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All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: Jerry®
Date: October 08, 2021 11:52AM
Saw this local add on Facebook:

Mac mini bundle $275
What year Mac mini tho?






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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: hal
Date: October 08, 2021 12:07PM
I've seen better at ebay - that 500gb fusion drive would be a concern - probably the original drive + a tiny SSD fused to make the drive. You don't want a 9 year old drive in your new computer
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: richorlin
Date: October 08, 2021 12:38PM
I don’t believe Mac Minis ever had stock fusion drives. If it is a fusion drive, it’s homemade and I wouln’t trust it.
However, that’s a late 2012 Mac Mini. The latest OS you could put on that is Catalina. Should run well. Offer $175 without all the other equipment.


richorlin



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2021 12:47PM by richorlin.
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: Robert M
Date: October 08, 2021 12:42PM
Jerry,

Looks like a mid-2011 or Late 2012 model. Just the Thunderbolt dock by itself is worth more than half of what they're asking. Even used.

I wouldn't worry about the drive. Don't use it. Invest in an NVME based external and use it as a boot drive. If the internal drive ever goes bad, ignore it (if possible) or remove it entirely.

Robert
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: STL
Date: October 08, 2021 12:56PM
Oct 23, 2012, 1:42pm EDT
Apple adds new 'fusion drive' to iMac and Mac mini, combines SSD and standard hard drive
[www.theverge.com]
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: PeterW
Date: October 08, 2021 12:57PM
That dock is probably TB 1 as is the 2012 Mini. Its value is damn near zero unless you own some Thunderbolt 1 equipment. Hard pass.
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: Gareth
Date: October 08, 2021 01:02PM
Yea, should be a Late 2012 with the Intel graphics.

I'm betting it's a "SSHD" - one of the hybrid drives that's a 2.5" hard drive with about 8GB of SSD storage (not an Apple option, so it's been "upgraded" at some point).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/08/2021 01:02PM by Gareth.
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: Gareth
Date: October 08, 2021 01:06PM
Quote
STL
Oct 23, 2012, 1:42pm EDT
Apple adds new 'fusion drive' to iMac and Mac mini, combines SSD and standard hard drive
[www.theverge.com]

Looks like that was an option on the i7's [everymac.com] but not the i5's [everymac.com] (depending on how accurate EveryMac is). Plus, Apple's version was a 1TB Fusion drive, not 500GB.
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: Robert M
Date: October 08, 2021 01:59PM
Peter,

Nope. An older flavor of Thunderbolt doesn't equate zero value. Just dandy when used with that machine and machines of similar vintage. Used, they're still going for over $100 bucks.

Robert
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: Jerry®
Date: October 08, 2021 02:02PM
I own a late 2012 mini. How come I can’t run Big Sur on it?


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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: Grateful11
Date: October 08, 2021 03:22PM
I can get this one for $150.

"2012 Mac mini i7 130gb SSD main drive, 1TB secondary drive, 16gb Ram Fresh and load of Catalina OS."


Grateful11
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: Gareth
Date: October 08, 2021 03:45PM
Quote
Jerry®
I own a late 2012 mini. How come I can’t run Big Sur on it?

It's not officially supported by Apple: [support.apple.com]

But it looks like people have found workarounds.
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: Gareth
Date: October 08, 2021 03:52PM
Quote
Robert M
Peter,

Nope. An older flavor of Thunderbolt doesn't equate zero value. Just dandy when used with that machine and machines of similar vintage. Used, they're still going for over $100 bucks.

Robert

Maybe some specific model is? The Belkin model seems pretty easy to pick up for about $60-ish. [www.ebay.com]

I think Thunderbolt 3 has really driven the price down on these. There are used TB3 docks for under $100 as well (which are backwards compatible also if using the Apple adapter).
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: Robert M
Date: October 08, 2021 04:35PM
Gareth,

The adapter is fine for data but it doesn't pass power. That means, bus-powered devices connected to a non-powered dock won't work. Saw the Belkin for about $100 to $125 recently.

Robert
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: N-OS X-tasy!
Date: October 08, 2021 05:52PM
Quote
richorlin
However, that’s a late 2012 Mac Mini. The latest OS you could put on that is Catalina. Should run well. Offer $175 without all the other equipment.

The ad indicates it's running Big Sur.


It is what it is.
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: Will Collier
Date: October 08, 2021 06:42PM
Quote
Grateful11
I can get this one for $150.

"2012 Mac mini i7 130gb SSD main drive, 1TB secondary drive, 16gb Ram Fresh and load of Catalina OS."

I'd take that right now.
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: Gareth
Date: October 08, 2021 06:50PM
Quote
Robert M
The adapter is fine for data but it doesn't pass power. That means, bus-powered devices connected to a non-powered dock won't work.

That's true that the adapter doesn't pass power, but almost all the TB3 docks are self powered anyway (since one of the features is often to power your laptop from the dock). I've actually use a TB3 powered dock with the adapter to connect TB3 bus-powered devices to my TB2 Macs (i.e. TB3 NVMe drives).

Quote
N-OS X-tasy!
Quote
richorlin
However, that’s a late 2012 Mac Mini. The latest OS you could put on that is Catalina. Should run well. Offer $175 without all the other equipment.

The ad indicates it's running Big Sur.

There are "tricks" to run Big Sur on some older machines.
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Re: All this for $275? Is it really worth it?
Posted by: sekker
Date: October 08, 2021 08:16PM
Quote
Gareth
Quote
Robert M
The adapter is fine for data but it doesn't pass power. That means, bus-powered devices connected to a non-powered dock won't work.

That's true that the adapter doesn't pass power, but almost all the TB3 docks are self powered anyway (since one of the features is often to power your laptop from the dock). I've actually use a TB3 powered dock with the adapter to connect TB3 bus-powered devices to my TB2 Macs (i.e. TB3 NVMe drives).

Quote
N-OS X-tasy!
Quote
richorlin
However, that’s a late 2012 Mac Mini. The latest OS you could put on that is Catalina. Should run well. Offer $175 without all the other equipment.

The ad indicates it's running Big Sur.

There are "tricks" to run Big Sur on some older machines.

[forums.macresource.com]
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