Mac Mini Vault stocks 5 model years of dedicated Mac minis that customers can rent on a monthly basis: 2012, 2014, 2018, 2020, and 2023.
Having 5 model years to choose from can make picking the correct mini for your workload a little overwhelming, so we’re going to break down the different model years, models, and upgrade options to make that decision a little easier.
Note: Currently, the best option for a Mac mini that supports ESXi is the 2012 Quad-Core i7 Mac mini or a Mac Pro. Since VMware has announced it will no longer support Macs in future versions (ESXi 8+), we recommend running virtualized macOS workloads directly on macOS hosts using a supported virtualization platform such as Anka.
Model Years
| Model Year | Memory Upgradeable | Memory Speed | Hard Drive Upgradeable | macOS Compatibility | Alternative OS |
| 2012 | Yes (up to 16GB) | 1600MHz DDR3 | Yes – 2 bays | macOS 10.8+ | ESXi, Ubuntu |
| 2014 | No | 1600MHz LPDDR3 | Yes – 1 bay (+PCIe slot) | macOS 10.10+ | ESXi, Ubuntu |
| 2018 | Yes (up to 64GB) | 2666MHz DDR4 | No – 1 integrated | macOS 10.14+ | macOS Only |
| 2020 (M1) | No | 4266MHz LPDDR5 | No – 1 integrated | macOS 11.x+ | macOS Only |
| 2020 (M2) | No | 6400MHz LPDDR5 | No – 1 integrated | macOS 13.x+ | macOS Only |
2012 Mac mini Details
Tear Down | Full Technical Specifications
The 2012 model year has two SATA drive bays that support spinning hard drives and SSD options. Memory is upgradeable to 16GB and both of our 2012 dedicated minis come with 16GB standard. This model year supports ESXi and Ubuntu in addition to macOS.
2014 Mac mini Details
Tear Down | Full Technical Specifications
The 2014 model year has a single SATA drive bay that supports spinning hard drive and SSD options. Memory maxes out at 16GB and is soldered onto the logic board, so it cannot be upgraded. This model year supports ESXi and Ubuntu in addition to macOS.
2018 Mac mini Details
Tear Down | Full Technical Specifications
The 2018 model year has a single PCIe SSD that is soldered onto the logic board, so it cannot be upgraded. Memory is upgradeable to 64GB, and all three of our 2018 dedicated minis come with 16GB standard. The i3 comes with a 256GB SSD, the i5 comes with a 512GB SSD, and the i7 has options for 1TB and 2TB SSDs.
2020 Mac mini Details
The 2020 M1 model year moved to Apple Silicon (ARM-based) architecture and has integrated storage, memory, and CPU that cannot be upgraded. All three of our 2020 M1 dedicated Mac minis come with 16GB memory, so the only variation between models is storage: 256GB, 1TB, 2TB.
2023 Mac mini Details
The 2023 M2 model year continued on Apple Silicon (ARM-based) architecture and has integrated storage, memory, and CPU that cannot be upgraded. All three of our 2020 M2 dedicated Mac minis come with 24GB memory, so the only variation between models is storage: 256GB, 1TB, 2TB.
In addition, we stock 2023 M2 Pro models with 32GB memory and 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB storage options.
Benchmarks
