Digital file management firm points to 1TB Mac Mini refresh

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 59
    19841984 Posts: 955member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by pmjoe View Post


    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.
  • Reply 22 of 59
    screedscreed Posts: 1,077member
    Hm. A 1TB Mac mini might add credence to rumors of an AppleTV service or bootable partition.
  • Reply 23 of 59
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    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.
  • Reply 24 of 59
    shanmugamshanmugam Posts: 1,200member
    how reliable are the SSD drives?



    with apple orders quantity they can go SSD all the way ... but reliability?
  • Reply 25 of 59
    shanmugamshanmugam Posts: 1,200member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by emig647 View Post


    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 ...
  • Reply 26 of 59
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,454member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    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.
  • Reply 27 of 59
    f1turbof1turbo Posts: 257member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bloodymatzohball View Post


    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.
  • Reply 28 of 59
    emig647emig647 Posts: 2,454member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by shanmugam View Post


    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
  • Reply 29 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mcarling View Post


    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.
  • Reply 30 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mdriftmeyer View Post


    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.
  • Reply 31 of 59
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by 1984 View Post


    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.
  • Reply 32 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mcarling View Post


    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.
  • Reply 33 of 59
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    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!
  • Reply 34 of 59
    Let's hope this is a brand new case design and they moved to 3.5 drives



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    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.
  • Reply 35 of 59
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by franksargent View Post


    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.
  • Reply 36 of 59
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by JeffDM View Post


    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.
  • Reply 37 of 59
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    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?
  • Reply 38 of 59
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    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.





    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    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.



  • Reply 39 of 59
    rpsxrpsx Posts: 46member
    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?
  • Reply 40 of 59
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bloodymatzohball View Post


    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.



    Mmm... I dunno, re-marketing the Mac mini as a favorite tool for developers could be a good new direction for these. With all of the stories of instant millionaires created by developing iPhone/touch apps, you wouldn't believe the number of developers who are interested in getting into OSX ten now.
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