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When this new Mac Mini was announced this week, I wondered if I should upgrade my 2011 Mini. However, when I saw that I could get a solid quad core processor in the mid-level Mini, I jumped. In terms of appearance, this year's Mac Mini looks exactly like last year's. The only differences are internal. Here are the big differences between the 2011 and 2012 Mac Mini: (1) the processors are faster (as you would guess); (2) the mid-level Mac Mini now comes with a very fast quad core processor instead of a dual core; (3) the USB ports have been updated to USB 3 (which is much faster than USB 2); and (4) all models of the 2012 Mac Mini come with an integrated graphics card; there is no option for getting a discrete graphics card like last year (more on this later).
Both the mid-level Mac Mini and the server version have the same quad core processor, but the entry level Mac Mini is still a dual core. Why stick with a dual core processor desktop when you can have one with a quad core processor? So I got the mid-level model because I don't need a server, and other than the server's two hard drives, the mid-level Mini and the server model are exactly the same (e.g., same processor and same graphics card).
More on the graphics card: as noted earlier, ALL of the Mac Minis this year come with an integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics card. This is a much better card than last year's Intel HD 3000 graphics card, although some might want a discrete card for gaming. One thing I noticed about the Intel HD 4000 card in this year's Mac Mini is that it gives you 512 mb of video ram with only 4 GB of RAM installed. To my knowledge, all other Apple computers need at least 8 GB of RAM installed to get 512 mb of video ram from the HD 4000 card. This is a nice surprise. When I noticed this, I thought beef up the RAM to 8 GB and see if that increases the video ram--and it does. Installing 8 GB or more of RAM in this year's mid level Mac Mini (and I assume the same is true for the server Mini since these two machines are nearly identical) gives you 768 mb of video ram. I'd be willing to bet Apple increased the amount of maximum video ram from the HD 4000 card in this year's Mac Mini to compensate for removing the discrete graphics card option.
How does the new mid-level Mini perform? Well, I installed an SSD drive and 8 GB of RAM, and this thing just screams. Everything happens almost instantaneously when I click the mouse. No rainbow wheels, and one bounce at most from icons in the dock (often there is no bounce at all since things happen so fast). I compared my upgraded Mac Mini to last year's 27 inch iMac, and my Mac Mini seems much faster and snappier. Finally, Apple is starting to give the Mini some long overdue respect. The Mini is now becoming a machine people WANT instead of SETTLE FOR. To me, upgrading to this year's Mac Mini is well worth it.
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