’m ecstatic! It’s an i3 in name only as the desktop class processor running at 3.6ghz is simply amazing!

 

[MecPro]

I work in CyberSecurity and run a lot of VMs and my MBP late 2016 is causing a lot of issues when sleeping and sometimes just restarts. I have exams soon and thinking of getting something more consistent and I am looking at the current Mac mini.

I will spec it with the fastest CPU (i7 3.2), but only base RAM and modify it myself. I have a friend who works for Apple so I get staff discount. My only issue right now, is whether it still indicates good value? If not, I think I will just build a Ryzen PC and run with that as a spare machine. But really like the form-factor, etc of the Mac mini.

Any thoughts?

 

[xfusejc]

Hey guys

Apologies if this is a dumb question but can't seem to find an answer anywhere.

I've just ordered a new mini but I'm wondering if I'll need a wired keyboard or mouse for set up? I've only got bluetooth of both. The mouse is logitech with one of their proprietary USB dongles (plus BT) if that changes anything.

this is a bit late, but just in case: you shouldn't have any trouble. I plugged my Logitech dongle from the set-up and I have both mouse/keyboard from it. did have to do the little identifier pop-up for the keyboard once it was loaded, but it all works even without Logi options installed.

 

[Saurav Shrestha ⚡️]

I work in CyberSecurity and run a lot of VMs and my MBP late 2016 is causing a lot of issues when sleeping and sometimes just restarts. I have exams soon and thinking of getting something more consistent and I am looking at the current Mac mini.

I will spec it with the fastest CPU (i7 3.2), but only base RAM and modify it myself. I have a friend who works for Apple so I get staff discount. My only issue right now, is whether it still indicates good value? If not, I think I will just build a Ryzen PC and run with that as a spare machine. But really like the form-factor, etc of the Mac mini.

Any thoughts?

I’d go for the Ryzen build. Much more flexibility. As nice as the Mac Minis are I can’t justify the price point if I want to do something compute heavy.

 

[MecPro]

I’d go for the Ryzen build. Much more flexibility. As nice as the Mac Minis are I can’t justify the price point if I want to do something compute heavy.

Figured that would be the way.

I've specced something for around £800 on the Windows size with a Ryzen 3700X, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB. It's a shame but I think this maybe the way forward for my work purposes.

 

[steve217]

Ordered a 2020 Mac Mini i7/512/8 to replace a 2012 i5 (2.5) that has served me faithfully for the last 6 years.

Before I ever turned on the 2012 MM, I swapped out the 500gb spinner with a 250gb Samsung SSD, which I then later updated to a 2.25TB spinner/SSD Fusion drive and 16gb of RAM. The Fusion drive setup has been flawless and this 2012 will be retired to media server duty.

I do the occasional Handbrake from bargain-bin DVDs so now the bottlenecks are now all CPU-based. I also want to keep up with MacOS and my 2012 will be stranded on Catalina.

The shift to ARM has has pushed me to update now - I believe buying one the last of the Intel Macs should have the longest support cycle.

I bought that 2012 refurbished for $500 so the 2020 MM came with quite the sticker shock. Here's hoping the new Mini serves as well and as long as the old Mini.