soon getting my new mac mini set up tell me what you think

[snow755]

hi

this will be my new mac mini set up


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1086736-REG/apple_mgen2ll_a_mac_mini_2_6_ghz.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/747875-REG/ASUS_VE228H_VE228H_21_5_LED_Backlit.html


http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1113144-REG/apple_magic_mouse_with_keyboard.html



and with UPS ground shipping of $14.19 the hole thing will coast me about $920.66 out my $958 price line this is going too be a major upgrade from my window 8.1 laptop and so this year i want too get a desktop and this is the best way i can think of getting in too the mac word with out spending $1500 +


so what you guys think and this mac mini will go vary well with my iphone 6S

 

[Micky Do]

Yes, 39" TV should work fine with the Mac Mini using a HDMI cable.

The original Mac Mini, bought in 2005, was my first computer. When the HDD and power supply failed several years later, I reckoned it was time to update to an Intel model, so I bought my second, which I am still using. So, obviously I like my Mac Mini; it is all the computer I need.

I have never owned a Windows computer, and only occasionally use one (at work). I do have Office for Mac installed on my Mini, but seldom use it. Pages and Numbers work fine for my needs. They can open and export Office files. However, if you do find you need to use Windows based apps, you can buy and install Windows OS on a Mac.

 

[snow755]

Yes, 39" TV should work fine with the Mac Mini using a HDMI cable.

The original Mac Mini, bought in 2005, was my first computer. When the HDD and power supply failed several years later, I reckoned it was time to update to an Intel model, so I bought my second, which I am still using. So, obviously I like my Mac Mini; it is all the computer I need.

I have never owned a Windows computer, and only occasionally use one (at work). I do have Office for Mac installed on my Mini, but seldom use it. Pages and Numbers work fine for my needs. They can open and export Office files. However, if you do find you need to use Windows based apps, you can buy and install Windows OS on a Mac.

thanks for the info would i be able too usd the HDMI cable too hock up my mac mini once i get too too power it on and get it all set up the way i want it?

 

[Meister]

Mini works excellent with TVs via hdmi.
I use mine with a 46" samsung led screen.

 

[snow755]

i found me a good mac mini setup

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1086736-REG/apple_mgen2ll_a_mac_mini_2_6_ghz.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/747875-REG/ASUS_VE228H_VE228H_21_5_LED_Backlit.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/966360-REG/logitech_920_004536_mk270_wireless_combo.html


and best of all when am ready too check out i can pick one day UPS shipping of $96 and still be well under my 958 area has my price area is $920

 

[snow755]

what you guys think

 

[Micky Do]

what you guys think

Nothing really…… I hope it works well for you. Use it for a bit, then let us know what you think.

 

[WarcraftWidow]

what you guys think

That setup should work well. I have a 2011 Mac mini as a media server to my varied Apple devices and it is still going strong.

 

[snow755]

That setup should work well. I have a 2011 Mac mini as a media server to my varied Apple devices and it is still going strong.

thanks am looking too fully bump my HP window laptop once i get my new mac mini set up been wanting too get in too a mac for a long time now and i am going too do it at long last

 

[snow755]

Nothing really…… I hope it works well for you. Use it for a bit, then let us know what you think.

thanks the last time i was on a imac was back in 2005 when my school was using this http://www.cultofmac.com/5204/old-macs-in-the-new-economy/

 

[WarcraftWidow]

thanks am looking too fully bump my HP window laptop once i get my new mac mini set up been wanting too get in too a mac for a long time now and i am going too do it at long last

Congrats. Mac minis are great little computers.

 

[Soulman]

what you guys think

I'm a little jealous, it's inspiring me to look into something for christmas.

 

[Celerondon]

with UPS ground shipping of $14.19

i can pick one day UPS shipping of $96

what you guys think

That deal looks like a good way to get into the game. That mid-level mini has 8Gb of RAM and all of the 2014 enhancements.

I have one suggestion though. Your posts indicate that you are considering one day UPS shipping for $96. If you skip the faster shipping that $81 that you save could purchase the $66 B&H Apple Magic Trackpad and a USB keyboard. Or you might be able to go all Bluetooth and save your precious USB 3.0 port instead of tying it up with a wireless dongle.

You can get the full OS X GUI experience from Yosemite and El Capitan with a Magic Trackpad.

 

[snow755]

That deal looks like a good way to get into the game. That mid-level mini has 8Gb of RAM and all of the 2014 enhancements.

I have one suggestion though. Your posts indicate that you are considering one day UPS shipping for $96. If you skip the faster shipping that $81 that you save could purchase the $66 B&H Apple Magic Trackpad and a USB keyboard. Or you might be able to go all Bluetooth and save your precious USB 3.0 port instead of tying it up with a wireless dongle.

You can get the full OS X GUI experience from Yosemite and El Capitan with a Magic Trackpad.

thanks you for your idea am going too go with that i have booked marked the pages thanks

 

[snow755]

i wounder if i should this go a head and save my $ up a little more and get me a imac

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1190350-REG/apple_mk442ll_a_21_5_imac_late_2015.html

and it looks like they dont charged sales taxs un less you live in new york

 

[Celerondon]

i wounder if i should this go a head and save my $ up a little more and get me a imac...

This is easy snow755, No!

To clarify, I say no you should not get that iMac even though it is better in many ways. Despite the Iris Pro graphics, fast RAM, nice monitor, premium keyboard & mouse, and Quad Core CPU, the iMac lacks the main upgrade that a Mac needs in this price range.

For this kind of money you must get SSD storage! Both the mini and iMac that you are considering should have headers on the logic board for PCIe connectors. it takes plenty of effort, cash, and expertise to add a PCIe SSD after the fact. PCIe SSDs are faster than SATA SSDs and much faster than everything else.

Purchase either machine with the SSD or Fusion Drive storage option to get maximum performance for your money. I predict that Fishrrman and many others will agree with this advice. Even users who bought base models with SATA storage for rock bottom prices should agree that 2X or even 3X their purchase price should get you SSD storage.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1086736-REG/apple_mgen2ll_a_mac_mini_2_6_ghz.html
...
what do you guys think"

My opinion only, but I think you are going to become VERY unhappy with this model VERY quickly, because all it has is the 1tb HDD.

You need at the very minimum the 1tb fusion drive option. This includes a 128gb SSD -and- a 1tb HDD.
This one will give you the level of performance you want.

Buy anything "less", and you're going to be an unhappy customer.

Addendum:
I also would recommend that unless you have already tried Apple keyboards and mice, and unless you KNOW that you like their "feel", that you keep using what you have now for a while...

 

[scottsjack]

what you guys think

I'm one of those crazy guys who will take some heat for this. I would not buy any mini with less than 16GM of RAM. You just never know what you will want to do with it. I am also a fan of SSDs though I have to admit that my 2012 mini 2.3 quad runs pretty good now that it is back on its OEM HDD.

 

[MTI]

I join the recommendation for ordering, at least, the Fusion drive so that you get the PCI-e cabling in place. My recent concern is whether Apple is going to ship newly configured Minis with the revised Fusion 1TB drive that has a smaller PCI-e SSD section. Apparently that's the case in the newest iMacs with the 1TB Fusion drive.

 

[Celerondon]

I would not buy any mini with less than 16GM of RAM.

Yeah scottsjack, you have to take some heat for that.

Of course depending on your altitude, living in Arizona has probably prepared you to take some heat. So here we go...

By now, everyone knows that the RAM on the new minis is not upgradable. However, this hard fact is no reason for mass hysteria and a general rush to purchase RAM we do not need.

4Gb of RAM in a new mini is light but livable. Plenty of users on these forums use 4Gb Macs with El Capitan, Yosemite, and Mavericks. Although some software requires more RAM most programs can live in 4Gb and OS X is getting better at memory management with each update.

8Gb of RAM is plenty and not excessively expensive. Few applications or tasks demand more than 8Gb for proper operation. Users who use these specialized applications and or operate multiple virtual machines should not balk at purchasing more RAM.

16Gb costs way more than 8Gb. Apple does charge a premium for RAM. If El Capitan runs fine on a 4Gb mini with SSD storage, there is no trend that indicates that a 2018 or 2019 version of OS X will need 16Gb to boot properly.

Sorry scottsjack, but I must disagree when anyone tells a user that has a budget that 16Gb is a hard minimum for RAM on a Mac mini for general personal use.

 

[snow755]

i found a mac mini with flash SDD 256GB http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...ils&Q=&sku=1109804&is=REG&bundleId=1109804REG

i this dont want too get any thing with a HDD and be a un happy camper

 

[snow755]

and i found this http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1086737-REG/apple_mgeq2ll_a_mac_mini_2_8_ghz.html


wish is better SDD or Fusion Drive wish would run faster with boot up times and ever thing else

 

[Celerondon]

i this dont want too get any thing with a HDD and be a un happy camper

wish is better SDD or Fusion Drive wish would run faster with boot up times and ever thing else

Right snow755, that is your choice now. A comparable (2.6 Ghz) FD mini is only 5 dollars more than the SSD version. One bonus is that it comes with hardware for both types of internal storage (SATA & PCIe). You should do some research to learn about the difference between an SSD and a FD. The short answer is that the SSD is a bit faster and the FD is a lot larger. The speed difference is not noticeable under most conditions and small enough that the new PCIe enhanced FD enjoys the same speed advantage over older SATA devices that is held by its PCIe SSD siblings.

Boot times are about the same. Both are way faster than SATA hard disk drives. My SATA based FD mini boots in well under 20 seconds. With Mountain Lion it got from chime to login in about 12 seconds. The last time I checked with Yosemite it was about the same. If my boot time exceeds 16 seconds I get an urge to tune things up. I expect that PCIe based SSDs and FDs should boot in well under 14 seconds and usually better than my 12 second time.

Regarding your choices, a 16Gb FD 2.6 costs $190 more than an 8Gb FD 2.6 which is a better bargain than the 8Gb FD 2.8 that you compared to an SSD mini. Choosing the 2.8 costs you $69 for 0.2 Ghz of CPU clock speed that you will not feel.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...0r7_mgen22_mac_mini_2_6_ghz.html/prm/alsVwDtl

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...0r7_mgen21_mac_mini_2_6_ghz.html/prm/alsVwDtl

 

[snow755]

Right snow755, that is your choice now. A comparable (2.6 Ghz) FD mini is only 5 dollars more than the SSD version. One bonus is that it comes with hardware for both types of internal storage (SATA & PCIe). You should do some research to learn about the difference between an SSD and a FD. The short answer is that the SSD is a bit faster and the FD is a lot larger. The speed difference is not noticeable under most conditions and small enough that the new PCIe enhanced FD enjoys the same speed advantage over older SATA devices that is held by its PCIe SSD siblings.

Boot times are about the same. Both are way faster than SATA hard disk drives. My SATA based FD mini boots in well under 20 seconds. With Mountain Lion it got from chime to login in about 12 seconds. The last time I checked with Yosemite it was about the same. If my boot time exceeds 16 seconds I get an urge to tune things up. I expect that PCIe based SSDs and FDs should boot in well under 14 seconds and usually better than my 12 second time.

Regarding your choices, a 16Gb FD 2.6 costs $190 more than an 8Gb FD 2.6 which is a better bargain than the 8Gb FD 2.8 that you compared to an SSD mini. Choosing the 2.8 costs you $69 for 0.2 Ghz of CPU clock speed that you will not feel.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...0r7_mgen22_mac_mini_2_6_ghz.html/prm/alsVwDtl

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...0r7_mgen21_mac_mini_2_6_ghz.html/prm/alsVwDtl

thanks am going too go a head and pick that one

 

[997440]

@snow755 --

I know you're throwing ideas out there and you're not quite sure what you want to do. I have nothing against the vendor you're proposing to buy from.

Compare what your total costs will be including shipping charge between bh and Apple. Then add in this consideration :

At bh :

....

No Return/Exchange on the following:

TVs, combos and monitors 37" and larger once any of the packaging has been opened.

Computers and Computer Software, once any of the manufacturer's packaging has been opened....

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/ReturnExchange.jsp

At Apple :

I had to return a faulty computer to Apple and did so within their '14 days after receipt' no questions asked policy. It went exactly like promised -- no worries, no guff, polite customer service. I was impressed. Apple paid for the return shipping, as well.
http://www.apple.com/shop/help/returns_refund

Good luck with your purchase.