i use a microsoft mouse with my mini. the apple mice suck. can't live without right click
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Getting a Mac Mini need some advice on the processor speeds
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i use a microsoft mouse with my mini. the apple mice suck. can't live without right click
http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/
The gesture for right click is the same for Magic and Mighty Mouse. Enable right click in system preferences and then simply click with one finger on the right side of the mouse, ensuring your fingers on the left are not touching the surface. Voila.
On the laptops, simply tap with two fingers rather than one.
I used to own an MX Revolution, and I'm actually quite happy with the Magic Mouse - it takes up way less desk space, and the low profile is comfortable for my hands.
And the biggest advantage is that it won't use a usb slot, which gets handy with these computers
All current Macs come with at least 2GB of RAM, not sure why, but it can be random luck, they're a few points which make a very small percentage of a 1% of the total score
I was about to ask if the 0.27 GHz Worth it between the 2.26 GHz and 2.53 GHz and they are since if you turne up the 2.26 GHz one with 4GB of ram and a 320GB Hard Drive you go to 799$ the exact price of the 2.53 GHz model with all those specs
I'm wondering this too for me, if it's worth it to pay the extra for the 2.53ghz over the 2.2ghz. 1) I don't care about the hard drive size (this is a secondary home computer to my primary MacBook Pro and my wife's macbook air). Won't really have much on here. Thinking of going to an SSD if it will make everything snappier.
2) I'm thinking about upgrading the RAM on my own. That's what I've done w/ my usual macs. But I think I've read that the RAM upgrade is around $100 and going to the max 8gb would be like $500? Maybe I should live w/ 2gb for some time and then upgrade one day to 8gb when it's cheaper?
Don't let such test results affect you buying decision!
Like all synthetic benchmarks, GeekBench results are not stable on the same machine.
Run the test once and you get 3200 point, run it again and you get 3100, run it again and you get 3300......
You see where this is going.
The margin really is that large! 100 points, or even more difference it absolutely normal between tests.
Just look at the GeekBench results page. Results for the exact same machines are hundreds, in case of the high performance machines, thousands apart.
It is all a matter of what how the bench is done, meaning which OS the machine is running, how many background processes etc.
With regard to Mac Mini vs MBP. Saying that a MBP with the exact same hardware is faster than the Mini is frankly said nonsense.
The only reason a MBP feels snappier is the fact that they generally have a discrete graphics card and since OS X is really dependent on a fast graphics card, that's definitely a plus for the MBP.
All other components, like chipset, RAM, CPU are absolutely identical and there is no other magical part what could speed up a machine. It's as simple as that.
The reason why a MBP with a standard magnetic hard drive boots up considerably faster than a Mini with SSD, definitely is not normal and shouldn't be taken for reference. God knows what the person who tested this did wrong.
I can speak for myself, as I've got all the mentioned devices, equipped with SSDs.
My Mini is a 2.26GHz with Intel X25-V, so a very low end SSD and that thing boots up in a snap, absolutely equal to the booting speed of my 2.26GHz MBP with a OCZ Vertex SSD. There are really only seconds between them, although the Vertex is definitely faster in daily use. Applications load faster and the system feels a little more snappy. But again, that has nothing to do with the system itself, since the hardware, except for the hard drive, is absolutely identical.
You guys really shouldn't bother about boot times. I mean, how often do you restart your systems? Two, maybe three times a month? Who cares about 5 seconds while booting?
How do you feel about your 2.26Ghz Mac Mini? In the post above yours I was trying to get some comments on going between the 2.26ghz & the 2.53ghz. There finally osme Mac Minis in the refurbished section, its $499 vs $679
Processor Speed
Speed isn't everything, money matters. Buy the cheapest one you can you will never notice the speed difference of something you don't have. In 6 months speeds will be faster and 6 months after that even faster, so how much money do you have to waste on a minimal speed difference, I keep my macs a minimum of 3 years and always buy the low end and I am never disappointed.
Speed isn't everything, money matters. Buy the cheapest one you can you will never notice the speed difference of something you don't have. In 6 months speeds will be faster and 6 months after that even faster, so how much money do you have to waste on a minimal speed difference, I keep my macs a minimum of 3 years and always buy the low end and I am never disappointed.
Well I have the 2GHz early 2009 model and I can say it is more than enough for what I do. I browse the web, do homework (pages, keynote), itunes, doubletwist (app for my Droid Eris), and convert music. 1GB of RAM and a 120GB hard drive was actually fine with me, but I upgraded later on.
34 seconds is how fast my mini booted on the stock HDD. My SSD boots my mini in 18 as well.
This is true, however the 15" 1699 MBP will have the same exact video as the 13" MBP and the Mini. Only when you step up and drop 1999 will you get a true discrete graphics on the MBP line.
Thanks, ended up going w/ the 2.53ghz Mac Mini
yeah, that's usually the route I go but in this situation it was a little different because of the cost of the RAM upgrade. I knew I was going to be taking it from 2gb to 4gb and from a post I read, the cost was $100 anyways to do that. So at that point, it was $79 more for the faster processor and bigger HD too and that sort of seemed worth it. If the price difference was even a little larger I would have just cheaped out and updated the RAM on my own.
I really can't tell you anything about the speed because I don't use these machines for serious work.
My Mini is solely used for running Plex on a TV and the MBP is only used for browsing the web or making presentations. Nothing that would really demand something from the machine, which is why I went for the smallest machines available.
For working machines, however, I generally choose faster machines since I can't afford to waste time waiting for the computer to do his job.
In your case I'd definitely go for the 2.53 with 4GB and a fast hard drive. Or better, invest $200 more an get an low end iMac. More bang for the buck!
^ Thanks for the comments. Regarding the iMac, I want the nice big screen so that means I would have be looking at the 27" iMac which gets a bit hefty in price compared to the mini. In the post above yours I mentioned I went w/ the faster 2.53ghz w/ 4gb RAM and the bigger 320gb HD.
A little O/T but could you tell me a little more about plex? Maybe I should be doing some TV stuff w/ my Mac Mini
A little O/T but could you tell me a little more about plex? Maybe I should be doing some TV stuff w/ my Mac Mini
Plex is a HTPC software for managing your media, such like XBMX, Boxee or even FrontRow.
It's like FrontRow on steroids. Much more features and an interface that you can't even compare with FrontRow. The alternatives like Boxee aren't that good either, in my opinion. Boxee has a horrible user interface that is really hard to handle.
Just read a little in the Apple TV and home theater forums around here and visit the Plex website. You'll find more information than you need.
maybe it's my pessimistic behavior but i smell fud.
i don't know how a dual mini with an ssd could boot slower than a mbp when my dell mini 9 (1.6 single atom, 2gb ram, 32gb ssd, mac os x installed) boots faster than my mbp (2.4 dual, 4gb, 200gb hd).
btw, just purchased a $499 mini from the refurb store and it's just as fast on day to day task as my mbp.
i don't know how a dual mini with an ssd could boot slower than a mbp when my dell mini 9 (1.6 single atom, 2gb ram, 32gb ssd, mac os x installed) boots faster than my mbp (2.4 dual, 4gb, 200gb hd).
btw, just purchased a $499 mini from the refurb store and it's just as fast on day to day task as my mbp.