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New loaded custom Mini with SSD- Benchmarks Included!!!

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Maven1975

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 24, 2008
985
222
Thanks for the help out there concerning the video memory. (128 vs 256) I had been waiting for a new HTPC and the Mini was perfect except for the crappy Intel GMA graphics.

Having a MB Air Rev. B, I had an idea what the Mini could do when it came to video. However, the power and snappiness was a concern for a dedicated HTPC. So this is what I did to my Mini....

Base Mini upgraded the chip to 2.26. -EDU Discount-

Ordered 4 GB of ram from Other World Computers.

And.. I know some will think I am crazy for this.. 120GB OCZ Vertex SSD

The ram was less than $60 shipped. The SSD was $316.00 after rebate and Live discount.

I am absolutely satisfied with this purchase.

Xbench 1.3 Results
http://db.xbench.com/merge.xhtml?doc1=355766&doc2=1&setCookie=true

Geekbench 2.1 32bit Results
http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/124089

Geebbench 2.1 64bit Results
http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/124087
 
O

Oi-Oi-Oi

macrumors member
Mar 16, 2009
60
0
New York
Ordered 4 GB of ram from Other World Computers. And.. I know some will think I am crazy for this.. 120GB OCZ Veretx SSD The ram was less than $60 shipped. The SSD was $316.00 after rebate and Live discount. I am absolutely satisfied with this purchase.[/QUOTE said:
Like my exact system minus the Vertex which is still shipping. How much faster is it with the Vertex? Like less boot time, 'snappier' etc.
Click to expand...
 
iParis

iParis

macrumors 68040
Jul 29, 2008
3,671
31
New Mexico
Congratulations on your customization and purchase.:D
That has to be one of the best Mac mini configurations there are.

Anybody know if 5GB or 6GB would work in the new mini?
 
M

Maven1975

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 24, 2008
985
222
elcid said:
Run a benchmark so we can all see what we are missing with the SSD.
Click to expand...

I will be running benchmarks tonight and posting them in about an hour. If you have ay requests, please let me know what they are.
 
Ekos

Ekos

macrumors newbie
Dec 31, 2008
28
1
That's awesome, can the HDD be replaced with a SSD in the Mini G4?
That would be a sweet step up...
 
R

revx

macrumors newbie
Mar 5, 2009
14
0
wetrix said:
Negative. G4 uses a PATA drive controller. SSDs are all SATA except the MacBook Air Rev A 64 GB SSD.
Click to expand...

Not entirely true, Transcend makes some PATA SSD drives, newegg and the like sells them. They are decently specc'ed, I've used them, performance is pretty good.
 
tarasis

tarasis

macrumors 6502a
Oct 26, 2007
692
99
Here, there and everywhere
Maven1975 said:
Xbench 1.3 Results
http://db.xbench.com/merge.xhtml?doc1=355766&doc2=1&setCookie=true

Geekbench 2.1 32bit Results
http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/121147
Click to expand...

*whistles* My Xbench score was 130 vs your 191 that SSD drive really makes a difference. I'm a bit puzzled why your System - Allocate score is so out of whack compared to mine, me 147.54 vs you 251.31 though

Mine's the base sys, with BTO 2.26 GHz and 4GB ram.

Geekbench me 3099 vs you 3062, so no real difference there but I suppose its aimed more at testing processor & ram.

Hmm wonder how I could sell the misses on an SSD ...
 
M

Maven1975

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 24, 2008
985
222
tarasis said:
*whistles* My Xbench score was 130 vs your 191 that SSD drive really makes a difference. I'm a bit puzzled why your System - Allocate score is so out of whack compared to mine, me 147.54 vs you 251.31 though

Mine's the base sys, with BTO 2.26 GHz and 4GB ram.

Geekbench me 3099 vs you 3062, so no real difference there but I suppose its aimed more at testing processor & ram.

Hmm wonder how I could sell the misses on an SSD ...
Click to expand...

From what I understand, Geekbench is not the preferred method for benchmarking Mac's.
 
B

buddster

macrumors newbie
Mar 9, 2009
22
0
I have the same setup and my xBench score was 188 - you beat me. I then replaced the optical drive with a 500gb drive for storage and it's still silent. The icing on the cake would be 6gb ram. 4gb gets soaked up quick.
 
M

Maven1975

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 24, 2008
985
222
rrijkers said:
at least geekbench makes it possible to easily compare identical systems. Now please bench it with the 64 bits geekbench
Click to expand...

I need a registered version of geekbench to do this. If you have access to one, please PM me.

For those wondering about OSX boot times. The spinning wheel goes around 1.5 times and then its ready to go. :eek:
 
B

batistuta

macrumors regular
Jan 15, 2008
128
12
Do you have any external storage attached?
Any thoughts on the performance benefits of the (pricey) upgrade from 2.0 to 2.26GHz?
I am considering the same kinda setup, but the cpu upgrade adds 25% to the base price :-(
4GB RAM is a given and I will probably go for the Intel X-25M SSD (80GB).

Right now all of my iTunes library, movies etc. is on a Synology NAS (DS-107+ for the interested) connected to a Airport Express at only 100mbps - I will either try at gigabit speed, but more likely I will connect an external drive to the Mini, even if it sacrifices the form factor/neatness somewhat.
What do you guys think of either: 1) Seagate FreeAgent Go for Mac or 2) Western Digital My Passport Studio?
Both with 500GB and FW800. I suspect this would be notably faster than my current setup? Other good drive recommendations would be highly appreciated.
As noise is more important than speed I will go for the portable drives, even if they are rotating slower and have less cache.
 
B

batistuta

macrumors regular
Jan 15, 2008
128
12
Given that I have more music than I can store on a SSD, unless it is a prohibitively expensive 250gb one, which of the following setups would you prefer for optimum performance/best everyday experience??

1) SSD in Mini for OS, Apps, docs and pics. Music on external 2.5" USB drive.
2) As above, but with music on NAS server (might upgrade my Synology DS-107+ to a DS-109 which should push some 40megabytes/sec over gigabit lan).
3) 500GB drive in Mini (5400rpm due to possible heat and vibration issues).

Mini will be new with 4 gigs of RAM. I realize that costs for the above differs a lot. 3 is the cheapest and most energy efficient.
 
Heilage

Heilage

macrumors 68030
May 1, 2009
2,592
0
You could do it like I do. Small, fast drives in all computers, gigantic file server with a gigabit infrastructure that takes care of all storage. Put the file server away somewhere it doesn't bother you and enjoy the perks of silent and practical computing. :)
 
Shake 'n' Bake

Shake 'n' Bake

macrumors 68020
Mar 2, 2009
2,186
2
Albany
iParis said:
Congratulations on your customization and purchase.:D
That has to be one of the best Mac mini configurations there are.

Anybody know if 5GB or 6GB would work in the new mini?
Click to expand...

4 GB max. The logic board can't recognize it.

batistuta said:
Do you have any external storage attached?
Any thoughts on the performance benefits of the (pricey) upgrade from 2.0 to 2.26GHz?
I am considering the same kinda setup, but the cpu upgrade adds 25% to the base price :-(
4GB RAM is a given and I will probably go for the Intel X-25M SSD (80GB).

Right now all of my iTunes library, movies etc. is on a Synology NAS (DS-107+ for the interested) connected to a Airport Express at only 100mbps - I will either try at gigabit speed, but more likely I will connect an external drive to the Mini, even if it sacrifices the form factor/neatness somewhat.
What do you guys think of either: 1) Seagate FreeAgent Go for Mac or 2) Western Digital My Passport Studio?
Both with 500GB and FW800. I suspect this would be notably faster than my current setup? Other good drive recommendations would be highly appreciated.
As noise is more important than speed I will go for the portable drives, even if they are rotating slower and have less cache.
Click to expand...

Go for the gigabit. You won't be disappointed.

I keep all my iTunes stuff on a 733 MHz G4 with a gigabit connection to the network. It runs great and video (I have yet to try HD) runs without choppiness. I've done some stuff in the iTunes settings and I can get to the library from anywhere in the house with a network connection. The network isn't slowed one bit. The only time it is choppy is when the PM is downloading something.
 
D

darrellishere

macrumors 6502
Jul 13, 2007
337
0
Go with the SSD and external firewire drive for your itunes libary.

Or use the second SATA port for a 500gb HD.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...42424&_sacat=See-All-Categories&_fvi=1&_rdc=1

I personally popped a blu-ray drive in their and bought a Corsair 128GB SSD. Rocks for the price! :) Pimp your mini!

PS If you clone your drive over to the ssd! remember to reinstall the os, in order to get the fast boot up times! I'm not sure why this is necessary, but this is what I had to do in order to get a 29s boot up :)
 
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