Mac mini refresh, what's new?
I'm a big fan of the Mac mini: a surprisingly capable machine in an impossibly small size. There have only been a few major snags for me in the time I've owned Mac minis, and most of those were cleared up this morning. I know some will be disappointed to lose the FireWire 400 port, but I'm ecstatic about the FireWire 800 replacement. Second, I've always had to put a 4-port USB hub on my mini, and really only ever needed one more port ... I'm apparently not alone, as Apple added a fifth USB port as well.
The graphics boost will be a great upgrade for my media center. I'm still waiting for the Apple TV/Mac mini mashup to happen, but for now the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card with Mini DisplayPort and Mini-DVI video out will do nicely. Have you been waiting to run 2 monitors on your Mac mini without expensive additional hardware? That Mini DisplayPort should open up new possibilities.
The memory in the new minis can be expanded up to 4GB, and the 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo is more than capable of handling any daily computing task. Sure, you might want to look at the new Mac Pros if you're doing some serious video editing or CPU-intensive work, but I've found the Mac mini makes a great machine for tethered photography, writing, office work, development, even running my home web server. The refreshed mini comes in two models, the major difference being RAM and hard drive space: 1GB of memory and 120GB HD will run you $599US, and for $799US you can double your RAM (2GB) and almost triple your drive space (320GB). With the FireWire 800 port, I'm more than happy running large external drives, and I'm not shy about putty knives, either.
It appears that the leaks/rumors we saw yesterday were spot-on. It's not an explosive update to these rugged little computers, but it covers a few bases I was hoping for and proves that, for now, the Mac mini is not dead (despite rumors from the not-too-distant past).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Steve McKenna said 10:28AM on 3-03-2009
I believe the video card has more memory in the "high-end" mini
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House of Mirth said 10:28AM on 3-03-2009
If you have 1GB installed, then the Mini will devote 128MB of system memory for video. If you have 2GB or more, it will take 256MB instead. Since Apple ships the $599 Mini with just 1GB, it lists different numbers for video for the two models.
Rowdehaj said 10:15AM on 3-03-2009
It's great to see Apple tending to its computing products in such a grand fashion. The Mac Mini has always been a bewlideringly simplistic machine, and therefore a great addition to a budding switcher's computer collection.
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Recon007jf said 10:14PM on 3-03-2009
*FAKE*!
Who is Apple trying to fool, it's obvious that the USB ports don't line up with the motherboard! Also, the section on apple's site about the Mini is all wrong Apple would never design a page like that!
This mini is soooo a fake :-)
Brian McClure said 10:16AM on 3-03-2009
The whole chipset was changed to nVidia from Intel, if I am understanding right... not just the GPU. (this would affect the FSB, etc)
Also, I am thinking the RAM was upgraded from DDR2 800 to DDR3 1033. And the FW800 port is backwards compatible, I believe.
There is more than meets the eye...
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bob said 11:17AM on 3-03-2009
and 802.11n
Rubbinz said 10:20AM on 3-03-2009
I'd like to take this opportunity and put my boot to all the heads of the naysayers that called the photos, video and the retail box fake.
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Preston said 11:30AM on 3-04-2009
i believe the photo of the box was a prototype or an early production. the mac mini apple just released has 10 vents and the photo has 9.
go take a look.
Marcos said 10:29AM on 3-03-2009
I believe that the GPU will use memory from main RAM. If you have 1 GB, it will take 128 MB for graphics. If you have 2 GB it will take 256 MB... but correct me if I'm wrong.
Some quick browsing shows that upgrading to 4 GB should cost between $60 and $100. So the $799 mini is looking like a terrible value.
All in all a nice yet slightly underwhelming upgrade, IMO. A $100 price cut on the low-end model and $200 on the high end model would have made for a really sweet deal.
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edocronian said 10:59AM on 3-03-2009
Poor value? Look at the UK pricing for the Mac mini. Downright offensive.
I was holding off until the refresh, but now its here, I'm taking my money elsewhere. See you at the bar...
Will said 11:15AM on 3-03-2009
Ouch. The mini is now £100 more expensive than before. That's a weak pound for you. Yet another reason to kneecap Gordon Brown.
Jash Sayani said 10:32AM on 3-03-2009
I have a Mac mini (2.0 Ghz, 2 GB RAM, 160 GB HD). Got it a few months ago. How much do I have to pay to upgrade to the $800 version ??
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bob said 11:22AM on 3-03-2009
er? it is completley new you have to buy it, the chipset is different as is the ram / wireless etc, so you can ebay the old one.
Jash Sayani said 1:56PM on 3-03-2009
@bob: By upgrade, I mean giving this one to Apple and getting the new one in exchange....
HB said 5:13AM on 3-04-2009
@Jash Sayani
Unfortunately that's just not an option. If you bought it less than a month ago you might have been able to return it - I believe that Apple offer a 30 money back guarantee - but you won't qualify for that anymore.
As the other poster suggested, your only option is to eBay it and buy a new Mini.
Jash Sayani said 2:55PM on 3-04-2009
@HB: Ok. I thought that Apple also sells Refurb. Macs and they might be doing the exchange. Anyways, how much do you think I will get for my Mac mini (New with box, only a few months old), with 2.0 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 160GB HD.. ?
Keith Sheehan said 10:48AM on 3-03-2009
Do the dual video ports mean it can drive two monitors then or is it one or the other?
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David said 11:05AM on 3-03-2009
Very good question... I'll go have a quick support chat and find out - I'd like to know too :)
David said 11:11AM on 3-03-2009
Just got off the phone with Apple.... no multiple displays, bummer. It's one or the other.
brian said 11:19AM on 3-03-2009
YES! You CAN run two displays! All secrets revealed:
http://www.apple.com/macmini/specs.html
"Extended desktop and video mirroring"
You can run up to 1920x1200 (23/24") from the DVI *and* 2560x1600 (30") on the Mini DisplayPort (with a dual-link DVI adapter, sold separately.) Happily, it DOES come with a MiniDVI-to-DVI adapter.
David, whoever you talked to at Apple was misinformed. Which sucks (talking to someone who doesn't know their job) but good for you--it'll do what you want! :-)