I disagree. The mac mini upgrade is the only one that has taken an appreciable step forward in functionality.
He wasn't saying the new Mac Mini isn't a good buy, he's saying that the higher-priced (upgraded) new Mac Mini is a bad deal compared to the lower-priced one. I'm suprised that the $799 doesn't have a higher clock speed, that would have at least somewhat justified the price.
I'm not complaining, but obviously anyone who has even a little experience can upgrade the $599 Mini RAM and HD for significantly less than what Apple charges. But that's always been the case anyway...
Replaces a 2001 Dell 1.6 GHz Pentium 4 with a 133 bus and 512 MB RAM that will be going to the basement and dedicated to VPN for work access.
Yeah I could have saved a little dough by doing the memory and hard drive myself...either way, I am happy with the update.
Hey no problem ..I didn't crack into my mini until it was a year old. I'm not always about doing surgery on new hardware.
Quote:
Originally Posted by madmaxmedia
He wasn't saying the new Mac Mini isn't a good buy, he's saying that the higher-priced (upgraded) new Mac Mini is a bad deal compared to the lower-priced one. I'm suprised that the $799 doesn't have a higher clock speed, that would have at least somewhat justified the price.
I'm not complaining, but obviously anyone who has even a little experience can upgrade the $599 Mini RAM and HD for significantly less than what Apple charges. But that's always been the case anyway...
Oops reading is fundamental. Yes if a person is or knows a grisled Mac mini vet with a putty knife upgrading isn't going to be that hard.
Let me understand this. The Mini comes with OSX, iLife '09, Nvida graphics, DDR3, Intel C2D, a Super Drive, a $100 printer rebate, iWorks for $40 -- all this for $599 -- and you misers bitch about it?
Give me a break!
Then they will start to complain if Tim Cook starts going cheapo, replacing aluminum with plastic and replaces designs by Ives and his crew with imitation-robot generic Asian design.
QUALITY COSTS MONEY. GET OVER IT.
You are all free to buy PC's if that's what you want. Nothing wrong with that: just figure out the kind of user you really are.
I don't know about you guys, but I love the Mac Mini. Since I don't really do anything graphically intensive, it's quite perfect for my needs. Include a 4GB stick of ram and a 256GH SSD drive in, it becomes solid!
Then they will start to complain if Tim Cook starts going cheapo, replacing aluminum with plastic and replaces designs by Ives and his crew with imitation-robot generic Asian design.
QUALITY COSTS MONEY. GET OVER IT.
You are all free to buy PC's if that's what you want. Nothing wrong with that: just figure out the kind of user you really are.
couldn't agree more..
do you want to show me where the appreciable difference in quality is in those cute cupertino boxes made with mass market taiwanese mobo's and assembled in chinese sweat boxes?
I'm a PC user, the type of person that doesn't buy Apple anymore and with the change goes on Vacation. I also have IMO better hardware and better software choices to boot.
What kind of user does that make me......smart perhaps??
do you want to show me where the appreciable difference in quality is in those cute cupertino boxes made with mass market taiwanese mobo's and assembled in chinese sweat boxes?
I'm a PC user, the type of person that doesn't buy Apple anymore and with the change goes on Vacation. I also have IMO better hardware and better software choices to boot.
What kind of user does that make me......smart perhaps??
I'd be interested to know what better software choices you have. For likely the first time in my life there's not a PC app out there that I pine for. Granted, PC users have more software in total it is debatable on whether said software is superior.
I'd be interested to know what better software choices you have. For likely the first time in my life there's not a PC app out there that I pine for. Granted, PC users have more software in total it is debatable on whether said software is superior.
I didn't say the software was necessarily better just the choice is better.
the iLife series (and yes I've used '09) is actually getting worse.
iPhoto's library organisation is horrendous. iTunes is a bloated mess and does anyone seriously use any of the others? Maybe iMovie once in a while.
iWork in an office world.??
I dual boot XP and Ubuntu and consider myself to have the best of every world.
ditto, there isn't a Mac app I pine for either....now let me just go count my spare change again..
I disagree. The mac mini upgrade is the only one that has taken an appreciable step forward in functionality.
1. Faster graphics
2. Latest Wifi Networking
3. Dual monitor support
4. DDR-3 and 1066 bus
The processor didn't jump that far but the 4GB memory ceiling helps. I think it represents the best real world value for consumers. Sure it's not a gaming machine but it can game enough. It comes pretty well stocked in it's SFF. Gigabit and Bluetooth included.
I find it far less perplexing to understand where the money is going versus the Quad Core Mac Pro which seems artificially inflated in price.
I still think the mini update is lame. It only looks good because the mini has been neglected for so long.
Most thought it would get faster cpus. Think about it. The top model really didn't get a processor upgrade. Sure it has a faster FSB but the clock speed is unchanged. And this is from 19 months ago!
The early benchmarks from a Primate labs shows only a modest improvement. That doesn't factor in the graphics improvement but after 19 months is it unreasonable to expect a new mini to be faster that the old one in all aspects?
I still think the mini update is lame. It only looks good because the mini has been neglected for so long.
Most thought it would get faster cpus. Think about it. The top model really didn't get a processor upgrade. Sure it has a faster FSB but the clock speed is unchanged. And this is from 19 months ago!
The early benchmarks from a Primate labs shows only a modest improvement. That doesn't factor in the graphics improvement but after 19 months is it unreasonable to expect a new mini to be faster that the old one in all aspects?
It isn't like 2.0 is all that horrid a speed. The real lack was the GPU and that's what got fixed. And it does dual monitor and has FW800. It's not a speed demon but it is a heck of a lot more useful than it was 2 days ago.
It isn't like 2.0 is all that horrid a speed. The real lack was the GPU and that's what got fixed. And it does dual monitor and has FW800. It's not a speed demon but it is a heck of a lot more useful than it was 2 days ago.
The gpu was pretty much expected though wasn't it?
The FW 800 and dual monitor support is an unanticipated 'plus' though.
But honestly after 19 months this is really weak. The initial benchmarks bear it out. Its not much faster than the one it replaced. This is the update the pessimists expected. Heck some thought the mini might get quad core cpus. Turns out they get some of the slowest dual core cpus.
But it is better than it was 2 days ago. But if the next update isn't for 18 months those machines are going to look ancient.
The gpu was pretty much expected though wasn't it?
The FW 800 and dual monitor support is an unanticipated 'plus' though.
But honestly after 19 months this is really weak. The initial benchmarks bear it out. Its not much faster than the one it replaced. This is the update the pessimists expected. Heck some thought the mini might get quad core cpus. Turns out they get some of the slowest dual core cpus.
But it is better than it was 2 days ago. But if the next update isn't for 18 months those machines are going to look ancient.
I'd blame the iMac before anything.
With both models still in dual core land there needs to be some distinguishing feature for the imac and that's clockspeed.
In fact Apple has soldered the CPU to the motherboard most likely to prevent upgrades as I can easily see the family of 25W TDP processors goes right on up to the P8700 2.53Ghz.
I'm somewhat saddened to see a move towards disposable computers.
The gpu was pretty much expected though wasn't it?
The FW 800 and dual monitor support is an unanticipated 'plus' though.
But honestly after 19 months this is really weak. The initial benchmarks bear it out. Its not much faster than the one it replaced. This is the update the pessimists expected. Heck some thought the mini might get quad core cpus. Turns out they get some of the slowest dual core cpus.
But it is better than it was 2 days ago. But if the next update isn't for 18 months those machines are going to look ancient.
MINI....miiiiiinnnniiii, mini.
Folks expecting quads were out to lunch.
Right now mini's represent the best bang for the buck in the Apple line up. That will change when the mobile Nehalems come out because, as I said earlier, the Mini ain't getting one. For 19 months probably.
This was a huge update and one that probably pisses Intel off a bit. On the other hand, their inability to deliver an integrated GPU and drivers that don't suck is really their problem, not Apple's
Criminey...you want a quad? Stack two minis for $1400 (tossing in a few bucks for memory and HD upgrades for both). For Handbrake folks tend to do rips in batches anyway. Splitting the job in two seems easy enough.
The retail price of the 2.8Ghz T9600 ($549 newegg) is almost the price of the cheap mini. Actually, it is the cost of the new cheap mini with edu discount. Can you imagine what a quad mini would cost? What's the price in qty 1000? (Yes, I'm too lazy to look).
Right now mini's represent the best bang for the buck in the Apple line up. That will change when the mobile Nehalems come out because, as I said earlier, the Mini ain't getting one. For 19 months probably.
This was a huge update and one that probably pisses Intel off a bit. On the other hand, their inability to deliver an integrated GPU and drivers that don't suck is really their problem, not Apple's
Criminey...you want a quad? Stack two minis for $1400 (tossing in a few bucks for memory and HD upgrades for both). For Handbrake folks tend to do rips in batches anyway. Splitting the job in two seems easy enough.
The retail price of the 2.8Ghz T9600 ($549 newegg) is almost the price of the cheap mini. Actually, it is the cost of the new cheap mini with edu discount. Can you imagine what a quad mini would cost? What's the price in qty 1000? (Yes, I'm too lazy to look).
I never expected the mini to go quad. But I think Marvin thought or at least hoped it would.
Still I really expected the mini to get a 2.4 ghz c2d on the top end. Hell it is an $800 computer after all.
Wasn't the last mini able to have the cpu upgraded by the user? Seems like I recall people hack them with old 2.3 ghz merom cpus. If so those are probably the fastest minis around. Murch says that isn't possible with the new mini because Apple have soldiered the cpu.
the more I read and think about it, the closer I get to seeing the base model mini as my new replacement Mac...
I really don't see how Apple can justify the higher-end $799 model with exact same CPU speed, and only difference being a larger HD and 1 GB more RAM for a $200 premium.
Yes, I wish the base $599 model was a tad better/faster, and I think it should have come in a bit cheaper - like the way they cut the price on the iMac line, but did not on the Mac mini. -- But don't we all wish the same.
The base/low-end mini seems to be the value leader in the current "Early 2009" announcements.
do you want to show me where the appreciable difference in quality is in those cute cupertino boxes made with mass market taiwanese mobo's and assembled in chinese sweat boxes?
I'm a PC user, the type of person that doesn't buy Apple anymore and with the change goes on Vacation. I also have IMO better hardware and better software choices to boot.
What kind of user does that make me......smart perhaps??
It makes you the kind of user who goes on really cheap vacations...
FYI: every mobo Apple uses is custom; nothing mass market about them. About the sweatshops you are right and it's a real shame. Unfortunately, the whole industry does this. Apple, at least, uses American designers and engineers. I'll pay for that.
I've used PC's for 20 years and these days PC software is plain inferior, starting with the operating system. iWork is worth it for Keynote alone. Of course, you need to care about design to appreciate it. Not everybody cares about design. I get that.
Comments
2.26 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB
Replaces a 2001 Dell 1.6 GHz Pentium 4 with a 133 bus and 512 MB RAM that will be going to the basement and dedicated to VPN for work access.
Yeah I could have saved a little dough by doing the memory and hard drive myself...either way, I am happy with the update.
I disagree. The mac mini upgrade is the only one that has taken an appreciable step forward in functionality.
He wasn't saying the new Mac Mini isn't a good buy, he's saying that the higher-priced (upgraded) new Mac Mini is a bad deal compared to the lower-priced one. I'm suprised that the $799 doesn't have a higher clock speed, that would have at least somewhat justified the price.
I'm not complaining, but obviously anyone who has even a little experience can upgrade the $599 Mini RAM and HD for significantly less than what Apple charges. But that's always been the case anyway...
Ordered mine this morning....
2.26 GHz, 4 GB, 320 GB
Replaces a 2001 Dell 1.6 GHz Pentium 4 with a 133 bus and 512 MB RAM that will be going to the basement and dedicated to VPN for work access.
Yeah I could have saved a little dough by doing the memory and hard drive myself...either way, I am happy with the update.
Hey no problem ..I didn't crack into my mini until it was a year old. I'm not always about doing surgery on new hardware.
He wasn't saying the new Mac Mini isn't a good buy, he's saying that the higher-priced (upgraded) new Mac Mini is a bad deal compared to the lower-priced one. I'm suprised that the $799 doesn't have a higher clock speed, that would have at least somewhat justified the price.
I'm not complaining, but obviously anyone who has even a little experience can upgrade the $599 Mini RAM and HD for significantly less than what Apple charges. But that's always been the case anyway...
Oops reading is fundamental. Yes if a person is or knows a grisled Mac mini vet with a putty knife upgrading isn't going to be that hard.
Let me understand this. The Mini comes with OSX, iLife '09, Nvida graphics, DDR3, Intel C2D, a Super Drive, a $100 printer rebate, iWorks for $40 -- all this for $599 -- and you misers bitch about it?
Give me a break!
Then they will start to complain if Tim Cook starts going cheapo, replacing aluminum with plastic and replaces designs by Ives and his crew with imitation-robot generic Asian design.
QUALITY COSTS MONEY. GET OVER IT.
You are all free to buy PC's if that's what you want. Nothing wrong with that: just figure out the kind of user you really are.
Then they will start to complain if Tim Cook starts going cheapo, replacing aluminum with plastic and replaces designs by Ives and his crew with imitation-robot generic Asian design.
QUALITY COSTS MONEY. GET OVER IT.
You are all free to buy PC's if that's what you want. Nothing wrong with that: just figure out the kind of user you really are.
couldn't agree more..
do you want to show me where the appreciable difference in quality is in those cute cupertino boxes made with mass market taiwanese mobo's and assembled in chinese sweat boxes?
I'm a PC user, the type of person that doesn't buy Apple anymore and with the change goes on Vacation. I also have IMO better hardware and better software choices to boot.
What kind of user does that make me......smart perhaps??
couldn't agree more..
do you want to show me where the appreciable difference in quality is in those cute cupertino boxes made with mass market taiwanese mobo's and assembled in chinese sweat boxes?
I'm a PC user, the type of person that doesn't buy Apple anymore and with the change goes on Vacation. I also have IMO better hardware and better software choices to boot.
What kind of user does that make me......smart perhaps??
I'd be interested to know what better software choices you have. For likely the first time in my life there's not a PC app out there that I pine for. Granted, PC users have more software in total it is debatable on whether said software is superior.
I'd be interested to know what better software choices you have. For likely the first time in my life there's not a PC app out there that I pine for. Granted, PC users have more software in total it is debatable on whether said software is superior.
I didn't say the software was necessarily better just the choice is better.
the iLife series (and yes I've used '09) is actually getting worse.
iPhoto's library organisation is horrendous. iTunes is a bloated mess and does anyone seriously use any of the others? Maybe iMovie once in a while.
iWork in an office world.??
I dual boot XP and Ubuntu and consider myself to have the best of every world.
ditto, there isn't a Mac app I pine for either....now let me just go count my spare change again..
ditto, there isn't a Mac app I pine for either....now let me just go count my spare change again..
Don't forget to run that virus scan while you're away counting.
I disagree. The mac mini upgrade is the only one that has taken an appreciable step forward in functionality.
1. Faster graphics
2. Latest Wifi Networking
3. Dual monitor support
4. DDR-3 and 1066 bus
The processor didn't jump that far but the 4GB memory ceiling helps. I think it represents the best real world value for consumers. Sure it's not a gaming machine but it can game enough. It comes pretty well stocked in it's SFF. Gigabit and Bluetooth included.
I find it far less perplexing to understand where the money is going versus the Quad Core Mac Pro which seems artificially inflated in price.
I still think the mini update is lame. It only looks good because the mini has been neglected for so long.
Most thought it would get faster cpus. Think about it. The top model really didn't get a processor upgrade. Sure it has a faster FSB but the clock speed is unchanged. And this is from 19 months ago!
The early benchmarks from a Primate labs shows only a modest improvement. That doesn't factor in the graphics improvement but after 19 months is it unreasonable to expect a new mini to be faster that the old one in all aspects?
I still think the mini update is lame. It only looks good because the mini has been neglected for so long.
Most thought it would get faster cpus. Think about it. The top model really didn't get a processor upgrade. Sure it has a faster FSB but the clock speed is unchanged. And this is from 19 months ago!
The early benchmarks from a Primate labs shows only a modest improvement. That doesn't factor in the graphics improvement but after 19 months is it unreasonable to expect a new mini to be faster that the old one in all aspects?
It isn't like 2.0 is all that horrid a speed. The real lack was the GPU and that's what got fixed. And it does dual monitor and has FW800. It's not a speed demon but it is a heck of a lot more useful than it was 2 days ago.
It isn't like 2.0 is all that horrid a speed. The real lack was the GPU and that's what got fixed. And it does dual monitor and has FW800. It's not a speed demon but it is a heck of a lot more useful than it was 2 days ago.
The gpu was pretty much expected though wasn't it?
The FW 800 and dual monitor support is an unanticipated 'plus' though.
But honestly after 19 months this is really weak. The initial benchmarks bear it out. Its not much faster than the one it replaced. This is the update the pessimists expected. Heck some thought the mini might get quad core cpus. Turns out they get some of the slowest dual core cpus.
But it is better than it was 2 days ago. But if the next update isn't for 18 months those machines are going to look ancient.
The gpu was pretty much expected though wasn't it?
The FW 800 and dual monitor support is an unanticipated 'plus' though.
But honestly after 19 months this is really weak. The initial benchmarks bear it out. Its not much faster than the one it replaced. This is the update the pessimists expected. Heck some thought the mini might get quad core cpus. Turns out they get some of the slowest dual core cpus.
But it is better than it was 2 days ago. But if the next update isn't for 18 months those machines are going to look ancient.
I'd blame the iMac before anything.
With both models still in dual core land there needs to be some distinguishing feature for the imac and that's clockspeed.
In fact Apple has soldered the CPU to the motherboard most likely to prevent upgrades as I can easily see the family of 25W TDP processors goes right on up to the P8700 2.53Ghz.
I'm somewhat saddened to see a move towards disposable computers.
It's good for me to build HTPC except Blue-ray.
The gpu was pretty much expected though wasn't it?
The FW 800 and dual monitor support is an unanticipated 'plus' though.
But honestly after 19 months this is really weak. The initial benchmarks bear it out. Its not much faster than the one it replaced. This is the update the pessimists expected. Heck some thought the mini might get quad core cpus. Turns out they get some of the slowest dual core cpus.
But it is better than it was 2 days ago. But if the next update isn't for 18 months those machines are going to look ancient.
MINI....miiiiiinnnniiii, mini.
Folks expecting quads were out to lunch.
Right now mini's represent the best bang for the buck in the Apple line up. That will change when the mobile Nehalems come out because, as I said earlier, the Mini ain't getting one. For 19 months probably.
This was a huge update and one that probably pisses Intel off a bit. On the other hand, their inability to deliver an integrated GPU and drivers that don't suck is really their problem, not Apple's
Criminey...you want a quad? Stack two minis for $1400 (tossing in a few bucks for memory and HD upgrades for both). For Handbrake folks tend to do rips in batches anyway. Splitting the job in two seems easy enough.
The retail price of the 2.8Ghz T9600 ($549 newegg) is almost the price of the cheap mini. Actually, it is the cost of the new cheap mini with edu discount. Can you imagine what a quad mini would cost? What's the price in qty 1000? (Yes, I'm too lazy to look).
And two minis are quiet as hell. The damn TC is louder.
MINI....miiiiiinnnniiii, mini.
Folks expecting quads were out to lunch.
Right now mini's represent the best bang for the buck in the Apple line up. That will change when the mobile Nehalems come out because, as I said earlier, the Mini ain't getting one. For 19 months probably.
This was a huge update and one that probably pisses Intel off a bit. On the other hand, their inability to deliver an integrated GPU and drivers that don't suck is really their problem, not Apple's
Criminey...you want a quad? Stack two minis for $1400 (tossing in a few bucks for memory and HD upgrades for both). For Handbrake folks tend to do rips in batches anyway. Splitting the job in two seems easy enough.
The retail price of the 2.8Ghz T9600 ($549 newegg) is almost the price of the cheap mini. Actually, it is the cost of the new cheap mini with edu discount. Can you imagine what a quad mini would cost? What's the price in qty 1000? (Yes, I'm too lazy to look).
I never expected the mini to go quad. But I think Marvin thought or at least hoped it would.
Still I really expected the mini to get a 2.4 ghz c2d on the top end. Hell it is an $800 computer after all.
Wasn't the last mini able to have the cpu upgraded by the user? Seems like I recall people hack them with old 2.3 ghz merom cpus. If so those are probably the fastest minis around. Murch says that isn't possible with the new mini because Apple have soldiered the cpu.
4 GB ram kit for $52.99... sharing is caring
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148191
Newegg.ca didn't seem to have any:
anyone know where a Canuck an get a good 4 GB kit?
the more I read and think about it, the closer I get to seeing the base model mini as my new replacement Mac...
I really don't see how Apple can justify the higher-end $799 model with exact same CPU speed, and only difference being a larger HD and 1 GB more RAM for a $200 premium.
Yes, I wish the base $599 model was a tad better/faster, and I think it should have come in a bit cheaper - like the way they cut the price on the iMac line, but did not on the Mac mini. -- But don't we all wish the same.
The base/low-end mini seems to be the value leader in the current "Early 2009" announcements.
couldn't agree more..
do you want to show me where the appreciable difference in quality is in those cute cupertino boxes made with mass market taiwanese mobo's and assembled in chinese sweat boxes?
I'm a PC user, the type of person that doesn't buy Apple anymore and with the change goes on Vacation. I also have IMO better hardware and better software choices to boot.
What kind of user does that make me......smart perhaps??
It makes you the kind of user who goes on really cheap vacations...
FYI: every mobo Apple uses is custom; nothing mass market about them. About the sweatshops you are right and it's a real shame. Unfortunately, the whole industry does this. Apple, at least, uses American designers and engineers. I'll pay for that.
I've used PC's for 20 years and these days PC software is plain inferior, starting with the operating system. iWork is worth it for Keynote alone. Of course, you need to care about design to appreciate it. Not everybody cares about design. I get that.