Should I buy or wait?

At a starting price of $599,why would anyone buy or keep this flawed product?

I'm waiting.

From an HDMI to HDMI guy who has to drive an hour and a half to my nearest Apple store, tonight, to return my Mini I would say wait and see if Apple release a fix.

So many people are having issues that I would not recommend anyone to buy the new Mini if they're going to use the onboard HDMI port, even if it's with an adapter. There is clearly a major issue with it (debate is raging as to its cause) but until Apple acknowledge it and a fix is forthcoming, no-one knows for sure what's going to happen, so I would say, don't buy it yet...

If you don't need it wait for a fix. If you need it then go for it and get a Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter. No black screen issues.
(10 bucks)

My new Mac mini server is fine and I'm using just a HDMI lead connected to a 46" Samsung HDTV. I have no screen issues.
Remember apple have probably sold thousands of these units worldwide by now - the issues you read on the Internet are mainly from customers having issues and seeking advice. You rarely here from those whose systems are working fine. I would estimate the % of affected units is realistically very low anyway.
As I said, I've not experienced any issues whatsoever.

tom vilsack said:

At a starting price of $599,why would anyone buy or keep this flawed product?

I'm waiting.

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I have purchased two. Neither exhibit flaws. I can't imagine it's a consistent defect.

It took ten or eleven days of fairly solid use for my Mini to show the problems, I suspect many people who think they haven't got the issue, just haven't seen it yet. I could be wrong - and for all of you in this category, I sincerely hope that I am - but it is a strong suspicion.

The OP states that she lives a long way from an Apple Store, Apple have not acknowledged the issue even exists, yet it's clear from looking on here and the Apple Support Communities that a significant number of buyers have had the issue. I've had it myself. Therefore, I would say that there's a good chance that she will be affected if she buys.

The poll in this forum speaks for itself on the HDMI issues. No-one seems to agree on whether it's a hardware problem or a software issue or whether it affects every machine but it's clear that a significant number of people are encountering problems with their HDMI outputs. Can it be fixed? Hopefully, but I would not want to gamble my hard-earned cash on it.

I'm returning mine and will wait and watch to see what happens before I consider buying again.

pollaxe said:

The poll in this forum speaks for itself on the HDMI issues.

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Actually, no it doesn't. The poll is missing 99.9% of people who have purchased the new Mac Mini and the method used is not probabilistic. That means it can easily be misleading.

fa8362 said:

Actually, no it doesn't. The poll is missing 99.9% of people who have purchased the new Mac Mini and the method used is not probabilistic. That means it can easily be misleading.

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I don't seek out forums to not complain about problems that I'm not experiencing. Even here. where I visit regularly, I rarely bother with polls because they're either pointless or address issues that don't affect me. Again, I don't doubt that people are experiencing problems, but it's also clear that it's not the case for all purchasers and may very well be very isolated.

Wait, or you'll be sorry. This is a major issue with the HD4000 GPU first noticed in Win/Linux platforms back in June, and Intel still hasn't fixed. I wouldn't spend my money hoping a fix would happen anytime soon. I RMA'd my Mini 2.6, totally UNSAT!

Besides the bad color issue (which can be corrected in a number of manners) and the 3 second black screen what other issues are there that would warrant a return? The black screen thing happens once a day tops usually a few minutes after a wake up. At least from what I noticed. I got a Mac Mini replacement yesterday and it hasn't acted up yet on me.

The machine is super powerful and I'm loving it so far.

fa8362 said:

Actually, no it doesn't. The poll is missing 99.9% of people who have purchased the new Mac Mini and the method used is not probabilistic. That means it can easily be misleading.

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It speaks for itself that some people are clearly having issues with HDMI, as do the pages on the Apple Support Communities. Very few seem to be affected by MDP/Thunderbolt display issues. Of course we don't have a full sample of how many Mac Minis have been sold or of those, how many people are affected (or even using just HDMI) but it does say some people here are clearly having issues; so if you buy a Mac Mini there is a chance you will have the HDMI issue too.

That was my point.

You and I don't know how likely one is to experience that issue, no-one outside of Apple and Intel do. A percentage of units sold will have regular hardware faults, like any technology does. However, there are rumblings across platforms (Windows and Linux, as well as OS X) about this very issue so something, it seems, isn't right and it's affecting people who use HDMI. Whether it's hardware or software, I don't know.

People are free to make their own choices and judgements, I'm someone who has directly experienced the problem and has to drive a long way to the Apple Store, just like the OP, so I empathised with the situation.

It's her money, her decision. If a friend asks whether they should buy a 2012 Mac Mini to use with HDMI I'll give my same opinion; no.

MrXiro, some people are getting longer than a few seconds, I had a loop of them that lasted for several seconds each and some people have to power off their screens, others have reported that they've had to restart their Minis to clear them.

Katieg-fm said:

Some are working fine, but lots aren't, and no way to know what percentage.

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The point is that it may very well be that MOST are working fine and some aren't.

Katieg-fm said:

Thanks for all the input. Seems like there is no easy answer. I could buy one, but I guess it would be a gamble. Some are working fine, but lots aren't, and no way to know what percentage. For right now, i think it's too much money for me to gamble, at least until apple acknowledges the problem and has a fix.
Crappy, since my old hp laptop died and now I,m stuck waiting! Was really hoping for a mini Xmas present to myself!

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Good decision! I waited 6 months for the updated Mini, and am severely disappointed to see it released with an Intel GPU issue that's been outstanding since June. I'm buying a 2011, and wait till the next update.

poloponies said:

The point is that it may very well be that MOST are working fine and some aren't.

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Yep. But those with issues are the loudest. It's probably a tiny percentage and Apple has difficulties to identify the bug because it is so rare.

Base configuration i5 user here. I have had the black screen a couple of times, but seriously it's not a show stopper. Happens for just a second or two then it's back to normal.

definitely not a show stopper, just a bit annoying at times. Switch off and on the monitor solves the issue.

apple has holiday return policy right now, lets you return before 6th Jan 2013, so i'd say just buy it. Experience it yourself, if you dont like it then return it next year.