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Core 2 Duo Mac Mini

Ed

By Ed,
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Ed
Ed
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Not even worthy of a press release, Apple quietly upgraded it's Mac Mini line to Intel Core 2 Duo procesors. Specs for the 2 new models as follows:

 

1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

2MB shared L2 cache

1GB DDR2 memory

80GB 5400RPM hard drive

Combo Drive

Intel GMA 950

£399.00

 

2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo

4MB shared L2 cache

1GB DDR2 memory

120GB 5400RPM hard drive

SuperDrive

Intel GMA 950

£499.00

 

Apple claims the latest generation of Mac Mini is up to 33% faster than its predecessors.

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antst
antst
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Nice specs, but ouch...For a low-range computer the price seems a bit hefty...

 

Size, size and size :)

Also, of course, price of software.

I tried to calculate price (here, in NL) of minimaly sized PC with specs equal to mac mini 2.0GHz.

It was 400 EUR hardware only, but size is still much larger than mac mini.

So, add 200 (OSX+iLife) for software and 200 for size and you got mac mini :)

 

Also you can check the price of Aopen MiniPC with similar size and config to mac mini.

You'll be surprized about price of low-range PCs.

 

For example:

http://www.pcclub.com/systems_configurator...mp;bomid=ENP945

 

I've got $1076. But this includes tv-tuner which isn't removable from one side, and smaller hard drive, from other side. Let suppose that it compensated.

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EFI
EFI
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I believe in the questions/answers period after the keynote, someone asked what about the Mac Mini...and Jobs replied that they were being refreshed.

Still, this is definately the {censored} child of Apple. Sad, but true, since it's done so much for the company in attaining new users.

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Danyel
Danyel
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I'm glad that MacMini got "refresh" that was sorely needed. If I were to buy a Mac, I would probably get MacMini.

 

I wonder what the official sales figures are for Apple's models. From talking to staff at The Apple Store, they gave me the impression that MacBooks and iMacs were hot sellers.

 

--danyel ;)

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FUKKU
FUKKU
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I wonder what the official sales figures are for Apple's models. From talking to staff at The Apple Store, they gave me the impression that MacBooks and iMacs were hot sellers.

Last I heard (unofficially, just from a friend who worked at an apple store), for every mini sold, they sell about 5 iMacs and 10 laptops. It's not a strong seller at all, but it doesn't hurt apple to keep it around since it does help "upsell" customers into iMacs/laptops.

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Colonel Ingus
Colonel Ingus
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Apple claims the latest generation of Mac Mini is up to 33% faster than its predecessors.

Actually they said it was 39% faster ;) It is 33% faster when using Garageband '08.

 

this is definately the {censored} child of Apple

I strongly disagree. It has the same exact processor as the 20-inch iMac, and for those like me who already have a 36" monitor and don't want to downgrade to a iMac, it is the best (actually the only) alternative to the Mac Pro. Hopefully they will introduce a model in-between the mini and the pro, but desktop sales have been down lately so I think Apple will be focusing on laptop sales more than bringing out a new desktop model.

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antst
antst
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It has the same exact processor as the 20-inch iMac, and for those like me who already have a 36" monitor and don't want to downgrade to a iMac

 

But it (embeded graphics) will not be able to drive 36" screen (if you have decent resolution on 36"), isn't it?

 

I've been dicussing this with colleagues today. If mac mini would be able to drive 30" ACD - it would be best PC ever. For 95% of users there is no need in faster CPU and better graphics, I'm pretty sure.

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antst
antst
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Not true! We have a G4 PPC Mac Mini driving the 36" right now, and it looks incredible :D

ter than what originally came with the PPC Mini ;)

 

What is the resolution on this 36"? Do you connect via DVI?

Or it is just HDTV? If so, then clear.

For high-res screens you need dual-link DVI, which mac mini doesn't have ;)

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EFI
EFI
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The 7300GT's on the Mac Pro's....just barely have the power to fully drive a 30" Cinema Display (at 2560 x 1600). I know this becuase I tried an experiement in the Apple store here. I highlighted all the windows in the system/library section, and then opened them all at once. This would open up atleast 50 windows...and then expose them all 5 times. It started lagging after the 2nd expose. But that was not it, I tried putting iTunes in full screen coverflow mode...and then flashed all of the abum art fast...and it was starting to lag.

 

On the other hand...a guy brought a new Macbook Pro with the exact same spefications as the one in my sig...and he hooked it up to the 30" Cinema Display (don't know why he never just used the display models)....and it ran flawless.

 

If you are able to run a 36" screen on a Mac Mini, then I would guess its just in HDTV output, in which case it makes it understandable...however even 2560 x 1600 on a 36" screen would look a bit blurry.

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Colonel Ingus
Colonel Ingus
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But it (embeded graphics) will not be able to drive 36" screen

Not true! We have a G4 PPC Mac Mini driving the 37" right now, and it looks incredible :D

 

Surely the GMA 950 is much better than what originally came with the PPC Mini ;)

 

What is the resolution on this 36"? Do you connect via DVI?

 

1360X768 hooked up via HDMI ;)

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Dwight F
Dwight F
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From what it looks like the Mini had a very cheap refresh. All they did was change which CPU and RAM they were dropping in them, no engineering or board manufacturing changes required. Those are both drop-ins so they could even avoid having to dump their inventory of the old versions of the Mini. They'd just have to pluck out and dump the old 256MB DIMMs and the Core Duo CPUs.

 

Yeah, it'd be nice to have an update on the GPU. But it's a integrated video solution and it already works quite decent at 1920x1200. Yup, Mini = the real ATV. ;)

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sandmanfvrga
sandmanfvrga
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The mini is good, only thing is for dvd burning you have to shell out $200 more dollars for a "better" version. Apple went away from customizing their stuff when they went to intel. With the new imacs, the base model is killer, but no 256 meg graphics card option. Why?

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urbnsoul
urbnsoul
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I think the Mac Mini is a great introduction to Apple in general. I think it somewhat emphasizes simplicity and minimalism in an entry level Apple package that is just right for an average user like myself. And the software bundle is excellent as well.

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bwhsh8r
bwhsh8r
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Not true! We have a G4 PPC Mac Mini driving the 37" right now, and it looks incredible :D

 

Surely the GMA 950 is much better than what originally came with the PPC Mini ;)

1360X768 hooked up via HDMI :)

 

 

this 37" is lower resolution than my dads 22"

 

my fathers 22" runs @ 1650x1050

 

 

so a 37 with a decent res couldn't be run by it.

 

oh wait thats a tv.... thats cool =D

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  • 4 weeks later...
Blue_Mockingbird
Blue_Mockingbird
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sandmanfvrga @ Aug 8 2007:

The mini is good, only thing is for dvd burning you have to shell out $200 more dollars for a "better" version. Apple went away from customizing their stuff when they went to intel. With the new imacs, the base model is killer, but no 256 meg graphics card option. Why?

If you don't mind voiding warranties -

putting your own burner in, isn't hard if you aren't all thumbs & its cheaper than paying Apple to do it. The burner itself is marked up.

 

How does the "shared memory" thing shake out?

IF they really wanted to get smart about it, a modular mini would be nice... with something of an upgrade path for tinkerers.

A video card with its own video RAM as an option, at the very least.

 

You can swap out a few components easily, bump the RAM & change the drive... yet they tell you the warranty is voided for doing precisely what the tech would do.

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Colonel Ingus
Colonel Ingus
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You don't need to pay 100-200.00 to add a Superdrive to a mini. You don't even have to open the mini to do it. We just added a external burner WITH a dual layer/lightscribe and it cost us around 40.00! All minis come with a CD burner, so really you're paying 100-200 just to add a DVD burner. Thnks but no thanks. The external version adds more features and cost many times less :(

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THEHAWKs
THEHAWKs
Posted
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i would never buy a Mac Mini, you could just build a micro ATX pc with a 945Chipset with a Core 2 duo, 500GB HD, 2GB ram, add a wifi card seen as a airport card, Bluetooth all for 531.94$USD. try and upgrade a mac mini it would be over 800$USD

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Colonel Ingus
Colonel Ingus
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i would never buy a Mac Mini, you could just build a micro ATX pc with a 945Chipset with a Core 2 duo, 500GB HD, 2GB ram, add a wifi card seen as a airport card, Bluetooth all for 531.94$USD.

So you would pay MORE just to be able to bubble gum something together yourself? ;):(

 

...and it would end up taking up 10 times more space and just look like a average PC ;)

 

 

upgrade a mac mini it would be over 800$USD

Sorry. Try again.

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