I Must Soon Replace My Beloved MimiMac - Help!

[Dr Rock]

The trouble is loads of browsers aren't working properly on it, that's all. What Mac product can I upgrade to (used) that will fix this cheaply? I don't want a laptop or anything fancy, I want what my minimac does, but its modern browser-friendly.


Thanks x

[Huxleys Babkins]

I bought a refurb 2014 Mac Mini for ~£120 last year. It's good up until Monterey, so all of the latest apps work and it'll keep getting security updates for a while.

Be warned, there's a 4GB RAM spec which really isn't fit for purpose. You'll want 8GB RAM at a bare minimum. The RAM is soldered to the board, so you can't upgrade later, so buy as much as you need up front. The HDD can be upgraded if you're confident with a screwdriver and a spudger. I replaced the included hard drive with an SSD in under an hour.

[touchingcloth]

It's called a Romer Mac now.

[QDRPHNC]

The M2 Minis came out recently, so you could pick up an M1 version used. The M1 chips are wild, I got the M1 iMac when it first came out, best and cheapest computer I've ever owned.

[canadagoose]

The trouble is loads of browsers aren't working properly on it, that's all. What Mac product can I upgrade to (used) that will fix this cheaply? I don't want a laptop or anything fancy, I want what my minimac does, but its modern browser-friendly.


Thanks x

Have you definitely upgraded the OS as far as it will go? (When's the Mac from, out of interest?) But assuming you have, I would echo @QDRPHNC on the M1 Mac front; I have an M1 Mac mini from 2020 (my first ever non-retro Mac, because it was only £699) and it's been great so far.

[Noodle Lizard]

I'd suggest biting the bullet and future-proofing yourself with one of the M1 or M2 Mac Studio/Minis. You can probably find some decent M1s used.

[greencalx]

How old is the MacMini? If it's 2009 onwards you might be able to update the OS by installing the OpenCore legacy patcher. A colleague has had good success with this.

One thing to watch out for is if you have an HDD and are required to upgrade to APFS. I have had very bad experiences with this, basically slowing the machines to a crawl. I'm not sure if the OpenCore thing allows you to keep HFS+ with a newer OS.

I'd echo the suggestions to upgrade to an M-series chip - I have been delighted with the M1 iMac I splashed out on a couple of years ago. Now that most apps are native to the new chip, I've not had any issues at all. I gather the difference between M1 and M2 is much less than that between Intel and M1, so as long as they don't decide to drop support for M1 next year (you never know with Apple) it should serve you well for a while.

[Dex Sawash]

I have a macbook that wouldn't take any more updates when I clicked on whatever it is that means update. I said fuck off and just made it update some other way and now I can see internet again.

[Capt.Midnight]

I love the Mac Minis. They double up as great servers too. I've put a Linux OS on mine so I get the performance alongside regular updates etc.