Yeah thats what i want but too bad they don't sell it.A thought struck me just recently - why can't we have discrete graphics inside the mac mini? Two reasons. There isn't any space, and there's no way to connect it. To the first we could always mount the card outside the enclosure - I'm sure many of us here are able and willing to sacrifice the time needed to make that look pretty (or even the good looks) in order to get some better frame rates.
The second is more difficult to deal with. With a lot of thinking, though, I realised that the Airport card has to have an expansion bus of some sort. I had a look at pictures of the mini nude (here, labled "J") I recognised it as a mini PCI-e port. This is basically a PCI-e x1 port plus a usb port. Checking out the manufacturer's details for the 802.11n airport module (an Atheros card) confirmed this.
I went and checked out one of my favourite sites for bus adapters, http://www.adexelec.com/ and I found this:
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This means that any PCI-e x1 card can be plugged into a mini PCI-e socket. With
this, also from them, one could conceivably use any graphics card on the market today.
Mechanically, they are now compatible. This article shows that it would also be electrically compatible, so long as the mechanical adapter would be able to supply sufficient power. Software? I don't know, but I'm quite sure that it would work under windows. Perhaps if the mac-specific cards were used, they would also be recognized by the mini?
I don't have a mini nor do I have the funds to try this out. I'm almost positive that it would work, but I don't know how much of a performance gain you would actually see. Certainly any of the hardware accelerated features of the card would be demonstrated, but would one be better off just using the integrated graphics?
At the very least, though, this would be an interesting hack. I hope someone tries it out ^_^
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Discrete Graphics cards in Mac Mini?
- Thread starter toru173
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Walberg - I think you could be mistaking me for Serpent (and our discussion on 123macmini.com).
I connected an Addonics HPM Raid unit to my mini via eSATA, but the EFI of the mini doesn't recognize it as bootable [unless there is a only 1 drive connected].
I got excited when I booted my Mini from an addonics HPM Raid adapter with a single drive connected. I bought 4 WD Raptors in the hope that I could configure the HPM Raid adapter and have a fast Mini; but alas it did not recognize it and could not boot from it (after I spent quite a bit of cash on those WD Raptors).
Anyway, I can probably get this to work using rEFIt or PXebooting, or chrooting into to the SATA array after booting from a USB disk; but I've decided against it.
I've decided to just sell my Mini because it's just not worth the effort.
I connected an Addonics HPM Raid unit to my mini via eSATA, but the EFI of the mini doesn't recognize it as bootable [unless there is a only 1 drive connected].
I got excited when I booted my Mini from an addonics HPM Raid adapter with a single drive connected. I bought 4 WD Raptors in the hope that I could configure the HPM Raid adapter and have a fast Mini; but alas it did not recognize it and could not boot from it (after I spent quite a bit of cash on those WD Raptors).
Anyway, I can probably get this to work using rEFIt or PXebooting, or chrooting into to the SATA array after booting from a USB disk; but I've decided against it.
I've decided to just sell my Mini because it's just not worth the effort.
You could try starting a new thread here, or ask over at the Mac Mini HTPC forums at 123macmini. I suspect you just need to change your resolution to something more appropriate.
As to the question of performance - if you read through the thread, it's already been addressed. There may not be much in the way of raw performance gain, but the ability to access a PCIe port in the Mini is still worth it. Many other accessories could be used in the place of a graphics card.
Walberg - I think you could be mistaking me for Serpent (and our discussion on 123macmini.com).
I connected an Addonics HPM Raid unit to my mini via eSATA, but the EFI of the mini doesn't recognize it as bootable [unless there is a only 1 drive connected].
I got excited when I booted my Mini from an addonics HPM Raid adapter with a single drive connected. I bought 4 WD Raptors in the hope that I could configure the HPM Raid adapter and have a fast Mini; but alas it did not recognize it and could not boot from it (after I spent quite a bit of cash on those WD Raptors).
Anyway, I can probably get this to work using rEFIt or PXebooting, or chrooting into to the SATA array after booting from a USB disk; but I've decided against it.
I've decided to just sell my Mini because it's just not worth the effort.
I''m sorry my internet connection (my provider) has problems de last month and i have read the last week my postings and yes i saw that i have make a mistake with the person, im sorry.
Walberg - I think you could be mistaking me for Serpent (and our discussion on 123macmini.com).
I connected an Addonics HPM Raid unit to my mini via eSATA, but the EFI of the mini doesn't recognize it as bootable [unless there is a only 1 drive connected].
I got excited when I booted my Mini from an addonics HPM Raid adapter with a single drive connected. I bought 4 WD Raptors in the hope that I could configure the HPM Raid adapter and have a fast Mini; but alas it did not recognize it and could not boot from it (after I spent quite a bit of cash on those WD Raptors).
Anyway, I can probably get this to work using rEFIt or PXebooting, or chrooting into to the SATA array after booting from a USB disk; but I've decided against it.
I've decided to just sell my Mini because it's just not worth the effort.
In Holland the prices are higher and a powermac cost aboud 3000 dollars a mini aboud 700 dollars for us the difference is too high, I need a raid (because harddisks always goes broken) but a powermac costs too much
It's the same in Australia. I am using my Mini with an external USB drive, but I'm tossing up switching to either the NewerTech Guardian MAXimus Driveor the Drobo. I believe the Drobo will be better in the long run, but I'm not too sure of that USB cable.
I'd definitely go for firewire (800 if the mini supports it), USB is very slow in comparison. Also I think you can use a firewire disk as a boot device, but not USB (might be wrong there though)
USB is never an option, too much overlay, Everything a USB device does, goes directly through the processor. Firewire should be better but too bad much enclosures do translation very bad. My external sata drive is ca 30% faster than my old firewire hd.
Ok, I am somewhat new to this thread and the mac mini in general.
My main question is, why isn't anyone discussing the actual mini-pcie cards that could be dropped into the mac mini ?
All of the discussion is on external cards and mini-pcie -> pcie adaptors, etc. - which is very interesting and exciting, however (and correct me if I am wrong) aren't there a lot of interesting mini-pcie cards that could be dropped into the system (if you removed the wifi mini-pcie card) ?
Specifically:
I am very, very interested in getting better h.264 (and HD content in general) playback from my mini. Aren't there broadcom cards that can be put into that slot that would give it hardware h.264 ability ?
OR, aren't there mini-pcie based graphics cards that could be dropped in, and would improvide video processing even though I was still outputting on the GMA 950 ?
Any comments ? I would really like to drop in a mini pcie card that would make HD video playback better...
edit:
Here is a URL: http://www.broadcom.com/press/release.php?id=1010620 for a broadcom solution that comes in a mini-pcie form factor and is used for, among other things, speeding up HDDVD and bluray decoding...
Why not drop this chip in ? All we would need is a driver that would interfacce with the gma 950, right ?
My main question is, why isn't anyone discussing the actual mini-pcie cards that could be dropped into the mac mini ?
All of the discussion is on external cards and mini-pcie -> pcie adaptors, etc. - which is very interesting and exciting, however (and correct me if I am wrong) aren't there a lot of interesting mini-pcie cards that could be dropped into the system (if you removed the wifi mini-pcie card) ?
Specifically:
I am very, very interested in getting better h.264 (and HD content in general) playback from my mini. Aren't there broadcom cards that can be put into that slot that would give it hardware h.264 ability ?
OR, aren't there mini-pcie based graphics cards that could be dropped in, and would improvide video processing even though I was still outputting on the GMA 950 ?
Any comments ? I would really like to drop in a mini pcie card that would make HD video playback better...
edit:
Here is a URL: http://www.broadcom.com/press/release.php?id=1010620 for a broadcom solution that comes in a mini-pcie form factor and is used for, among other things, speeding up HDDVD and bluray decoding...
Why not drop this chip in ? All we would need is a driver that would interfacce with the gma 950, right ?
Because there aren't any useful ones? We don't need another wifi card, and there are no video cards or RAID cards in that formfactor.
Nobody here has the resources to develop such a driver, if it were even possible to acquire that broadcom card commercially (you linked to a press-release from July, not a site where one could actually purchase such a card).
If you get it working, give us a shout. I think we're more focused on a solution for video that works with the existing driver frameworks (e.g. an apple-oem 7300GT capable of driving a 30" screen.)
At this point I'm sitting on my hands to see what the next rev of the mini brings before deciding whether to invest time and money hacking up my 1st gen core duo mini.
Hmmm...
Please excuse my ignorance...
I thought there were all sorts of video cards in the mini-pci-e form factor ... aren't there all kinds of laptops with upgradeable video cards ?
Or are you saying that, yes, plenty of them do exist, but none that apple (OSX) has support for ?
Fair enough. However, since all I am looking for is offloading h.264, etc., I woud think that wouldn't be a terribly hard driver to write. Easy for me to say, I guess.
Also, aren't there raid controller cards in mini-pci-e ? Or is that the same deal: there are, but none with support built into OSX ?
Please clarify - and many thanks.
Please excuse my ignorance...
I thought there were all sorts of video cards in the mini-pci-e form factor ... aren't there all kinds of laptops with upgradeable video cards ?
Or are you saying that, yes, plenty of them do exist, but none that apple (OSX) has support for ?
Fair enough. However, since all I am looking for is offloading h.264, etc., I woud think that wouldn't be a terribly hard driver to write. Easy for me to say, I guess.
Also, aren't there raid controller cards in mini-pci-e ? Or is that the same deal: there are, but none with support built into OSX ?
Please clarify - and many thanks.
I haven't found any upgradable video cards in the minicard form factor - they all seem to be MXM. However, if one did exist and drivers were availible, it would certainly work.
With respect to the broadcom card - that looks like a brilliant idea, but writing the driver is non-trivial. If you want to have a stab at it be my guest! Any progress would be welcome.
With respect to the broadcom card - that looks like a brilliant idea, but writing the driver is non-trivial. If you want to have a stab at it be my guest! Any progress would be welcome.
Does any one have any actual hard evidence that the PCI Express lanes are actually connected in the Mini, or indeed any laptop? The reason I ask is that I installed a WLAN PCIe mini card into my new Dell M1330 and it registered as a 'USB Composite' device.
Surely if the PCI Express lanes were connected, there'd be no reason for the Intel Ronson Turbo Memory modules to work in laptops that DON'T have the Santa Rosa chipset. I'm fairly sure that the throughput we've seen on Turbo Memory exceeds the USB bus, so that MUST be using PCIe.
Has any one ever dropped in any kind of replacement card into the Mini?
While I am not a Mac owner this thread intrigues me as I want to internalise a PCIe expansion card within my laptop by stripping out the optical drive and replacing it with the card. I'm in the process of building the required PCIe harness.
Surely if the PCI Express lanes were connected, there'd be no reason for the Intel Ronson Turbo Memory modules to work in laptops that DON'T have the Santa Rosa chipset. I'm fairly sure that the throughput we've seen on Turbo Memory exceeds the USB bus, so that MUST be using PCIe.
Has any one ever dropped in any kind of replacement card into the Mini?
While I am not a Mac owner this thread intrigues me as I want to internalise a PCIe expansion card within my laptop by stripping out the optical drive and replacing it with the card. I'm in the process of building the required PCIe harness.
The minicard has a usb bus and a PCIe x1 bus. That's probably why it registered as a composite device.
Robson technology needs the supporting chipset, not just PCIe addressable flash.
Could you post pictures of your harness? It sounds intriguing!
Robson technology needs the supporting chipset, not just PCIe addressable flash.
Could you post pictures of your harness? It sounds intriguing!
It's in no fit state to be photographed, especially as it doesn't work.
Could someone with a Turbo Memory module plug it into their Mini to see what happens? Surely it should register as a device on a non-Santa Rosa machine even if there are no working drivers?
Failing that are there any PCIe mini cards out there I can buy that are guaranteed to be using the PCIe lanes? A $50-$100 investment to know for sure whether it works or not would be small beans compared to building another harness that may not work. Especially as I could then sell the card afterwards and get most of the money back
Before I put any more effort into this I'd like to know that the PCIe x1 lanes are actually connected, because right now, I've no evidence that they actually are. If they are in the Mini, I'll happily buy one and try out a graphics card to see what happens I've always wanted a Mini, even though it is really just a laptop with no screen and keyboard.
One thing I have noticed is that my laptop has options to enable/disable Turbo Memory and Cellular modems in the WWAN socket. I'm also wondering therefore whether the laptop BIOS could conceivably lock-out any non-standard device. I think this is unlikely though as I put a WLAN card in the WWAN slot and it worked fine - though as I said it did register as a USB composite device.
By the way, would I be right in assuming that the iMac also has this port? Motherboard pictures indicate it does
Could someone with a Turbo Memory module plug it into their Mini to see what happens? Surely it should register as a device on a non-Santa Rosa machine even if there are no working drivers?
Failing that are there any PCIe mini cards out there I can buy that are guaranteed to be using the PCIe lanes? A $50-$100 investment to know for sure whether it works or not would be small beans compared to building another harness that may not work. Especially as I could then sell the card afterwards and get most of the money back
Before I put any more effort into this I'd like to know that the PCIe x1 lanes are actually connected, because right now, I've no evidence that they actually are. If they are in the Mini, I'll happily buy one and try out a graphics card to see what happens
I've always wanted a Mini, even though it is really just a laptop with no screen and keyboard.One thing I have noticed is that my laptop has options to enable/disable Turbo Memory and Cellular modems in the WWAN socket. I'm also wondering therefore whether the laptop BIOS could conceivably lock-out any non-standard device. I think this is unlikely though as I put a WLAN card in the WWAN slot and it worked fine - though as I said it did register as a USB composite device.
By the way, would I be right in assuming that the iMac also has this port? Motherboard pictures indicate it does
I popped back in the hope that someone might be able to have tested the Mini's PCIe Mini slot with anything other than a WiFi card... but no dice! Can any one help?
I've ordered a refurb 2.0GHz Mac Mini from the Apple Store. Can't believe I paid so much for what is essentially a laptop without a keyboard, screen and battery power.
I'm still more interested in getting PCIe x1 working internally on a laptop, but should I ever get my harness working, I'll give it a go in the Mini. I might also get hold of a turbo memory module (definitely PCIe and not USB) and bung it in there just to see if the hardware is recognised, even though it won't be supported.
Can't believe Apple hasn't updated to Santa Rosa though. Not only is the Mini a chopped-down laptop, it's now an outdated one at that!
I'm still more interested in getting PCIe x1 working internally on a laptop, but should I ever get my harness working, I'll give it a go in the Mini. I might also get hold of a turbo memory module (definitely PCIe and not USB) and bung it in there just to see if the hardware is recognised, even though it won't be supported.
Can't believe Apple hasn't updated to Santa Rosa though. Not only is the Mini a chopped-down laptop, it's now an outdated one at that!
I had zero luck getting anywhere with the adapters. Plus the parts price was starting to add up. I ended up building a Hackintosh for less than the cost of upgrading the Mini (2.4ghz Quad-Core, 8 gigs of ram, thousands of gigabytes of hard drive space, 8800 GTS video card) and it's perfectly stable to boot. I think my Mac Mini days are over...it's maxed out and we can't really go any place else easily without doing an insane amount of custom work. And really, if you're going to add video cards, RAID cards, etc., to your Mini, you're better off just building a Hackintosh - it's just as stable and functional as a real Mac now anyway.
I decided the same thing. I have a wonderful little hackintosh that is far more flexible then any mac mini could ever be. It's a bit sad, but I guess that's the problem with Apple products.
I'm sorry for digging up such and old thread, but there is some news!
User bobwalberg over at 123macmini has discovered a retailer willing to sell him the adaptor talked about through the course of this thread (picture on page 1), and verified that a disk connected to a rocketraid 2300 pci-e card on the "airport" PCIe bus is visible to OSX, even though the card itself is hidden.
If this is true, this means the bus and card are initialised properly. With the recent release of the 8800GT for Mac Pro, it is possible that the mini might (finally!) be able to drive more then one display, or the 30" displays at their native resolution.
User bobwalberg over at 123macmini has discovered a retailer willing to sell him the adaptor talked about through the course of this thread (picture on page 1), and verified that a disk connected to a rocketraid 2300 pci-e card on the "airport" PCIe bus is visible to OSX, even though the card itself is hidden.
If this is true, this means the bus and card are initialised properly. With the recent release of the 8800GT for Mac Pro, it is possible that the mini might (finally!) be able to drive more then one display, or the 30" displays at their native resolution.