Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Hardware, Rumors, Apple, Mac mini
GeForce 9-Series motherboards maybe coming to the Mini
I think that at this point, the Mac mini has moved up into the ranks of the TRS-80 and the Apple IIe as one of my favorite computers of all time. Though it's been rumored dead more times than disco, it's still puttering along as the tiny little computer that could, racking up (we assume -- the mini doesn't carry with it any of the sparkle of the iPhone or the raw beauty of the MacBooks, and so Apple is relatively mum on info) enough sales to keep moving. And there might even be new life in store: Peter Cohen over at MacWorld suggests that after the recent MB and MBP updates, the mini is last in line to ditch the old Intel integrated motherboard design.Sounds great to us. The mini's so under the radar that you wouldn't even expect Apple to announce an upgrade for it -- it just sort of slipped up to Core Duo 2 the last time it got upgraded, like a cute little baby bear following the family. And it's a versitile little cubby, too, from taking it out to sea to turning it into a Mac Pro mini.
What a great little computer. We hope that the Nvidia GeForce 9-series motherboards do find a home in there, and (more than anything else) that Apple sees fit to remember their roots and keep creative computing with the tinest Mac alive.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
onedollarbill said 6:21PM on 10-27-2008
Let's keep our collective fingers crossed. I have wanted to pick a new or refurbished mini up to offload Plex from my Macbook Pro to a more suitable home. After the Nvidia upgrades on the laptops I have kept myself from getting the current model in hopes for a refresh.
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Greenie said 6:42PM on 10-27-2008
This seems like this would be a good update for the mini. I could certainly use it.
On a side note, I'm surprised you guys didn't mention the Mac mini post from Apple Insider on Friday. http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/10/24/informed_players_say_apples_mac_mini_still_kickin.html
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glad said 6:59PM on 10-27-2008
That was an excellent article, never knew it had that many uses and it would be stupid of Apple to just get rid of it. I have just ordered extra ram for mine and will have to crack it open to load it :-(. If it goes to 4GB ram then I might sell my current model for a new one. Great little machine which does the job but I still use my PPC emac, which is going strong.
waiownsyou said 7:06PM on 10-27-2008
HOLY MAC MINIS!!
http://images.appleinsider.com/macminifarm-081023.jpg
Randy said 11:58AM on 10-28-2008
@Glad,
It's a bit scary, but doable. Go slow I used this as a guide:
http://www.123macmini.com/news/story/456.html
I Managed to take mine apart and install 4GB of RAM.
Be warned though the Mini will recognize the 4GB, but only 3.2 - 3.5 GB will be usable. (it's a limitation of the Chipset.)
Balls said 6:42PM on 10-27-2008
It's going to be funny when MB,MBP's and the Mini's all end up failing after a year due to Nvidia's crappy QA.
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mabhatter said 12:48AM on 10-28-2008
With Billions at stake I doubt Nvidia would let that happen again. There would have to be assurances made already.
hallohallohola said 6:45PM on 10-27-2008
I ♥ MacMini
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KA said 7:08PM on 10-27-2008
Ditto.
Fritz Laurel said 7:01PM on 10-27-2008
As long as they don't take away firewire!
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KA said 7:09PM on 10-27-2008
I'd be fine with it if they actually had USB3, rather than old USB2 ports.
Hal said 12:35AM on 10-28-2008
Agreed...I use my current mini for video editing (it runs FCP great despite the lack of support), have 2 firewire drives, and I'll commit hari kiri if they take away this functionality.
Unfortunately, I can see it happening, because Apple doesn't want anyone doing Pro work on a sub-$1000 machine. :(
Keith said 9:57AM on 10-28-2008
I'd trade firewire ports for an ExpressCard slot... :-)
h0mi said 7:12PM on 10-27-2008
I would buy a mac mini if they did this but I would hope that the case would be changes to make upgrading easier. Wishful thinking, eh?
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Bill Waggoner said 7:31PM on 10-27-2008
What? You don't have a putty knife? It does help to have one with a sharp edge, I think those are classed as "scrapers" or some such but a blunt-edged putty knife works OK.
h0mi said 7:40PM on 10-27-2008
@bill yeah I have one. i'd rather use a screwdriver instead :P
Tyler G said 7:54PM on 10-27-2008
yes, it is the tiniest mac ever, not most tin-like mac ever. ;)
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Jesse said 8:14PM on 10-27-2008
The Mini is such awesome little Mac. It is a great (and cheap!) development workhorse. It's a cute and capable little home server. It's at home either under the TV or next to your iMac or Mac Pro.
Apple would be foolish not to update the Mini and put a 9400M in there. With a 9400M it would be screaming to be a PVR solution or a file server / H.264 encoder. And with the possibility of hardware accelerated H.264 encoding in OS X's future, it would gain even more of a following.
Personally, a Mini with a 9400M driving two 24in Cinema displays would make a excellent and highly productive workstation for programmers. Mmmm, tasty.
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mabhatter said 9:56PM on 10-27-2008
with those new mini display port plugs that are so tiny they could easily have two monitors and two USB hubs. With the included power adapter in the monitors, the mini would be really cheap... almost too cheap compared to an iMac dual monitor would really hurt the idea of the Mac Pros. Unless the next strategy is to go "all mini" and make the mini just something you sit behind one of those pretty monitors. After all, Apple is extremely pro-wireless so you're not supposed to be using wired keyboard, mouse or network anymore. :P
Le Big Mac said 8:34PM on 10-27-2008
Sure is a different marketing strategy from Apple on this one.
I suspect they don't want to push the mini too hard, lest it cut into iMac sales and (perhaps) xServe sales. But they know it can make some money, and for the budget conscious, knowledgeable folks (macminicolo, casinos(!), etc.) it's a great way to ramp up component production for apple while selling a product they might not otherwise.
Here's to new minis!
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