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New Mac Mini Concept
- Thread starter monaarts
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To stay true to the nickname of the new Pro, I suggest iAshtray for that new mini
The design of the new MacPro will work because it has plenty of vertical space to arrange its key components, well, vertically.
This poor Mini mockup, doesn't. So key parts/main board would still have to lay flat as they do now. Hence it's cooling requirements are completely different, making the big fan on top of this mockup ridiculously oversized and would still be less efficient than the smaller fan of the older Mini's.
If a new Mini were to look anything like the new MacPro, it would likely have to be scaled down proportionally in all directions, instead of only vertically for the cooling tower design to work.
But a Mini doesn't really have the hefty cooling requirements of a Macpro, possibly making the design redundant right there. Plus the single main board of the Mini may have to be split into multiple boards, making it more expensive.
People expect a MacPro to be expensive. Not so much for a Mini.
I rather like the idea of reflecting on the design paradigms of the Apple II - in other words, a screenless MBP with touchpad and keyboard already built-in.
It declutters the desk, requires only a single logic board for both the Mac Mini and 13" MBP, and in the case of the cMBP design, it would allow for both a PCIe SSD and two hard drives in a single enclosure.
The only question for this is why not buying a 13" MBP in the first place, as it has the benefit of being portable.
It declutters the desk, requires only a single logic board for both the Mac Mini and 13" MBP, and in the case of the cMBP design, it would allow for both a PCIe SSD and two hard drives in a single enclosure.
The only question for this is why not buying a 13" MBP in the first place, as it has the benefit of being portable.
As the Mac Mini is effectively a laptop without a screen or battery, I would like it just as a laptop would be without them, a keyboard with the computer built into the underside.
Computers such as the Commodore 64 have done this in the past, although a Mac Mini could be much thinner. It would be a great space saver as the footprint is contained within the keyboard you have anyway. Plus the long thin shape would be better able to dissipate heat. And components would be more accessible, so the hard drives could be made user replaceable.
EDIT: Giuly's post only appeared after I had composed mine. Our ideas are fairly similar, the difference being mine doesn't include the touchpad, allowing a much smaller device. I prefer it this way as I hate reaching over the touchpad to type (my keyboard is on the edge of my desk).
Computers such as the Commodore 64 have done this in the past, although a Mac Mini could be much thinner. It would be a great space saver as the footprint is contained within the keyboard you have anyway. Plus the long thin shape would be better able to dissipate heat. And components would be more accessible, so the hard drives could be made user replaceable.
EDIT: Giuly's post only appeared after I had composed mine. Our ideas are fairly similar, the difference being mine doesn't include the touchpad, allowing a much smaller device. I prefer it this way as I hate reaching over the touchpad to type (my keyboard is on the edge of my desk).
I'd be okay with my Mini being larger if I could get an i7 with the graphics options of a 27" iMac. That would sell me on it in a heartbeat, to be honest.