Buying refurb'd 2010 Mac Mini 2.66GHz C2D - good idea?

ToTo Man · 06:00 AM

I'm currently using my Mac Pro as my Home Entertainment centre connected to my TV and HiFi to listen to music (redbook 16/44 and high rez 24/96), watched ripped DVDs, and watch HD video content from YouTube via Safari, HD movies from Netflix etc. But it's simply too big and noisy for my fairly small HT room so I want to replace it with a Mac Mini, which I'm hoping will be as near to silent as possible.

I'd buy a new Mini but the lack of an optical drive is a major drawback (I must be one of the few people who still uses CDs and DVDs in 2012... who'd have thought??!!!). I know you can get an external SuperDrive but that kind of defeats the sleek design of the Mini so I think I'd rather opt for an older model with the built-in optical drive.

My question is will a 2010 2.66GHz Mac Mini be powerful enough to fulfil my above requirements? I appreciate that the 2GB RAM and 320GB 5400rpm HDD are probably the two most limiting factors, but I plan to upgrade to 8GB RAM and all of my media content will be stored on a 1TB USB 2.0 HDD.

I'll still be keeping my Mac Pro, just moving it to another room, as it's a real beast for video editing etc!.....

iCole · Apr 25, 2012, 06:21 AM

Why don't you opt for an apple TV for movie watching and use an iPad for surfing? I tried to do Internet on my tv but I didn't find it to be a good experience :-)

ToTo Man · Apr 25, 2012, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iCole

Why don't you opt for an apple TV for movie watching and use an iPad for surfing? I tried to do Internet on my tv but I didn't find it to be a good experience :-)

The Apple TV would be great if it could handle both 16/44 and 96/24 audio natively, but unfortunately it doesn't (it resamples everything to 16/48!).

Bear · Apr 25, 2012, 07:12 AM

Since you're concerned about sleek looking, another option is a 2011 Mini with a miniStack Max for the external HD/DVD combo.

DavoteK · Apr 25, 2012, 07:23 AM

Personally, I think your requirements are more than covered with a Mini'10. Been looking myself, but in the UK, the Mini'10 is coming in more expensive than the Mini'11 from places like eBay.

No refurbs on the Apple Store here. Out of interest, how much and where?

ToTo Man · 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavoteK

Personally, I think your requirements are more than covered with a Mini'10. Been looking myself, but in the UK, the Mini'10 is coming in more expensive than the Mini'11 from places like eBay.

No refurbs on the Apple Store here. Out of interest, how much and where?

I'm in the UK too.

I've just gone ahead and ordered it from the refurb store in case they disappear again (http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/hom...s/mac/mac_mini). Price is £479.00.

EDIT - It's no longer showing on the refurb store since I've ordered it. Looks as if I may have got the last one, sorry. That's assuming my order went through ok and they weren't already sold out. Guess I won't know for sure until I get my dispatch email...

B.A.T · Apr 25, 2012, 08:07 AM

the 2010 mini is plenty for what you want it to do.

philipma1957 · Apr 25, 2012, 08:36 AM

the c2d refurbished minis sell out fast. If you could have purchased a 2.4 vs the 2.66 you would be better off. The speed of the 2.66 is not much better then the 2.4. The problem is they sell off so fast that grabbing one quickly is better then having no mini at all.

I would have waited for a 2.4 if I were you but the wait in the U.K. could be very long for a 2010 2.4 Here in the states once every 15 days if you are lucky to get it. The 2.4 is 469 usd the 2.66 is 519 usd.

MacSignal · Apr 25, 2012, 10:01 AM

That mini should work fine for the way you will use it. Good luck!

DavoteK · Apr 25, 2012, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToTo Man

I'm in the UK too.

I've just gone ahead and ordered it from the refurb store in case they disappear again (http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/hom...s/mac/mac_mini). Price is £479.00.

EDIT - It's no longer showing on the refurb store since I've ordered it. Looks as if I may have got the last one, sorry. That's assuming my order went through ok and they weren't already sold out. Guess I won't know for sure until I get my dispatch email...

Haha, no need to apologise man, not in the market at the moment, these things take a while to put past the wife, lots of convincing. Seems to be working, iPad, iMac and a Macbook Pro haha.

Let us know how you find it if you ordered in time. Just don't rub it in too much

ToTo Man · Apr 26, 2012, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavoteK

Haha, no need to apologise man, not in the market at the moment, these things take a while to put past the wife, lots of convincing. Seems to be working, iPad, iMac and a Macbook Pro haha.

Let us know how you find it if you ordered in time. Just don't rub it in too much

Well it looks like my order was processed ok as it's just been delivered to my door. Looks like I'll have a busy evening ahead of me!

.....

GlynJones · Apr 26, 2012, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToTo Man

EDIT - It's no longer showing on the refurb store since I've ordered it. Looks as if I may have got the last one, sorry. That's assuming my order went through ok and they weren't already sold out. Guess I won't know for sure until I get my dispatch email...

So it was you that snagged it? It was in my basket and when I hit place order it had gone. It was at this time as well ggggggrrrrrrrrr

Dhelsdon · Apr 26, 2012, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToTo Man

Well it looks like my order was processed ok as it's just been delivered to my door. Looks like I'll have a busy evening ahead of me!

.....

Which one did you end up getting?

ToTo Man · Apr 26, 2012, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dhelsdon

Which one did you end up getting?

This one: http://store.apple.com/uk/product/G0H50B/A

And it seems I got an unexpected bonus.... just checked System Profiler and it appears I have 4GB RAM and 500GB HDD instead of the advertised 2GB RAM and 320GB HDD

. Wish I'd have waited until it arrived before ordering the 8GB RAM upgrade from Crucial, but I suppose 8GB will still be a worthwhile upgrade from 4GB.

Now I need to decide whether to upgrade from Snow Leopard to Lion or just wait until Mountain Lion is released??

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlynJones

So it was you that snagged it? It was in my basket and when I hit place order it had gone. It was at this time as well ggggggrrrrrrrrr

Apologies

. I was going to pull the trigger in the morning but managed to resist until then, but I couldn't restrain myself any longer. Hope another one comes along for you soon.....

DavoteK · Apr 26, 2012, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToTo Man

Now I need to decide whether to upgrade from Snow Leopard to Lion or just wait until Mountain Lion is released??

I'd hang fire if its purely a media setup you're using it for, if purchasing it at all. XBMC or Plex will work on Snow Leopard (I think) so thats all you'd need.

Nice on the extra spec and yes, defo stick it up to 8GB.

GlynJones · May 2, 2012, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToTo Man

Apologies

. I was going to pull the trigger in the morning but managed to resist until then, but I couldn't restrain myself any longer. Hope another one comes along for you soon.....

Yippee another one appeared this morning. Just snaffood it

iDemiurge · May 2, 2012, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlynJones

Yippee another one appeared this morning. Just snaffood it

I'm on the lookout for a different mini, but I saw it this morning as well. Wonder if OP returned it or if it was indeed a different one.

ToTo Man · May 2, 2012, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlynJones

Yippee another one appeared this morning. Just snaffood it

Congrats!

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by iDemiurge

Wonder if OP returned it or if it was indeed a different one.

No plans to return this baby any time soon

.....

iDemiurge · May 3, 2012, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToTo Man

No plans to return this baby any time soon

.....

Cool! Just thought you had returned cause it was exactly the same model, 2.66. Would expect the 2.4 to show up more often!

GlynJones · May 3, 2012, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ToTo Man

And it seems I got an unexpected bonus.... just checked System Profiler and it appears I have 4GB RAM and 500GB HDD instead of the advertised 2GB RAM and 320GB HDD

.

Same here. Was going to swap the drive out and put in more memory but no need to now. Happy days

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlynJones

Same here. Was going to swap the drive out and put in more memory but no need to now. Happy days

And it's a 7200rpm drive as well. All my birthdays at once

ToTo Man · May 4, 2012, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlynJones

And it's a 7200rpm drive as well. All my birthdays at once

Yeah, mine is too, I forgot to mention that. Happy days!

Apr 25, 2012, 05:22 AM	#1
ToTo Man macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2008	Buying refurb'd 2010 Mac Mini 2.66GHz C2D - good idea? I'm currently using my Mac Pro as my Home Entertainment centre connected to my TV and HiFi to listen to music (redbook 16/44 and high rez 24/96), watched ripped DVDs, and watch HD video content from YouTube via Safari, HD movies from Netflix etc. But it's simply too big and noisy for my fairly small HT room so I want to replace it with a Mac Mini, which I'm hoping will be as near to silent as possible. I'd buy a new Mini but the lack of an optical drive is a major drawback (I must be one of the few people who still uses CDs and DVDs in 2012... who'd have thought??!!!). I know you can get an external SuperDrive but that kind of defeats the sleek design of the Mini so I think I'd rather opt for an older model with the built-in optical drive. My question is will a 2010 2.66GHz Mac Mini be powerful enough to fulfil my above requirements? I appreciate that the 2GB RAM and 320GB 5400rpm HDD are probably the two most limiting factors, but I plan to upgrade to 8GB RAM and all of my media content will be stored on a 1TB USB 2.0 HDD. I'll still be keeping my Mac Pro, just moving it to another room, as it's a real beast for video editing etc!..... __________________ MBA 2011, 1.6GHz i5, 4GB, 128GB; MBP 2010, 2.4GHz C2D, 8GB, 250GB; MM 2010, 2.66GHz C2D, 8GB, 500GB; MP 2008, 2x3.2Ghz Quad-Core Xeon, 8GB, 500GB Boot & 2x2TB Data RAID1; Last edited by ToTo Man; Apr 25, 2012 at 06:00 AM.
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Apr 25, 2012, 07:12 AM	#4
Bear macrumors 603 Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Sol III - Terra	Since you're concerned about sleek looking, another option is a 2011 Mini with a miniStack Max for the external HD/DVD combo. __________________ -----Bear
	0

Apr 25, 2012, 10:01 AM	#9
MacSignal macrumors regular Join Date: May 2010	That mini should work fine for the way you will use it. Good luck! __________________ MacSignal
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Apr 25, 2012, 06:21 AM	#2
iCole macrumors regular Join Date: Jun 2010	Why don't you opt for an apple TV for movie watching and use an iPad for surfing? I tried to do Internet on my tv but I didn't find it to be a good experience :-)
	0

Apr 25, 2012, 07:23 AM	#5
DavoteK macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2012	Personally, I think your requirements are more than covered with a Mini'10. Been looking myself, but in the UK, the Mini'10 is coming in more expensive than the Mini'11 from places like eBay. No refurbs on the Apple Store here. Out of interest, how much and where?
	0

Apr 25, 2012, 08:07 AM	#7
B.A.T macrumors 6502 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Idaho	the 2010 mini is plenty for what you want it to do.
	0

Apr 25, 2012, 08:36 AM	#8
philipma1957 macrumors 603 Join Date: Apr 2010	the c2d refurbished minis sell out fast. If you could have purchased a 2.4 vs the 2.66 you would be better off. The speed of the 2.66 is not much better then the 2.4. The problem is they sell off so fast that grabbing one quickly is better then having no mini at all. I would have waited for a 2.4 if I were you but the wait in the U.K. could be very long for a 2010 2.4 Here in the states once every 15 days if you are lucky to get it. The 2.4 is 469 usd the 2.66 is 519 usd.
	0