Upgrading A Mac System, part 1: Hardware Purchase

Photo credit: Derorgmas
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Upgrading A Mac System series:

• Part 1: Hardware Purchase
• Part 2: Migration
• Part 3: Apps
• Part 4: Peripheral Hardware

For the past 9 years, I have been using the same computer for my main home system, a Mid-2011 Mac mini server. Equipped with two 750 GB hard drives and 16 GB of RAM (upgraded from its original 4GB), it has served me very well. Originally shipped with macOS version 10.7 ("Lion"), it has been upgraded several times through macOS 10.12 ("Sierra"). Although still working great today, it has become increasingly obvious that it needs to be replaced.

The main reason is that its system software is no longer supported by Apple. Although I could theoretically get a bit more support by upgrading to macOS 10.13 ("High Sierra"), that's still an old version and it has many known problems that I don't want to have to deal with. More recent versions of macOS are not compatible with this hardware and therefore can't be installed.

Another bigger problem is that some of my applications can't be upgraded. In particular, Microsoft Office dropped support for macOS 10.12. In order to get any new updates, including security updates, I need to move on to a newer version of macOS.

Finally, it's a bit slow. Modern versions of macOS make heavy use of the file system and a SATA hard drive, no matter how well it performs, just can't keep up these days. An SSD is really required for good performance. I could replace the hard drives with SSDs, of course, but that wouldn't solve the other two problems, so it became time to shop for a new Mac.

Apple equipment has always been a bit pricey compared to PC hardware. One can argue whether or not it is worth the cost, but I've always considered it worth paying for in order to get what I consider a superior operating platform based on Unix and with a fairly broad selection of commercial and open source software packages.

An iMac system is out of the question for me because I already have a really good monitor, a Dell Ultrasharp 2405 FPW display that's still in perfect condition and I hate to get rid of equipment that isn't broken. Although I will eventually replace it, when I do, I expect it will be an ultra-wide display of some kind, which is not the aspect Apple uses for their iMacs. Additionally, iMac systems are expensive (due to their high-end displays) and difficult to repair or upgrade. Which leaves either another Mac mini or a Mac Pro. Since Mac Pro systems start at $6000, that's also a non-starter. So a new Mac mini it is.

I decided to get the high-end Mac mini (2018 model), upgraded to a near-maximum capacity. The 2 TB of storage is needed to migrate my >1TB of content from the old computer. Although I could probably work just fine with a slower CPU and maybe even with less RAM, I figure that this will improve the system's longevity. If I can use it for the next 9-10 years, it will make me quite happy. (I have the skills to upgrade the RAM, should that be necessary in the future.) This system's configuration (compared to the old system's) is:

Computer		2018 Mac mini	2011 Mac mini server
CPU	Model	8th gen i7 (8700B)	2nd gen i7 (2635QM)
	Cores (Threads)	6 (12)	4 (8)
	Clock (turbo)	3.2 (4.6) GHz	2 (2.9) GHz
	L3 Cache	12 MB	6 MB
GPU		Intel UHD Graphics 630 (integrated)	Intel HD Graphics 3000 (integrated)
RAM		16 GB (upgradable to 64 GB). 2666 MHz PC4-21300 DDR4 SO-DIMM	16 GB (maximum). 1333 MHz PC-10600 DDR3 SO-DIMM
Storage		2 TB SSD (not replaceable)	2 750 GB hard drives
Ports	USB	2 type-A USB 3 (up to 5 Gbps). 4 type-C (up to 10 Gbps, via Thunderbolt)	4 type A USB 2 (up to 480 Mbps)
	FireWire	(none)	1 (800 Mbps)
	Thunderbolt	4 Thunderbolt 3 (up to 40 Gbps) (including USB and DisplayPort video)	1 Thunderbolt 1 (up to 10 Gbps) (including DisplayPort video)
	Video	1 HDMI 2.0 (up to 4K resolution). Up to two DisplayPort 4K displays (or one 5K display) via Thunderbolt	1 HDMI (up to 1920x1200). One DisplayPort (up to 2560x1600) via Thunderbolt
	Network	Gigabit Ethernet. 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi. Bluetooth 5.0	Gigabit Ethernet. 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi. Bluetooth 4.0
	Storage	(none)	1 SD card (SDXC)
	Audio	Analog headphone/line-out. Built-in speaker.	Analog headphone/line-out. Analog line-in. Built-in speaker

This system configuration has an MSRP of $2100. I paid $1973 for it using a 6% corporate discount via my employer. I believe this is also the educational discount students and teachers get from Apple.

I ordered the system on September 23, 2020. The system was assembled and shipped on the 28th (3 business days later). Originally scheduled for delivery by October 6th, it arrived on the 2nd (4 business days later). This is very impressive when you consider that the shipment originated at Apple's factory in Shenzhen, China.

With the computer, I ordered a few hardware accessories in order to let me connect my legacy peripherals to the new computer. In order to support my existing FireWire peripherals (three hard drives and an iSight camera), I needed to get a Thunderbolt-FireWire adapter ($30 MSRP, purchased for $26 with the corporate discount), and a Thunderbolt3-Thunderbolt2 adapter ($50 MSRP, discounted to $44). These would be used with my existing Firewire 800-400 adapter to complete the chain of adapter dongles allowing me to connect my FireWire 400 peripherals to the new Mac's Thunderbolt 3 port. I also got a USB C-to-A adapter ($20 MSRP, discounted to $17.10) in order to deal with an expected need for more than the two USB-A ports Apple builds in to the Mac mini. The adapters all shipped immediately from the US and arrived the next day on September 24th.

Overall I give high marks to Apple for the configuration and ordering process. Everything went smoothly, my order arrived ahead of the expected delivery dates and I received regular e-mail status updates informing of the order's progress.

Up Next: Migrating my stuff