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Another look at the Mac mini market | Macminicolo Blog - Tips, tutorials and reviews on running a Mac mini server

Another look at the Mac mini market

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It’s a strange time in the Mac mini market. The Mac mini has always held it’s value well, but right now is different.


When the 2014 Mac mini was released, the machine was no longer sold with a quad-core processor and users could no longer upgrade the hard drive and RAM after purchase. We confirmed these things in a blog post that has been read over one million times


For many people, these things weren’t a big deal. The lower cost and the much improved graphics have really benefited many home users. Most people never get around to upgrading their Mac minis so that wasn’t a large setback either. And actually, for single core activities, the 2014 Mac mini was a nice improvement. It's certainly not a disaster, as described by one writer.)


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My advice to many has been to just to order the Mac mini the way you want it and enjoy.



Clarify: I think most people will be pleasantly surprised with the new Mac mini. Good CPU/graphics boost. Just order the way you want it.


— Brian Stucki (@brianstucki) October 18, 2014



However, there is clearly a market for a more powerful Mac mini. For instance, if you use a Mac mini for automated Xcode builds or to run multiple virtual machines, those quad-core options were pretty important. This brings us to the current market.


The last generation Mac mini was released in October 2012. If you purchased the $799 quad-core option, you were able to sell it for about $550 in September of 2014. That’s really an amazing resale value for a two year old computer. But if you take a look on eBay right now, you’ll see that same Mac mini selling for double that amount. The average for a new or lightly used quad-core Mac mini is about $1100.


If you have a quad-core Mac mini and use it for watching videos, organizing photos and other simple tasks, you are in a pretty good position right now. You could probably sell your Mac mini, purchase a new one that performs those tasks as well (if not better), and still have some money left over. How often does that happen with a two year old product?


As for Macminicolo, we love all Mac minis of course. Since the new ones start at just $499, it’s nice to see people getting their own dedicated server with a smaller up-front cost. These minis perform great for many customers. For those who need the quad-core power, we still try to find the best deals on lightly used ones and list them on our page of used Mac minis.


Any thoughts on the Mac mini, new or old, let us know on twitter


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About Macminicolo


Macminicolo, a Las Vegas based company, has been hosting Mac minis since their introduction in January 2005. We are the leaders in this niche market and are known for our personal service and advanced data center. We currently host hundreds of Mac minis for satisfied customers located in 56 different countries around the world. Find us on Twitter @macminicolo or on our company blog.