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2012 mac mini models?
- Thread starter grouch
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Ice Dragon
macrumors 6502a
It will be interesting to see the future of the Mac mini now that Mountain Lion appears to want to kill HDMI out. I will gladly switch to Thunderbolt though I am not so keen on this airplay mirroring.
jdryyz
macrumors regular
Ivy Bridge
Maybe not delayed much as first believed:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2012/02/27/intel-ivy-bridge-everyone-please-calm-down/
Maybe not delayed much as first believed:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmoorhead/2012/02/27/intel-ivy-bridge-everyone-please-calm-down/
Why do you suggest that? Surely Apple wouldn't mind people spending hundreds of dollars extra to get a Mini vs streaming to an Apple TV via Airplay Mirroring?
Ice Dragon
macrumors 6502a
Lesser Evets
macrumors 68040
It seems we could be seeing the Mini in early-Summer 2012. That is IF Apple is planning to release an upgrade, which they generally have within a year's span. There has been some lag in past where they spend 1.5 years between upgrades.
If the next base Mini has specs of the 2-core i7 out now, it will be pretty awesome for $599. And, I hope they make the 750GB drives base models with 1TB drives as optional upgrades.
rbrian
macrumors 6502a
philipma1957
macrumors 604
After reading the article you link us to I would think sooner or later we will get it. I do think mid or late 2014.
Just a guess based on this paragraph from the article linked.
"Standard finalization is anticipated in late 2012, with final 802.11 Working Group approval in late 2013.[1] According to a study, devices with the 802.11ac specification are expected to become common by 2015 with an estimated one billion spread around the world.[4]"
If it is good tech it will be fast 500 MBs to 1000 MBs. This would allow for huge net speed gains and within your own wireless network quite a good speed boost.
Why was it silly? Because you're one of the few guys who still uses optical media? Apple surely did massive research about this topic before deciding to remove the optical drive and the result was, that the majority doesn't use optical media anymore. I haven't used them for years and I am not the only one. I still see companies who refuse to make the transition to digital backups, yes they backup to DVDs! That's hideous and unsafe as hell. It's 2012 and there is a solution for nearly everything, even if some people are too lazy to adapt to new technologies or ways of doing stuff.
The only thing I want to see in the new MM is 4 GB standard RAM, if Apple pulls the 2 GB crap again on the Mini and MBA, I will rage. My 7 year old laptop had 2 GB RAM, that can't be industry standard in 2012 anymore. Also I hope the Ivy Bridge CPUs run a bit less hot, the Sandy Bridge CPUs get freaking hot pretty fast. They cool down really fast, too, but still...the Romanian summer will make my Mac Mini a toaster and I can't sit in here at 23°C when outsides it's 40+, that will kill me.
MattA
macrumors 6502
Hey, I don't care if they decide to pull the optical drive out of the thing for most, but they should have left it as a BTO option. They have the tooling, the case is designed for it, and I would have ordered it. Yes, I still use optical media, and I'm not the only one. Digital downloads are NOT high enough quality yet. I still have hundreds of CDs and DVDs plus BD to contend with, and Apple is basically telling me to go with the iTunes store or use a crappy external drive instead.
I say Boo to that. You may not use optical media any more, and that's fine, but you definitely do not speak for all of us.
rbrian
macrumors 6502a
They reduced the price of the new mini by about the same amount as a SuperDrive (at least in the uk). That means you can have a SuperDrive if you want, the rest of us get a discount, or room for an extra hard drive or graphics card.
MattA
macrumors 6502
Precisely. For those that don't need the optical drive, it makes sense to save the cash, but at least allow a $100 option to add one in for those of us that would have liked it. There is no reason in the world why they couldn't have left it BTO.
That's ok, I ordered a new mini with 6630m/i7/750GB plus the external superdrive. I'll just deal. It isn't clean, but it works.
rbrian
macrumors 6502a
It Wouldn't have hurt to left the slot in the front, or even just those with the SuperDrive. I'd be surprised if there wasn't enough sold to make it viable. But you got the graphics card, so there's simply no room for the SuperDrive - unless you want a bigger mini. Mac maxi anyone? 😉
For what it's worth, I still use an external DVD drive to rip my DVDs. I'd happily give them up, but there's still much more choice and lower prices than any download options, which doesn't make any sense to me.
For what it's worth, I still use an external DVD drive to rip my DVDs. I'd happily give them up, but there's still much more choice and lower prices than any download options, which doesn't make any sense to me.
I don't have a major problem with them removing it, as I already owned an external DVD burner.
But... I think they should have left one model (or added a model) with it included, or had it available as an option. Then again, I always thought they should have a blu-ray option too, for HTPC people. Don't see either happening at this point.
But... I think they should have left one model (or added a model) with it included, or had it available as an option. Then again, I always thought they should have a blu-ray option too, for HTPC people. Don't see either happening at this point.
Fishrrman
macrumors Nehalem
"Mac maxi anyone?"
The Mini needs a slightly larger and "more accessible" case.
Apple improved "bottom access" with the twist-off plate, but getting to the drive bays still involves some work and disassembly.
They should redesign the case so that the top is also easily accessible via a removable "panel" (four stylish screws would do it). Then one could get to the drive bays without having to pull everything else apart.
I wonder if now that Mr. Jobs has departed we'll see Apple move just slightly in that direction. It wasn't so long ago that the g5 iMacs had "easy access", and that disappeared. Time to bring "access" back to Macs....
The Mini needs a slightly larger and "more accessible" case.
Apple improved "bottom access" with the twist-off plate, but getting to the drive bays still involves some work and disassembly.
They should redesign the case so that the top is also easily accessible via a removable "panel" (four stylish screws would do it). Then one could get to the drive bays without having to pull everything else apart.
I wonder if now that Mr. Jobs has departed we'll see Apple move just slightly in that direction. It wasn't so long ago that the g5 iMacs had "easy access", and that disappeared. Time to bring "access" back to Macs....
Easy access to the case would be the #1 thing I'd like to see. Easy way to swap hard drives, etc. Well... actually, #1 thing would be a thunderbolt add-on so users can add their own graphics cards, but I really doubt Apple would do that.
Also not sure if they'll ever do the accessibility thing either.
I came over from the PC world, this mac mini was my first Apple purchase. And even though I got it at a great price, I find myself missing the easy upgradability of regular desktops. In the past, if I wanted faster graphics, no problem... buy a new video card, put it in, and good to go. Need a new HD, again, easy, maybe takes 5 min to install.
For Macs, it's impossible to add faster graphics, and even something like adding a new HD is major surgery, requiring special screwdrivers, special cables.
But that's how Apple gets people to upgrade to their newer models... which is why I doubt they'll change anytime soon.
Also not sure if they'll ever do the accessibility thing either.
I came over from the PC world, this mac mini was my first Apple purchase. And even though I got it at a great price, I find myself missing the easy upgradability of regular desktops. In the past, if I wanted faster graphics, no problem... buy a new video card, put it in, and good to go. Need a new HD, again, easy, maybe takes 5 min to install.
For Macs, it's impossible to add faster graphics, and even something like adding a new HD is major surgery, requiring special screwdrivers, special cables.
But that's how Apple gets people to upgrade to their newer models... which is why I doubt they'll change anytime soon.
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Anyone think Ivy Bridge, USB 3.0, 4GB ram, and 1TB HDD are out of the question for 2012 entry level?
NutsNGum
macrumors 68030
Only thing that's unlikely there is the 1TB HD.
Ivy Bridge supports USB3 natively, and 4GB of ram doesn't seem unreasonable for 2012. I'd guess it will probably still sport a 500GB HD though, they need to have something (other than the minimal CPU bump) upgradable on it to justify the next model up's price.