Apple intros new Mac minis with faster speeds, OS X Server option

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Three new Mac mini models were released by Apple Tuesday, with a 1TB Mac OS X Server option accompanied by two faster, upgraded consumer-level versions.



Billed as the world?s most energy efficient desktop, the new Mac mini is said to be faster, offer more storage and come standard with double the memory.



Starting at $599, the entry level Mac mini features a faster 2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of DDR3 1066 MHz memory, a 160GB hard drive, five USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics and a SuperDrive.



The $799 Mac mini features a 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of memory and a larger 320GB hard drive.



The new $999 Mac mini is specially configured with Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server. It features two 500GB hard drives for a total of 1TB of server storage in the tiny 6.5-inch square by 2-inch tall Mac mini enclosure.



The new Mac minis meet the new, more stringent Energy Star 5.0 requirements and achieve EPEAT Gold status. It uses PVC-free internal components and cables, contain no brominated flame retardants, use highly recyclable materials, and feature material-efficient system and packaging designs.



AppleInsider reported on a new Mac mini server edition almost one year ago. The new hardware was apparently delayed some time before Tuesday's launch.







The new Mac mini has the following features:



Processor and memory

2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor

3MB on-chip shared L2 cache running 1:1 with processor speed

1066MHz frontside bus

4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM

Peripheral connections

One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)

Five USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)





Graphics and video support

NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory3

Extended desktop and video mirroring: Simultaneously supports up to 1920 by 1200 pixels on a DVI or VGA display; up to 2560 by 1600 pixels on a dual-link DVI display using Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (sold separately)

Mini-DVI port

DVI output using Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter (included)

VGA output using Mini-DVI to VGA Adapter (sold separately)

Mini DisplayPort output

Communications

Built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless 802.11n networking4; IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible Bluetooth

Built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)

Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)





Audio

Combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack)

Combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack)

Built-in speaker

Storage

Mac mini with OS X Snow Leopard Server includes two 500GB hard drives.

The consumer Mac mini offers one 160GB, 320GB, or 500GB serial ATA hard drives.

The consumer also comes with a slot-loading SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW): Writes DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL discs at up to 6x speed, writes DVD-R and DVD+R discs at up to 8x speed, writes DVD-RW discs at up to 6x speed, writes DVD+RW discs at up to 8x speed, Slot-load optical drive reads DVDs at up to 8x speed, writes CD-R and CD-RW discs at up to 24x speed, reads CDs at up to 24x speed

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 113
    Nice!
  • Reply 2 of 113
    wigginwiggin Posts: 2,265member
    Welcome (but minor) updates to the mini line, but too bad they couldn't get the base model back down to the $499 price point like the original mini was. Psychologically, a sub-$500 Mac would be a good selling point. And they are still shipping the base model wtih only 160 GB. That's pretty weak, but I supposed they needed to justify the $200 price gap to the next model.
  • Reply 3 of 113
    steve666steve666 Posts: 2,600member
    Just when my ibook G4 decided to stop connecting to the internet for no apparent reason.

    Now, which model do i get? If I just surf the internet, watch video clips and use office here and there , is there any need for 4Gb of RAM?
  • Reply 4 of 113
    steve666steve666 Posts: 2,600member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wiggin View Post


    Welcome (but minor) updates to the mini line, but too bad they couldn't get the base model back down to the $499 price point like the original mini was. Psychologically, a sub-$500 Mac would be a good selling point. And they are still shipping the base model wtih only 160 GB. That's pretty weak, but I supposed they needed to justify the $200 price gap to the next model.



    Yeh, I was hoping for the $499 price, especially considering the performance difference between the Mini and new iMac.

    Still a glare inducing screen on the iMac so I'm going for the Mini, although the new Macbook is tempting, but with an external screen (not a fan of glare).

    I'm thinking the Mini would be th best choice for me. Now, which monitor to get?
  • Reply 5 of 113
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by steve666 View Post


    Yeh, I was hoping for the $499 price, especially considering the performance difference between the Mini and new iMac.

    Still a glare inducing screen on the iMac so I'm going for the Mini, although the new Macbook is tempting, but with an external screen (not a fan of glare).

    I'm thinking the Mini would be th best choice for me. Now, which monitor to get?



    Now I gotta stows the WHOOT xMac banners, streamers, confetti and party hats for another year or so... \
  • Reply 6 of 113
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Wiggin View Post


    And they are still shipping the base model wtih only 160 GB. That's pretty weak, but I supposed they needed to justify the $200 price gap to the next model.



    $200 (or close to it) would get you a brand new 2.5TB seagate or WD drive.
  • Reply 7 of 113
    A server model eh?



    I certainly didn't expect that. But it makes sense for a home media server, or for a small business. Considering that Mac OS X Server by itself is half the cost of the machine, that's really not a bad deal at all. Apple ought to push this hard for small business customers; Windows SBS costs nearly as much as this bundle ($700 or so last time I checked -- for five client licenses only).



    WIth unlimited clients, Apple could leverage Mac Mini Servers to create a whole new class of customers in the small retailer, service, and restaurant industries.
  • Reply 8 of 113
    The new Mac mini server is $999.

    Snow Leopard Server is regularly $499.



    Subtract the cost of the server software and BOOM...$500 Mac mini.
  • Reply 9 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by RoboNerd View Post


    A server model eh?



    I certainly didn't expect that. But it makes sense for a home media server, or for a small business. Considering that Mac OS X Server by itself is half the cost of the machine, that's really not a bad deal at all. Apple ought to push this hard for small business customers; Windows SBS costs nearly as much as this bundle ($700 or so last time I checked -- for five client licenses only).



    WIth unlimited clients, Apple could leverage Mac Mini Servers to create a whole new class of customers in the small retailer, service, and restaurant industries.



    This should sell more servers which will result in more developers porting server software to the Mac.
  • Reply 10 of 113
    Would it have killed them to at least put a *better* laptop video card in the mini?
  • Reply 11 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Roc Ingersol View Post


    Would it have killed them to at least put a *better* laptop video card in the mini?



    Yes? Think (THERMAL DISSIPATION!!!!)



    The mini is not a gaming machine.. any modern 9000+ series can do hardware decoding of video.. this is just a nice computer that has good specs for what it does.
  • Reply 12 of 113
    Please look at the front of the Mac Mini Server.

    There is the light which turns shows the machine is on.

    But why is there room for an IR reciever on a server.



    This seems to indicate a multimedia purpose.
  • Reply 13 of 113
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by RoboNerd View Post


    A server model eh?



    I certainly didn't expect that. But it makes sense for a home media server, or for a small business. Considering that Mac OS X Server by itself is half the cost of the machine, that's really not a bad deal at all. Apple ought to push this hard for small business customers; Windows SBS costs nearly as much as this bundle ($700 or so last time I checked -- for five client licenses only).



    WIth unlimited clients, Apple could leverage Mac Mini Servers to create a whole new class of customers in the small retailer, service, and restaurant industries.



    The main thing which holds the Mac Mini back from being a decent home media server is the fact that the internal hard drive is not easily upgradable. I know I've said in the past that modifying the Mini isn't much more difficult than modifying a PC, but increasing/adding hard drive space is something which is done frequently enough on servers to warrant the need for it to be as easy as possible (i.e. not require putty knives and patience).



    And there's no eSATA port to allow external hard drives to be connected at speeds which are the same as the internal drive. Sorry, but FireWire 800 is still too slow when dealing with large video files (think 1080p). I still don't get what Apple has against eSATA...
  • Reply 14 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SlicerDicer View Post


    Yes? Think (THERMAL DISSIPATION!!!!)



    There are more-modern GPUs in the same thermal envelope and around the component cost range of the 9400M when it showed up.
  • Reply 15 of 113
    19841984 Posts: 955member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DaveGee View Post


    $200 (or close to it) would get you a brand new 2.5TB seagate or WD drive.



    I'm guessing they are using 2.5" laptop drives in it. Still, they could offer 2TB (RAID 0) and 1TB (RAID 1) options.
  • Reply 16 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Johnny Mozzarella View Post


    The new Mac mini server is $999.

    Snow Leopard Server is regularly $499.



    Subtract the cost of the server software and BOOM...$500 Mac mini.



    Wouldn't you need to add back in the $129 cost of a regular Snow Leopard installation?

    Making it a $629 Mac Mini?
  • Reply 17 of 113
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by auxio View Post


    The main thing which holds the Mac Mini back from being a decent home media server is the fact that the internal hard drive is not easily upgradable. I know I've said in the past that modifying the Mini isn't much more difficult than modifying a PC, but increasing/adding hard drive space is something which is done frequently enough on servers to warrant the need for it to be as easy as possible (i.e. not require putty knives and patience).



    And there's no eSATA port to allow external hard drives to be connected at speeds which are the same as the internal drive. Sorry, but FireWire 800 is still too slow when dealing with large video files (think 1080p). I still don't get what Apple has against eSATA...



    I agree about the lack of eSATA. Firewire 800 is a big improvement over FW400 and USB2, but eSATA can leave FW800 in the dust on raw throughput. At least there are ways to bridge the internal SATA port on a Mac mini to an external connector with a little hackery. Not that I would want to make such mods on a machine I'd spec and set up for professional use...



    I know Apple wants to keep things simple and not bamboozle people with a billion different ports, but an eSATA port on the mini would just make it so much more viable for a wide variety of tasks. Oh well.
  • Reply 18 of 113
    The Mac Mini Server model is perfect for a small business needing only file / print sharing. Thanks to Apple, you can now get a Mini Server, unlimited user license 10.6 server OS, low cost UPS and an external WD 4TB RAID5 setup for under $2000. Even in a Windows centric small business that just makes better sense over any Microsoft SBS offering.



    I really think this is the biggest news coming out of today's product announcement. Tack on a $500 install charge and the smart Apple reseller has a great way to compete in the small business network environment.



    Great work, Apple!
  • Reply 19 of 113
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,717member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Silencio View Post


    I know Apple wants to keep things simple and not bamboozle people with a billion different ports, but an eSATA port on the mini would just make it so much more viable for a wide variety of tasks. Oh well.



    But why not just put it on the server Mini then?



    I guess it requires a separate production line, but it would make me seriously consider replacing my server with the Mini when the time comes (due to the low power consumption and expandability options). Though I would miss having my 2 gigabit ethernet ports...
  • Reply 20 of 113
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by auxio View Post


    But why not just put it on the server Mini then?



    I guess it requires a separate production line, but it would make me seriously consider replacing my server with the Mini when the time comes (due to the low power consumption and expandability options). Though I would miss having my 2 gigabit ethernet ports...



    1. Shabby connector that doesn't lock

    2. No power or ability to run any other devices other than SATA drives.

    3. Already legacy pretty much with 6Gbps SATA coming it makes no sense to add current eSATA





    It's a limited connection and since Apple prefers svelte designs keepin the port total low is what they tend to skew towards.
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