New not Refurb, 2012 Mac mini, $399 at Best Buy

[rich in distress]

wurm wrote:
So is this the best bang-for-the-buck mini for not so heavy lifting?

With only 50 bucks less, it's a tough, personal call.
The low end '12 mini performs mostly the same as the low end '14 mini, according to everymac's info (you will have to select Mac mini "i5" 1.4 (14) on the second row.
Pro on the '12: RAM and HD can be very easily expanded.
Pro on the '14: Video performance is much better.

Minor observation, the new i5 chip performs as well as the old one @dbl the speed.

[Black]

rich in distress wrote:
Pro on the '14: Video performance is much better.

And possibly orphaned by OS requirements a year or two later than the '12.

[wurm]

Well, I'm already stuck at Snow Leopard with my '06 iMac, so I'm used to being orphaned after a few years.

[jdc]

wurm wrote:
Well, I'm already stuck at Snow Leopard with my '06 iMac, so I'm used to being orphaned after a few years.

LOL, I chuckled at that. 8 year old iMac. Funny thing is that the 07 iMac (first year of AL) will run 10.10 Yose.

[ADent]

$449 around here - many stores have them. Microcenter has them for the same price.