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Apple Announces New Mac Mini Starting at $499

no quad core option
no user-upgradable ram
low-end model ridiculously crippled

i'll bet anything the internal changes to allow for the PCIe Flash storage also means you cant put two drives inside of it anymore

another mac line ruined.

no thanks

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bpeeps said:
And looks like you are wrong, how unsurprising.
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yeah, you're right. he actually gave apple too much credit by assuming they'd put an SSD in the low-end machine. 1.4ghz and a 5400rpm drive? what is this, 2005?
 
MalcolmJID said:
Base model will probably still have 4GB RAM and a 128GB SSD. Awful
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That would be enough for me. I want one of these to use as an HTPC in my living room. I have my own intranet streaming movie server that could rival netflix!
 
Luap said:
It was the last Mac with Firewire. What did you expect? RS232 ports and a Floppy drive also?
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What does it matter? It has a pair of Thunderbolt ports which means the few people still using Firewire can... continue using Firewire. (I know, I know... "But... but... ANOTHER DONGLE!? OH NOES!")
 
Pretty bummed, Both Mac Mini and AppleTV got the shaft.. :( they were the two product lines I was actually most excited to see get updated.
 
mmomega said:
No, it isn't but we both know that the true majority of people that buy the base model, just like the base model iPhone, etc. Those specs will work for them and that is what base models are built for.

I hate using the reference but base model vehicles, companies sell a ton of them and those that want better equipment have to pay for better equipment. This world isn't going to give away upgrades when there is more money to be made in charging for upgrades.
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Come on man, we both know that 4GB is just enough today, fast forward 1 or 2 years and it'll show problems left and right.
Problems that stop people from their work like if you intended to run Windows 7 with 1GB of RAM?
Surely not, but remember, a computer has a longer expected lifespan for active main use in a household than a smartphone.
This is an aspect that will show over time.

With a car I instantly see that with 30HP less I take longer to overtake, it won't show 3 years down the road. (pun not intended, but appreciated)

As I said, it barely passes, but oh well...

Glassed Silver:mac
 
H2SO4 said:
How does it compare with the previous models?
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I don't believe that new DualCore i7 is going to beat out my QuadCorei7 2012 Mini if that's what you're asking but we'll have to wait and see once people get them in their hands.

I went and purchased the 2010 Mac Mini the day it was released, maybe even the 1st to post real pics of one, I can say I won't be doing that this time. This is a refresh and nothing more. Now once a new redesign with good specs hit....I just may be there that morning to grab one.
 
dlimes13 said:
The i7 is a dual-core.

Configurable to 3.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz) with 4MB on-chip shared L3 cache.

Disappointing. I was finally going to get rid of my Windows server but I need the quad-core. Oh well.
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Totally agree. This update is kind of a joke..
 
Simplicated said:
I think it is, sadly. Nowhere on the Mac mini site mentions RAM upgradability.
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It's worded the same as the Mac Pro site, and that's user expandable. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions until we know for sure.
 
Just been on livechat

Just been on livechat as I saw this in the order page.

"Configurable to 8GB or 16GB, only at the Apple Online Store."

However livechat has responded.

e6qfzc.png
 
milo said:
It's worded the same as the Mac Pro site, and that's user expandable. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions until we know for sure.
Click to expand...

It says the ram is upgradeable only at the Apple online store which means to me that it is not user upgradeable and not upgradeable at the Apple store.
 
milo said:
It's worded the same as the Mac Pro site, and that's user expandable. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions until we know for sure.
Click to expand...

Under tech specs it says "Configurable to 8GB or 16GB, only at the Apple Online Store."
 
Glassed Silver said:
Come on man, we both know that 4GB is just enough today, fast forward 1 or 2 years and it'll show problems left and right.
Problems that stop people from their work like if you intended to run Windows 7 with 1GB of RAM?
Surely not, but remember, a computer has a longer expected lifespan for active main use in a household than a smartphone.
This is an aspect that will show over time.

With a car I instantly see that with 30HP less I take longer to overtake, it won't show 3 years down the road. (pun not intended, but appreciated)

As I said, it barely passes, but oh well...

Glassed Silver:mac
Click to expand...
I still have 10 PC workstations I built in 08 with E8400's and 2GB of RAM working in Win7, Office and other software. The only changes I made were to upgrade a few to SSD and those machines are PLENTY fast.

Also right at a dozen base model mini's from 2010-2012 models with 2-4GB RAM some as XRay server,s other office servers, Kiosks and workstations and they aren't slowing anyone down.

4GB, again, for most people works just fine.
 
Wanted to update from my 2009 MBP:
2,56 Ghz Dual Core
8 GB RAM
SDD self-installed.

What I can buy now is a joke:
Mac Mini 2,6 Ghz Dual Core
8 GB RAM
SDD self-installed as it has the same form factor and an SATA-Slot than the previous mini

What I now need to know:
1. Is the mac mini here really hardcore faster. From the spec I don't think

2. Is the HDD still exchangable with a SATA SSD by us? (+200$)

3. Is the RAM upgradable by users to 16GB? 2x4GB or 1x8 per default?
So I have to buy 2x8 GB installed?

4. Will there be a quad core later, next year?

Is the :apple:TV faster than this machine :p

Ok I will get USB3 and Thunderbolt 2 at the end.
 
Yikes, this looks like a downgrade. At one point I was thinking of swapping out my behemoth HP i7 tower in my bedroom, which acts as my Windows Media Center (w/HDHomeRun PRIME tuners) and Plex server with a Mac Mini. I was worried that the old base model i5 might be pushing it for on-the-fly transcoding of my high-def movies via Plex, but now I see that they've replaced the bottom model with a 1.4GHz chip. Yikes. It's a newer CPU, but I have to think this would be underpowered for transcoding.

Then, you have to pay $700 ($200 more than the old base model) to get what might be a sufficiently capable CPU. Yes, you get double the RAM and double the HD space on that model, vs the last model's base i5, but considering how long it's taken them to upgrade the Mac Mini, they should be able to offer a lot more for the same money.

Oh, and on that base model, if you want to double your RAM from 4GB to 8GB, it's going to cost you $100. $100 for 4GB of stick RAM? What year is this?
 
As an iOS developer, no reason to "upgrade" to this new Mini.

And, I suppose that's exactly the reason for their choices. I suspect the Mini has been wildly popular among iOS and OSX developers, who they would love to push back into their traditional Mac Pro boxes.

My 2012 Mini is still fast enough, and doubt that the new one is any upgrade at all. If it doesn't save me time, there is no point.

And not going to pop for the Pro.

Was going to ask if I can run Linux on my 2012, since I run a very old Linux box, and my "old" mini would be a good, stable, energy-efficient replacement. Not now.

Heck, if I want to replace my Linux box with a Mac, I'd just the the low-end of the new model.

For developers, current Mac notebooks probably make more sense. I used to use SmartSleep on my 2008 Aluminum Macbook (WAY slow for development today) to run it in clamshell mode conveniently.

I was excited when I saw the news of a new Mini, but then "should I update my iPad, get the Mini, or both"? Easy choice. Update the iPad, get a new notebook (probably next generation) once the Mini starts to feel slow.
 
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