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mini dilemma

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USB123

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 18, 2012
66
0
Ireland
Hi all, I will be getting a Mac mini soon (a month or so) and there is a premium Apple Reseller near me. They are selling end-of-line mac Mini's (last generation, but brand new in box) at a reduced price.

There is a €599 2.3GHz here: http://store.compub.com/collections/eol/products/mc815b-a
With the well-known problems of the screen-flicker/blackouts, would it be a good idea to get that last-gen mini or get the late 2012 mini for €60 extra, or even a refurb mini from 2011 (which are like hen's teeth on the Apple store)?

Also, what is the max. RAM you can use in the last gen mini?

Any help is much appreciated
 
S

stuffradio

macrumors 65816
Mar 17, 2009
1,016
6
USB123 said:
Hi all, I will be getting a Mac mini soon (a month or so) and there is a premium Apple Reseller near me. They are selling end-of-line mac Mini's (last generation, but brand new in box) at a reduced price.

There is a €599 2.3GHz here: http://store.compub.com/collections/eol/products/mc815b-a
With the well-known problems of the screen-flicker/blackouts, would it be a good idea to get that last-gen mini or get the late 2012 mini for €60 extra, or even a refurb mini from 2011 (which are like hen's teeth on the Apple store)?

Also, what is the max. RAM you can use in the last gen mini?

Any help is much appreciated
Click to expand...

Apple says 8 GB, but I have 16 GB. 2x8GB sticks of RAM. I have the mid-2011, so I can't tell you anything about the flicker problems.
 
E

Edde1

macrumors member
Nov 23, 2012
39
0
If you use tb port with acd display or dvi adapter you will not have problem. I have a 2012 mini + cinema display conected to thunderbolt port and no poblems with screen. Hdmi is the problem i think ?
 
L

LaunchpadBS

macrumors 6502a
Nov 11, 2008
653
5
iLondon/iDurban
If you only plan on using one monitor with it then you can use the displayport output instead of the HDMI, btw I have one of the new Mini's with dual monitors and luckily I guess I don't have the screen flicker issue off the HDMI port, the colors were flat but after some calibration I've managed to get them very close to the expected result.

Worth keeping in mind cause you're getting a quad core with 1600MHZ fsb and USB 3, it's a very fast machine, I weighed up the pros/cons of the previous gen mini vs the new one and the pros far outweigh the cons, for my needs at least.
 
ActionableMango

ActionableMango

macrumors G3
Sep 21, 2010
9,612
6,907
There are people in the blackout thread that are reporting problems even when using the Thunderbolt port.

Yes, far less people are reporting problems on the Thunderbolt port, but then again, using DP/Thunderbolt monitor connections are themselves less common anyway.

If you'd prefer the 2012, I'd say get it. Not everyone is having the problem and you have 14 days to return it (or maybe it is longer in Europe). Most people are saying they cannot go one day or even a couple of hours without seeing the problem, so 14 days should be plenty.
 
U

USB123

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 18, 2012
66
0
Ireland
Thanks for the replies. According to MacRumours, Apple has released a firmware update for the screen flicker issue. Let's hope that solves the problem. For future-proofing, I will be getting a new monitor in a matter of months (hopefully).
For the time being, I will be using my old 2003 15" Philips flatscreen monitor 1024 X 768 pixels. I can use a mini-display port to VGA adaptor to connect it to the mini. Well, it looks like I'll be getting the late 2012 mini, like I said, for future proofing! Also, I think the USB 3 speeds will be appreciated.

P.S. LaunchpadBS, you said "the colours were flat", is that due to the lower grade Intel graphics or is that seen on other Macs?
 
L

LaunchpadBS

macrumors 6502a
Nov 11, 2008
653
5
iLondon/iDurban
USB123 said:
Thanks for the replies. According to MacRumours, Apple has released a firmware update for the screen flicker issue. Let's hope that solves the problem. For future-proofing, I will be getting a new monitor in a matter of months (hopefully).
For the time being, I will be using my old 2003 15" Philips flatscreen monitor 1024 X 768 pixels. I can use a mini-display port to VGA adaptor to connect it to the mini. Well, it looks like I'll be getting the late 2012 mini, like I said, for future proofing! Also, I think the USB 3 speeds will be appreciated.

P.S. LaunchpadBS, you said "the colours were flat", is that due to the lower grade Intel graphics or is that seen on other Macs?
Click to expand...

I think that's just an issue with the HD4000 via HDMI on the mini because I've also got a 2012 Macbook pro with the HD4000 and I don't have that problem.

Apparently the 10.8.3 update fixes the flat colors, there was a dev who'd updated(as its a pre release atm) and said his HDMI colors were now perfect, seems like Apple have this problem nailed.
 
B

blanka

macrumors 68000
Jul 30, 2012
1,551
4
Skip that one for the new model! It is way overpriced. The new one is 50€ more, yet a bit faster, usb 3, 1 tb and HD4000 instead of the way too slow HD3000.
If you could get a mid-2011 for 599, then its OK as you get the Radeon.
 
M

Mojo1

macrumors 65816
Jul 26, 2011
1,244
21
No problems here using a 2.3GHz Mini with an NEC display connected to the Thunderbolt port using Apple's Display Port to Mini DP adapter.
 
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