Will base Mini ever get 2Gb RAM?

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
I'm surprised Apple hasn't quietly bumped up the base RAM on the Mini to 2Gb. Its ridiculous to have any computer come with only 1Gb RAM, IMO
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 40
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    I guess it's eventual. Eventually the mini will go away and they'll have some portable system that takes over the role of a mini. In short:



  • Reply 2 of 40
    It'll get four gigs of RAM if you pop it open and upgrade the memory yourself.
  • Reply 3 of 40
    steve666steve666 Posts: 2,600member
    Its too bad Apple ignores the product. For people like me that dislike all in ones the Mini has a lot going for it.

    Would 4 Gb RAM make a big difference over 2Gb on performance?
  • Reply 4 of 40
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by steve666 View Post


    Its too bad Apple ignores the product. For people like me that dislike all in ones the Mini has a lot going for it.

    Would 4 Gb RAM make a big difference over 2Gb on performance?



    Not if all you do is browse the web and run Office. If you use the mini for Photoshop and other professional apps... maybe. Probably.
  • Reply 5 of 40
    steve666steve666 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by FuturePastNow View Post


    Not if all you do is browse the web and run Office. If you use the mini for Photoshop and other professional apps... maybe. Probably.



    Yeh, I mainly browse the web and watch some video clips, use word. No photoshop.
  • Reply 6 of 40
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by steve666 View Post


    Yeh, I mainly browse the web and watch some video clips, use word. No photoshop.



    2 GB should be good enough for that load. When you do start to get a lag, restart.
  • Reply 7 of 40
    steve666steve666 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Outsider View Post


    2 GB should be good enough for that load. When you do start to get a lag, restart.



    Thanks. I guess I'll order the base Mini with 2Gb then. Just waiting to make sure 10.6 is preloaded. I was hoping they would bump up the base RAM but Im tired of waiting and its just $60 more anyway.

    Now, what monitor to get? I don't need anything bigger than a 17 inch LCD but most are 19 inch now. I really dont want widescreen either. Decisions decisions.
  • Reply 8 of 40
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by steve666 View Post


    Yeh, I mainly browse the web and watch some video clips, use word. No photoshop.



    For that workload you should be fine. Snow Leopard ideally will be even better. The problem or maybe issue is that RAM is dirt cheap right now, so honestly if you are thinking about an upgrade from 1GB I'd max the machine out.



    Better yet if you haven't gotten the machine yet wait a bit for the new machines to come out. I would expect a Mini rev before Christmas. Ideally that machine would be built around a new archetecture. If not the most likely way for Apple to spruce up the machine for the holidays is a memory rev.





    Dave
  • Reply 9 of 40
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by steve666 View Post


    Thanks. I guess I'll order the base Mini with 2Gb then. Just waiting to make sure 10.6 is preloaded. I was hoping they would bump up the base RAM but Im tired of waiting and its just $60 more anyway.

    Now, what monitor to get? I don't need anything bigger than a 17 inch LCD but most are 19 inch now. I really dont want widescreen either. Decisions decisions.



    You may not want one but the old ratio screens are getting harder and harder to come by. This has even become a problem at work where to large of a screen takes up to much room at the various workstations around the plant.



    However for your usage I'm surprised you don't want a wide screen. I find the work better for web access, E-Mail and the like. You do have to buy what seems like a fairly large monitor, but then you realize the ratio flatens out the diagonal a bit. Either way I must say the bigger screens will grow on you.



    I'm not sure why you have a rush to buy, but that $60 could go to a lot more RAM if you are inclined to install it yourself. Apple has gotten slightly better but buying RAM from them is expensive. You are paying $60 bucks for what amounts to $15 worth of RAM. Like all Apple products the other thing you need to realize is that the older the rev the worst the value at the time of purchase. This due to Apple keeping it's pricing steady as component costs drop.





    Dave
  • Reply 10 of 40
    steve666steve666 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    For that workload you should be fine. Snow Leopard ideally will be even better. The problem or maybe issue is that RAM is dirt cheap right now, so honestly if you are thinking about an upgrade from 1GB I'd max the machine out.



    Better yet if you haven't gotten the machine yet wait a bit for the new machines to come out. I would expect a Mini rev before Christmas. Ideally that machine would be built around a new archetecture. If not the most likely way for Apple to spruce up the machine for the holidays is a memory rev.





    Dave



    Do you really think Apple is going to revise the Mini? If they are I can certainly wait a few months. They seem to ignore the machine more than update it.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    You may not want one but the old ratio screens are getting harder and harder to come by. This has even become a problem at work where to large of a screen takes up to much room at the various workstations around the plant.



    However for your usage I'm surprised you don't want a wide screen. I find the work better for web access, E-Mail and the like. You do have to buy what seems like a fairly large monitor, but then you realize the ratio flatens out the diagonal a bit. Either way I must say the bigger screens will grow on you.



    I'm not sure why you have a rush to buy, but that $60 could go to a lot more RAM if you are inclined to install it yourself. Apple has gotten slightly better but buying RAM from them is expensive. You are paying $60 bucks for what amounts to $15 worth of RAM. Like all Apple products the other thing you need to realize is that the older the rev the worst the value at the time of purchase. This due to Apple keeping it's pricing steady as component costs drop.





    Dave



    I never liked widescreens. I would rather see more horizontally than vertically, they never seemed to make sense to me other than for movies. But, I'm sure I can get used to it.

    As for the RAM, I'm not into messing with computers that weren't made to be upgraded, the Mini is a pain to open.
  • Reply 11 of 40
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by steve666 View Post


    Do you really think Apple is going to revise the Mini? If they are I can certainly wait a few months. They seem to ignore the machine more than update it.



    Well you know Apple!!!! A small bump for the Christmas shopping season would seem to be the minimal they would do. No Guarantees of course. There is also an outside chance of going to an improved CPU.



    I'm actually hoping Apple is over ignoring the Mini.

    Quote:





    I never liked widescreens. I would rather see more horizontally than vertically, they never seemed to make sense to me other than for movies. But, I'm sure I can get used to it.

    As for the RAM, I'm not into messing with computers that weren't made to be upgraded, the Mini is a pain to open.



    Do you mean see more vertically? I guess it depends on what you are doing at the moment. I've grown to appreciate wide screens, for some things like programming it is a big gain. You avoid wraps of long lines and the resulting confusion.



    Obviously the screen is a personal taste and has to key to your work style. I do find though that the more pixels up there the better.



    Dave
  • Reply 12 of 40
    steve666steve666 Posts: 2,600member
    I'm sure I can get used to the widescreens, and from what I see I have to because almost everything is wide now. The one thing that I have to make sure of is that the case around the screen is not shiny. I hate glare.

    Any thoughts on which monitor to buy?
  • Reply 13 of 40
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    EIZO is one of the best brands out there now. They have really high end screens down to very budget business class screens.
  • Reply 14 of 40
    steve666steve666 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Outsider View Post


    EIZO is one of the best brands out there now. They have really high end screens down to very budget business class screens.



    Thanks, I'll look into them. I'm also considering Acer, Samsung, NEC and Viewsonic.
  • Reply 15 of 40
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by steve666 View Post


    I'm sure I can get used to the widescreens, and from what I see I have to because almost everything is wide now. The one thing that I have to make sure of is that the case around the screen is not shiny. I hate glare.

    Any thoughts on which monitor to buy?



    at work we buy all sorts of monitors. Many ELO Touch screens, recently screens from Planar. There are other models in there too. Really though for personal use it pays to view the screen up front and live. It is the only way to get a personal feel for the display.





    Dave
  • Reply 16 of 40
    steve666steve666 Posts: 2,600member
    do i need to look for a certain response time, etc? I want video playback to be smooth.

    I also don't want a real high resolution , Im getting old I dont dig small type!
  • Reply 17 of 40
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by steve666 View Post


    do i need to look for a certain response time, etc? I want video playback to be smooth.



    Unfortunately I do very little with Video so you have to take my answers with a grain of salt. My Mac Book Pro has a nice no reflective screen that does OK for video viewing. Take that as a non professional and very casual users opinion. However I do get a sense that a glossy screen might be better for delivering video. Interestingly SL on my MBP has the screen looking better, which I now understand was a gamma adjustment that Apple made with the upgrade.



    As to specs that is really hard to nail down as the various manufacturing methods leap frog each other and the questionable tech info supplied be the manufactures. There are only a few things you can really do. One is to find reviews you trust to read, talk to friends that use their PCs in similar ways and lastly check a few out at a retailer.



    Now all of that being said LED backlight LCDs can be awesome.

    Quote:

    I also don't want a real high resolution , Im getting old I dont dig small type!



    Oh man do I understand this one!!!!! The bad news is that to solve this problem you have to buy a bigger display. This mostly due to many monitors using the same screens that would be going into HDTVs. Since there are two common wide screen resolutions the only way to bigger type is to go to a bigger screen or to drive it with lower resolution signal. I'd be very careful about using a non native resolution as some displays do this better than others.







    Dave
  • Reply 18 of 40
    steve666steve666 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by wizard69 View Post


    Unfortunately I do very little with Video so you have to take my answers with a grain of salt. My Mac Book Pro has a nice no reflective screen that does OK for video viewing. Take that as a non professional and very casual users opinion. However I do get a sense that a glossy screen might be better for delivering video. Interestingly SL on my MBP has the screen looking better, which I now understand was a gamma adjustment that Apple made with the upgrade.



    As to specs that is really hard to nail down as the various manufacturing methods leap frog each other and the questionable tech info supplied be the manufactures. There are only a few things you can really do. One is to find reviews you trust to read, talk to friends that use their PCs in similar ways and lastly check a few out at a retailer.



    Now all of that being said LED backlight LCDs can be awesome.





    Oh man do I understand this one!!!!! The bad news is that to solve this problem you have to buy a bigger display. This mostly due to many monitors using the same screens that would be going into HDTVs. Since there are two common wide screen resolutions the only way to bigger type is to go to a bigger screen or to drive it with lower resolution signal. I'd be very careful about using a non native resolution as some displays do this better than others.







    Dave



    Thank you for the info, very helpful. I just joined Costco since they have a very liberal return policy so I may just try one and see if I like it. Of course, first I have to spring for the Mini!
  • Reply 19 of 40
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by steve666 View Post


    Thank you for the info, very helpful. I just joined Costco since they have a very liberal return policy so I may just try one and see if I like it. Of course, first I have to spring for the Mini!



    As for the Mini I wouldn't hold my breath. Apple neglected the Mini for about 2 years before they revamped it in March.

    But as Wizard said: We are talking about Apple - You never know!

    For your use the current Mini should more than enough. I bought one in April and upgraded the RAM to 4 Gigs for ? 50.-. You should have the Mini at 2 Gigs at least. There was quite some difference. Futhermore if you have 2 Gigs the graphics card will use double the RAM than it is using when you have just 1 Gig avoilable.
  • Reply 20 of 40
    steve666steve666 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by copeland View Post


    As for the Mini I wouldn't hold my breath. Apple neglected the Mini for about 2 years before they revamped it in March.

    But as Wizard said: We are talking about Apple - You never know!

    For your use the current Mini should more than enough. I bought one in April and upgraded the RAM to 4 Gigs for ? 50.-. You should have the Mini at 2 Gigs at least. There was quite some difference. Futhermore if you have 2 Gigs the graphics card will use double the RAM than it is using when you have just 1 Gig avoilable.



    I will definitely get the 2Gb RAM, thanks. Apple is ridiculous for putting 1Gb in anything it sells. Its annoying how they treat this computer. Get over it, Jobs, people want the Mini!
Sign In or Register to comment.