Apple Mac Mini MGEN2LL/A Desktop- Late 2014 Model Review

Apple Mac Mini MGEN2LL/A Desktop- Late 2014 Model Review

Apple Mac Mini MGEN2LL/A Desktop
via Amazon



Late 2014 model Apple Mac Mini MGEN2LL/A desktop is a powerful and compact- portable desktop computer that offers flexibility, functionality and affordability for different purposes of use- work or play and if you do not want to spend a lot on an iMac or Macbook, this is definitely the cheapest way to own a Mac. Keyboard, mouse, webcam and display aren’t included with the Mac Mini but any kind- Apple or others will work just fine. The new Mini’s are great little solid units but like any system, there are pros and cons to owning them.

Mac Mini MGEN2LL/A model comes with a 4th generation dual Intel i5 processor at 2.6GHz speed that moves up to 3.1GHz with turbo boost, 1TB Serial ATA hard drive at 5400rpm rotating speed as spacious storage, 8GB of LPDDR3 SDRAM memory at 1600MHz for superior multitasking and these specs come fixed- built into Mini and you can not upgrade them easily later unlike the previous Mac Mini’s so make sure you choose the right one with the right specs on the day of your purchase. OS X Yosemite was released in October 2014 and started getting good reviews and is aimed at providing greater consistency with the iOS.

Graphics performance is provided by the exact same Intel Iris integrated graphics card that you see on the 13 inch Macbook Pro Retina so it is not really a powerful gaming or super multimedia processing machine but will handle most multimedia tasks efficiently- if you’re editing quite a few photos or for better screen sharing. It doesn’t come with a display but you can either use Apple’s own Thunderbolt Display, any other monitor or even a flat screen television will work just fine through HDMI port or the right kind of Thunderbolt adapter. The new Mini supports 4K video output through the HDMI- limited to 24 and 30 Hz, unlike the previous Mini’s but this is more ideal for a 4K video media playback.

Apple Mac Mini MGEN2LL/A Desktop- Late 2014 Model Review
Mac Mini weighs 2.7 pounds and has the dimensions of 7.70 x 7.70 x 1.40 inches so it is quite slim and compact- like the other modern Apple computers it doesn’t come with an optical drive, but Gigabit Ethernet, up to three times faster 802.11ac wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 to connect Bluetooth enabled peripherals wirelessly, an HDMI port, 2 x Thunderbolt ports (Firewire 800 is gone), 4 x USB 3 ports, an SDXC card slot, Audio in and Audio out jack. It doesn’t come with a webcam, mouse or keyboard unlike other Apple desktop or laptop computers to keep the costs down being the entry model into the Mac world but yo can certainly plug in your standard keyboard, mouse etc. or purchase the nice flashy ones by Apple or even connect the expensive 27 inch Apple display, all up to you.

Conclusion: The 2014 model Mac Mini MGEN2LL/A is a great little desktop computer with decent features for general daily tasks and more demanding stuff with its 2.6GHz Haswell i5 processor and 8GB system memory that allows working on several apps and programs simultaneously but is not a gaming powerhouse and if you will be processing a great deal of complex multimedia you may want to go for the iMac models that include discrete graphics cards. Having said that the CPU and memory on this version are more than adequate for running most daily tasks as well as handling more demanding stuff smoothly. 1TB hard drive has the spindle speed of 5400rpm rather than the 7200rpm previously so it is slower but if you need speed on that, you can always get the Mini with the built-in Fusion Drive. The new Mac Mini is a great desktop machine but the portability, convenience and lower price factors come into the picture and make it not so suitable for intense multimedia editing or advanced- hardcore gaming machine. Apple Care is now priced fifty dollars less than before for Mini thanks to having fewer parts. It is a good quality and powerful compact desktop overall that seems to be a nice upgrade and offers good value for money.

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