Digital file management firm points to 1TB Mac Mini refresh

[AppleInsider]

A press release from a third party seems to indicate that Apple will refresh its Mac Mini line tomorrow with hard drive options as large as 1 terabyte.

SeeFile Software announced a new version of its easy digital media asset management system in a press release at Macworld.** Customers can buy the SeeFile server software together with a new Mac mini directly from SeeFile, according to the firm.

"Complete bundled server systems including a Mac mini server with 1 terabyte of storage are available," the release says.* Since Mac minis are presently only available with up to 160 gigabyte hard drives, the announcement is fueling speculation of a Mac mini product announcement at tomorrow's Macworld keynote.

In a report published in October, AppleInsider cited insiders*who said the new Mac minis would likely offer options for multiple hard drives, more RAM, and the new Mini DisplayPort. *Other rumored changes to the Mac mini are expected to include a NVIDIA chipset, a mini DVI port to supplement the Mini DisplayPort, a FireWire 800 port, and a fifth USB port.

The Mac mini was last refreshed in August 2007. Of course, there's also the possibility that SeeFile's release pertains to an after market solution by which the firm is modifying Mac minis themselves.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[emulator]

1 TB HDs are around $100 these days. let's start to tip how much the apple surcharge will be. my bet would be $300.

[emig647]

Unless it is true they are offering multiple 2.5" drives... there are 500gb 2.5" drives now. 2 would make 1tb.

[camroidv27]

Originally Posted by emulator

1 TB HDs are around $100 these days. let's start to tip how much the apple surcharge will be. my bet would be $300.

With a 1TB hard drive, can that possibly mean that they are switching to a 3.5in drive? Finally? That would be a nice thing to see.
If not, then does that mean we have two 500gb laptop drives under a RAID array?

And yes, we'll pay a pretty price for our Terabyte! If I were a customer who didn't care about warranty, I'd purchase one without the TB drive and install one later.

"Can I offer you 512killobytes for only one kilodollar?"

[mdriftmeyer]

Originally Posted by emig647

Unless it is true they are offering multiple 2.5" drives... there are 500gb 2.5" drives now. 2 would make 1tb.

Nope. This rings in a new case volume to allow for a standard 3.5" drive.

[GavinScrimgeour]

Cannot wait!

I have been waiting ages for this bad boy to get redesigned. It's a safe bet that the mac mini will mirror the new macbook specification - which is apparently fantastic!!!!

My only hope is it will be user upgradeable without the need for a butchering set of putty knifes and a sober, steady hand!

[FuturePastNow]

Originally Posted by emig647

Unless it is true they are offering multiple 2.5" drives... there are 500gb 2.5" drives now. 2 would make 1tb.

Well that was the rumor, an option to replace the optical drive with a second hard drive. 500x2=1000

[Ireland]

meh..

[krispie]

Is the picture in the AI article from the Press Release?

(Edit - to answer my own question: It appears not - so we're still open to casing changes)

[bloodymatzohball]

I think this is completely false. I really don't think Apple would put a 1TB Hard-drive in its cheapest machine first. I think that will be the last machine to receive such an upgrade.

[pmjoe]

Call me a continued skeptic on the replacing the optical drive with a second 2.5" hard drive rumors. They just aren't even the same size. Sure, you could have an adaptor to fit it in, but it sounds like a pain in the rear. Some people would want to DIY, so Apple would have to sell the adaptor, the cables inside would have to reach, etc.

I also just don't see Jobs willing to sell a Mac with a CD/DVD drive slot that opens to where a hard drive is installed. He's far to obsessed with that kind of stuff. So, unless Apple plans to sell two different cases, I don't see it happening.

Here's to hoping it takes a 3.5" drive.

[Guartho]

Originally Posted by krispie

Is the picture in the AI article from the Press Release?

(Edit - to answer my own question: It appears not - so we're still open to casing changes)

What picture? I want to see the picture. Pretty please?

[iVlad]

Originally Posted by emulator

1 TB HDs are around $100 these days. let's start to tip how much the apple surcharge will be. my bet would be $300.

$100???? Where???? I really need one right now for backup....where?

[pmjoe]

Is this the press release?
http://www.seefile.com/news.html
I don't see anywhere in there that one should infer it's a 1TB internal drive.

[Guartho]

Originally Posted by iVlad

$100???? Where???? I really need one right now for backup....where?

I just ordered a 1TB Samsung drive from NewEgg for $99. I think Seagate and Western Digitals were also available within $10.

[shanmugam]

Originally Posted by iVlad

$100???? Where???? I really need one right now for backup....where?

here ...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...20and%20higher

[mcarling]

I don't think Apple would put a 3.5" hard drive in a Mini because of heat dissipation issues.

[sflocal]

Originally Posted by emulator

1 TB HDs are around $100 these days. let's start to tip how much the apple surcharge will be. my bet would be $300.

Aren't the 1TB drives used considered "Server-class" vs. the "Consumer-class"?

We've been purchasing 1TB drives for our servers and the price differences between the two types can be up to a couple hundred dollars. The differentiation between the two is that the server-class models have a higher MTBF rating and more-importantly, include additional anti-vibration technology so that the drive doesn't shake around which would cause a failure. For servers where drives are stacked right against each other, the vibration alone makes a big difference.

Apple does charge more per unit (like the RAM) but before they are crucified by the folks here, best to know what kind of drives they will be putting in. Lots of people use them for media centers where the drives are always running (hotter) and could take more of a beating than if it were just used as a desktop computer.

[emig647]

Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer

Nope. This rings in a new case volume to allow for a standard 3.5" drive.

Then why wouldn't they offer 1.5TB?

[1984]

It's really starting to sound like rumors for two different products are getting confused, one for the new Mac mini and one for the Home Media Server.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by pmjoe

Call me a continued skeptic on the replacing the optical drive with a second 2.5" hard drive rumors. They just aren't even the same size. Sure, you could have an adaptor to fit it in, but it sounds like a pain in the rear. Some people would want to DIY, so Apple would have to sell the adaptor, the cables inside would have to reach, etc.

I also just don't see Jobs willing to sell a Mac with a CD/DVD drive slot that opens to where a hard drive is installed. He's far to obsessed with that kind of stuff. So, unless Apple plans to sell two different cases, I don't see it happening.

Well, the thicknesses of both kinds of drives are the same, the connectors are different. I even have a Compaq notebook that had a Multibay where you could insert a hard drive or battery in place of the optical drive. I've toyed with the idea of getting an MCE Optibay, but it's a bit of a luxury and I still do use the optical drive on the go.

Originally Posted by iVlad

$100???? Where???? I really need one right now for backup....where?

Also, Best Buy has Seagate 1TB drives on sale for $109 too, if you can't wait for shipping. The cost of 1TB drives really dropped in the past couple months.

[1984]

Originally Posted by pmjoe

Is this the press release?
http://www.seefile.com/news.html
I don't see anywhere in there that one should infer it's a 1TB internal drive.

You are correct. I think AppleInsider is jumping the gun here.

"Complete bundled server systems including a Mac mini server with 1 terabyte of storage are available starting at $1,495."

They are talking about server bundles (their own) including a Mac mini server with 1TB. That could mean anything. There are external drives the same size and shape as the Mac mini.

[sCreeD]

Hm. A 1TB Mac mini might add credence to rumors of an AppleTV service or bootable partition.

[Marvin]

I think the 2 x 500GB 2.5" drives makes more sense. With the Mini used as a server, a RAID setup with 2 drives is better.

The slot is an issue on the current design but we don't know how it's going to look as it's been redesigned.

Aesthetically, having a slot when there's a hard drive in there doesn't matter and there could easily be a hole filler provided instead of a separate cover.

The drives will both be SATA so easily switched around. The size difference can be an issue but you can screw a hard drive to one side of a CD drive unit - anywhere really if the unit is designed to take one.

Who knows, they might even be able to fit two drives and an optical drive in there. Two 2.5" drives are actually just smaller than the width of the Mini optical drive.

3.5" is too noisy and we're moving to SSD. Check out OCZ's new Vertex SSD. 60GB with cache = £200.

[shanmugam]

how reliable are the SSD drives?

with apple orders quantity they can go SSD all the way ... but reliability?

[shanmugam]

Originally Posted by emig647

Then why wouldn't they offer 1.5TB?

i think seagate is the only mfr who has 3.5" 1.5 TB and reading the reviews it is not great, so 1.5Tb may not be option either in mac mini or iMac ...

[emig647]

Originally Posted by Marvin

3.5" is too noisy and we're moving to SSD. Check out OCZ's new Vertex SSD. 60GB with cache = £200.

I don't know what the last 3.5" drive you used was, but the current ones are anything but noisy. I have 4 1 terabyte Seagate drives in my server (water cooled, no fans). You can't hear a sound. I remember I had a 40gb drive that was noisy as hell. Spin up was loud, reading was loud. It lasted about a week before I threw it out.

[F1Turbo]

Originally Posted by bloodymatzohball

I think this is completely false. I really don't think Apple would put a 1TB Hard-drive in its cheapest machine first. I think that will be the last machine to receive such an upgrade.

What? You can already get a 1TB drive in an iMac, and 4TB (4 x 1TB) in Mac Pro.

[emig647]

Originally Posted by shanmugam

i think seagate is the only mfr who has 3.5" 1.5 TB and reading the reviews it is not great, so 1.5Tb may not be option either in mac mini or iMac ...

Interesting, I wasn't aware of this. I just read some pretty negative things

[OllieWallieWhiskers]

Originally Posted by mcarling

I don't think Apple would put a 3.5" hard drive in a Mini because of heat dissipation issues.

na, not with the nvidia chipsets.

[franksargent]

Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer

Nope. This rings in a new case volume to allow for a standard 3.5" drive.

Ah, no.

Seagate currently has, and is selling a 1.5 TB 3.5" HD.

So if 3.5"HD's were an option than 1.5 TB would also be a option.

It's clear that "with up to 1 TB" says nothing about 2.5" or 3.5" HD's.

And as others have already mentioned two 2.5" 500 GB = 1TB, and these are commonly available today.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by 1984

You are correct. I think AppleInsider is jumping the gun here.

"Complete bundled server systems including a Mac mini server with 1 terabyte of storage are available starting at $1,495."

They are talking about server bundles (their own) including a Mac mini server with 1TB. That could mean anything. There are external drives the same size and shape as the Mac mini.

A mini and some variation of the mini stack can easily satisfy what they are saying.

[franksargent]

Originally Posted by mcarling

I don't think Apple would put a 3.5" hard drive in a Mini because of heat dissipation issues.

Exactly.

Non-dimensional thickness of a 2.5" HD is ~40% of a 3.5" HD, meaning it has nearly 2.5 times the surface area in which to dissipate waste heat energy.

Also, 2.5" HD use only ~50% the energy as a similarly sized 3.5" HD.

Running a 2.5" 5,400 RPM 250 GB HD full out, will increase it's temperature by only ~10F (in an air cooled case), from ~85F to ~95F.

[Wiggin]

pmjoe, 1984, and JeffDM have it right. Folks are reading way too much into this. As I posted on another message board nearly two hours ago about this press release, there is NOTHING here that says Apple is going to offer a 1 TB option for the mini. The press release says that this vendor is going to offer a turn-key, packaged solution that would include a mini and up to 1 TB of storage. This could be nothing more than a stock mini with an external 1 TB hard drive.

More likely, this is simply a confirmation of the rumor that the optical drive will be connected via SATA instead of PATA, and nothing more. This would allow the company to open up a mini, replace the stock 160 GB drive (or whatever it ends up with) and the optical drive with two 500 GB, 2.5" SATA had drives. Then they would install their server software, add a hefty mark-up to the price and resell it to their customers.

The interesting question then becomes, how much heat does a 2.5" hard drive generate compared to an optical drive, and what does that do to the mini's thermal cooling? I guess you can always get more airflow through the now-open optical drive slot!

[minderbinder]

Let's hope this is a brand new case design and they moved to 3.5 drives

Originally Posted by Marvin

3.5" is too noisy and we're moving to SSD. Check out OCZ's new Vertex SSD. 60GB with cache = £200.

They are talking about 1TB and you are talking about cutting drive space in HALF? Or a solution that would cost what, ten times as much for a big drive? Congrats, worst suggestion ever.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by franksargent

Exactly.

Non-dimensional thickness of a 2.5" HS is ~40% of a 3.5" HD, meaning it has nearly 2.5 times the surface area in which to dissipate waste heat energy.

Also, 2.5" HD use only ~50% the energy as a similarly sized 3.5" HD.

The smaller drives are even better than that on power. It's more like a notebook hard drive consumes 20-25% the power of a typical desktop hard drive. Notebook hard drives generally max at about 2-2.5 watts, desktop hard drives are in the range of 10 watts. The price of the trade-off still involves a higher cost per capacity, the loss of data rate and reduced capacity.

[franksargent]

Originally Posted by JeffDM

The price of the trade-off still involves a higher cost per capacity, the loss of data rate and reduced capacity.

True, as of today.

But the 2.5"spec can have taller drives than the 9.5 mm drives currently offered, meaning more height for an additional platter (or two), although these would not fit into most current laptops, designed specifically for 9.5 mm height 2.5" HD's.

[JeffDM]

Originally Posted by Marvin

3.5" is too noisy and we're moving to SSD. Check out OCZ's new Vertex SSD. 60GB with cache = £200.

Damn, 3.5" drives being too noisy? Are you sure they aren't defective drives?

[TBell]

That press release doesn't suggest Apple will offer drives that large. Third party companies all the time buy Apple products, modify them, and offer them to resale to you. Apple's other Steve will be at Macworld tomorrow representing such a company. This could very well be such a product.

Now when Apple tomorrow doesn't announce this product, please be sure to thank Appleinsider for your unrealistic expectations.

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

A press release from a third party seems to indicate that Apple will refresh its Mac Mini line tomorrow with hard drive options as large as 1 terabyte.

SeeFile Software announced a new version of its easy digital media asset management system in a press release at Macworld.** Customers can buy the SeeFile server software together with a new Mac mini directly from SeeFile, according to the firm.

"Complete bundled server systems including a Mac mini server with 1 terabyte of storage are available," the release says.* Since Mac minis are presently only available with up to 160 gigabyte hard drives, the announcement is fueling speculation of a Mac mini product announcement at tomorrow's Macworld keynote.

In a report published in October, AppleInsider cited insiders*who said the new Mac minis would likely offer options for multiple hard drives, more RAM, and the new Mini DisplayPort. *Other rumored changes to the Mac mini are expected to include a NVIDIA chipset, a mini DVI port to supplement the Mini DisplayPort, a FireWire 800 port, and a fifth USB port.

The Mac mini was last refreshed in August 2007. Of course, there's also the possibility that SeeFile's release pertains to an after market solution by which the firm is modifying Mac minis themselves.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[rpsx]

i wish people (especially apple!) would stop thinking of the mini as the lowest end machine. it currently occupies that slot by default of its current prices. but, really, i wouldn't mind a machine that is double the height of the current mini, sports a decent hard drive (full size), has a single quad core chip, and can handle up to 4gb of ram (maybe 8), and has the nice nvidia graphics of the macbook pro. i would gladly pay $999 for this.

the macpro is too expensive, and it offers expandability i will never ever use. imacs have monitors built in, while i already have a monitor i am not about to throw away. the macbooks are not quite powerful enough for my full time all day every day use. doesnt anyone else see the gaping hole between the mac mini and the mac pro? hope so... tomorrow we will see!

that said, maybe this 1tb thing is just an external drive?