Apple unveils Mac mini Core Duo

[AppleInsider]

Apple today unveiled the new Mac mini with the Intel Core Duo processor, delivering performance up to four times faster than its predecessor and providing even greater expansion in the same compact design.

Starting at $599, Apple says the Mac mini is the most affordable way to enjoy iLife ’06, the next generation of its award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications. Each Mac mini features the Apple Remote and Front Row, letting users play their music, enjoy photo slideshows, watch DVDs, iMovies, music videos and television shows from across the room.

"With the new Mac mini, Apple has now moved 50 percent of its entire product line to Intel within 60 days—a record transition," said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The new Mac mini is now up to four times faster with the Intel Core Duo, includes even greater expansion in the same incredibly compact design, and is the most affordable way to enjoy Front Row and iLife ‘06."

Featuring the next generation of Apple’s Front Row media experience, the new Mac mini gives customers a simple way to enjoy their digital lifestyle content on the computer, including music, photos and videos from across the room using the Apple Remote. With the latest version of Front Row, customers can now effortlessly access shared iTunes playlists, iPhoto libraries and video throughout their home via Bonjour, Apple’s zero configuration wireless networking built into Mac OS X.

The new Mac mini also offers a completely new system architecture for performance up to four times as fast as the previous Mac mini, including a 667 MHz front-side bus and 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM memory expandable to 2GB.

With the latest high-performance connectivity options, every new Mac mini now includes built-in 10/100/1000 BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet for high-speed networking, built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11g WiFi for fast 54 Mbps wireless networking, built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) and a total of four USB 2.0 ports, twice as many as the previous generation. The compact computers also pack a DVI interface and a VGA-out adapter to easily connect to a variety of displays, including many of today’s most popular flat panel televisions. The system also features both analog and digital audio outputs to easily connect to a home stereo.



Each Mac mini includes iLife ‘06, the next generation of Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications featuring major new versions of iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand and the new iWeb -- a new iLife application that makes it super-easy to create amazing websites with photos, blogs and Podcasts and publish them on .Mac for viewing by anyone on the Internet with just a single click. All the iLife ‘06 applications are Universal applications that run natively on the new Intel-based Mac mini for maximum performance, Apple said.

Pricing & Availability
?The new Mac mini is shipping today and will be available through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

The new 1.5 GHz Mac mini, for a suggested retail price of $599 (US), includes:
1.5 GHz Intel Core Solo processor;512MB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, expandable up to 2GB;a slot-load Combo (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) drive;60GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm;Intel GMA950 graphics processor;built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000 BASE-T);four USB 2.0 ports;one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately); andthe infrared Apple Remote.

The new 1.66 GHz Mac mini, for a suggested retail price of $799 (US), includes:

1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo processor;512MB of 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM expandable up to 2GB;a slot-load 8x SuperDrive™ with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW);80GB Serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm;Intel GMA950 graphics processor;built-in AirPort Extreme wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.0+EDR;
Gigabit Ethernet (10/100/1000 BASE-T);four USB 2.0 ports;one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;DVI-out port for external display (VGA-out adapter included, Composite/S-Video out adapter sold separately); andthe infrared Apple Remote.

Build-to-order options and accessories include up to 2GB DDR2 SDRAM, 80GB, 100GB and 120GB Serial ATA hard drives, iWork ’06 (pre-installed), AirPort Express and AirPort Extreme Base Station, Apple Wireless Keyboard, Apple Wireless Mouse, Apple USB Modem and the AppleCare Protection Plan.

The new Mac mini line is also available to education customers in the US and Canada through the Apple Store for Education.

[Booga]

It looks like the chipset reserves 64MB of main memory for use with the Intel built-in graphics hardware. This is probably not going to be a World of Warcraft speed demon by any stretch of the imagination.

[BenRoethig]

GMA950 Graphics albeit with some dedicated memory, no included consumer word processor, and its more expensive. It has a lot of cool new features, but it's not something I'd want to buy.

[Aquatic]

BAD.

People buying the mini don't want 4x the speed for almost twice the price. They want maybe 2x the speed for the same price.

PC users are looking for shitbox bargains.

This is a problem I have with the mini. It solved a problem no one had. Why artificially constrain it to using laptop parts which are slower and more expensive just so it looks "cool" because it's so small?

IDIOTS. Make it a little bigger and cheaper. And perhaps a third model that is slower, or something, anything, to get the cost back to the magic $499.

No wonder stock went down. They just don't get it. Same with the iPod Hi Fi. Good idea perhaps, but that's a kind of pricey boombox.

I'll be buying when they are back to under that magic $499. Remember $479 edu pricing everyone? Can't wait till it gets back to that. Well I hope it does.

[Mr. H]

Originally posted by BenRoethig
GMA950 Graphics albeit with some dedicated memory

The GMA does not have any dedicated memory. It uses a minimum of 80 MB of system RAM, according to Apple's spec. page.

[BenRoethig]

Originally posted by Aquatic
BAD.

People buying the mini don't want 4x the speed for almost twice the price. They want maybe 2x the speed for the same price.

PC users are looking for shitbox bargains.

This is a problem I have with the mini. It solved a problem no one had. Why artificially constrain it to using laptop parts which are slower and more expensive just so it looks "cool" because it's so small?

IDIOTS. Make it a little bigger and cheaper. And perhaps a third model that is slower, or something, anything, to get the cost back to the magic $499.

No wonder stock went down. They just don't get it. Same with the iPod Hi Fi. Good idea perhaps, but that's a kind of pricey boombox.

I'll be buying when they are back to under that magic $499. Remember $479 edu pricing everyone? Can't wait till it gets back to that. Well I hope it does.

Apple is all about coolness and innovation. Unfortunately that also causes them to miss the big picture sometimes. Apple really needs two brand names: The innovative and Stylish Apple and something a little more conservative and practical that still delivers what Apple as a company has to offer.

[Quisling]

Overall I'm pretty impressed with the upgrades..the only killer, Integrated graphics. Come on apple get with the program, I gurantee the top of the line mini still chokes just trying to watch the HD trailers you can get off itunes. A simple upgrade option would of been nice. 100 dollars for a 256MB x1300 still would of made them profit. That alone stopped me from buying one today.

[slughead]

Originally posted by BenRoethig
GMA950 Graphics albeit with some dedicated memory, no included consumer word processor, and its more expensive. It has a lot of cool new features, but it's not something I'd want to buy.

blech.

I donno how it compares to the 9200 of the previous minis, but I doubt it's going to look too much better.

I like the processor upgrade, I'd like to see some PVR features.. maybe an all-in-wonder or something.

I mean, just a modicum of respect for the gaming crowd. This would've been a bargain 2 years ago, but now it pales in comparison to much of what's on the market.

[jdbartlett]

Hmm, FrontRow was expected. I'm disappointed there's no TiVo killer feature out the box and glad there's no built-in iPod dock.

It'd be neat if Apple built a TiVo killer, but a) they're just too damn politically correct and b) it's not in their best interest when they can get $2 a show from iTMS users.

If some other company develops a device and software that can be plugged into the Mac Mini to record shows then play them back in FrontRow, I might be interested in this. I'm not saying I'd buy it, but I might at least want it...

[hmurchison]

I like it.

GigE networking
Front Row
More USB
Duo Core
AP/BT

You'd be hard pressed to find a better deal anywhere.

[G_Warren]

5400rpm drives, more USB and an audio input - all of my thoguhts on my mini have been addressed. I'll hold out til 10.5 at the end of the year and update my mini then, so hopefully rev B intel will be out with slightly better specs still. Anyone think the base model is missing? Will we see a new addition to the line soon?

[1984]

Integrated graphics would be fine on a sub $500 model but it really kills the higher end models. The Mac mini serves two groups of people. Those looking for a cheap entry level computer and those who want to pack in as much power into as small a computer as possible. They could have easily separated the Mac mini for these two distinct groups.

Imagine...

An entry level Mac mini with 2 USB ports, internal modem, 10/100BaseT ethernet, analog audio, integrated graphics and core solo.

A high end Mac mini with 4 USB ports, no internal modem, Gigabit ethernet, digital audio, ATI x1300 graphics and core duo.

Well, at least now we know the specs of the upcoming MacBook (iBook) don't we?

[Elixir]

4 usb slots ? damn i wanted that for my macbook.



i also agree the 499 price point was a good one.


maybe down the road?


i mean look at all the apps you get for 599 though.

[mdriftmeyer]

Lost me with the integrated graphics decision.

I'll wait to see if they rethink this decision. If not I'll target a different system.

[dacloo]

Too expensive, integrated graphics??? Yuck.

[ctachme]

Stupidest. Move. Ever. The Mac mini ALSO needs to be for entry level people that DON’T need gigabit Ethernet, or optical audio in or any of those other features that they added that make it 20% more expensive. It’s good that Apple added them… but they should be an OPTION, and people that want an ENTRY level Mac shouldn’t have to pay the extra $100 for a bunch of stuff they’ll never use.

[hmurchison]

Stupidest. Move. Ever. The Mac mini ALSO needs to be for entry level people that DON’T need gigabit Ethernet, or optical audio in or any of those other features that they added that make it 20% more expensive.

What do you mean? How do you know they don't need Gigabit or Optical Audio In? What you want is Apple to create a bland box for %20 cheaper. Wrong platform if that's the case.

Hell I really don't give a rip about the integrated graphics. If you want to game the iMac is your better solution. If you want a hightly functional unit then the Mac mini is a winner. I have BT and Airport standard. I have a nice suite of software.

I expect that in 2007 mine will become dedicated to the 55" HDTV that I purchase then. Once you see Front Row in action all makes sense.

[onlooker]

I don't know about the core duo version... I think It's too much $$$ for what you get, but I think the core solo version may be my new intel transition computer. I'm still weighing in on the options, and waiting for some reviews. The built in Graphics they used was a mistake, but it has to be built in to fit it in the box so it';s hard to say. That may have been the best one they could have used with out going over the price point they needed.

[aegisdesign]

Originally posted by slughead
I mean, just a modicum of respect for the gaming crowd. This would've been a bargain 2 years ago, but now it pales in comparison to much of what's on the market.

Wrong. Intel's integrated graphics was supposedly in 47% of all PC's shipped last year. Gaming is a very small proportion of the market.

It does suck somewhat that they upped the price of entry. In the UK, the cheapest G4 1.25Ghz model was available for £279. The cheapest Core Solo is £449. The Core Duo Mini though makes the iMac look like a bargain.

They do however leave themselves room to slot in a Celeron M 4xx model at about $100 less when Intel start shipping that chip. And don't say they won't do it. People were saying yesterday "No Integrated Graphics".

[sharp_spot]

Originally posted by jdbartlett
If some other company develops a device and software that can be plugged into the Mac Mini to record shows then play them back in FrontRow, I might be interested in this. I'm not saying I'd buy it, but I might at least want it...

Done. Elgato EyeTV 200/500 turns your Mac into a DVR, and use Equinux MediaCentral (freeware) instead of Front Row.

The downside: $5-600 for a Mac mini + $3-350 for the EyeTV.

The upside: no monthly fee (a la Tivo), also puts Mac OS X in your living room.

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally posted by ctachme
Stupidest. Move. Ever. The Mac mini ALSO needs to be for entry level people that DON’T need gigabit Ethernet, or optical audio in or any of those other features that they added that make it 20% more expensive. It’s good that Apple added them… but they should be an OPTION, and people that want an ENTRY level Mac shouldn’t have to pay the extra $100 for a bunch of stuff they’ll never use.

The Gigabit ethernet is standard across Apple's line. The need for such speed will become apparent shortly. This media center is flawed with it being overkill, as you say, for the average consumer and way underkill for the above average user who likes the idea this compact system can be connected and used for much more than just word processing, web browsing and emailing.

Apple is saving themselves considerable amounts of time in manufacturing by going with a standard mobo from Intel and at the same time not going to woo people other than those who already have 3 workstations, 2 laptops and could use this for extra projects without the heavy expense of the workstation or laptop form factors.

[hmurchison]

I'm sold. I'm buying the $799 model.

Why

Gigabit- Do you know what happens when your NAS is connected via 100T? You get a max of 12MBps throughput theoretically and less in real world. The network is the limiting factor here. Gigabit gets rid of that and other network line bottlenecks.

2 memory slots- Finally you can upgrade the memory without removing the orginal memory.

Duo Core processing- Nuff said. You all would have loved a Dual G5 Mac mini. I see nothing negative here at all.

Graphics- I don't plan to game with a sub $800 computer.

Airport/Bluetooth- Wireless support up the yang.

Superdrive- Dual Layer support. What more do I really need?

This is a hot little box for the "right" person. Gamers need not apply. Anyone else can enjoy this box just fine.

[ThinkExpensive]

Originally posted by ctachme
Stupidest. Move. Ever. The Mac mini ALSO needs to be for entry level people that DON’T need gigabit Ethernet, or optical audio in or any of those other features that they added that make it 20% more expensive. It’s good that Apple added them… but they should be an OPTION, and people that want an ENTRY level Mac shouldn’t have to pay the extra $100 for a bunch of stuff they’ll never use.

Completely agree. They're really focusing on the wrong things in an entry level machine. The casing should be bigger, not huge, but somewhat larger (wider maybe), and it should have 3.5" Hard Drive and DVD(RW) drive, this would make the machine a little larger, but would offer MUCH cheaper components that perform even better than the more expensive ones, and would allow the Motherboard to be larger (think iBook size).

This would also leave the door open for perhaps a sideways AGP slot (I realize i'm dreaming, but its true) and even if they had integrated graphics, there would be a slot to make an upgrade if the user wanted to.

[Aurora]

Cheapo,last in class garbage graphics are just that, why did Apple even bother? let Apple know how they screwed up yet again by crippling this machine with a 99 cent graphic chip by Intel. Apple you are a mess.

[Chagi]

Well, the two models price out to $699 and $949 in Canadian dollars. I'm personally interested to see some benchmarks comparing the two, but I feel that the $949 model is a bit on the expensive side. Given the need to buy a keyboard and mouse, I think that the 17" iMac makes more sense than the Core Duo model of the Mini, unless you already own a monitor.

I'm going to be looking at getting the girlfriend a computer this summer, and I think that the $699 model plus a cheap third-party 19" LCD might be the way to go.

The interesting thing about today's Mini announcement is that it gives us a sense of what Apple's strategy will likely be for the forthcoming "Macbook" models. I suspect they will introduce two variants in the same manner that they have done with the Mini, one with Core Solo, and one with Core Duo. I would speculate that the Core Solo model could come in around $1100 CND, and the Core Duo somewhere around $1300-$1400 CND.

[nagromme]

This is Apple's low end machine. It has SOME high-end specs, but you can't expect it to have ALL high-end specs. Other companies use integrated graphics on the low end too--and meanwhile a LOT about the Mac Mini was just upgraded. The Mac Mini is not a hard-core gamer's machine (what low-end PC is?) but it's an even better buy now than before, with a killer OS and software bundle (it can even read and save Word documents, with TextEdit).

I'll wait for real-world reports of the Mac Mini's graphics before I judge that. But I already know that most low-end users don't need the fastest 3D rendering.

I wish you could still get a sub-$500 Mac and I'm sure that day will come again. But I'd gladly pay the $100 increase for:

* Audio-in added

* Digital/optical audio (in and out)

* Wi-Fi now standard

* Bluetooth 2.0 now standard

* Gigabit Ethernet

* 5400 rpm drive

* 50% more hard disk space (and new double-layer SuperDrive on the high end)

* Twice the USB ports

* Two RAM slots

* MUCH faster (and future-proof) processor that nearly rivals a G5 (and duals on the high end!)

* Front Row remote

That's a LOT of improvements over the old models. And LOT of specs that other low-end PCs lack.

And there IS a demand for small and quiet.

[Faasnat]

Originally posted by BenRoethig
Apple is all about coolness and innovation. Unfortunately that also causes them to miss the big picture sometimes. Apple really needs two brand names: The innovative and Stylish Apple and something a little more conservative and practical that still delivers what Apple as a company has to offer.

Yes, Apple makes some cool looking computers, however, I don't think that's a priority on people's shopping requirements. Remember when Apple allowed clones and all that it did was eat away from Apple's hardware sales (I bought clones during that time instead of Apple computers)? They should've learned what the clone makers were doing to sell better than Apple's stuff and copy that rather than kill 'em off and continue with what they were doing.

I don't really care about having a cool looking computer since it sits under my desk out of sight anyways.

[spindler]

Before everyone starts whining and whining...

Apple did NOT raise the prices for the most part, they just got rid of the low end $499 model. Now if the $499 model was selling well, my guess is they would have kept it. You guys whined and whined for years that Apple needed a low cost model to compete with PCs, but the Mac Mini doesn't even sell that well compared to the way more expensive iMac. There was no huge market for cheaper Macs.

These Mac Mini's now have 5400 RPM hard drives, because I can tell you from my Mac Mini that the 4200 RPM hard drive was the main drawback and was slow as hell.

The $499 model didn't have Airport and Bluetooth, and today's $599 model does, just like the previous $599 model. The hard drive on the $599 model has gone down from 80GB to 60GB, which is bad, but you are getting a free Remote Control.

The Core Duo processor SHOULD add $100 to the price because it is a VERY expensive part at like $150. Lower end computers usually use $50 processors.

A $799 Mac Mini is now blazing fast and in no way comparable to what it is replacing.

[alberto]

I was waiting to buy a new mac mini, I really was but the integrated video card killed me. I would never buy one of these. My only hope that they will not make the same mistakes with the "low end" iBooks

[bigmig]

An important point about the price:

The Core Solo is a VERY expensive chip for a sub-$500 computer. The only price data we have suggests that a 1.66 Ghz Core Solo costs $210. Yes, it is a slightly slower chip (1.5 Ghz) and yes, big OEMs like Apple undoubtedly get further discounts, but even so, Apple is almost surely paying at least $100-150 per processor.

When you consider that the total bill of materials on the original $499 Mini was just $275 (i.e., possibly less than twice as much as just the Core Solo processor itself costs!), it quickly becomes clear why Apple does not sell a Core Solo based mini at $499.

The obvious solution is to use Celeron M instead of Core Solo for the $499 model. However, the Core Solo derived Celeron M 4XX parts are not due until late spring or early summer. The current Celeron M parts (Pentium M Dothan derived) do not support SSE3, and although Apple was originally asking devs to try not to require SSE3, it appears now that SSE3 may be a hardware requirement (e.g., the OS X hackers are working extra to try to get 10.4.4 for Intel to actually run on any SSE2 machine).

Hopefully sometime this summer Apple will be able to hit the $499 price point again, after the Celeron M 4XX parts are released. I am cautiously optimistic.

[melgross]

I'm seeing too much kvetching over nothing.

We've already gone over this on the older thread.

Intel chips cost more. Get over that. Apple also added to the machine in other ways.

While Apple disappointed investors today, it wasn't because of these machines. It was because they didn't announce a Movie download service like so many were expecting. The market is also down for other reasons, and that didn't help either.

Apple is positioning this for future services, you should be able to see that.

With the larger HD's, GB Ethernet, extra USB 2 ports 5.1 digital sound in and out, and most importantly, with a 1.5GHz cpu Solo that can handle 720p, and 1.67GHz Core Duo, that can handle 1080i and p, Apple is getting ready for future services.

A number of us said to watch for IG from Apple. The 950 will do all that is necessary from this machine. For home theater, a 3D powerhouse is not required. This will do just fine. It will handle all of the various Quartz technologies that Apple has planned, as well as those from MS in Vista.

Mini's were never much a gameplayers machine, and few Mac users are much interested in serious gameplaying either.

[bitemymac]

Originally posted by Aurora
Cheapo,last in class garbage graphics are just that, why did Apple even bother? let Apple know how they screwed up yet again by crippling this machine with a 99 cent graphic chip by Intel. Apple you are a mess.

yup.....

What's the point of having core duo with 99 cent graphic chip?... Wonder how it handles core image/expose at 1080p. Well, atleast 99 cent bought you shader 2.0 which performs as good as not having one. I'm definately not ready for this iMac.

[Ireland]

It's only Febuary!

Apple is just getting warmed up, and it's going to be one hell of a big year!

You people are too hard to please, give apple a chance!

Roll on April 1st!

p.s. I love, love, love the Hi-FI!

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally posted by aegisdesign
Wrong. Intel's integrated graphics was supposedly in 47% of all PC's shipped last year. Gaming is a very small proportion of the market.

It does suck somewhat that they upped the price of entry. In the UK, the cheapest G4 1.25Ghz model was available for £279. The cheapest Core Solo is £449. The Core Duo Mini though makes the iMac look like a bargain.

They do however leave themselves room to slot in a Celeron M 4xx model at about $100 less when Intel start shipping that chip. And don't say they won't do it. People were saying yesterday "No Integrated Graphics".

Nice quote. 47%? Of those 47% what areas were they targeted?

Enterprise Office User
HP Pavillion entry level PC
Gateway entry level PC
Dell entry level PC

All systems for those targeted to do word processing, spreadsheets, none graphics intensive work.

Now how many of those higher end systems, > $500 do you see with these chipsets?

From HP's web site:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...computer_store

This ugly machine allows you to upgrade their Video option from the on-board to :

Choices:
Integrated Intel(R) Graphics Accelerator,no TV-Out
NVIDIA GeForce 6200se
256MB DDR ATI Radeon X1300 Pro, TV-Out and DVI

Those who thought they'd pick up an inexpensive system to do some distributed compiles and whatnot, or be able to test app performance on Apple's lowest end system will buy one.

The general consumer will still pass and go for a cheap HP with a monitor, all the delayed rebates and the cheap construction.

This "bookshelf" computer can't decide what it wants to be and Apple is not completely ready to reveal its strategy either.

[1984]

Apple's own page describing the graphics of the former PowerPC based Mac mini..

"Go ahead, just try to play Halo on a budget PC. Most say they’re good for 2D games only. That’s because an “integrated Intel graphics” chip steals power from the CPU and siphons off memory from system-level RAM. You’d have to buy an extra card to get the graphics performance of Mac mini, and some cheaper PCs don’t even have an open slot to let you add one."

[rminkler]

I don't understand all the whining about the integrated graphics. This is not a high powered machine - the intigrated graphics will be more than enough for core graphics functionality (something that can't be said for the 9200 in the G4 Mac Mini).

Somebody mentioned that with the intigrated graphics the Mini won't be able to playback HD video, and that's rediculous. The first Mac to use the video card to decode HD video streams (out of the box, there may have been PCI cards that did this) is the iMac core duo - all those G5s have been doing it strictly on the CPU, and guess what - the Core Duo can handle this no problem.

It's not a gaming machine, but for 99% of users it will be fine. Does your email download slower via intigrated graphics? Does office bog down? Maybe this isn't the mac for the mac enthusiast, but wake up people - it's a fine machine.

[edited for spelling]

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally posted by Ireland
It's only Febuary!

Apple is just getting warmed up, and it's going to be one hell of a big year!

You people are too hard to please, give apple a chance!

Roll on April 1st!

p.s. I love, love, love the Hi-FI!

Since I don't own an iPod, I'll rather just buy the BOSE Acoustimass home system equivalent.

I don't walk around the town with my iPodman and I don't go to the gym : I workout at home, do yoga and turn on the home system.

For me the reasonable entry footprint for this Hi-Fi is $600.

I'll pass.

I have no doubt it will sell well. My stock thanks everyone who wants to buy it.

[hmurchison]

Originally posted by alberto
I was waiting to buy a new mac mini, I really was but the integrated video card killed me. I would never buy one of these. My only hope that they will not make the same mistakes with the "low end" iBooks

May as well save you the trouble. The next "ibook" will indeed have integrated graphics. That is the "standard" for PC notebooks at the sub $1499 pricepoint.

Melgross excellent points. The Mac mini is on a nice trajectory. I figure in two years it'll have fast dual or quad cores and UDI connections.

What's the point of having core duo with 99 cent graphic chip?...

It's obvious to anyone with a brain. A fast majority of your computing task are limited by processing cycles and not graphics capability. Sorry to state the obvious but I hate when good Mac people jettison common sense logic.

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally posted by rminkler
I don't understand all the whining about the integrated graphics. This is not a high powered machine - the intigrated graphics will be more than enough for core graphics functionality (something that can't be said for the 9200 in the G4 Mac Mini).

Somebody mentioned that with the intigrated graphics the Mini won't be able to playback HD video, and that's rediculous. The first Mac to use the video card to decode HD video streams (out of the box, there may have been PCI cards that did this) is the iMac core duo - all those G5s have been doing it strictly on the CPU, and guess what - the Core Duo can handle this no problem.

It's not a gaming machine, but 99% or users it will be fine. Does your email download slower via intigrated graphics? Does office bog down? Maybe this isn't the mac for the mac enthusiast, but wake up people - it's a fine machine.

No. What that is saying is the 64 MB is the minimum to active Core Imaging. It doesn't go beyond mentioning the abyssmal performance you'll get having it on.

The chipset also doesn't support OpenGL 2. When Core Imaging/Core Graphics with Quartz 2D Extreme are on, they will be working with OpenGL 2 requirements.

This system will have it off by default.

[aegisdesign]

Originally posted by G_Warren
5400rpm drives, more USB and an audio input - all of my thoguhts on my mini have been addressed. I'll hold out til 10.5 at the end of the year and update my mini then, so hopefully rev B intel will be out with slightly better specs still. Anyone think the base model is missing? Will we see a new addition to the line soon?

Actually, the old model later on had 5400rpm drives too.