2010 Mac Mini or Late 2009 Mac Mini / What is better ?

[Jedi]

Hi Guy`s ,

I just got back from my local Apple Store where I saw the new Mac Mini.

Very solid construction , but very slippery , way to easy to slide it around , or move it while putting in a CD/DVD. Of course moving a Mini while ON is not a good idea at all.

The power button is a little weird , it`s almost like it`s on the corner and very poor tactile feel.

The HDMI , I feel is a plus , so is the construction.

Given that it has only 2 gig`s ram , but faster graphics , what would be a better buy ?

A ) The new Mac Mini with 2 gig`s and better GPU.

or

B) The older 2.53 GHz with 4 gig`s of ram.

Can get "B" at $30 less than "A" , but not for long , I don`t think.

True enough the older one is no where near the build quality of the new one , but I would have to design something to keep the 2010 model from moving.

I already have a few ideas , anyway , before I drop some cash , I just wanted some advice so thanks in advance !!



Later

Gary 

 

[Hellhammer]

You can add 4GB later on for 100$. The design is amazing and HDMI etc are all very nice

 

[Jedi]

Hi ,
Thank you for your reply !

Yes , you are very right , adding ram is no big deal and the build quality is much better.

Right now , I am using a Mac Mini ( late 06 1.83 GHz w/ 1 gig ram.

It has served me very well , but the graphics are way bad , can`t even use Google Earth very well.

It is exactly 3 yr`s and 1 day old !

Never had a problem , but I just use it for web stuff.

Would like to use my next one for some light gaming , and stuff.

Still using Tiger 10.4.11 BTW.

TY again , later

Gary 

 

[Makosuke]

They're both good machines but I'd go with the newer one without a second thought. (I would, personally, immediately upgrade it to 4GB, but if you really don't need that now you can always go to 8GB when big sticks of RAM get cheaper.)

Why not just use a small piece of that anti-slip fabric they sell to put under carpets or on tableware shelves? It shouldn't act as too much of an insulator when it comes to heat transfer through the bottom, costs almost nothing, and should keep it from moving around much.

Alternately, you can use a silicon potholder or a thin sheet of rubber--both would be plenty sticky to keep it in place. (I hadn't thought of that as a potential disadvantage of the new design--the old one, having a rubber bottom, is very grippy when it comes to sliding around.)

 

[Hellhammer]

Hi ,
Thank you for your reply !

Yes , you are very right , adding ram is no big deal and the build quality is much better.

Right now , I am using a Mac Mini ( late 06 1.83 GHz w/ 1 gig ram.

It has served me very well , but the graphics are way bad , can`t even use Google Earth very well.

It is exactly 3 yr`s and 1 day old !

Never had a problem , but I just use it for web stuff.

Would like to use my next one for some light gaming , and stuff.

Still using Tiger 10.4.11 BTW.

TY again , later

Gary 

Even for little gaming, the GPU plays a huge role and 320M is twice as fast. It's also more "future-proof" and adding RAM is very easy

 

[Jedi]

Hi Guy`s ,

Thanks for your advice and support

That is a good idea for keeping it from sliding around , and thanks for the info about the graphics , I really didn`t know it was that much of an upgrade.

I guess I`ll take another look at the new one , I have to admit , I do like the style of it as well as the build quality , ( except the Power Button , but maybe it will be A-OK ).

I have iStat on my mini and I very rarely notice that I am even using half of my 1 gig of ram , unless it`s wrong.

Or is it that OS-X.6.xxx is more memory hungry than Tiger , or I`m just not pushing the limits of my ram .

Anyway , thanks again

Later ,

Gary 

 

[advres]

The new ones are plenty strong enough... I just picked one op this weekend for an intern station and loaded it with 8GB. Just for giggles while setting it up I decided to do a cut in FCP on it. I have been working on an HD half hour show for the last few days and everything has been going swimmingly. Not ideal for a main system as I need my capture and raid cards, but surprisingly adequate! I am impressed with this little guy.

 

[Jedi]

Hi ,

Thanks for the advice

It seems that the opinion is to go newer.

I must have another look at it , I`m sure it will perform better than my 1.83 !

I really wish they would have used , or at least had as an option , an SSD.

That would have been sweet , maybe next time !

Take care ,

Later ,

Gary 

 

[J&JPolangin]

...our base PX as the 2.53 Ghz, 4 Gb RAM model NIB for close out of $676 with no sales tax... its really tempting for that price, no tax and no shipping cost... decisions, decisions...

 

[Makosuke]

I really wish they would have used , or at least had as an option , an SSD.

Well, if you really wanted an SSD you could always replace the internal drive (or optical drive--you can buy sleds to make a 2.5" drive fit in place of an optical drive in a mini) with one yourself. Probably a lot cheaper than what Apple would charge you for an equivalent SSD as well--they tend to hose you on the drive and RAM upgrades.