Filed under: Mac mini
Apple bumps Mac Mini line to add faster processors
The refreshed Mac minis predicted yesterday by John Gruber of Daring Fireball, did indeed debut this morning and with a modest refresh. According to Business Week, the new entry-level mini (still at $599) offers the 2.26 GHz chip that used to be an optional upgrade. The $799 upgrade offers a 2.53 GHz performance boost.I bought my latest mini this past Spring. Introduced last March at the same $599/$799 starting prices, those models have offered excellent performance, a 5th USB Port (I mention this as a confirmed and unrepentant USBaholic), and built in dual monitor support. (You do have to buy a second, mini Display cable to use that second monitor. I got mine from an Apple Store for about 30 bucks.)
At that time, I stuck with the 2.0GHz processor and opted for the 4GB RAM upgrade and larger (320GB) disk drive. And, let me tell you, those choices (for which I thank all the people at Twitter who offered advice) were excellent. I haven't missed the top processor speed (there was a 2.26GHz option), the extra RAM was awesome, and I didn't have to crack the case to upgrade to a better disk. I recommend you do the same today: cheapest processor (now the 2.26 GHz chip), 4GB RAM, and the larger (500 GB) disk option. If you're in the mood for extra storage yumminess, consider the dual disk server configuration: an entire Terabyte of disk in a single sweet mini.
You can read more about this upgrade at Apple's refreshed Mini features page. And yes, the store is still down at the time this post went live. Maybe someone forgot to feed the hamsters.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jb510 said 12:26PM on 10-20-2009
I'm surprised they still have nvidia cards... Still no esata... No bluray... Nothing a deal breaker for me, but I'm still hoping for a more capable aTV today instead...
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SIP said 12:36PM on 10-20-2009
iMac aspect ratio now 16:, not 16:10 with resolutions of
21.5-inch models: 1920 by 1080 pixels
27-inch models: 2560 by 1440 pixels
the 27" is almost as good as the 30" monitors 2560 x 1600
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Simon Arch said 12:44PM on 10-20-2009
Emphasis on the "almost". I don't understand why people want SMALLER monitors. Give me a BIGGER display, dammit! Give me 16:12 or 16:14! I'm tired of widescreen. Horizontal pixels are all well and good, but when they're cramped by a tiny vertical resolution I feel confined and constricted. What I'd love is a 2560x2360 display. I'm fairly drooling just thinking about it.
Ned Scott said 1:15PM on 10-20-2009
If you're getting advice from Twitter and buying monitor accessory cables at the Apple store then I'm not sure you should be writing articles giving us tech advice/news.
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iBearTouch said 1:18PM on 10-20-2009
For everything that I would want with the Mac Mini (4 gig RAM, HD 500 Gig), why not get the 2.53 processor one, it is only 30 $C more... unless my math is buggered up...
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Wingspinner said 6:17PM on 11-03-2009
Your advice on the mini is almost completely wrong. The faster processor is a minimal price incease over the slower version while Apple charges a huge premium for RAM. Plus, you can never upgrade the processor without buying a new Mini whereas you can always upgrade the RAM and the longer you wait the cheaper it becomes. The smarter choice is to buy the fastest processor you can afford and the minimum memory and then upgrade the memory either immediately or later when you know for sure that you need it (if you are a Photoshop user for instance). OSX unless you are using Photoshop or some other memory hungry app OSX runs quite nicely with only 2gb of memory and you won't notice a performance diff by upgrading (unless, again you have a memory hungry app or two).
Done this way, the savings on memory costs more than offsets the the premium for the faster processor and the faster processor speeds up ALL activities whereas more memory only gives a performance boost IF you actually need it.
Lastly, Apples premium for the larger hard drive is not excessive therefore, as you point out, it's not worth the bother to replace it yourself.
To summarize, not only is it cheaper to buy the faster processor and upgrade the memory yourself but you end up with a better machine that with a longer life before obsolecense and the savings on memory will pay for the faster processor and perhaps the larger hard drive as well.
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David H. said 1:55PM on 10-20-2009
I appreciate Wingspinner's perspective, but I'm still disappointed in general. The Mini is *still* just too dang expensive for what you get. That low-end model shouldn't be more than $499.
Now the "Mini Server" is actually a cool idea, and if I had a small business in need of a server, I'd jump on it.
But as for me, I'll either just suck it up and go with Wingspinner's purchasing advice, or decide to take the time & trouble to build a Hackintosh :/
iBearTouch said 1:32PM on 10-20-2009
I like how on the Mac Mini info page says that it can be "used to power robots". It's like the mini desktop computer meets the Energon Cube!
I am going to use my Mac Mini to power robots. It is all part of my plan to take over the world!
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Liberty For ALL! said 2:22PM on 10-20-2009
You got ripped off! You can get the display cables a LOT cheaper at Monoprice or eBay!
Where's the Blu-Ray Apple?!
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brian said 8:21PM on 10-20-2009
"Apples premium for the larger hard drive is not excessive therefore, as you point out, it's not worth the bother to replace it yourself."
LOL. Crack the case you wusses! It's not that bad. Look for videos on YouTube. Apple charges $200 to UPGRADE from a 160 to a 500. Best Buy has 500 GB Seagates (5 year warranty) for $119, not to mention places like NewEgg. And then you have a nice 160 GB drive left over that you can pop into an enclosure (starting at $20 from OWC.) All you need is a $3 putty knife and a set of little screwdrivers.
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David H. said 11:11AM on 10-21-2009
If I get the case open and replace the HD & upgrade the RAM, it's true that Apple *won't* void the warranty on the unit for that, yes ?
::mutters darkly to himself about how difficult Apple made this is vs. their other computers...even laptops like the Macbook::
r.brick said 12:13AM on 10-21-2009
I also upgraded my Mini earlier this year, and went with 2GHz/4MB. But I went with the smallest HD I could, because it's slow. 100MB, and I'm not even using half of it yet. TM and most of my user data is out on an external FW800 disk.
Regarding cracking the case, I'd rather not have to open it up immediately to upgrade it-- being "just plug it in and use it" was one of the appealing things about it. I have other computers around the house to get my geek on.
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