Mac mini (Late 2012)

The Late 2012 mini is the one enthusiasts still recommend, because of a twist-off panel on the bottom. Behind it was the RAM. You could replace it in a minute, no tools. Apple soldered it shut two years later and removed the quad-core option at the same time, in a 2014 refresh people are still annoyed about, and that contrast is most of this machine's reputation. Ivy Bridge Core i5 or i7 at 2.5 to 2.6GHz, in the same aluminum enclosure since 2010, with USB 3.0 arriving at last after the mini's ports had fallen well behind contemporary PCs. A Server model carried two internal hard drives instead of an optical drive, aimed at small businesses and people running things at home. Apple dropped that configuration quietly in later years. Performance was a sensible step past the 2011 model and nothing more. Intel HD 4000 graphics on the low end were fine for everyday work and no use for games or serious creative work. It stayed the cheapest way into the Mac, and a lot of buyers took the base configuration and upgraded it themselves, which is exactly what Apple stopped allowing.