Good luck getting ahold of one of those today. HP is not taking orders yet. Dell is taking pre-orders. Apple won't announce until you can walk into the store and pick one up. It is still very early to be bragging about mobile i7 chips.
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Apple Warning Retail Stores of iMac and Mac Mini Supply Constraints?
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Apple has more than enough time to impress us then.
Probably lower than the per 1000 price on Intel's processors as well.
I don't care about BD in a computer either; though I understand some people want the option. I personally would rather just be allowed to legally rip my disks on an external drive so I can just have a file on my HD for travel. Physical disks suck when traveling.
The i7-720QM is $364. The Mini currently has a P8400 which is $209.
They have in the past used the T7200 which was $294.
(Prices from the lists on wikipedia so they may be out)
So it's not impossible that a high end mini gets a quad i7 on price grounds or that Intel give Apple an i7 chip we've not yet seen perhaps with lower i7 turbo speeds to keep the TDP down.
It wouldn't be a bad idea to promote a standard form factor.
there are certainly good arguements for common form factors. Generally I don't care how deep a item is though width and hieght can be problems. I'd like apple to keep widths to something easily divisable into EIA eack widths. For example 1/4 or 1/3 rd wide boxes. The reasoning is pretty simple in that they can be put on a shelf in a rack or in other places likewise dimensioned. For Apple TV such a unit could sit easily in a stereo cabinet next to a disk module or a Blu-Ray drive. On a desktop you don't really care, but it would be nice to have stackable modules.
So yeah the form factor could change a bit and share with Apple TV. In fact it would be pretty smart of Apple to make the products sit easily side by side on a shelf or desktop. They should also optionally stack. Either way you get to make use of space in the way that is best for you. The more you think about this the more possibilities there are.
Or Apple could just discontinue the Mini as a concept and make a real desktop machine.
Dave
there are certainly good arguements for common form factors. Generally I don't care how deep a item is though width and hieght can be problems. I'd like apple to keep widths to something easily divisable into EIA eack widths. For example 1/4 or 1/3 rd wide boxes. The reasoning is pretty simple in that they can be put on a shelf in a rack or in other places likewise dimensioned. For Apple TV such a unit could sit easily in a stereo cabinet next to a disk module or a Blu-Ray drive. On a desktop you don't really care, but it would be nice to have stackable modules.
So yeah the form factor could change a bit and share with Apple TV. In fact it would be pretty smart of Apple to make the products sit easily side by side on a shelf or desktop. They should also optionally stack. Either way you get to make use of space in the way that is best for you. The more you think about this the more possibilities there are.
Or Apple could just discontinue the Mini as a concept and make a real desktop machine.
Dave
I wouldn't say it's impossible, and there's no doubt that Apple pays somewhat less than the per 1000 lot pricing on Intel CPUs.
However, when you talk about a $150 price delta on CPU it would have to be associated with a substantial bump in the system price to make up for it, and we know that Apple has been under some pressure to REDUCE prices and make the products more accessible to more people.
I hope though that I'm completely wrong and that we are dazzled in a week or two with i7 festooned Mac Mini and iMac products that sport LED displays, Blu-Ray drives and other goodies.
Blu-ray Disc - BD
More likely that they'll sport Blu-ray drives - probably BD-ROM/DVD-RW.
</pedantic note about random spelling/capitalization/abbreviation of Blu-ray Discs>
More likely that they'll sport Blu-ray drives - probably BD-ROM/DVD-RW.
</pedantic note about random spelling/capitalization/abbreviation of Blu-ray Discs>
for my sake, having bought the high end mini only 6 weeks ago, please apple dont put a quad core chip in and a new graphics chip, and especially not usb3 or lightroom as that will define a new generation and make the old ones look way less valuable. i bought into the mini line thinking of the very poor upgrade scale and expecting to maintain value for much longer. though had i not bought one so recently i would be cheering on all that newe tech. either way ill upgrade when those things come in but not for at least a year. apple have got too much of my money this year.
But installing boxee would destroy the warranty right ?
I'm not sure honestly.
I just want something that would work right out of the box...
Here is what I'm thinking.
OK the last one is unlikely but would be very nice. Quality sound requires a quality input channel. The only way to get this is via an engineered sound input channel.
Dave
- Apple goes quad core 2 on the Mini. Intel had at one time and almost ideal chip for this running at 2GHz.
- Without refactoring I don't believe Clarksfield will end up in Mini. Not for technical reasons but rather due to this not being a release to focus on the Mini. It is a bump update nothing more.
- What Apple will want to make noise about is the iMac. I suspect this is a major upgrade. Thus the release will be rigged to highlight the iMac.
- The iMac will be redesigned around the Clarksfield processor. The possibility of Xeon is real though and I actually think it would make a good iMac. Since from the standpoint of the user they are the same processor this won't be a problem. Besides advertising, a big advantage with Xeon is that it is designed for thin cases. I can see Apple pushing Intel for specially sampled lower power Xeons for use at clock rates up to 2.5GHz.
- The big problem with either Xeon or Clarksfield is keeping them cool enough to let Turbo Boost do it's job. TB is an excellent idea from Intel and if it can be exploited is the best of both worlds. However effective cooling is really needed and unfortunately is a weak spot for Apple hardware. Hopefully the will deal with this and find a way to bring state of the art cooling to iMac.
- I do not expect USB3 nor BluRay in base models. Now I could see this being special order.
- This highlights something though, iMac gets an externally accessible I/O port / card slot. 4X PCI express out to do the trick.
- Graphics will still be underpowered mobile GPUs. If we are lucky though they will be some of the new ATI cards.
- A real XLR microphone input with a quality analog front end. This would be great for pod casts and the like.
OK the last one is unlikely but would be very nice. Quality sound requires a quality input channel. The only way to get this is via an engineered sound input channel.
Dave
I've been thinking about getting a Mac mini + Snow Leopard Server...for use as....well....a server (obviously.) I'd love to see the mini's specs tweaked just a little, maybe a 2.4 GHz option?
Yes, sort of. If you restore it via iTunes it will be wiped completely clean and boxee will be removed. Apple wouldn't be the wiser. If it some how breaks while boxee is installed though, and they realize that you have installed boxee you would loose your warranty coverage.
That being said you can buy 2 Apple TVs for the price of a single mini. So even if you have to replace it yourself still didn't spend as much as you would have on a mini.
I would love Blu-Ray in a Mac. As for 'another notoriuos medium with problems', I don't see it. I've been using Blu-Ray for years now, and have had no problems at all with fingerprints, scratchs, or heat sensitivity? Seriuosly too, not one problem, and I use my BD player almost every day!
I have never understood these posts. Just cause something new comes out, it doesn't degrade or depreciate your item any more than normal daily usage will. As long as you can still do the same things you did yesterday on your machine today, nothing has changed for you.
It's like buying a 2009 model car, and then being pissed that the company produced a 2010 model.
Intel may well have a bin below the i7-720 that may not generate enough stock for a general release. Call it a special and sell it to the friendly OEMs
What server features do you plan to use? IMHO, OS X Server is probably overkill for most people's home use. You can do file/printer sharing and run a web server pretty easily with regular OS X.
Anyhow, I'm sure a current mini would handle Snow Leopard Server quite well.
New Mini?
I am ready to buy a Mac Mini, but it looks like I'll hold off for another month. I hardly doubt there will be Blu Ray support, but if they do, then I can dump my PS3 I am going to add the Mini to my home theater and use it as a DVR with EyeTV. I can't wait to see the official word.
I am ready to buy a Mac Mini, but it looks like I'll hold off for another month. I hardly doubt there will be Blu Ray support, but if they do, then I can dump my PS3
I am going to add the Mini to my home theater and use it as a DVR with EyeTV. I can't wait to see the official word.I am in need of a new machine, as my Macbook has outlived its usefulness, and is entirely too slow. I been disappointed by the lackluster hardware offerings and the pricing. I should not have to spend $2000 just to get an acceptable dedicated video card in a laptop.
I am -><- close to switching back to Windows. I can spend $999 and get a Quad Core i7 laptop with 4GB DDR3 memory, 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570, 250GB 7200rpm hard drive... $1099 more gets me a laptop with the above specs but is 17" and gives me a 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 video. Also, the Creative Suite CS4 software on the Windows platform takes advantage of 64-bit.
You can't even get close to those good specs in a $2000 Macbook Pro. I am also not used to having a computer that can't be continuously upgraded, especially in the ram department. I am exceptionally bitter that this Macbook, which had cost $1700, can't address or accept anything over 2GB of ram. Seriously? Why? I tried 4GB, and while it noticed it was there, it was kernel panic city.
I like the Mac OS, but the hardware is lacking at best. That's a huge issue for me. I am not looking for Blu-ray, I already have a 42" HDTV and a Blu-ray player, so there is no need for me to strain myself watching 2.5 hour movies on a 15" monitor. What I want is the ability to throw in significant amounts of memory, have a fast quad core CPU, and a minimum of 512MB of dedicated video memory on fast mobile GPU.
If HP and Dell can do it, why the hell can't Apple?
I am -><- close to switching back to Windows. I can spend $999 and get a Quad Core i7 laptop with 4GB DDR3 memory, 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570, 250GB 7200rpm hard drive... $1099 more gets me a laptop with the above specs but is 17" and gives me a 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 video. Also, the Creative Suite CS4 software on the Windows platform takes advantage of 64-bit.
You can't even get close to those good specs in a $2000 Macbook Pro. I am also not used to having a computer that can't be continuously upgraded, especially in the ram department. I am exceptionally bitter that this Macbook, which had cost $1700, can't address or accept anything over 2GB of ram. Seriously? Why? I tried 4GB, and while it noticed it was there, it was kernel panic city.
I like the Mac OS, but the hardware is lacking at best. That's a huge issue for me. I am not looking for Blu-ray, I already have a 42" HDTV and a Blu-ray player, so there is no need for me to strain myself watching 2.5 hour movies on a 15" monitor. What I want is the ability to throw in significant amounts of memory, have a fast quad core CPU, and a minimum of 512MB of dedicated video memory on fast mobile GPU.
If HP and Dell can do it, why the hell can't Apple?
I know I'm bad but I do love how ppl here, each time a new rumour about an update from Apple's side arises, go all into their prediction mode and quote quad-core MBPs, XEON (!) based iMacs and quad-core MacMinis...
Makes me grin all the way. Love you guys, tho, as I have to say that all these things would be certainly POSSIBLE if the company we would be talking about wasn't A p p l e.
You don't certainly believe a company that loves their 40%+ margins would bastardize the sales of laptops or imac by inserting a quad core into a mac mini (would be a dream, of course).
Makes me grin all the way.
Love you guys, tho, as I have to say that all these things would be certainly POSSIBLE if the company we would be talking about wasn't A p p l e.You don't certainly believe a company that loves their 40%+ margins would bastardize the sales of laptops or imac by inserting a quad core into a mac mini (would be a dream, of course).