If the next version of the entry level Mac Mini and MacBooks STILL have just Combo Drives rather than Superdrives, i'll probably forget about Apple and go for a PC.
If the next version of the entry level Mac Mini and MacBooks STILL have just Combo Drives rather than Superdrives, i'll probably forget about Apple and go for a PC.
External burners are better because you can copy discs much easier. I bought a superdrive mini before and I was really disappointed with the superdrive. I bought an external DVD burner which has been 10 times better and the next Mini I got, I went for the combo drive model, which saved some money. I agree that Apple should give DVD burners to everyone though.
It was something like engadget that mentioned that the Santa Rosa video chipset was set to offer pretty stellar performance ( for its size so to speak ) and be DirectX 10 compatable. If thats the case, then I imagine that something offering that level of graphic performance would be worth the wait for a machine like the mac mini, whose graphics are often cited as a weak point.
From my own wants, i'd love a mini, and if it came with beefed up graphics able to reasonably run the likes of Aperture and stuff happily, then i'd happily wait for Santa Rosa.
And with this being my first post, hello to everyone
Welcome to the forum. Those specs sound reasonable to me. Question is, when? If Apple merely switches to the current Core 2 Duo, seems like it should have happened already.
Welcome to the forum. Those specs sound reasonable to me. Question is, when? If Apple merely switches to the current Core 2 Duo, seems like it should have happened already.
Yeah, it would seem like they are deliberately crippling their best machine so they can push more of those horrible iMacs out the door. The Mini should have been upgraded to Core 2 Duo by now. It has a similar spec to the Macbook. But what can you do except wait in disappointment?
Yeah, it would seem like they are deliberately crippling their best machine so they can push more of those horrible iMacs out the door. The Mini should have been upgraded to Core 2 Duo by now. It has a similar spec to the Macbook. But what can you do except wait in disappointment?
the core duo costs 250 Euro the core 2 Duo costs 650 Euro
so i dont see them putting in a core 2 duo until either it drops A LOT in price... or there is a price INCREASE in the mini... which i dont think apple are willing to do again.
the core duo costs 250 Euro the core 2 Duo costs 650 Euro
so i dont see them putting in a core 2 duo until either it drops A LOT in price... or there is a price INCREASE in the mini... which i dont think apple are willing to do again.
According to the article I linked (last page), the 2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo costs 650 Euro with tax; the 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo costs 250 Euro. I bet, also, at least some of the other components' prices have come down since September (or February 2006).
Kinda makes you wonder why the 1.83 Mini is $200 more than the 1.66 Mini if the CPU difference is only $30.
This means $170 = 20GB more drive space and a DVD burner. That should come to about $50 at most. No wonder an iMac looks better value than a souped up Mini.
Kinda makes you wonder why the 1.83 Mini is $200 more than the 1.66 Mini if the CPU difference is only $30.
This means $170 = 20GB more drive space and a DVD burner. That should come to about $50 at most. No wonder an iMac looks better value than a souped up Mini.
Actually according to that price list the price difference between the 1.83 and 1.66 is ZERO unless the 1.66 chip is the T2300E, then it would be $32. So the $200 (or $168 if it is the T2300E) is buying you the Superdrive and 20GB of hard drive space. Honestly those 2 options in parts are probably about $20 to Apple, after all an internal DVD burner can be purchased for $30 online. Unless the drive Apple uses for the Superdrive is unusually expensive $200 seems like a big difference between the 2 Mini models.
Actually according to that price list the price difference between the 1.83 and 1.66 is ZERO unless the 1.66 chip is the T2300E, then it would be $32. So the $200 (or $168 if it is the T2300E) is buying you the Superdrive and 20GB of hard drive space. Honestly those 2 options in parts are probably about $20 to Apple, after all an internal DVD burner can be purchased for $30 online. Unless the drive Apple uses for the Superdrive is unusually expensive $200 seems like a big difference between the 2 Mini models.
From some googling, it seems like it's just the T2300. The T2300e supposedly lacks support for Intel's hardware virtualization VT-x, which I know the Mac Mini Core Duos have.
In that case, it's worse than I thought. $200 for 20GB, the CPU difference (which costs Apple nothing) and a burner is just profiteering. Maybe AppleInsider should run an article warning people not to buy the higher Mac Mini and instead opt for an external burner.
The Mac Mini specs should be (though they should be Core 2 Duo now):
1.83 Core Duo @ $599
2.0 Core Duo @ $699 i.e around $50 for an extra 20GB space + burner and around $50 for the extra CPU.
Comments
If the next version of the entry level Mac Mini and MacBooks STILL have just Combo Drives rather than Superdrives, i'll probably forget about Apple and go for a PC.
External burners are better because you can copy discs much easier. I bought a superdrive mini before and I was really disappointed with the superdrive. I bought an external DVD burner which has been 10 times better and the next Mini I got, I went for the combo drive model, which saved some money. I agree that Apple should give DVD burners to everyone though.
It was something like engadget that mentioned that the Santa Rosa video chipset was set to offer pretty stellar performance ( for its size so to speak ) and be DirectX 10 compatable. If thats the case, then I imagine that something offering that level of graphic performance would be worth the wait for a machine like the mac mini, whose graphics are often cited as a weak point.
From my own wants, i'd love a mini, and if it came with beefed up graphics able to reasonably run the likes of Aperture and stuff happily, then i'd happily wait for Santa Rosa.
1.83ghz core 2 duo
512MB ram (upgradable to 2GB)
80GB HDD (upgradable to 200GB)
intel GMA X3000 up to 384mb shared graphics memory (as permitted by the x3000)
superdrive
BT and Airport Extreme as standard
£400-£450
2.0ghz core 2 duo (possibly upgradable to 2.16ghz depending on extent of imac speed bump)
1GB ram (upgradable to 2GB)
100GB HDD (upgradable to 200GB)
intel GMA 3000 up to 384mb shared graphics memory (as permitted by the x3000)
superdrive
BT and Airport Extreme as standard
£600
The following would be nice but i cant see it happening.
-1GB Ram standard on all models
-BTO dedicated graphics on highest priced model
And with this being my first post, hello to everyone
Predicted Specs
<snip>
And with this being my first post, hello to everyone
Welcome to the forum. Those specs sound reasonable to me. Question is, when? If Apple merely switches to the current Core 2 Duo, seems like it should have happened already.
Welcome to the forum. Those specs sound reasonable to me. Question is, when? If Apple merely switches to the current Core 2 Duo, seems like it should have happened already.
Yeah, it would seem like they are deliberately crippling their best machine so they can push more of those horrible iMacs out the door. The Mini should have been upgraded to Core 2 Duo by now. It has a similar spec to the Macbook. But what can you do except wait in disappointment?
Yeah, it would seem like they are deliberately crippling their best machine so they can push more of those horrible iMacs out the door. The Mini should have been upgraded to Core 2 Duo by now. It has a similar spec to the Macbook. But what can you do except wait in disappointment?
the core duo costs 250 Euro the core 2 Duo costs 650 Euro
so i dont see them putting in a core 2 duo until either it drops A LOT in price... or there is a price INCREASE in the mini... which i dont think apple are willing to do again.
the core duo costs 250 Euro the core 2 Duo costs 650 Euro
Then how is it the MacBook went from Core Duo to Core 2 Duo with no increase in price? That doesn't sound right.
the core duo costs 250 Euro the core 2 Duo costs 650 Euro
so i dont see them putting in a core 2 duo until either it drops A LOT in price... or there is a price INCREASE in the mini... which i dont think apple are willing to do again.
According to the article I linked (last page), the 2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo costs 650 Euro with tax; the 1.83 GHz Core 2 Duo costs 250 Euro. I bet, also, at least some of the other components' prices have come down since September (or February 2006).
Core Duo and Core 2 Duo costs the same at the same speed.
Check Intel's price list
Core 2 Duo:
T7600 (4M L2 cache 2.33 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) $637
T7400 (4M L2 cache 2.16 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) $423
T7200 (4M L2 cache 2.00 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) $294
T5600 (2M L2 cache 1.83 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) $241
T5500 (2M L2 cache 1.66 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) $209
Core Duo:
T2700 (2M L2 cache 2.33 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) $637
T2600 (2M L2 cache 2.16 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) $423
T2500 (2M L2 cache 2.00 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) $294
T2400 (2M L2 cache 1.83 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) $241
T2300 (2M L2 cache 1.66 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) $241
T2300E (2M L2 cache 1.66 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) $209
I believe that at one point, Intel will cut the prices of the CD (late April) or just stop producing it.
T2400 (2M L2 cache 1.83 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) $241
T2300 (2M L2 cache 1.66 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) $241
T2300E (2M L2 cache 1.66 GHz 667 MHz FSB 65nm) $209
Kinda makes you wonder why the 1.83 Mini is $200 more than the 1.66 Mini if the CPU difference is only $30.
This means $170 = 20GB more drive space and a DVD burner. That should come to about $50 at most. No wonder an iMac looks better value than a souped up Mini.
Kinda makes you wonder why the 1.83 Mini is $200 more than the 1.66 Mini if the CPU difference is only $30.
This means $170 = 20GB more drive space and a DVD burner. That should come to about $50 at most. No wonder an iMac looks better value than a souped up Mini.
Actually according to that price list the price difference between the 1.83 and 1.66 is ZERO unless the 1.66 chip is the T2300E, then it would be $32. So the $200 (or $168 if it is the T2300E) is buying you the Superdrive and 20GB of hard drive space. Honestly those 2 options in parts are probably about $20 to Apple, after all an internal DVD burner can be purchased for $30 online. Unless the drive Apple uses for the Superdrive is unusually expensive $200 seems like a big difference between the 2 Mini models.
Actually according to that price list the price difference between the 1.83 and 1.66 is ZERO unless the 1.66 chip is the T2300E, then it would be $32. So the $200 (or $168 if it is the T2300E) is buying you the Superdrive and 20GB of hard drive space. Honestly those 2 options in parts are probably about $20 to Apple, after all an internal DVD burner can be purchased for $30 online. Unless the drive Apple uses for the Superdrive is unusually expensive $200 seems like a big difference between the 2 Mini models.
From some googling, it seems like it's just the T2300. The T2300e supposedly lacks support for Intel's hardware virtualization VT-x, which I know the Mac Mini Core Duos have.
In that case, it's worse than I thought. $200 for 20GB, the CPU difference (which costs Apple nothing) and a burner is just profiteering. Maybe AppleInsider should run an article warning people not to buy the higher Mac Mini and instead opt for an external burner.
The Mac Mini specs should be (though they should be Core 2 Duo now):
1.83 Core Duo @ $599
2.0 Core Duo @ $699 i.e around $50 for an extra 20GB space + burner and around $50 for the extra CPU.