MicroNet miniMate just arrived!

[Peyote]

Just received my minimate, 80GB version. I don't have my mini with me at work, so I can't hook it up yet or compare it to the mini, but here are my first impressions:


This sucker is heavy! Much heavier than I thought, but it won't matter for me as it's sitting on a desk.

Without being able to compare the two, I would say that this item looks exactly like a Mac Mini, down to the way the case goes together, the vent holes on bottom, and the grey rubber footing. The only difference I noticed was that the fit of the top white panel isn't as nice as Apple's mini...there is a tiny gap between the white panel and the grey aluminum sides...but it's only maybe 1/16"...not very noticeable.


The fit and finish of the ports is much better in person than the MicroNet photos...the ports are not crooked.

The power adapter is not a "wall wart" but it does have a power brick.

That's about all I can tell you until I get it hooked up at home...

 

[Yvan256]

Just received my minimate, 80GB version.

Can we get pictures of the miniMate next to the Mac mini?

 

[Peyote]

Can we get pictures of the miniMate next to the Mac mini?

I'll snap a couple when I get home tonight...and see if I can get the logo off the front.

 

[Lancetx]

I'll snap a couple when I get home tonight...and see if I can get the logo off the front.

Sounds great. I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of it once you get it up and running as I'm seriously considering getting one of these too!

 

[Gerg]

I'm interested in how loud or quiet it sounds next to the mini.

 

[Peyote]

I'm interested in how loud or quiet it sounds next to the mini.

I'll give a report on that too tonight

 

[Peyote]

Ok so I've had my minimate for a few minutes now and can give some more details.

The LED on front glows blue normally, and purple during disk activity. The LED also shines a little light through the top plastic and through the vents underneath.

The color and look of it is spot on, except for the logo. The casing exactly matches the mini in color and texture...no photos are necessary, since it looks just like the mini.

There is a little noise...it's kind of a high pitched whine from the HD...having had my mini for a couple of months, I had gotten used to the silence and the extra noise was disturbing at first...but it's more quiet than a powermac, and after sitting here with the mini and miniMate 24" from me for 10 minutes, it's easy to get used to. Perhaps some sort of HD isolation would help with the noise. There is very little vibration with the mini on top of it...a little more vibration with nothing on top of it.

There is a tamper seal on the back, so if you plan on cracking the case and replacing the HDD with a new one, it will void your warranty to break that seal I'm sure.

Copying a DVD movie from my mini's stock 4200 RPM drive to the 80GB miniMate took almost exactly 3 minutes. The movie was 4.13 GB, so that comes out to 23.5 MB/sec, or 188Mb/sec.

I tried to remove the label but didn't have any real solvents handy. You can scrape most of it off with a sharp razor blade by not applying too much pressure, and you won't damage the surface. However a little ink is still left over that would need to be removed with a solvent. I'll see if I can find my Bestine later, as that stuff is gentle on metal.

Any questions?

 

[billystlyes]

Can we get pictures of the miniMate next to the Mac mini?

http://www.123macmini.com/accessories/reviews/101.html

 

[GoCubsGo]

Wow that is awesome! I've been busy lately so I haven't seen that.

 

[ravenvii]

First time I saw that too. Really cool! Too bad I don't need an external HD at the time, otherwise I would snap one up!