I just got a new Mac Mini... (1 Viewer)

[Todd H]

Well, after reading about Lion not being compatible with my old first gen Core Duo iMac I decided to sell it on eBay and buy the new Mac Mini. Amazingly enough, it sold for $575! Love the fact that Mac's hold their value so well. First let me say I love the design of the Mini. The aluminum unibody is gorgeous. Even the wife was amazed at how nice (and small) it looks. I have mine hooked up to a 32" Toshiba 1080P LCD in the computer room. Hooking it up via HDMI was a snap. I was concerned about using an LCD television as a monitor but the Toshiba has a pretty nice PC mode that makes fonts easily readable. So that saved me some money by not having to buy another monitor. I completely turned off any underscan on the Mac and set the LCD to native display mode and the screen is pixel mapped perfectly. As soon as I finish cleaning up the computer room I'll snap some pictures. Speed-wise, it's definitely faster than my old Mac. Handbrake is easily twice as fast. I can, however, tell the difference in hard drive speed. The 5400 RPM drive feels a bit slower. I'll probably just install an SSD somewhere down the road though so that shouldn't be a problem. RAM, however, is my next concern. The 2 GB is paltry. I've already ordered an 8 GB kit for less than $100 that should be here next week. So overall, I ended up spending $650 on the mini plus $100 for the memory. I got $575 for the old iMac. So I ended up getting a new Mac for around $175. Not bad.

 

[Sam Posten]

Nice!!!!

 

[Citizen87645]

The unibody makes it a fine looking machine.

 

[Todd H]

Well, I went ahead and picked up a 750 GB 7200 RPM internal hard drive after adding the 8 GB of RAM. It was only $90. With the extra RAM and faster drive, my little Mini flies!

 

[stevenoe]

nicely done

 

[Sam Posten]

Welcome to HTF Steven?


Anywho, I remain convinced that Apple, somewhere somehow will merge the Mini and Apple TV down the line and make an Appstore for TV. I don't think it will be this year, we haven't heard any rumors to that effect, but I'll be first in line if they do.


Imagine a mini with an instant on SSD, able to control your cable connectivity and play BluRays, plus have 90" Angry birds. Sold =)

 

[DaveF]

In the past I've not been a fan of the Mac mini. It seemed like a poor value to me, and I didn't understand its purpose. But, especially with this latest 2011 refresh, my opinion looks outdated. A nice little analysis argues the opposite: the mini is the best value from Apple! As I noodle on my next home computer upgrade, a mini starts looking like a decent idea.


http://developingperspective.tumblr.com/post/8093168321/mac-value-analysis

 

[KeithAP]

Looking at the new Mini pricing and configuration options, I am really wondering what drives Apple's decision making process. A person can't add the quad core chip to any of the non-server models. And if you decided pay the extra money to buy the server model with the idea of using it as a standard desktop machine, you loose the better GPU of the lesser priced dual core i5/i7 mini.


It just seems weird to me.


-KeithP

 

[Ted Todorov]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith Plucker

Looking at the new Mini pricing and configuration options, I am really wondering what drives Apple's decision making process. A person can't add the quad core chip to any of the non-server models. And if you decided pay the extra money to buy the server model with the idea of using it as a standard desktop machine, you loose the better GPU of the lesser priced dual core i5/i7 mini.


It just seems weird to me.


-KeithP

Heat? Maybe the quad core plus the souped up GPU is more the small Mini enclosure could handle in terms of heat/power consumption. Maybe for typical user tasks like Web browsing, the faster clock speed dual core CPU is actually faster then the quad core? I think adding an SSD plus the top end dual core i7 is going to produce a screamer. As the owner of a quad core Xeon Mac Pro, I wouldn't count the number of CPU cores as the most important thing.

 

[DaveF]

The quad-core is in the iMac. The easiest explanation is that this fits Apple's goal of having a distinct product line-up with minimal overlap. So, you want quad-core desktop with GPU, buy an iMac.

 

[JohnRice]

In the past I've not been a fan of the Mac mini. It seemed like a poor value to me, and I didn't understand its purpose. But, especially with this latest 2011 refresh, my opinion looks outdated. A nice little analysis argues the opposite: the mini is the best value from Apple! As I noodle on my next home computer upgrade, a mini starts looking like a decent idea.


http://developingperspective.tumblr.com/post/8093168321/mac-value-analysis

Actually, there was a significant upgrade to the Mini maybe three years ago that completely changed it to a distinctly viable option. At that time, it still had a couple smaller issues they have now addressed. since memory was still not really a user upgradeable thing. Since then I have bought 4 of them for home, work and the folks. In some cases I had them upgraded to 4GB to start and a couple others just didn't need more than 2GB. BTW, is this true that early Intel Core Duo iMacs won't run Lion? How do I tell which ones? I have a 1.83 GHz model that is around 4 years old at work.

 

[Citizen87645]

My assumption is all Intel Core Duo machines. Though Intel Core 2 Duo looks fine.

General requirements

• Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
• 2GB of memory
• OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
• 7GB of available space
• Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.

• Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.

 

[JohnRice]

OK, all our machines are at least Intel Core 2 Duo.

 

[Citizen87645]

BestBuy.com actually has the new Minis on sale, with the base model at $569.99. That's $10 cheaper than even the education pricing.

 

[DaveF]

Originally Posted by JohnRice

BTW, is this true that early Intel Core Duo iMacs won't run Lion? How do I tell which ones? I have a 1.83 GHz model that is around 4 years old at work.

Core Duo don't support 64 bit, I understand, and Lion is supported on any of them. Those were the very first Intel-based Macs


Core 2 Duo were a distinct step up in performance. And if anyone is uncertain, processor type is given in the "About This Mac" dialog, under the Apple menu.

 

[Thomas Newton]

A "1.83 GHz" iMac could have either a Core Duo or a Core 2 Duo. (MacTracker) The Core 2 Duo iMac is a 17-inch model that was available from September 2006 to August 2007 (possibly later for schools). It has a maximum RAM capacity of 2.0 GB, which is the minimum required for Lion.

 

[JohnRice]

I'm 99% sure it is a 2, but I'll double check. Since it also runs Parallels, I'll probably not upgrade it until it gets moved to another office where Windows isn't needed, since it only has 2GB of RAM. I had been planning on replacing it with a new iMac or Mini at the end of the year and moving it to replace our last G5 in the office.

 

[maxstopper]

they sure are nice and clean. not sure if i want to get a mac mini or an imac. Dunno if i like the glossy screen

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Any thoughts on using one of these as an HTPC? With the Radeon GPU and the i7 processor plus HDMI, it seems like a natural.

 

[Sam Posten]

No DVD, no bluray, uh.....