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Looking at Mini for home entertainment setup

A

acrahm

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 12, 2007
225
0
I currently have a 5 yr old iMac that has all iTunes media on it.

But now I need a more portable machine so i am getting a rMBP and selling the iMac.

But i still need a central home entertainment machine that my ATV etc can all access for movies/music etc. My only spec i really care for on any new machine i get is storage (at least 1TB)

Probably looking at a Mini, Do i need to get one of the newer ones or can i get a 3-4 yr old mini to run what i need? Tough to justify $700 for a machine that will be used only for running media...
 
phrehdd

phrehdd

macrumors 601
Oct 25, 2008
4,316
1,312
acrahm said:
I currently have a 5 yr old iMac that has all iTunes media on it.

But now I need a more portable machine so i am getting a rMBP and selling the iMac.

But i still need a central home entertainment machine that my ATV etc can all access for movies/music etc. My only spec i really care for on any new machine i get is storage (at least 1TB)

Probably looking at a Mini, Do i need to get one of the newer ones or can i get a 3-4 yr old mini to run what i need? Tough to justify $700 for a machine that will be used only for running media...
Click to expand...

If all you will do is iTunes/ATV, then an older Mini should work well. Don't fret about the internal volume as you can always add an external drive. OWC offers some cases that emulate the look of the Mini and you can stack them (just use reasonable spacers to allow for heat dissipation.

My taste would be to get the newer Minis (refurbs etc) and allow a more multi-duty functionality to exists including - web search, XBMC/PLEX use and of course iTunes. Candidly, consider upping RAM to 8 gigs and take the full benefit. I use a newer Mini for multi-purpose including movie playback and the HDMI port is something you too might consider when deciding on which older model to purchase.
 
A

acrahm

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 12, 2007
225
0
phrehdd said:
If all you will do is iTunes/ATV, then an older Mini should work well. Don't fret about the internal volume as you can always add an external drive. OWC offers some cases that emulate the look of the Mini and you can stack them (just use reasonable spacers to allow for heat dissipation.

My taste would be to get the newer Minis (refurbs etc) and allow a more multi-duty functionality to exists including - web search, XBMC/PLEX use and of course iTunes. Candidly, consider upping RAM to 8 gigs and take the full benefit. I use a newer Mini for multi-purpose including movie playback and the HDMI port is something you too might consider when deciding on which older model to purchase.
Click to expand...

thanks for the advice! i currently have 12gb of ram (DDR3) in my iMac, could i use the same ram i have in it in a mac mini? and how easy/hard is it to swap out the ram in a mini?
 
AZhappyjack

AZhappyjack

macrumors G3
Jul 3, 2011
9,623
22,751
Happy Jack, AZ
acrahm said:
thanks for the advice! i currently have 12gb of ram (DDR3) in my iMac, could i use the same ram i have in it in a mac mini? and how easy/hard is it to swap out the ram in a mini?
Click to expand...

Installing RAM in the Mac Mini is about as easy as it gets. Flip the Mini over, twist the cover and lift it off. The RAM slots are staring you right in the face. The only issue will be making sure the RAM you have/use is compatible.
 
DZ/015

DZ/015

macrumors 6502a
Mar 23, 2003
875
26
New England
I currently use a 2009 mini for just this purpose. Have the media on an external drive and it works very well serving up iTunes.
 
A

acrahm

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 12, 2007
225
0
DZ/015 said:
I currently use a 2009 mini for just this purpose. Have the media on an external drive and it works very well serving up iTunes.
Click to expand...

if you don't mind me asking, what are the specs on your 09 mini?
 
DZ/015

DZ/015

macrumors 6502a
Mar 23, 2003
875
26
New England
Don't mind at all.

It has a 2.0GHz core2duo processor, 4GB of ram, and the stock 120GB hard drive. All the media is stored on an OWC Mercury Elite Qx2 with 4 2TB WD red drives. Everymac link to original specs.

I have thought about getting a newer one, but this one just keeps chugging along with no problem. I'll probably run it til it dies.
 
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