Can't WAIT 2012 Mac mini!

I assume your need for a graphics card is to play games?

What games do you want to play on the mini?

new mac mini will most definitely be out when mountain lion is released, which is in three weeks.

I'm assuming that, apple will update the iMac before the mini, and so you may have a longer wait then you really want

I'm currently very close to pulling the trigger on a Mac Mini too, mainly for HTPC-type duties.

Hopefully, we will see a hardware refresh with Mountain Lion's release in the latter part of next month (MaFlynn may know otherwise, though!) so, unless you're really desperate to get hold of one now, I'd say hold off and see what July brings in terms of news and - if there is a new model - what the specs bring in terms of performance.

On the other hand, Minis seem to hold their price pretty well, so you could always sell it on for a hit, if late July brings a new model.

I'm waiting, though.

maflynn said:

I'm assuming that, apple will update the iMac before the mini, and so you may have a longer wait then you really want

Click to expand...

On what basis is this speculation?

As for Apple's past, they seldom updated one Mac alone quietly. So there's absolutely NO reason why they would update the iMac before the Mini.

stvchu said:

There's no signal now that Apple will release 2012 Mac mini soon.

Even it is released, we can look forward to new ivy bridge, better graphics and usb 3.0. But USB3.0 is nothing to me, ivy bridge is only a bit more power than sandy bridge.

Only what I care about is Graphics!

If I buy 2011-mid mini with a dedicated graphic card, the 6630M 256MB, is it powerful than new Intel HD 4000? Is it also shipped with HD 3000 like MBP or only a 256MB dedicated card?

I need your advice, buy the 2011-mid one or wait the new one!

Thanks.

Click to expand...

I contacted Apple yesterday on the online support chat, asked when the Mac Mini was being refreshed as I wanted to buy one but didn't want to pay 2012 prices for 2011 tech, the answer I got was surprising as I was expecting the old "Don't know just buy one now" response, instead the support human on the other side hinted at a refresh by saying I should keep checking the apple store and also the apple Hot News page as they weren't sure WHEN it would be refreshed, never once did they deny that it would be refreshed even when I asked that.

So potentially good news.

PS I'm in the same boat as you, but think I can wait a month for USB 3 and Ivy Bridge.

When even the Apple retail stuff doesn't want to say their usual "maybe" the refresh should be pretty soon. End of july comes in mind again.

Poki said:

When even the Apple retail stuff doesn't want to say their usual "maybe" the refresh should be pretty soon. End of july comes in mind again.

Click to expand...

I usually get a 'No, just buy now from our great selection' response. Might have caught a friendly one

The Mac mini is most likely to come out in July, possibly together with ML as many rumors say.

Poki said:

On what basis is this speculation?

As for Apple's past, they seldom updated one Mac alone quietly. So there's absolutely NO reason why they would update the iMac before the Mini.

Click to expand...

Generally they seem to update the other lines first and then the mini. Not concrete, but generally they focus on the higher end machines (mac pro excluded) before drawing their attention on the mini.

maflynn said:

Generally they seem to update the other lines first and then the mini. Not concrete, but generally they focus on the higher end machines (mac pro excluded) before drawing their attention on the mini.

Click to expand...

Then again the 2011 Mac Minis were released with the 2011 Macbook Airs which (especially last year) are some of their best selling computers. Further the release coincided with the official release of OS X Lion (exact same day of July 20th)....

LaunchpadBS said:

I contacted Apple yesterday on the online support chat, asked when the Mac Mini was being refreshed as I wanted to buy one but didn't want to pay 2012 prices for 2011 tech, the answer I got was surprising as I was expecting the old "Don't know just buy one now" response, instead the support human on the other side hinted at a refresh by saying I should keep checking the apple store and also the apple Hot News page as they weren't sure WHEN it would be refreshed, never once did they deny that it would be refreshed even when I asked that.

So potentially good news.

PS I'm in the same boat as you, but think I can wait a month for USB 3 and Ivy Bridge.

Click to expand...

Well no ****, they're in the business of making computers after all, it will get updated eventually, question has always been when.

----------

stvchu said:

There's no signal now that Apple will release 2012 Mac mini soon.

Even it is released, we can look forward to new ivy bridge, better graphics and usb 3.0. But USB3.0 is nothing to me, ivy bridge is only a bit more power than sandy bridge.

Only what I care about is Graphics!

If I buy 2011-mid mini with a dedicated graphic card, the 6630M 256MB, is it powerful than new Intel HD 4000? Is it also shipped with HD 3000 like MBP or only a 256MB dedicated card?

I need your advice, buy the 2011-mid one or wait the new one!

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Depending on the caliber of game you're trying to play, it might be better to get a computer that doesn't have a laptop video card in it.

While the 6630M can run some games, don't expect to play them at high settings.

LaunchpadBS said:

I contacted Apple yesterday on the online support chat, asked when the Mac Mini was being refreshed as I wanted to buy one but didn't want to pay 2012 prices for 2011 tech, the answer I got was surprising as I was expecting the old "Don't know just buy one now" response, instead the support human on the other side hinted at a refresh by saying I should keep checking the apple store and also the apple Hot News page as they weren't sure WHEN it would be refreshed, never once did they deny that it would be refreshed even when I asked that.

So potentially good news.

PS I'm in the same boat as you, but think I can wait a month for USB 3 and Ivy Bridge.

Click to expand...

Strange, this was my experience when we were trying to replace my wife's water logged iPhone 3G 3.5 years ago. The retail associate basically stopped us in our tracks and said that "are you sure you want to replace it with a 3Gs now? I can't officially confirm this but there may be a new iPhone coming out within 4-6 weeks."

Dude rather lose a sale on the floor. Weird.

pollaxe said:

I'm currently very close to pulling the trigger on a Mac Mini too, mainly for HTPC-type duties.

Click to expand...

Am needing a new one for HTPC duties too provided its a quad core w/hyperthreading and at least 3Ghz. Ivy bridge chips should run cool enough to put a 3 Ghz one in a mini. If apple nuters the mini again, am done with apple. Apple could really make my day by putting a hex in the mini.

The HACK said:

Strange, this was my experience when we were trying to replace my wife's water logged iPhone 3G 3.5 years ago. The retail associate basically stopped us in our tracks and said that "are you sure you want to replace it with a 3Gs now? I can't officially confirm this but there may be a new iPhone coming out within 4-6 weeks."

Dude rather lose a sale on the floor. Weird.

Click to expand...

They don't make commission, why not?

It's not like you weren't going to get a new one, it was just a matter of that day or a few weeks from then.

The HACK said:

Dude rather lose a sale on the floor. Weird.

Click to expand...

This is what is known as "good customer service." It is so rare in 2012 that many people don't know what it is when it happens to them.

My father sold cars the last part of his working life. He was one of Lincoln Mercury's most successful salespeople in the U.S. He told me that you can make a lot of money in sales without every having to be deceitful and that people remember you when you put their needs above your own.

That attitude sure worked for him: he made a very good living, drove a company-provided Lincoln (NOT a "demonstrator" as they called cars reserved for test drives in those days...) and he had many repeat customers.

It doesn't really matter if that sales associate works on commission or not: he realized that you would probably be a happier person if your replacement iPhone was not eclipsed by the updated version a short time after your purchase. (Many people react rather badly when that happens...)

Whenever I experience this kind of treatment from a salesperson I try to let someone in management know about it. You don't have to go into the details if it's something like your situation where management might have preferred a sale that day vs. three weeks into the future. Just let them know that the sales associate exceeded your expectations.

A lot of these folks work for peanuts (including most Apple sales associates) while dealing with their share of obnoxious customers. People are quick to complain but slow to praise; in cases like yours taking a few minutes to apply the Golden Rule can mean a lot to a salesperson.

bearcatrp said:

Am needing a new one for HTPC duties too provided its a quad core w/hyperthreading and at least 3Ghz. Ivy bridge chips should run cool enough to put a 3 Ghz one in a mini. If apple nuters the mini again, am done with apple. Apple could really make my day by putting a hex in the mini.

Click to expand...

There will be a quad in the server model. It won't run anything near 3 GHz though.

bearcatrp said:

Am needing a new one for HTPC duties too provided its a quad core w/hyperthreading and at least 3Ghz. Ivy bridge chips should run cool enough to put a 3 Ghz one in a mini. If apple nuters the mini again, am done with apple. Apple could really make my day by putting a hex in the mini.

Click to expand...

Aside from the fact that there's no way you'll see a 3Ghz processor in a 2012 Mini, why would you need one for HTPC? the current 2Ghz model more than fast enough for that kind of task.

FredT2 said:

Aside from the fact that there's no way you'll see a 3Ghz processor in a 2012 Mini, why would you need one for HTPC? the current 2Ghz model more than fast enough for that kind of task.

Click to expand...

For HTPC usage for sure. But there are many who use it as a desktop - after all, there's just the iMac with the integrated screen and the super-expensive Mac Pro as other options, so if Apple put at least a Quad-Core CPU in the Mini, it's a more than solid desktop even for 1080p AVCHD FCP X editing.

On a software that costs half of a mac mini, you worry about the machines performance? Clearly if you can put out that kind of money for the sw, you can buy a mac pro with the needed power..?

I am currently a new Apple customer but I am still loyal to the bang the average PC tower provides this generation. I'm sorry but you are not wise to dish out so much for a Apple Tower when for half the price if not a quarter of the price, you can get a PC tower to run circles around it. Buying a "quality" PC tower will get you much better bang for the buck if optimized and setup correctly for your specific need.

I am a audio engineer and still have more than I need on a AMD A6 quadcore machine. Intel and Apple continue to raise hype with all this un-needed horsepower. At least AMD is more worried about saving you cash, reserving power and giving more speed as they innovate.

Apple is still worth it for the long haul for those doing daily needs like Facebook, documents and such. As for flat out raw power, sorry.....PC

foranor said:

On a software that costs half of a mac mini, you worry about the machines performance? Clearly if you can put out that kind of money for the sw, you can buy a mac pro with the needed power..?

Click to expand...

Let's see ...

The Mac Mini costs about 1000 with proper specs. FCP X costs 239€, throw in Motion or Compressor and you're at 279€. That's hardly half the cost of the Mini, is it?

After all, this combination still costs only about one third of a Mac Pro with good specs (who buys a quad-core Mac Pro?), so much money saved. And if you don't need 4k editing, you're good to go. What's the point of burning money (and energy, for that matter)?

I have a 2011 base mini and honestly am waiting for Haswell before I purchase another. Nevertheless I do hope there are good specs for the Ivy Bridge line.