Mac Mini Question

rickvanr said:

Hey,

The education discount is too tempting and I think I'm going to be adding a Mac Mini to my mac collection early tomorrow morning. First off, a few questions.

A) Can I buy the BT and APE card after I buy the machine? I know you can buy them as a combo BTO, but I don't want to buy them right yet, if at all.

B) What are the chances of me selling the 256MB stick, as I plan to buy a 1GB stick if they have it in stock.

C) Short of overclocking, what's the difference between the 1.42 and 1.25, as I'm probably just going to buy what ever they have, or is it worth the wait?

Thats all I can think of now, thank you

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A) Not really.
B) Your chances are OK... I sold mine, but I was one of the first here to resell a 256 MB stick from a Mac mini.
C) I don't know the difference, as I've only worked on my 1.42 GHz mini. For me, the extra $100 was done more for the extra HD space than for the extra .17 GHz of processor speed.

rickvanr said:

Thanks..

I have a couple big external drives so the HD size isn't too important to me.

I'll just get BT on my next computer I guess, it's not essential.

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Although it is not as elegant, you can always add BT or WiFi using external USB/Firewire devices at a later date if you need them.

I ordered my Mac mini with 512 MB, I'm starting to think I should have left it at 256 MB and bought a 1GB stick myself. I still may do that and just eBay my 512 MB. I might not buy the 1 GB stick for a few months though.

you should actually be able to pick up either or both the APE and BT at a later point in time, but you will need to buy it and have it installed through an apple reseller (if not an actual apple store) since they are nonstandard parts.

feakbeak said:

I ordered my Mac mini with 512 MB, I'm starting to think I should have left it at 256 MB and bought a 1GB stick myself. I still may do that and just eBay my 512 MB. I might not buy the 1 GB stick for a few months though.

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That's the best way to go! Buying 512 from Apple for 80 or so bucks is not smart! For in the mid 100's you can get a solid 1GB chip.

From 1st question about what to get the 1.25 or 1.42 here is another thread. I say get the 1.42 it gives you the fast chip plus the 80 GB. 40GB just doesn't cut it.

http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=86

baby duck monge said:

you should actually be able to pick up either or both the APE and BT at a later point in time, but you will need to buy it and have it installed through an apple reseller (if not an actual apple store) since they are nonstandard parts.

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i heard that adding an internal BT module isn't possible, just like in the ibook/powerbook. You can always add a USB BT adapter later on although that would only leave you with 1 USB port... APE should be fine though.

U cannot upgrade RAM or add AE without goin to an apple store. You will void your warranty if you open the case.

You cannot add BT internal

The edu discount was like 30 bucks, whats so tempting about that?

rickvanr said:

Other's have upgraded the RAM themselves.. $30 is groceries for a week.

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But it is not smart to void the warranty, no matter how hungry you are. A computer is an investment, you don't want to chance not being able to fix it because you saved a few bucks. If you do buy the extra ram get it installed by a professional - or just buy it with the ram in it.

Kreamy said:

U cannot upgrade RAM or add AE without goin to an apple store. You will void your warranty if you open the case.

You cannot add BT internal

The edu discount was like 30 bucks, whats so tempting about that?

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You can open the case without voiding the warrenty. But if you break something its your nickel. Add the ram yourself.

rickvanr said:

Thank you,

for others, if it does void the warranty could you provide a link?

Apple's page says:
"The Mac mini has a 256 MB base memory configuration, which can be expanded up to a maximum of 1 GB. The Mac mini can be configured to order (CTO) with 512 MB or 1 GB of SDRAM. Additional memory should be installed by an Apple Authorized Service Provider."

note: should

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Note: thats because blowing your warranty isnt illegal, its just stupid.

you CAN upgrade the ram without voiding your warranty. if you break something upon opening the case then you have voided your warranty. simple as that. if you're careful you won't break it. stop being so anal. if you have ripped computers apart this shouldn't be much more difficult just be very careful. but it has been stated over and over that the warranty is NOT voided if you open the case and change ram. if you break the casing that's your problem or you break anything else then the warranty is void.

break out the putty knife and get-r-done. The mini is not as fragile as some make it out to be!

Regarding the performance differences between the Ti book and the mini, the Ti - has L3... but It will be based mostly on RAM.

kyle

Changed my order...

billystlyes said:

That's the best way to go! Buying 512 from Apple for 80 or so bucks is not smart! For in the mid 100's you can get a solid 1GB chip.

From 1st question about what to get the 1.25 or 1.42 here is another thread. I say get the 1.42 it gives you the fast chip plus the 80 GB. 40GB just doesn't cut it.

http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=86

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I called Apple and changed my order this afternoon. I downgraded the RAM to 256 and will upgrade it to 1GB myself. I've taken apart many computers and replaced components countless times. I am not concerned and I have my putty knife ready. The case doesn't seem that hard to open.

I'm not sure why everyone is paranoid about the warranty. I heard opening the case and swapping RAM doesn't void your warrenty. But even if it did, if you are familiar with working with computer hardware, it's no big deal. I'm not sure if you can pick up the same ITX mobo in the mini elsewhere, but the rest of the machine is standard desktop/laptop hardware that you could replace yourself if a component went bad. Sure it'd be a pain to have to dig in under the optical drive, but if you keep track of all your little loose screws you'll be fine.

If you are uncomfortable with computer hardware, then I agree, BTO everything from Apple or go to a certified Apple technician. It all depends on your comfort level.

When changing my Mac mini order, I also upgraded to the super drive. Once I upgrade the RAM myself, my mini will be about as decked out as it can get - short of upgrading the internal HD to a 7200 RPM drive. I don't think that's really worth it though. Some website that reviewed/benchmarked the Mac mini installed an 80 GB 7200 RPM drive and the added performance didn't seem worth the money/hassle, IMO. The change to my order pushed back the ship date a few days, to 03/10, but that's not too bad.

rickvanr - Enjoy your mini! Can't wait for mine to arrive.

feakbeak said:

I called Apple and changed my order this afternoon. I downgraded the RAM to 256 and will upgrade it to 1GB myself. I've taken apart many computers and replaced components countless times. I am not concerned and I have my putty knife ready. The case doesn't seem that hard to open.

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I think you made the choice! When is your ship date?

john1123 said:

i heard that adding an internal BT module isn't possible, just like in the ibook/powerbook. You can always add a USB BT adapter later on although that would only leave you with 1 USB port... APE should be fine though.

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i think the deal is that the only way to add BT later is with the module that has both it and APE.

feakbeak said:

the rest of the machine is standard desktop/laptop hardware that you could replace yourself if a component went bad.

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Except that now you, not Apple, are the one paying for it.

DaiKirai said:

Except that now you, not Apple, are the one paying for it.

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This is a valid point. Still, IMO, it has to do with your personality and comfort level. I could pay Apple $150 for something I (speaking of me personally) would probably never use it. If I do get a defective peiece of hardware, I'll replace it myself. The more likely scenario is that I want to upgrade something in my machine and I like doing that myself. So for me APP doesn't make much sense.

I bought a Gateway PC almost four years ago. I needed a machine quick and didn't want to do the research to figure out what components I would buy if I built it myself (I'm rather picky). I liked Dell better than Gateway, but Gateway still carried AMD back then. So I bought a mid-tower Gateway. Since then, I've upgraded the RAM, hard drive, added an audio card, been through two video cards, added a USB 2.0 card, upgraded my monitor, removed the PCI modem card and replaced both optical drives. When my power supply failed the machine was still under warranty and Gateway wanted to keep my machine at their store for two weeks to fix it. I told them to just mail me the part and I'd do it myself. I did and it took 15 minutes.

I'm comfortable with computers, with the exception of a major defect in the product, I don't care about the warranty. Now, when it comes to my car, yes, give me the extended warranty, I can't fix that thing!!! But, if I were a mechanic, I probably wouldn't stress about the warranty on my car nearly as much.

billystlyes said:

I think you made the choice! When is your ship date?

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March 10th