Evidence that Next iMacs and Mac Minis to use NVIDIA Chipsets

[Hattig]

moving from ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB memory to 9400m useing system ram is a down grade and at $1,199.00 or more will just make apple look bad next to psystar.

The mac mini should have 9500 / 9600 or better in the $700 - $900 system.

1. It could be a cheaper configuration, which is sorely needed.

2. It doesn't stop Apple from using a discrete GPU as well in the other configurations. 9600M seems an obvious choice. Maybe even an ATI 4650 or better...

 

[Rocketman]

They could resolve 90% of the loudest complaints by simply offering a 2x expanded casing option for the Mini.

Rocketman

 

[xJulianx]

Wonder if were going to see any major design changed to it...alluminium maybe?

 

[tibi08]

Wonder if were going to see any major design changed to it...alluminium maybe?

Think the point of a Mac Mini is that it's cheap as chips....

 

[brop52]

Wonder if were going to see any major design changed to it...alluminium maybe?

To what? Both the iMac and Mac Mini are already aluminum besides the back side of the iMac.

 

[Aeolius]

Now they need to give the Mac Mini, AppleTV, and Time Capsule the same footprint, make them stackable, add a built-in iPod dock to one of them, and put a giant Apple Logo on the front that requires all 3 products to complete.

 

[Soat]

A 9400M in a Mac Mini will convince me to buy one. I originally wanted to build one into my glove compartment and connect it to a 7" touchscreen for wifi syncing of my music + movies to my car. Now I can mount a keyboard onto the glove compartment door and use it as a mobile wardriving gaming system.

 

[IlluminatedSage]

Hummmm.

1. $370 less than low-end Mac mini.
2. Has HDMI and Component ports.
3. Outputs correct resolutions for your HDTV.
4. Has HD movie rentals (not available on Mac/PC).
5. Built-in iTunes store (not in Front Row).
6. Built-in Podcasts streaming (not in Front Row).
7. iPhone remote support.

When used in the right situation, ie my living room with 60" tv and great stereo, the apple tv is just terrific!

 

[Mykbibby]

It's Official: the Mac Mini is alive!

 

[voidptr]

Until Apple gets around to adding 720p, 1080i and 1080p to Mac OS X's built-in resolutions (and include automatic adjustments for overscan and square pixels) — it's going to be difficult to use the Mac mini as an Apple TV.

OS X drives my HDTV at 1080p over a DVI -> HDMI cable connected to my MacBook Pro perfectly. A modern HDTV over HDMI should look just like a 1920x1080p monitor.

 

[Xapplimatic]

Core 2 Quad Mac Minis? It's a definite possibility!

Configuration files buried within some versions of Mac OS X show evidence that the next iMac and Mac Mini will indeed be based on the NVIDIA MCP79 chipset. . ..
The CFG_MCP79 appears to refer to the NVIDIA MCP79 chipset found in the newest laptops. The findings were originally described in a forum post that we've subsequently verified.

And the data on the MCP79 shows it fully supports not only 1080i and HDMI but Intel 1333 MHz Quad-FSB CPUs.. which means Core 2 Quad capable...

 

[MacsBestFriend]

how did they let that slide, lol?

 

[Eagle51389]

I'm pretty pleased to hear this. I have been looking to make the switch to a Mac for a while but was always disappointed with the Mac Mini's hardware. I'm not a power user, but its nice to have the extra horsepower when you need it.

The only thing standing in the way of a new Mini is the fact that I gotta get a car pretty soon. My truck is dying a slow death.

 

[BillyBobBongo]

Fie upon all of you who insisted the mini is dead! I never lost faith...

I hear you Brother!

 

[Count Blah]

Mini with better graphics will be good. Lets just hope it has some other exciting features too.

Like a lack of Firewire? The 100+ pages on the firewire missing from the macbook tells us that people are excited about it.

 

[justbn]

Hummmm.

1. $370 less than low-end Mac mini.
2. Has HDMI and Component ports.
3. Outputs correct resolutions for your HDTV.
4. Has HD movie rentals (not available on Mac/PC).
5. Built-in iTunes store (not in Front Row).
6. Built-in Podcasts streaming (not in Front Row).
7. iPhone remote support.

I didn't know you couldn't rent/buy in HDTV for the Mac. ARgh!!! I was going to do that tonight as we just got a new HDTV!!! Dang it!

 

[Umbongo]

And the data on the MCP79 shows it fully supports not only 1080i and HDMI but Intel 1333 MHz Quad-FSB CPUs.. which means Core 2 Quad capable...

The quad core situation is an interesting one. The only way it seems the iMac will go quad core is with the processors digitimes reported on last month. That would of course mean a desktop socket and more heat which shouldn't be an issue for the iMac, but I can't see it happening for the Mini. The Mini could go with the Q9000 which is going to be a 2GHz mobile quad core, but that's a $350 processor so I think that line will remain dual core. This could see both lines drop in price too.

 

[Tilpots]

Hummmm.

1. $370 less than low-end Mac mini.
2. Has HDMI and Component ports.
3. Outputs correct resolutions for your HDTV.
4. Has HD movie rentals (not available on Mac/PC).
5. Built-in iTunes store (not in Front Row).
6. Built-in Podcasts streaming (not in Front Row).
7. iPhone remote support.

Still not worth getting the current AppleTV over a mini if you want a true HTPC.

 

[BlizzardBomb]

The current Apple Mac Mini website does not offer a SSD BTO option but visually shows a SSD.

This may be indicative of things to come.

I don't personally see much point to SSDs on desktops unless you really crave speed. No moving parts isn't really an advantage on something which is still all of the time (sure it may be slightly more durable, but let's face it, it costs more than a HDD and one or even two backup HDDs).

Well, finally the mini gets the update it deserves. Should be much better value for money, although it's still lacking something I can't quite put my finger on *cough* 3.5" Hard Drive *cough*.

 

[Eric S.]

It goes without saying that I hope the new hardware comes with 10.6 or if not, a "free upgrade" guarantee (yeah, right!)...

If probably will, if you wait six months to buy it.

 

[Beric]

I sure will correct you since you've been living in a cave for the past year.

SSDs have indeed proven their speed (the majority are almost twice faster than most 7200RPM drives, with some being almost 4 times faster like the Intel X25-M). Next year we'll see Toshiba's 512GB SSD with read performance over 200MB/s and write performance around 200MB/s. Try *that* at home with your 7200RPM HDD.

The limited number of writes for the recent SDDs is now well above the lifetime of a typical HDD (which usually last only 4-5 years).

Yes, they're still expensive and lower capacity but within the next 2-3 years, I can see SDDs matching HDD capacities and being only slightly more expensive...but the extra cash plunked on a a drive with no moving parts and higher life expectancy will be all worth it.

Your first line really wasn't necessary.

And a LOT of SSD's have been shown to not provide any significant boosts. And of course, cost defeats all.

The moral is, I'll wait for numerous others to attest to a SSD being all positives and no negatives over a HDD. Until then, I'll use what's tried and true.

 

[JGowan]

Ok, so there is a new mini. Yay... I am now waiting for the standard blurry photos to arrive. Come on - we only have a few weeks!!!

Here's a little thing I whipped up. I kind imagine it'll look like the sides of the new Macbooks.

 

[Rocketman]

I don't personally see much point to SSDs on desktops unless you really crave speed. No moving parts isn't really an advantage on something which is still all of the time

Many Mini's are used in automobiles and industrial automation now.

A 2x casing option would make it more suitable to DIY hobbiests, server farms, vertical market applications, and DVR's.

Rocketman

 

[11800506]

Yay for a Mac Mini update! That'll be good and hopefully Apple will realize the ridiculousness of the Mac Mini's prices and drop it $100 (although probably not). And we'll see if the combo drive will continue to live, although if they drop the prices it probably will stay.

 

[sighlent]

And also a mini with a mini display port, which can not directly be connected to your current display.
And also a mini with no firewire.
I wouldn't be surprised if it also lacks an optical drive and replaces the Apple TV.

there are minidisplay port to dvi and vga adapters homeslice. you just can't use a monitor (LED Cinema Display) with an older computer without displayport.