Revised Mac mini now shipping?

[1984]

Uh, look at the screenshot where it says "Core Image: Not Supported".

The Radeon 9200 GPU does not support it which means the G4 will have to do the work for it. This results in a slowdown for such tasks. One such task, the ripple effect, is so slow when done on the G4 CPU instead of the GPU that Apple had to disable it all together. People tend to think Core Image is only good for eye candy such as the ripple effect but they are mistaken. There are a great many things that a Core Image compatible GPU speeds up (as much as 300% in some cases) and as a bonus it frees up the CPU to do more as well.

 

[miloblithe]

I don't see what good this update does for anyone. What does 64mb vram do that 32mb does not? and 80mhz speed bump is not noticable at all. Lets see faster hard drives, a radeon 9600 card and at least 1.67ghz speed. The biggest problem with the mini is the dang hard drives 4200 rpm speed.

Yeah, I thought it sounded pretty awesome at first, but then got a little less excited. Still, it all adds up to a good improvement.

 

[Wonder Boy]

will the lack of core image tech effect my usage of garageband? if not then i dont care.

 

[bodeh6]

They should have upgraded the GPU to the Radeon 9550 with 64MB.

 

[aafuss1]

They should have upgraded the GPU to the Radeon 9550 with 64MB.

I agree-but there could be heat issues, if there was 9550 for CI compatibility (as the GPU seems to be passively cooled and not fan cooled).

 

[aswitcher]

I agree-but there could be heat issues, if there was 9550 for CI compatibility (as the GPU seems to be passively cooled and not fan cooled).

Guess when we get Intel we will see some more performance.

 

[bebo]

could be an engineering thing. who knows. Disappointed with only having a 9200 gpu still.

It was the one thing that would have made me go for a new mac mini instead of a refurb.


So when these new minis come out, any chance of the current refurb's getting any cheaper still?

 

[DaftUnion]

the Mac mini seems like a much better buy now with these new specs. I'd buy it if I wasn't broke from just buying an iMac.

 

[jiv3turkey748]

I'm so confused if the mac mini has been updated then why is there nothing about it on apples website, it still lists the specs the same as they were

 

[phairphan]

Would you be able to check if the HD specs. I'm interested in seeing if this is a 2Mb or 8Mb cache 5400rpm drive.

I posted the specs last week in the original 'Gradual Mac Mini Updates?' thread. The drive I received was a Seagate Momentus 5400.2, 5400 RPM, 80 GB, 8 MB of cache.

You can read the original thread here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/150629/

 

[Analog Kid]

I don't see what good this update does for anyone. What does 64mb vram do that 32mb does not? and 80mhz speed bump is not noticable at all. Lets see faster hard drives, a radeon 9600 card and at least 1.67ghz speed. The biggest problem with the mini is the dang hard drives 4200 rpm speed.

Which is why I think there's no fanfare...

"New Mac Mini, 5.6% faster!" The biggest deal is probably the nice round number (where the heck did 1.42GHz come from anyway?).

 

[Analog Kid]

It's nice to receive a pleasant surprise for those who thought they were ordering a 1.25 or 1.42 Ghz machine, but shouldn't Apple at least get the specs right on their web page and packaging? I mean what if someone had gone and purchased an external 7200rpm firewire drive in advance to attach to what they thought was going to be a crippled mini with a 4200rpm drive.

My guess is that they didn't bother clearing the channel before inserting this guy in. It's being sold as a 1.42GHz and if you get something 5% faster, then good for you. Don't order expecting a 1.5 though-- there's nothing that says you'll get one.

They'll probably update the docs when all of the 1.42s clear out.

 

[AdamR01]

(where the heck did 1.42GHz come from anyway?).

167 * 8.5

 

[Some_Big_Spoon]

Kinda makes you wann put an lcd on it and save yourself 2 grand extra for the "power"book. I predict the ipod nano will have a G5 before the PB's.

A Mac mini with a 64mb graphics card, dual-layer DVD burning support, and bluetooth and wi-fi? Damn...sounds pretty sweet to me!

 

[Some_Big_Spoon]

As posted before, it makes the "power"books look awful in comparison.. I know, I know.. it's a desktop, not a laptop, so we HAVE to forgive them.

Which is why I think there's no fanfare...

"New Mac Mini, 5.6% faster!" The biggest deal is probably the nice round number (where the heck did 1.42GHz come from anyway?).

 

[VicMacs]

Which is why I think there's no fanfare...

"New Mac Mini, 5.6% faster!" The biggest deal is probably the nice round number (where the heck did 1.42GHz come from anyway?).

its actually right after 1.41...

btw nice update? was waiting for this to get a mini

wooot!

but is it just the high end getting the update ?

I mean do we now have 1.5 and 1.42 ?

guess the tuesday thing keeps on going! but what a slip!!!

 

[lickily]

Look at Think Secret's update on this saga:
"UPDATE: Sources have informed Think Secret that Mac mini box labels will continue to list the older specifications with no indication of whether the newer or older systems are contained within. The motivation behind this is to help clear current inventory without lowering prices. Essentially, customers are promised that the Mac mini they purchase will have specifications "at least" equal to the label, but that their system may exceed those. Customers who purchase a new Mac mini to find they ended up with the older configuration will not be able to return the system in the hopes of getting the newer configuration without paying a restocking fee."

WTF? FU Apple. If this is what is meant by gradual, stealth updates, I prefer the old system. Hide the spec change from the public just so they can charge restocking fees for those who get older models? I can see why they canceled the test drive program now. Looks like I'll be buying from Best Buy or somewhere else where I can return my mini if I get last month's model.

Has anyone seen if what else TS is saying about the specs is true? Is it only the mid- and high- end models that get the 64Mb vram boost and not the 1.33 Ghz model?

 

[w_parietti22]

Can the person who has the 1.5ghz Mac Mini post a High Resolution picture of the Mac Mini with the "About This Mac" page open??? thanks.

 

[gkarris]

Getting rid of old models...

At Apple.com store refurbished area - they are still trying to get rid of the 256 meg models. If they post another update again, they are going to have to try to get rid of the 32 Meg VRAM models just the same.

So, now just continue to hide them in old packages until as far as you know, the old ones are actually gone.

Why's Apple trying to fool us?

 

[Postal]

Apple support doc on included OS versions

Scroll down to the Mac mini.

Oops.

 

[lickily]

At Apple.com store refurbished area - they are still trying to get rid of the 256 meg models. If they post another update again, they are going to have to try to get rid of the 32 Meg VRAM models just the same.

So, now just continue to hide them in old packages until as far as you know, the old ones are actually gone.

Why's Apple trying to fool us?

It's the new "screw the switchers who don't know enough to read macrumors" marketing campaign

 

[QCassidy352]

Apple is not "trying to fool" anyone. Every person ordering a mini will get what they paid for or more. You're not being cheated if you get an old mini; you're getting a bonus if you get a new one. Apple is not promising anything beyond the old specs. If the old specs are unacceptable to you, then wait until the new specs are officially announced.

Why would apple do this? They want to clear out the old minis, but are shipping new minis to some people while (presumably) old minis are still sitting on the shelves?

Lastly, I agree with the poster who said this is nothing to be excited about. You will not notice a speed difference here, and I'm not sure what the extra VRAM on a terrible card is going to do for you. Maybe a few extra frames per second in world of warcraft... not much. 1.5 and 64 sound nicer than 1.42 and 32, but the reality is that it's a miniscule improvement (pardon the pun).

 

[kkrip]

I'm confused...

If the rumor is true I'm gonna get one mini otherwise???
Do you have any idea if we're gonna have any powerbook updates?
I need a computer right now!!!

 

[KittenKrusher]

Then buy now, it's that simple.

 

[areyouwishing]

Not that anyone cares, but im seriously considering selling my rev1 mini 1.42 for this thing, what a treat. 64mb and 5400 are NICE fixes.