For the kind of money they'll be asking for it, I'd rather stick with my Drobo.
I think is info is a no-brainer. Of course we're going to see a Mini with the new display port. That's like saying it will come with 10.5.6 pre-installed.
It should have full DP with a Full DP to mini port cable + a DP to DVI cable shipping with the system.
Really it is the machine most in need of an update and the economic conditions are ripe. I don't know about the linked article though as there where several things there that didn't make sense at least economically.
For example I have a hard time believing they will be machining the chassis out of Aluminum. It is to expensive for Apples lowest cost Mac. That doesn't mean it won't be Aluminum just that die casting or extrusions would be a lot cheaper.
As for what the video card might be I'm thinking Apples investment with Nvidia tilts the likely hood towards them as a supplier. The question is which Nvidia chipset. I'm going out on a limb here but it is likely a low power chip we don't know about yet. Something like a 9400M with a few more execution units. The idea is to maintain low power but have slightly better performance. The trick here is balance as Apple loves to market Minis low power nature and that nature is becoming more and more important to the consumer.
For storage I wouldn't be surprised if one variant doesn't go solid state. Ideally what Apple needs to do is to get rid of legacy form factor and interface. By this I mean storage on a PCI Express card or daughter card. This would give Apple a lot of flexibility with respect to the new computers housing. That is what I'd like to see what we are likely to get is slots for two notebook drives. Hopefully not the 1.8 drives.
The processor is a bit of a mystery right now. As interesting as Atom is it is too much of a step backwards. This especially so when Apple is about to transition Mac OS to 64bits. The big issue is what Intel will have ready, ideally the new Mini would start out as an i7 machine. This would make the basic design viable for another two to three years.
FireWire is an interesting question. Frankly there is a lot of new hardware out there using it. The problem is it is not the type of hardware that drives sales agressively. So I think it will be dead in the base machine.
The key to the Firewire issue is expandability. Thus I expect at least one expansion slot. The Apple twist on this will be that the slot is for compact cards like would be used in laptops or industrial cards.
I'm still thinking they will go with a MagSafe connector for power and unbundle the power supply. The MagSafe connector will have a built in mechanical retaining supplement. To address fears about Magsafe Apple will supply the new Mini with a super capacitor to allow a few minutes of time for a save and orderly shut down. Magsafe just offers a lot of flexibility in meeting the users power requirements.
- It will be FW 800 or none at all (that should piss some people right off -sorry).
- 4Gb accessible ram,
- some kind of unibody - it's not as difficult do as a notebook.
- Very green to keep the tree huggers happy
- Mini display port of course and pay $20-30 for DVI/HDMI adaptor.
- Possibly i7
You know if they included the mouse and keyboard in the price, they'd have more switchers. I reckon people add up the price and say to themselves I'll go with an iMac instead. Clever and evil thoses marketing people at Apple.
- It will be FW 800 or none at all (that should piss some people right off -sorry).
- 4Gb accessible ram,
- some kind of unibody - it's not as difficult do as a notebook.
- Very green to keep the tree huggers happy
- Mini display port of course and pay $20-30 for DVI/HDMI adaptor.
- Possibly i7
You know if they included the mouse and keyboard in the price, they'd have more switchers. I reckon people add up the price and say to themselves I'll go with an iMac instead. Clever and evil thoses marketing people at Apple.
Gavin
This seems right on the money to me. Since Mini's are most commonly used as control machines, back-up servers, and media servers, it only makes sense that if they have FW it will be 800 despite the Mini is not a "Pro" machine. The guys at Apple aren't stupid; FW400 is on the way out, and for a Mini to work as a media or backup server, it simply has to have FireWire.
About the processor though, I wouldn't be surprised if it uses the same custom chip Intel made for the MacBook Air. It's physically smaller, uses less power, and still performs well. In fact I'd be surprised if they didn't use at least the same MB as the MacBook.
It would be nice if they make them a little larger and thinner too, as other here have suggested so their form factor matches the air port and time capsule and Apple TV forms. That would be great because then they might put a 3.5" drive in it so the storage could be made quite good.
Lastly, I'd love to see the Apple TV discontinued because the Mini will have its capabilities expanded and incorporate the ATV features and software. If it did that, I'd be one of the first people in line to buy one.
1) Intel's new i7 is more than just new processors, it's a new architecture, one specifically designed to get the most performance out of each core and each thread. Since the Mac mini has never been about performance, it's doubtful the mini will see an i7 processor this time around - prolly just slightly faster Core 2s. Still, since the i7 architecture is Intel's future for the next several years, and Apple will want to drop in i7s easy later on, expect the underlying motherboard to be i7 right off the bat. One good thing: the i7 scales easily from dual-core to quad and beyond, so maybe we'll finally see an $899-999 enthusiast Mac mini in Quad-core!
2) Regarding the SuperDrive: I know most power users have moved past discs to pure digital multimedia content, but that's not yet the case for the rest of us. Many of us still use DVDs on a regular basis (Netflix, anyone?) and many more are not yet ready to give up the comfort of real, tangible media. A few of us even still use VHS - years of trusty analog and not a hint of DRM!
I think it will be like an Dual Core Atom based with MPC Mini,
It will be cheap , affordable, and quite fast.....
After All , Grand Central and OpenCL would speed things up with MCP and Atom
Going from a ~2Ghz Core Duo to an Atom? No way.. That is such an over-hyped weak processor. Even an old low-power Pentium-M blows that thing away.
And what are you referring to with "MCP" and "MPC"? Are you talking about the nVidia chipset branding of "Media communications processor"? Regardless, I'm sure it will have the same 1-chip chipset that the Macbook uses.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Expat
All I have to say is that they better not kill the firewire port on it.
Indeed!
Quote:
Originally Posted by wheelhot
If the optical disk is removed, den can put 2 TB HDD!! That would be like a backup machine.
The Mini uses 2.5" HDDs which are up to 500GB I believe. Also there are now 1500GB 3.5" drives now...
Quote:
Originally Posted by hmurchison
I think the ATV should move to ARM and PowerVR processing. It's only function is to playback media content. It should be based as closely around SoC as possible.
Agreed. Right now, the AppleTV is basically just using very outdated laptop components. I believe it has an old-school 1.0ghz Intel Celeron-M and an low-power Geforce Go 7300 mobile card. Considering that the interface isn't real graphics or processor intensive, and the video only goes to 720P, A modern ARM SoC (say, a Cortex-A8 core) from TI, Qualcomm, or Samsung could run this thing quite easily.
Not a chance. The only Nehalem chips out right now are the high-end (high power) desktop "Bloomfield" chips with Quickpath that use the X58 chipset. The wholesale cost of the cheapest i7 and motherboard together would probably be close to $500 alone! The mini will most likely continue to use mobile chips for their low power dissipation, and quad-core laptop "Clarksfield" chips won't be out until Q3 2009. The only dual-core Nehalem chips, both mobile and desktop, are the ones with graphics cores integrated onto the CPU package and both have been delayed until 2010.
As for what the video card might be I'm thinking Apples investment with Nvidia tilts the likely hood towards them as a supplier. The question is which Nvidia chipset. I'm going out on a limb here but it is likely a low power chip we don't know about yet. Something like a 9400M with a few more execution units. The idea is to maintain low power but have slightly better performance. The trick here is balance as Apple loves to market Minis low power nature and that nature is becoming more and more important to the consumer.
For storage I wouldn't be surprised if one variant doesn't go solid state. Ideally what Apple needs to do is to get rid of legacy form factor and interface. By this I mean storage on a PCI Express card or daughter card. This would give Apple a lot of flexibility with respect to the new computers housing. That is what I'd like to see what we are likely to get is slots for two notebook drives. Hopefully not the 1.8 drives.
The processor is a bit of a mystery right now. As interesting as Atom is it is too much of a step backwards. This especially so when Apple is about to transition Mac OS to 64bits. The big issue is what Intel will have ready, ideally the new Mini would start out as an i7 machine. This would make the basic design viable for another two to three years.
FireWire is an interesting question. Frankly there is a lot of new hardware out there using it. The problem is it is not the type of hardware that drives sales agressively. So I think it will be dead in the base machine.
The key to the Firewire issue is expandability. Thus I expect at least one expansion slot. The Apple twist on this will be that the slot is for compact cards like would be used in laptops or industrial cards.
I'm still thinking they will go with a MagSafe connector for power and unbundle the power supply. The MagSafe connector will have a built in mechanical retaining supplement. To address fears about Magsafe Apple will supply the new Mini with a super capacitor to allow a few minutes of time for a save and orderly shut down. Magsafe just offers a lot of flexibility in meeting the users power requirements.
Dave
- Most likely Apple will simply use the Macbook's single-chip nVidia 9400 chipset in the Mini, as they love to share parts to reduce costs. Also, this is a good chipset, and besides nVidia not (publicly) having anything better than the 9400 for an integrated graphics chipset, the Mini never had better graphics than the Macbook in the past so I don't see why they would start that now.
- SSD in a budget computer? First of all, given the price of the Mini, it certainly couldn't be a decent one. Second, the primary benefits of an SSD apply to laptops (low power, durability) and servers (very high random read speed) -- there really wouldn't be a compelling advantage to having one in a budget desktop.
My guess is they will simply continue to use a conventional 2.5" laptop harddrive, which is the cheapest and most sensical solution.
- As I mentioned above, an Intel Atom is a major step back from *any* Core (2) Duo.. even an old ultra-low-voltage Pentium M can blow it away. There is simply no compelling reason to use one, other than for Apple to increase their margins.. and I don't believe even they are that cynical.
- i7/Nehalem will also never happen, for the reasons I outlined above. A Nehalem fit for use in a Mini (cheap, low-power, and integrated graphics) won't happen for at LEAST another 12 months from now.
- Including an expresscard slot is the best thing they could do for the Mini, even a current generation expresscard 1.0. This expansion slot would allow easy expandability in the future for Firewire 800/3200, USB 3.0, eSATA, Digital TV tuners, etc. This would be especially relevant if they decided to remove the standard firewire port.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DOSbox-gamer
1) Intel's new i7 is more than just new processors, it's a new architecture, one specifically designed to get the most performance out of each core and each thread. Since the Mac mini has never been about performance, it's doubtful the mini will see an i7 processor this time around - prolly just slightly faster Core 2s. Still, since the i7 architecture is Intel's future for the next several years, and Apple will want to drop in i7s easy later on, expect the underlying motherboard to be i7 right off the bat. One good thing: the i7 scales easily from dual-core to quad and beyond, so maybe we'll finally see an $899-999 enthusiast Mac mini in Quad-core!
Well technically Nehalem/i7 was really about increasing the performance of everything BUT the processor core. The processor core itself has been enhanced with hyper-threading, but it's really not much different than the core from Core 2. It is everything else in the platform that has been changed. The memory controller has been moved onto the processor die, all the cores are on a single die (like AMD K10), there is a new 3-level caching system, and the ancient FSB has been replaced with Quickpath.
the Mini, as I mentioned above, it will not see a Nehalem/i7 CPU for some time. The first mobile CPUs (that is, the first CPUs cool enough for a Mini) are quad-core and should be out Q3 2009. Sometime after that, perhaps in 2010, the dual-core graphics-core-on-the-CPU version will be out.
One more thing, because the Nehalem platform is very different than Core 2 it uses a completely different socket. Therefore, there is now way for a new Core 2 Mini to be able to have future drop-in capability for Nehalem.
Not a chance. The only Nehalem chips out right now are the high-end (high power) desktop "Bloomfield" chips with Quickpath that use the X58 chipset. The wholesale cost of the cheapest i7 and motherboard together would probably be close to $500 alone! The mini will most likely continue to use mobile chips for their low power dissipation, and quad-core laptop "Clarksfield" chips won't be out until Q3 2009. The only dual-core Nehalem chips, both mobile and desktop, are the ones with graphics cores integrated onto the CPU package and both have been delayed until 2010.
- Most likely Apple will simply use the Macbook's single-chip nVidia 9400 chipset in the Mini, as they love to share parts to reduce costs. Also, this is a good chipset, and besides nVidia not (publicly) having anything better than the 9400 for an integrated graphics chipset, the Mini never had better graphics than the Macbook in the past so I don't see why they would start that now.
- SSD in a budget computer? First of all, given the price of the Mini, it certainly couldn't be a decent one. Second, the primary benefits of an SSD apply to laptops (low power, durability) and servers (very high random read speed) -- there really wouldn't be a compelling advantage to having one in a budget desktop.
My guess is they will simply continue to use a conventional 2.5" laptop harddrive, which is the cheapest and most sensical solution.
- As I mentioned above, an Intel Atom is a major step back from *any* Core (2) Duo.. even an old ultra-low-voltage Pentium M can blow it away. There is simply no compelling reason to use one, other than for Apple to increase their margins.. and I don't believe even they are that cynical.
- i7/Nehalem will also never happen, for the reasons I outlined above. A Nehalem fit for use in a Mini (cheap, low-power, and integrated graphics) won't happen for at LEAST another 12 months from now.
- Including an expresscard slot is the best thing they could do for the Mini, even a current generation expresscard 1.0. This expansion slot would allow easy expandability in the future for Firewire 800/3200, USB 3.0, eSATA, Digital TV tuners, etc. This would be especially relevant if they decided to remove the standard firewire port.
Well technically Nehalem/i7 was really about increasing the performance of everything BUT the processor core. The processor core itself has been enhanced with hyper-threading, but it's really not much different than the core from Core 2. It is everything else in the platform that has been changed. The memory controller has been moved onto the processor die, all the cores are on a single die (like AMD K10), there is a new 3-level caching system, and the ancient FSB has been replaced with Quickpath.
the Mini, as I mentioned above, it will not see a Nehalem/i7 CPU for some time. The first mobile CPUs (that is, the first CPUs cool enough for a Mini) are quad-core and should be out Q3 2009. Sometime after that, perhaps in 2010, the dual-core graphics-core-on-the-CPU version will be out.
One more thing, because the Nehalem platform is very different than Core 2 it uses a completely different socket. Therefore, there is now way for a new Core 2 Mini to be able to have future drop-in capability for Nehalem.
Apple will not add an expresscard slot to the mini. If expanding the mini was easy, many more people would try to go that route versus buying the ready-to-expand Mac Pro. But, that would cut into Apple's sales. Apple is very good about NOT making its systems easy to upgrade, for that very reason. Look what happened with the unibody MacBook: Apple realised most people would finally be happy with just the MacBook, so they jettisoned a key expansion piece: the FireWire port. Now, if you want FireWire (aka expansion), Apple can argue that you'd be happier with (the greater expandability of) a MacBook Pro.
As to the fate of FireWire, that's up to the mini's biggest customers, Macminicolo and such. I'd want to know from them (the Mac mini-using server farms and kiosk operators): how much of a need do you have for the FireWire port? And, what's the biggest change you want in the new mini?
Yeah, FW in normal consumer eyes is pointless since everything they see around them is USB. For them it makes no different if a notebook has FW or not.
1. $499 mini- 2Ghz 800fsb Core2 Duo,1GB RAM (512MB x2) 80 GB hard drive, Nvidia mobo with 9400m graphics, GigE, Wifi, Bluetooth. No Superdrive. Mini-DisplayPort
2. $699 mini - 2.2 Ghz 1066 Core2 Duo, 2 GB RAM(1GB x2) 160 GB, Nvidia mobo with 9400m graphics, GigE, Wifi, Bluetooth and Superdrive. Mini-DisplayPort
There we go. The $499 mini becomes the perfect computer for secondary or tertiary needs or the perfect children's computer. I rarely us my DVD Burner and in a home with networked computers it makes more sense to simply create your video or audio creation and send it to the Apple TV in the living room. Software is easily installed over a network on Macs. It begs the question "why are you trying to sell me the same product over and over?" I don't need 8 DVD burners in my home.
They won't cut the price. If anything, they'll bump the specs and keep $599 as the baseline.
Steve Jobs said "We don't know how to make a $500 computer that's not a piece of junk." Yet the original Mac Mini cost $499 when it was introduced. Did Steve admit that the Mac Mini is a piece of junk?
Comments
For the kind of money they'll be asking for it, I'd rather stick with my Drobo.
I think is info is a no-brainer. Of course we're going to see a Mini with the new display port. That's like saying it will come with 10.5.6 pre-installed.
It should have full DP with a Full DP to mini port cable + a DP to DVI cable shipping with the system.
For example I have a hard time believing they will be machining the chassis out of Aluminum. It is to expensive for Apples lowest cost Mac. That doesn't mean it won't be Aluminum just that die casting or extrusions would be a lot cheaper.
As for what the video card might be I'm thinking Apples investment with Nvidia tilts the likely hood towards them as a supplier. The question is which Nvidia chipset. I'm going out on a limb here but it is likely a low power chip we don't know about yet. Something like a 9400M with a few more execution units. The idea is to maintain low power but have slightly better performance. The trick here is balance as Apple loves to market Minis low power nature and that nature is becoming more and more important to the consumer.
For storage I wouldn't be surprised if one variant doesn't go solid state. Ideally what Apple needs to do is to get rid of legacy form factor and interface. By this I mean storage on a PCI Express card or daughter card. This would give Apple a lot of flexibility with respect to the new computers housing. That is what I'd like to see what we are likely to get is slots for two notebook drives. Hopefully not the 1.8 drives.
The processor is a bit of a mystery right now. As interesting as Atom is it is too much of a step backwards. This especially so when Apple is about to transition Mac OS to 64bits. The big issue is what Intel will have ready, ideally the new Mini would start out as an i7 machine. This would make the basic design viable for another two to three years.
FireWire is an interesting question. Frankly there is a lot of new hardware out there using it. The problem is it is not the type of hardware that drives sales agressively. So I think it will be dead in the base machine.
The key to the Firewire issue is expandability. Thus I expect at least one expansion slot. The Apple twist on this will be that the slot is for compact cards like would be used in laptops or industrial cards.
I'm still thinking they will go with a MagSafe connector for power and unbundle the power supply. The MagSafe connector will have a built in mechanical retaining supplement. To address fears about Magsafe Apple will supply the new Mini with a super capacitor to allow a few minutes of time for a save and orderly shut down. Magsafe just offers a lot of flexibility in meeting the users power requirements.
Dave
- 4Gb accessible ram,
- some kind of unibody - it's not as difficult do as a notebook.
- Very green to keep the tree huggers happy
- Mini display port of course and pay $20-30 for DVI/HDMI adaptor.
- Possibly i7
You know if they included the mouse and keyboard in the price, they'd have more switchers. I reckon people add up the price and say to themselves I'll go with an iMac instead. Clever and evil thoses marketing people at Apple.
Gavin
- It will be FW 800 or none at all (that should piss some people right off -sorry).
- 4Gb accessible ram,
- some kind of unibody - it's not as difficult do as a notebook.
- Very green to keep the tree huggers happy
- Mini display port of course and pay $20-30 for DVI/HDMI adaptor.
- Possibly i7
You know if they included the mouse and keyboard in the price, they'd have more switchers. I reckon people add up the price and say to themselves I'll go with an iMac instead. Clever and evil thoses marketing people at Apple.
Gavin
This seems right on the money to me. Since Mini's are most commonly used as control machines, back-up servers, and media servers, it only makes sense that if they have FW it will be 800 despite the Mini is not a "Pro" machine. The guys at Apple aren't stupid; FW400 is on the way out, and for a Mini to work as a media or backup server, it simply has to have FireWire.
About the processor though, I wouldn't be surprised if it uses the same custom chip Intel made for the MacBook Air. It's physically smaller, uses less power, and still performs well. In fact I'd be surprised if they didn't use at least the same MB as the MacBook.
It would be nice if they make them a little larger and thinner too, as other here have suggested so their form factor matches the air port and time capsule and Apple TV forms. That would be great because then they might put a 3.5" drive in it so the storage could be made quite good.
Lastly, I'd love to see the Apple TV discontinued because the Mini will have its capabilities expanded and incorporate the ATV features and software. If it did that, I'd be one of the first people in line to buy one.
2) Regarding the SuperDrive: I know most power users have moved past discs to pure digital multimedia content, but that's not yet the case for the rest of us. Many of us still use DVDs on a regular basis (Netflix, anyone?) and many more are not yet ready to give up the comfort of real, tangible media. A few of us even still use VHS - years of trusty analog and not a hint of DRM!
I think it will be like an Dual Core Atom based with MPC Mini,
It will be cheap , affordable, and quite fast.....
After All , Grand Central and OpenCL would speed things up with MCP and Atom
Going from a ~2Ghz Core Duo to an Atom? No way.. That is such an over-hyped weak processor. Even an old low-power Pentium-M blows that thing away.
And what are you referring to with "MCP" and "MPC"? Are you talking about the nVidia chipset branding of "Media communications processor"? Regardless, I'm sure it will have the same 1-chip chipset that the Macbook uses.
All I have to say is that they better not kill the firewire port on it.
Indeed!
If the optical disk is removed, den can put 2 TB HDD!! That would be like a backup machine.
The Mini uses 2.5" HDDs which are up to 500GB I believe. Also there are now 1500GB 3.5" drives now...
I think the ATV should move to ARM and PowerVR processing. It's only function is to playback media content. It should be based as closely around SoC as possible.
Agreed. Right now, the AppleTV is basically just using very outdated laptop components. I believe it has an old-school 1.0ghz Intel Celeron-M and an low-power Geforce Go 7300 mobile card. Considering that the interface isn't real graphics or processor intensive, and the video only goes to 720P, A modern ARM SoC (say, a Cortex-A8 core) from TI, Qualcomm, or Samsung could run this thing quite easily.
- Possibly i7
Gavin
Not a chance. The only Nehalem chips out right now are the high-end (high power) desktop "Bloomfield" chips with Quickpath that use the X58 chipset. The wholesale cost of the cheapest i7 and motherboard together would probably be close to $500 alone! The mini will most likely continue to use mobile chips for their low power dissipation, and quad-core laptop "Clarksfield" chips won't be out until Q3 2009. The only dual-core Nehalem chips, both mobile and desktop, are the ones with graphics cores integrated onto the CPU package and both have been delayed until 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_N...roarchitecture)
As for what the video card might be I'm thinking Apples investment with Nvidia tilts the likely hood towards them as a supplier. The question is which Nvidia chipset. I'm going out on a limb here but it is likely a low power chip we don't know about yet. Something like a 9400M with a few more execution units. The idea is to maintain low power but have slightly better performance. The trick here is balance as Apple loves to market Minis low power nature and that nature is becoming more and more important to the consumer.
For storage I wouldn't be surprised if one variant doesn't go solid state. Ideally what Apple needs to do is to get rid of legacy form factor and interface. By this I mean storage on a PCI Express card or daughter card. This would give Apple a lot of flexibility with respect to the new computers housing. That is what I'd like to see what we are likely to get is slots for two notebook drives. Hopefully not the 1.8 drives.
The processor is a bit of a mystery right now. As interesting as Atom is it is too much of a step backwards. This especially so when Apple is about to transition Mac OS to 64bits. The big issue is what Intel will have ready, ideally the new Mini would start out as an i7 machine. This would make the basic design viable for another two to three years.
FireWire is an interesting question. Frankly there is a lot of new hardware out there using it. The problem is it is not the type of hardware that drives sales agressively. So I think it will be dead in the base machine.
The key to the Firewire issue is expandability. Thus I expect at least one expansion slot. The Apple twist on this will be that the slot is for compact cards like would be used in laptops or industrial cards.
I'm still thinking they will go with a MagSafe connector for power and unbundle the power supply. The MagSafe connector will have a built in mechanical retaining supplement. To address fears about Magsafe Apple will supply the new Mini with a super capacitor to allow a few minutes of time for a save and orderly shut down. Magsafe just offers a lot of flexibility in meeting the users power requirements.
Dave
- Most likely Apple will simply use the Macbook's single-chip nVidia 9400 chipset in the Mini, as they love to share parts to reduce costs. Also, this is a good chipset, and besides nVidia not (publicly) having anything better than the 9400 for an integrated graphics chipset, the Mini never had better graphics than the Macbook in the past so I don't see why they would start that now.
- SSD in a budget computer? First of all, given the price of the Mini, it certainly couldn't be a decent one. Second, the primary benefits of an SSD apply to laptops (low power, durability) and servers (very high random read speed) -- there really wouldn't be a compelling advantage to having one in a budget desktop.
My guess is they will simply continue to use a conventional 2.5" laptop harddrive, which is the cheapest and most sensical solution.
- As I mentioned above, an Intel Atom is a major step back from *any* Core (2) Duo.. even an old ultra-low-voltage Pentium M can blow it away. There is simply no compelling reason to use one, other than for Apple to increase their margins.. and I don't believe even they are that cynical.
- i7/Nehalem will also never happen, for the reasons I outlined above. A Nehalem fit for use in a Mini (cheap, low-power, and integrated graphics) won't happen for at LEAST another 12 months from now.
- Including an expresscard slot is the best thing they could do for the Mini, even a current generation expresscard 1.0. This expansion slot would allow easy expandability in the future for Firewire 800/3200, USB 3.0, eSATA, Digital TV tuners, etc. This would be especially relevant if they decided to remove the standard firewire port.
1) Intel's new i7 is more than just new processors, it's a new architecture, one specifically designed to get the most performance out of each core and each thread. Since the Mac mini has never been about performance, it's doubtful the mini will see an i7 processor this time around - prolly just slightly faster Core 2s. Still, since the i7 architecture is Intel's future for the next several years, and Apple will want to drop in i7s easy later on, expect the underlying motherboard to be i7 right off the bat. One good thing: the i7 scales easily from dual-core to quad and beyond, so maybe we'll finally see an $899-999 enthusiast Mac mini in Quad-core!
Well technically Nehalem/i7 was really about increasing the performance of everything BUT the processor core. The processor core itself has been enhanced with hyper-threading, but it's really not much different than the core from Core 2. It is everything else in the platform that has been changed. The memory controller has been moved onto the processor die, all the cores are on a single die (like AMD K10), there is a new 3-level caching system, and the ancient FSB has been replaced with Quickpath.
the Mini, as I mentioned above, it will not see a Nehalem/i7 CPU for some time. The first mobile CPUs (that is, the first CPUs cool enough for a Mini) are quad-core and should be out Q3 2009. Sometime after that, perhaps in 2010, the dual-core graphics-core-on-the-CPU version will be out.
One more thing, because the Nehalem platform is very different than Core 2 it uses a completely different socket. Therefore, there is now way for a new Core 2 Mini to be able to have future drop-in capability for Nehalem.
Not a chance. The only Nehalem chips out right now are the high-end (high power) desktop "Bloomfield" chips with Quickpath that use the X58 chipset. The wholesale cost of the cheapest i7 and motherboard together would probably be close to $500 alone! The mini will most likely continue to use mobile chips for their low power dissipation, and quad-core laptop "Clarksfield" chips won't be out until Q3 2009. The only dual-core Nehalem chips, both mobile and desktop, are the ones with graphics cores integrated onto the CPU package and both have been delayed until 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_N...roarchitecture)
- Most likely Apple will simply use the Macbook's single-chip nVidia 9400 chipset in the Mini, as they love to share parts to reduce costs. Also, this is a good chipset, and besides nVidia not (publicly) having anything better than the 9400 for an integrated graphics chipset, the Mini never had better graphics than the Macbook in the past so I don't see why they would start that now.
- SSD in a budget computer? First of all, given the price of the Mini, it certainly couldn't be a decent one. Second, the primary benefits of an SSD apply to laptops (low power, durability) and servers (very high random read speed) -- there really wouldn't be a compelling advantage to having one in a budget desktop.
My guess is they will simply continue to use a conventional 2.5" laptop harddrive, which is the cheapest and most sensical solution.
- As I mentioned above, an Intel Atom is a major step back from *any* Core (2) Duo.. even an old ultra-low-voltage Pentium M can blow it away. There is simply no compelling reason to use one, other than for Apple to increase their margins.. and I don't believe even they are that cynical.
- i7/Nehalem will also never happen, for the reasons I outlined above. A Nehalem fit for use in a Mini (cheap, low-power, and integrated graphics) won't happen for at LEAST another 12 months from now.
- Including an expresscard slot is the best thing they could do for the Mini, even a current generation expresscard 1.0. This expansion slot would allow easy expandability in the future for Firewire 800/3200, USB 3.0, eSATA, Digital TV tuners, etc. This would be especially relevant if they decided to remove the standard firewire port.
Well technically Nehalem/i7 was really about increasing the performance of everything BUT the processor core. The processor core itself has been enhanced with hyper-threading, but it's really not much different than the core from Core 2. It is everything else in the platform that has been changed. The memory controller has been moved onto the processor die, all the cores are on a single die (like AMD K10), there is a new 3-level caching system, and the ancient FSB has been replaced with Quickpath.
the Mini, as I mentioned above, it will not see a Nehalem/i7 CPU for some time. The first mobile CPUs (that is, the first CPUs cool enough for a Mini) are quad-core and should be out Q3 2009. Sometime after that, perhaps in 2010, the dual-core graphics-core-on-the-CPU version will be out.
One more thing, because the Nehalem platform is very different than Core 2 it uses a completely different socket. Therefore, there is now way for a new Core 2 Mini to be able to have future drop-in capability for Nehalem.
Apple will not add an expresscard slot to the mini. If expanding the mini was easy, many more people would try to go that route versus buying the ready-to-expand Mac Pro. But, that would cut into Apple's sales. Apple is very good about NOT making its systems easy to upgrade, for that very reason. Look what happened with the unibody MacBook: Apple realised most people would finally be happy with just the MacBook, so they jettisoned a key expansion piece: the FireWire port. Now, if you want FireWire (aka expansion), Apple can argue that you'd be happier with (the greater expandability of) a MacBook Pro.
As to the fate of FireWire, that's up to the mini's biggest customers, Macminicolo and such. I'd want to know from them (the Mac mini-using server farms and kiosk operators): how much of a need do you have for the FireWire port? And, what's the biggest change you want in the new mini?
As a wish-list it would be nice to see Apple recognize this function and build on what they have.
Hardware playback of h264 would be a good start, as would HDMI.
But I'd also like to see some media hub software too - especially an overhaul of FrontRow.
C.
All I have to say is that they better not kill the firewire port on it.
I won't buy a Mac without Firewire. BTW, the Firewire for MacBook petition is doing well with over 17000 signatures.
You don't hear many people saying 'I wish my desktop was more torsionally rigid'.
Here's my mini lineup for 2009.
1. $499 mini- 2Ghz 800fsb Core2 Duo,1GB RAM (512MB x2) 80 GB hard drive, Nvidia mobo with 9400m graphics, GigE, Wifi, Bluetooth. No Superdrive. Mini-DisplayPort
2. $699 mini - 2.2 Ghz 1066 Core2 Duo, 2 GB RAM(1GB x2) 160 GB, Nvidia mobo with 9400m graphics, GigE, Wifi, Bluetooth and Superdrive. Mini-DisplayPort
There we go. The $499 mini becomes the perfect computer for secondary or tertiary needs or the perfect children's computer. I rarely us my DVD Burner and in a home with networked computers it makes more sense to simply create your video or audio creation and send it to the Apple TV in the living room. Software is easily installed over a network on Macs. It begs the question "why are you trying to sell me the same product over and over?" I don't need 8 DVD burners in my home.
They won't cut the price. If anything, they'll bump the specs and keep $599 as the baseline.
I think it will be like an Dual Core Atom based with MPC Mini,
It will be cheap , affordable, and quite fast.....
After All , Grand Central and OpenCL would speed things up with MCP and Atom
Atom? No. That's an insult.
They'll move it up probably to the E8400 and increase the price by $100.
Apple will not make a video iPod.
Apple will not make a mobile phone.
Apple will never switch to Intel processors.
I don't see unibody happening – it has no benefits in the desktop space.
You don't hear many people saying 'I wish my desktop was more torsionally rigid'.
The top part of the Mac Mini is extremely flexible, so you can't put anything on top of it without risking damage to the optical drive.
Apple even warns people not to put anything on top of an Xserve for the same reason.