Mac Mini experiences
I am seriously getting the Mac Mini now that 512Mb RAM is standard. I am currently using a iMac G3 400mhz and I was going to wait until the Intels come out next year but my computer is starting to show its age, mainly when playing back quicktime files. I also don;t have a CDRW built in and would need to buy an external for $70-$80.
My main concern with the Mini is the slow Hard Drive and if there are any repair issues with it, and its general overall speed.
I have a old Dell 17 inch CRT that I will use for awhile and I will use my old Apple II keyboard and mouse with a Griffin imate, unless the new Apple keyboards have been improved (I hate the Apple Mouse so I would just get a Logitech Mouse most likely).
So, thats it. Anyone who cares to report on their experiences would be appreciated.
My main concern with the Mini is the slow Hard Drive and if there are any repair issues with it, and its general overall speed.
I have a old Dell 17 inch CRT that I will use for awhile and I will use my old Apple II keyboard and mouse with a Griffin imate, unless the new Apple keyboards have been improved (I hate the Apple Mouse so I would just get a Logitech Mouse most likely).
So, thats it. Anyone who cares to report on their experiences would be appreciated.
Comments
I don't have a mini myself.
Your CRT monitor will need an adapter as the mini uses DVI, not VGA, but Apple includes one, however, I have seen many reports of its signal quality being low.
Originally posted by Chucker
I don't have a mini myself.
Your CRT monitor will need an adapter as the mini uses DVI, not VGA, but Apple includes one, however, I have seen many reports of its signal quality being low.
I do have a mini 1.25 BT/AE 512MB 40G HDD SD (back when all those were upgrades instead of standard)
The mini ships with a DVI-VGA adapter in stock configuration. No additional adapter is required for your CRT, just in case Chucker had you worrying. No signal quality problems here. YMMV
In the first rev, 40Gig drives were actually a 5400RPM unit with 2MB cache, while most of the 80Gig drives were actually 4200RPM units with 8MB cache. Not sure if this has changed since the bump to stock config, but doubt it.
In my experience, the internal laptop drives aren't built for high-end video editing (they're laptop drives... get a desktop 10000RPM unit if you're a full time FCP/Motion editor), but otherwise a 512 machine does most tasks just fine.
Of course, it would do them better with 1Gig of memory...
No issues yet... typically brilliant Apple build quality.
I do some fairly intensive Photoshop work on 65MB images (35mm photography/Nikon Coolscan 4000), and, yeah, in a perfect world I'd love a faster machine for that. It does start getting sluggish after a few sessions of that, and, obviously, things are slower on a 1.42 G4 than on a 1.8-or-higher G5.
But the mini gets the job done, and it's a clear step up from my old 450/1.5GB Sawtooth machine. It's quiet, and it's just about perfect for a home machine (in my current impecunious circumstances).
I'm going to start saving now for the Intel machines.
So far so good!
It's not a fast machine, although it will be impressive coming from a 400 MHz G3. In general, I think you'll find satisfaction in the speed of the UI that would be elusive on your iMac. The hard drive is slower than ideal, however. If you want a complete improvement over the iMac, I would recommend an external hard drive. I don't use one, but it would be nice to have.
Physically, it gets out of your way. It uses less desk space than the printer, the monitor, the keyboard and the speakers, which is quite uncommon. It's also very quiet, excepting the optical drive.
The current Apple keyboard feels nothing like the Apple Keyboard II. It has a very soft, sensitive feel, and seems to be of a different size from what I am used to. I always end up with my fingers on the wrong keys. I also find that keypresses are frequently repeated (e.g. "Hii, how are you?").
I hope this will be of some use.
Originally posted by Mac The Fork
I was expecting a computer that was defective in some way, given my experiences with the three Macs that came before it, but the Mini is well-built and hasn't presented any problems in the few months it has been in use.
It's not a fast machine, although it will be impressive coming from a 400 MHz G3. In general, I think you'll find satisfaction in the speed of the UI that would be elusive on your iMac. The hard drive is slower than ideal, however. If you want a complete improvement over the iMac, I would recommend an external hard drive. I don't use one, but it would be nice to have.
Physically, it gets out of your way. It uses less desk space than the printer, the monitor, the keyboard and the speakers, which is quite uncommon. It's also very quiet, excepting the optical drive.
The current Apple keyboard feels nothing like the Apple Keyboard II. It has a very soft, sensitive feel, and seems to be of a different size from what I am used to. I always end up with my fingers on the wrong keys. I also find that keypresses are frequently repeated (e.g. "Hii, how are you?").
I hope this will be of some use.
Yes, thank you.
I will most likely continue using my apple II keyboard.
I just ordered a firewire lacie CDRW on ebay. It may turn out that emptying my HD somewhat may speed up my iMac a little, but I may still get the Mini anyway.
If your current keyboard doesn't have a USB port built into it for an additional mouse, then invest a little money in one that does (the official Apple one, for example). I don't have a problem with ports because of the Cinema Display, but I can see you running out of space.
That said, I kind of regret getting both a Mac mini and a PowerBook 12" within two months off each other. If I could go back in time, I simply would have gotten a 15" PowerBook instead of the two.