A Dilemma: Mac mini - which one?

apoder · May 16, 2005 8:37AM

I'm on the brink of getting a mini. The size of the hard drive is not something that really concerns me since I won't be able to fill up 40 gb (I think). I was just wondering if there was a significant gap in performance from the 1.25 ghz model to the 1.42.

lundy · May 16, 2005 11:11AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Apoder

I'm on the brink of getting a mini. The size of the hard drive is not something that really concerns me since I won't be able to fill up 40 gb (I think). I was just wondering if there was a significant gap in performance from the 1.25 ghz model to the 1.42.

I would say no, at least during standard use. A good rule of thumb about performance is that any increase in clockspeed that is actually perceptible by the user would have to be close to 150% or even 2x before the user could reliably pick out the faster machine in a blinded test.

The money you save you could put towards extra RAM (third-party 1GB) which will definitely make a perceptible difference. And you still have the 256MB DIMM to either sell or use in another computer.

dfiler · May 16, 2005 2:38PM

I highly recommend, for those on a budget, spending money on more memory rather than on higher clock speed. The difference between 512mb and 1gig of memory will be far more noticeable than the difference between 1.2 and 1.4 gig processors.

wingnut · May 16, 2005 5:49PM

I have the 1.42, and I'm glad I got it. While I don't do that many high-cpu-load things, I'm glad I have the speed when I need it.

beigeuser · May 16, 2005 6:12PM

You can upgrade RAM later but you can't OC your CPU later.

I'd go with the extra GHz, suffer for a short while with low RAM, then buy 1GB and install it myself within a couple of months time.

aslan^ · May 16, 2005 6:20PM

I have the 1.25 and I think it works great ! I would also steer clear of the superdrive if you have other dvd burning options available. iDvd can save as an img file which you can transfer to another computer over the network and then burn, takes a little longer but keeping the price of the mini down was important to me.

I would also get the airport card, even if you arent wireless now you might want to go wirless in the future and this component is not user upgradable. I also think having wireless available allows for more creative uses of the mini, mine is actually being returned to apple right now to get wireless added (I ordered it with wireless but they didnt include it!) but when it gets back, it will promptly be added to the home theater and I'll be streaming my content with videolan

Oh and 1.25 handles vlc/divx just fine but that H.264 codec doesnt really work so well. Just FYI.

apoder · May 16, 2005 6:22PM

Thanks for the reply guys. Really helps.

beige- I won't be running applications which demands a lot (Photoshop, etc.). My mini will mainly be used for the basics so do you think it would still be a good investment if I went with the 1.42. I'm not sure if I will be able to take full advantage of the extra bump seeing how I don't use many demanding apps.

beigeuser · May 16, 2005 9:11PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Apoder

Thanks for the reply guys. Really helps.

beige- I won't be running applications which demands a lot (Photoshop, etc.). My mini will mainly be used for the basics so do you think it would still be a good investment if I went with the 1.42. I'm not sure if I will be able to take full advantage of the extra bump seeing how I don't use many demanding apps.

Considering that minimum specs for software are constantly growing, what's enough for today will be too little tomorrow.

Some may want the 1.42 to stretch the life of their mini just a little bit.

Some only get the mini as a temporary solution and step up to a better Mac at a future date. In that case, get the 1.25.

Think of how long you want to use that mac.

wingnut · May 17, 2005 6:38AM

Apoder, I sent you a private message.

namo4184 · May 17, 2005 12:09PM

The 80 gig is 4200 rpm and the 40 gig is 5400 rpm. Is that right

wingnut · May 17, 2005 4:14PM

I can't speak for the 40gb, but yeah, the 80gb is 4200rpm.

kelib · May 18, 2005 10:31AM

I don't think you'll ever regret to take the 1,42. As someone here pointed, RAM can be upgraded later, not the CPU

serpent · May 21, 2005 6:50PM

sorry if I come on too strong on my first post but,

don't waste your hard earned $$ on the 1.42 it doesn't make sense too when all you need is a puty knife, philips head, and a box cutter and in 5 min. a 1.25 is transformed into a 1.5! Not only that I bought my mini as an open box and saved $100 bucks, which I used towards purchasing a 100gb seagate 5400rpm hd, 1gb ram, pioneer DVR-K04L 8xDL "superduper" drive, and bluetooth/wifi card.

mini 400

ram 99

hd 164

dvd 149

bt/wf 89 bought from apple store w/sons student discount

----

total 901 + 18 frt = 919$

comprable system bought from apple = 1023 + tax = 1110$

and still your 5% slower proccesor,~30% smaller hd and slower, >2x slower dvd burning with no dual layer, and almost 200$ in savings!!

only drawback? no applecare......boo hoo who needs it when it costs 25% on the machines cost, i'll self insure and be quite happy with my souped up mini which now is almost equal to my 3000$ powerbook.

ymmv

Serpent

now if I can find a burnt out sony laptop maybe i can graft the mini into that

serpent · May 22, 2005 8:30AM

also, OWC has a rebate program where they'll but back your old ram, hd, and combo drive.... for a measly $75. but that still brings your cost down to $844 a total savings of $266!!

enjoy

Serpent

alliancep.s.i · May 24, 2005 10:32AM

I would probably get the 1.42 and upgrade ram later.

curiousuburb · May 24, 2005 12:02PM

Quote:

Originally posted by NaMo4184

The 80 gig is 4200 rpm and the 40 gig is 5400 rpm. Is that right

According to reports I've read here and there,

the 40G drive is actually an OEM version of a SeaGate 5400RPM w/ 2MB cache

the 80G drive is actually an OEM version of a Hitachi 4200RPM w/ 8MB cache.

The rotational speed advantage of the 40G is balanced by extra cache on the 80G.

Some tasks are faster on the 40, some on the 80, depending on usage.

Several techs have suggested that throwing a 7200RPM into a mini risks overheating it.

If you only have a limited (stock 1.42) budget, the performance benefit from the 1.42 over the 1.25 in terms of CPU power is only about 7%. You will likely see more performance gain from buying the 1.25 and maxing it out with RAM than you would getting a stock 1.42.

A Dilemma: Mac mini - which one?

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