Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Other Diversions › Apple and Macintosh › I just got a new Mac Mini...
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

I just got a new Mac Mini...

post #1 of 24
3/12/11 at 12:27pm
Thread Starter 
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.smile.gif
Reply
post #2 of 24
3/12/11 at 4:41pm

Nice!!!!

Reply
post #3 of 24
3/12/11 at 11:33pm
The unibody makes it a fine looking machine.
Reply
post #4 of 24
3/18/11 at 9:48am
Thread Starter 
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!
Reply
post #5 of 24
6/2/11 at 5:54am

nicely done

Reply
post #6 of 24
6/2/11 at 6:40am

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 =)

Reply
post #7 of 24
7/27/11 at 10:06am

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

 

 

Reply
post #8 of 24
7/27/11 at 1:19pm

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

Reply
post #9 of 24
7/27/11 at 1:33pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith Plucker View Post

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.
 

 

Reply
post #10 of 24
7/27/11 at 1:42pm

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.

Reply
post #11 of 24
7/31/11 at 8:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveF View Post

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.
Reply
post #12 of 24
7/31/11 at 8:59am

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.
Reply
post #13 of 24
7/31/11 at 9:05am
OK, all our machines are at least Intel Core 2 Duo.
Reply
post #14 of 24
7/31/11 at 9:08am

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.

Reply
post #15 of 24
7/31/11 at 11:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnRice View Post

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.
 

 

Reply
post #16 of 24
8/5/11 at 12:12am
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.
Reply
post #17 of 24
8/5/11 at 7:36am
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.
Reply
post #18 of 24
8/12/11 at 2:29pm
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
Reply
post #19 of 24
9/1/11 at 3:05pm

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.

Reply
post #20 of 24
9/1/11 at 5:21pm
No DVD, no bluray, uh.....
Reply
post #21 of 24
9/1/11 at 5:30pm

I don't know about a HTPC per se, but as a DVR running EyeTV 3 and as an iTunes music server, possibly...

Reply
post #22 of 24
9/1/11 at 6:57pm
Thread Starter 
If you're just streaming stored media from a server it works great. Handles 1080p video without breaking a sweat.
Reply
post #23 of 24
9/2/11 at 7:02pm

That's exactly what I was thinking. I currently use a "toaster" (2 bay hard drive dock) and a WD TV for viewing my stored media, but it would be nice to do something with NAS, which my WD TV will not do. My cousin has a Drobo with the WD TV Plus Network model, which works nicely. Of course, I'd also like to be able to do work on my HT display, not to mention surfing the Web.

Reply
post #24 of 24
11/2/11 at 6:38am

I'm noodling on selling my 2007 MBP (15", 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo) and buying a Mac Mini. I could get $300 - $600 for the MBP, and a new mini will cost about $800, so maybe a $500 upgrade cost. Maybe I get lucky on the MBP sale and buy a refurb mini and bring the upgrade cost down to about $200.

 

Is the 2.3 GHz i5 system a noticeable boost over a 2.5 GHz C2D?

 

Would I notice going from a 7200 RPM drive (in my MBP) to a 5400 RPM drive (Mac mini standard)?

 

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Apple and Macintosh
Home Theater Forum › Home Theater Forum › Other Diversions › Apple and Macintosh › I just got a new Mac Mini...