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MacBoySeattle

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 2, 2006
74
1
Unconscionable upgrade for the Mac Minis last week, by the way. I know I'm a little late on commenting, but an upgrade from a 1.66 ghz core duo to a 1.83? No Merom, No 1GB Ram standard, No Video card options? Are you kidding me? The Mac Mini is now an official RIP OFF. It ISN'T running Core 2 Duo, and it's extremely overpriced for the price of its components. You know what, I honestly wouldn't even care if they didn't put the Core 2 in right away. If they had put in the 1.83 Core Duo, bumped the Ram up to 1 GB, and then lowered the price from $799 to $699, I would have jumped on that. Even at $699 THAT pricing would still make Apple a lot of money per unit sold. There isn't a doubt in my mind that everybody would be better off buying a Core 2 Duo lower end iMac. The only problem is, some of us don't want the built in 17" LCD, so we're screwed.
 

generik

macrumors 601
Aug 5, 2005
4,116
1
Minitrue
Yes yes yes, Apple cares a lot about what you think. What makes it so much of a rip off? Had they put a C2D in it I would have gotten it in a heartbeat.
 

MacBoySeattle

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 2, 2006
74
1
generik said:
Yes yes yes, Apple cares a lot about what you think. What makes it so much of a rip off? Had they put a C2D in it I would have gotten it in a heartbeat.

What makes it a rip off? Are you joking? They're using a defunct Core 1 Duo chip that costs 1/2 less than it did when they offered it in their original Core Duo line up 1 year ago. Every outdated component in those machines is now worth about 1/2 as much as it did, and yet the price remains the same. The 512 mb of ram shouldn't even be standard on any modern computer anymore, and 1 GB of ram is easily the same price of 512 a year ago. The integrated graphics are cr*p. The Core 1 Duo 1.83 Upgrade (while something, better than nothing) is selling now for less than the 1.66 core duo did when it came out. Infact, the Core 2 Duo 1.83 is the same price as the Core 1 Duo 1.66 was when they put it in the Mac Mini! It's an absolute RIP OFF at $799.

That leaves people like me leaning now towards an iMac because we have no other options. Which is probably Apple's scheme.
 

xfiftyfour

macrumors 68030
Apr 14, 2006
2,573
0
Clemson, SC
MacBoySeattle said:
What makes it a rip off? Are you joking? They're using a defunct Core 1 Duo chip that costs 1/2 less than it did when they offered it in their original Core Duo line up 1 year ago. Every outdated component in those machines is now worth about 1/2 as much as it did, and yet the price remains the same. The 512 mb of ram shouldn't even be standard on any modern computer anymore, and 1 GB of ram is easily the same price of 512 a year ago. The integrated graphics are cr*p. The Core 1 Duo 1.83 Upgrade (while something, better than nothing) is selling now for less than the 1.66 core duo did when it came out. Infact, the Core 2 Duo 1.83 is the same price as the Core 1 Duo 1.66 was when they put it in the Mac Mini! It's an absolute RIP OFF at $799.

That leaves people like me leaning now towards an iMac because we have no other options. Which is probably Apple's scheme.
Thanks for the laugh. I especially liked it when you referred to Core Duo as "defunct" and the GMA 950 as "crap".

I'm going to bet you've never actually used the GMA 950, and I'd HARDLY consider the Core Duo to be "no longer functioning" (which is the definition of defunct, if you didn't know).
 

MacBoySeattle

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 2, 2006
74
1
xfiftyfour said:
Thanks for the laugh. I especially liked it when you referred to Core Duo as "defunct" and the GMA 950 as "crap".

Let me help you out here. When the Core 2 Duo comes out, and supplants the Core (1) Duo, is 64 bit, and is priced EXACTLY THE SAME as the Core 1 Duo was for the same clock speeds when it came out, that pretty much means the Core 1 Duo is "defunct". Do you know why Intel is slashing prices on the Core 1 Duo next month? Could it be because the Core 2 Duo (the Merom version, not Conroe) is it's REPLACEMENT? I don't know your definition of defunct, but when a product's successor is out, it makes that product defunct.

While Intel's GMA is certainly capable of very minor graphics related tasks, are you trying to tell me that a cheap, say ATI X1600, which could easily be placed in the Mini at it's inflated prices wouldn't be 100 times better?

When you decide to "laugh", come with some facts.
 

clevin

macrumors G3
Aug 6, 2006
9,095
1
just a small remind, meron is not a desktop cpu, it is a mobile cpu.
 

MacBoySeattle

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 2, 2006
74
1
clevin said:
just a small remind, meron is not a desktop cpu, it is a mobile cpu.

They are using Merom in the iMacs and would use them in the Mac Minis as well. Apple is choosing to use the Mobile (Merom) Core 2 Duo chip across the board, it appears. They didn't use Conroe in the iMacs. When the Mac Mini is finally upgraded to Core 2 Duo, it'll use Merom as well, likely the T5500 and T5600 (1.66ghz and 1.83 ghz Core 2 Duo Meroms)
 

clevin

macrumors G3
Aug 6, 2006
9,095
1
mmmm,,, first time heard a desktop uses a mobile cpu, don't understand why.
anyway, Apple doesn't really have low end mini, so.... I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy a mac mini at their original price. yeah, I agree with you on mini.
 

MacBoySeattle

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 2, 2006
74
1
clevin said:
mmmm,,, first time heard a desktop uses a mobile cpu, don't understand why.
anyway, Apple doesn't really have low end mini, so.... I wouldn't recommend anyone to buy a mac mini at their original price. yeah, I agree with you on mini.

It's a legacy issue for Apple. When they transitioned from PowerPCs to Intel, they transitioned early and ended up using the original Core (1) Duo chip across their line. The Core (1) Duo is also a laptop (mobile) chip, and was only used by PC manufacturers for laptops. Granted, the Core 1 Duo when it was introduced was still light years ahead of the 90 nm Pentium 4 and Pentium D Netburst architecture, so even if it was a mobile chip, it was 65nm technology and better than anything else out there. Also Apple's line of small, efficient computers like the Mac Mini and iMac lend themselves to mobile chips. I don't fault them for using Merom and not Conroe, I do fault them for still using Yonah when they should use Merom!

My thinking of the rationale behind the Mac Mini upgrade is the following: When the iMac line was transitioned over to the Core 2 Duo, it left a glut of 1.83 ghz Core (1) Duo chips left over that weren't being used. The Core Duo 1.83 was the most popular chip on the previous iMac line. So now, they have a glut they have to get rid of before the full transition to Core 2 Duo, so they put them in the Mac Mini. That's all well and good, but leaving the Mac Mini's price the same and leaving the integrated graphics with only 512mb of ram is ridiculous. Should be $699.
 

Eidorian

macrumors Penryn
Mar 23, 2005
29,190
386
Indianapolis
MacBoySeattle said:
It's a legacy issue for Apple. When they transitioned from PowerPCs to Intel, they transitioned early and ended up using the original Core (1) Duo chip across their line. The Core (1) Duo is also a laptop (mobile) chip, and was only used by PC manufacturers for laptops. Granted, the Core 1 Duo when it was introduced was still light years ahead of the 90 nm Pentium 4 and Pentium D Netburst architecture, so even if it was a mobile chip, it was 65nm technology and better than anything else out there. Also Apple's line of small, efficient computers like the Mac Mini and iMac lend themselves to mobile chips. I don't fault them for using Merom and not Conroe, I do fault them for still using Yonah when they should use Merom!
Yonah is a terrible chip? Am I right?
 

Warbrain

macrumors 603
Jun 28, 2004
5,702
293
Chicago, IL
MacBoySeattle said:
It's a legacy issue for Apple. When they transitioned from PowerPCs to Intel, they transitioned early and ended up using the original Core (1) Duo chip across their line. The Core (1) Duo is also a laptop (mobile) chip, and was only used by PC manufacturers for laptops. Granted, the Core 1 Duo when it was introduced was still light years ahead of the 90 nm Pentium 4 and Pentium D Netburst architecture, so even if it was a mobile chip, it was 65nm technology and better than anything else out there. Also Apple's line of small, efficient computers like the Mac Mini and iMac lend themselves to mobile chips. I don't fault them for using Merom and not Conroe, I do fault them for still using Yonah when they should use Merom!

Yes, Considering that the iMac and the Mac mini are, in essence, like a laptop, they use the laptop processors that use less energy and produce less heat. There's nowhere near as much room in an iMac or Mac mini for the processor to cool as there is in a Dell tower.
 

MacBoySeattle

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 2, 2006
74
1
Eidorian said:
Yonah is a terrible chip? Am I right?

I don't think Yonah is terrible at all, and I never said it was. It is a 65nm chip and, as I said, lightyears ahead of the Intel's previous Netburst 90 nm architecture (Pentium D, etc). That being said, it is now a chip that has reached the end of it's line. The Core 2 Duo (Merom) is out, it's the same price that the Yonahs were when they came out, AND it's 64 bit, and not 32 bit like Yonah. It's also about 10-20% faster on the exact same clock speed.

Look, I have no problem with Yonah still being in the Mac Minis, but they certainly shouldn't keep the price at $799 when they're using chips that are worth so much less, and who's successor is out.
 

bousozoku

Moderator emeritus
Jun 25, 2002
15,603
1,761
Lard
I feel that the changes to the Mac mini were good but not great. The current mini is tied to the MacBook as the older mini was tied to the iBook. The MacBook hasn't been updated at all and when it is, the mini probably will be updated with Core 2 Duo to match. The iMac is a better deal, but that's always been that way. I'd hate to see what you people would be saying if Apple hadn't updated the mini at all. Oh wait! You probably wouldn't be saying anything.

It's not as if Apple is trying to steal from anyone--you don't have to buy it.
 

clevin

macrumors G3
Aug 6, 2006
9,095
1
combatcolin said:
The next Min should have the 965 built in Graphics, big improvment over the 950.

Still not buying one though.
i doubt 965 can be comparable with mainstream ATi or Nvidia card
 

clevin

macrumors G3
Aug 6, 2006
9,095
1
Warbrain said:
Yes, Considering that the iMac and the Mac mini are, in essence, like a laptop, they use the laptop processors that use less energy and produce less heat. There's nowhere near as much room in an iMac or Mac mini for the processor to cool as there is in a Dell tower.
see, this is weird thing, why imac and mini should be "like a laptop"? it couldn't work without a power cord connected to a wall, whats the point?
 

MacBoySeattle

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 2, 2006
74
1
clevin said:
see, this is weird thing, why imac and mini should be "like a laptop"? it couldn't work without a power cord connected to a wall, whats the point?

It's not just power management, it's also size related. Both the iMac and Mac Mini are tiny compared to PCs. Heat dissipation, etc are issues. The Merom Core 2 Duos are more energy efficient than the Conroe Core 2 Duos. They run on a 667 mhz FSB while the Conroes are at 1066 mhz. I really have no problem with Apple choosing to go Merom over Conroe. It makes sense, and Merom is very comparable to Conroe and is infact 64 bit just like the Conroe. The days of major differences between mobile chips and desktop chips are over. I don't know how much you know about the new Core architecture from Intel, but the entire thing (Conroe and Merom) is derived from mobile processor technology. Intel figured out the hard way (because of intense competition from AMD) with the failed Netburst Pentium 4 and Pentium Ds that huge power hungry inefficient processors are just cr*p, so they moved back to the Pentium III model and looked to their mobile chips to create the Core 2 Duo.
 

clevin

macrumors G3
Aug 6, 2006
9,095
1
MacBoySeattle said:
It's not just power management, it's also size related. Both the iMac and Mac Mini are tiny compared to PCs. Heat dissipation, etc are issues. The Merom Core 2 Duos are more energy efficient than the Conroe Core 2 Duos. They run on a 667 mhz FSB while the Conroes are at 1066 mhz. I really have no problem with Apple choosing to go Merom over Conroe. It makes sense, and Merom is very comparable to Conroe and is infact 64 bit just like the Conroe. The days of major differences between mobile chips and desktop chips are over. I don't know how much you know about the new Core architecture from Intel, but the entire thing (Conroe and Merom) is derived from mobile processor technology.
well, i just wonder the price difference between them, its on the desk, people don't really care about the heat, compact is nice design, but if there will be large price drop, i assure you most people will tolerate a larger size, LOL
 

MacBoySeattle

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 2, 2006
74
1
clevin said:
well, i just wonder the price difference between them, its on the desk, people don't really care about the heat, compact is nice design, but if there will be large price drop, i assure you most people will tolerate a larger size, LOL

There isn't a sizable price difference. Infact the 2 lowest price Merom Core 2 Duos are the T5500 and T5600 at $209 and $241 now, about the same price as their Core 1 Duo equivalents at release and not much higher than the 2 low end Conroe Core 2 Duos. It's just that Apple isn't choosing to use those 2 low end Merom chips in their computers yet.
 

gadgetgirl85

macrumors 68040
Mar 24, 2006
3,752
301
I don't feel so bad now buying the Core Duo Mac Mini 1.66 a couple of months ago seems I didn't miss much on the upgrade at all really. Surprised they didn't put Core 2 Duo in though
 

Warbrain

macrumors 603
Jun 28, 2004
5,702
293
Chicago, IL
clevin said:
see, this is weird thing, why imac and mini should be "like a laptop"? it couldn't work without a power cord connected to a wall, whats the point?

But it's the design that makes it so that they have to be built like a laptop. There's not much room for cooling in either the iMac or the Mac mini, probably as much as in an iBook, Powerbook, or MacBook. Because of this, they used the portable chips which are just as powerful as needed in a desktop. You don't see many other people complaining about the processors they use in the iMacs and Mac minis, do you? For the vast majority of people, speed is speed, regardless of what processor.
 

generik

macrumors 601
Aug 5, 2005
4,116
1
Minitrue
MacBoySeattle said:
It's not just power management, it's also size related. Both the iMac and Mac Mini are tiny compared to PCs. Heat dissipation, etc are issues. The Merom Core 2 Duos are more energy efficient than the Conroe Core 2 Duos. They run on a 667 mhz FSB while the Conroes are at 1066 mhz. I really have no problem with Apple choosing to go Merom over Conroe. It makes sense, and Merom is very comparable to Conroe and is infact 64 bit just like the Conroe. The days of major differences between mobile chips and desktop chips are over. I don't know how much you know about the new Core architecture from Intel, but the entire thing (Conroe and Merom) is derived from mobile processor technology. Intel figured out the hard way (because of intense competition from AMD) with the failed Netburst Pentium 4 and Pentium Ds that huge power hungry inefficient processors are just cr*p, so they moved back to the Pentium III model and looked to their mobile chips to create the Core 2 Duo.

Trouble is...

The conroe chips costs less, the Meroms indirectly contribute to unnecessarily high cost of the imac (and possibly Mini).

The Conroe runs off a new chipset (i965) that is full 64 bit compatible, unlike the current iMac which is still using a 32 bit chipset (napa).

Does the iMac even need to be so small? Same with the Mini.

Would it hurt to make them bigger? Contrary to your belief this will actually score them more sales, so many people are looking for a in-between machine that is not All-In-One and has upgradeable slots, but not as powerful as the Mac Pro.
 

zap2

macrumors 604
Mar 8, 2005
7,252
8
Washington D.C
Well then I must be screwed..if the 1.83Ghz opinion is crap, and I bought the 1.66Ghz at the 799 price..I must have gotten screwed over big time!! And I only bought it about 3 months ago! Yet shockingly my Core Duo smokes my G5(which if we still have IBM and Mot, I doubt would be in the Mini)

The Mini to today is an amazing Mac, and the Core Duo is still an amazing chip!...if it was PPC based it would be equal to a G5, with 2 cores in a 6.5'' by 6.5'' by 2''..which is amazing.


Also the low end is really a good deal now, if the Core Solo was similar to one G5(which is was) a Mini with a Core Duo 1.66Ghz is bettering many PowerMac G5s...as for the GPU..well people who buy the Mini should'nt need much power from it..I don't. On the RAM end of things a 512Mb stick from Newegg is cheap, get it and upgrade it yourself, and you have 768 which is fine. Or get a 1Gb stick, and you have 256 from inside it for a nice 1.25Gbs of RAM
 

MacBoySeattle

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 2, 2006
74
1
zap2 said:
Well then I must be screwed..if the 1.83Ghz opinion is crap, and I bought the 1.66Ghz at the 799 price..I must have gotten screwed over big time!! And I only bought it about 3 months ago! Yet shockingly my Core Duo smokes my G5(which if we still have IBM and Mot, I doubt would be in the Mini)

The Mini to today is an amazing Mac, and the Core Duo is still an amazing chip!...if it was PPC based it would be equal to a G5, with 2 cores in a 6.5'' by 6.5'' by 2''..which is amazing.


Also the low end is really a good deal now, if the Core Solo was similar to one G5(which is was) a Mini with a Core Duo 1.66Ghz is bettering many PowerMac G5s...as for the GPU..well people who buy the Mini should'nt need much power from it..I don't. On the RAM end of things a 512Mb stick from Newegg is cheap, get it and upgrade it yourself, and you have 768 which is fine. Or get a 1Gb stick, and you have 256 from inside it for a nice 1.25Gbs of RAM


Ok imagine this. As fast as your Core Duo 1.66 is. The Core 2 Duo 1.66 ghz is somewhere between 10-20% faster at the exact same clock speed. Furthermore, the Core 2 Duo 1.66 is available at the same price that the Core 1 Duo 1.66 was when it was released. You can tell me about how a "certain amount of power is enough for us" until you're blue in the face, but that chip is now one generation old, 10%-20% slower than the current chip, and being sold at the same price. That's a rip off.

They want to keep the Yonahs in the Mac Minis? Fine! Keep the Yonahs in, make it a 1.83, but bump the ram to 1 gb, and charge $699 and not $799. That would be about right using a generation old chip.
 
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