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Going from a MBP to a Mac Mini..

A

AluminumMB

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 11, 2009
170
5
Going from a macbook pro to a macbook mini, one would think it is a crazy idea. However, I have a nice setup at the moment and I don't really require the portability right now.

My current setup is: White MacBook (work's not mine), connected to an awesome matte-display Samsung 2253LW (22" inch LCD monitor), Apple Bluetooth wireless keyboard and Logitech VX Revolution.

Couple questions:

I will be using the Mac Mini in replacement of the White MacBook. It won't be used for HTPC purposes as most Mac Minis are used for - instead it will be my workstation horse and used for general browsing and email.

1. Is the Mac Mini sound quality as good as the MacBooks? I would appreciate sound speakers even though I will not be using it for movies or music but it will hold my iTunes library

2. Is it silent enough? It is going to be on 24/7 in my bedroom

3. Is it futureproof? Going for the new 2.0GHz, 9600M version

4. Is it easily upgradable? I may want to add 4GB RAM and 7200RPM drive - to make it seem like a real desktop instead of a desktop with laptop parts

5. Have you been happy with your Mac Mini purchase?

The best part about the Mac Mini is you can cater it your tastes - you can choose the display and everything else and don't have to deal with stuff you do not like - such as a glossy display on the new unibody macbooks

Thanks for the help


P.S. I preferred laptops but if I am not going to be portable, why spend the extra dough? Laptops do seem a bit more productive as you can use it anywhere you'd like and it may seem more personal, but you don't always get the options you want.
 
AluminumMB said:
Going from a macbook pro to a macbook mini, one would think it is a crazy idea. However, I have a nice setup at the moment and I don't really require the portability right now.

My current setup is: White MacBook (work's not mine), connected to an awesome matte-display Samsung 2253LW (22" inch LCD monitor), Apple Bluetooth wireless keyboard and Logitech VX Revolution.

Couple questions:

I will be using the Mac Mini in replacement of the White MacBook. It won't be used for HTPC purposes as most Mac Minis are used for - instead it will be my workstation horse and used for general browsing and email.

1. Is the Mac Mini sound quality as good as the MacBooks? I would appreciate sound speakers even though I will not be using it for movies or music but it will hold my iTunes library

2. Is it silent enough? It is going to be on 24/7 in my bedroom

3. Is it futureproof? Going for the new 2.0GHz, 9600M version

4. Is it easily upgradable? I may want to add 4GB RAM and 7200RPM drive - to make it seem like a real desktop instead of a desktop with laptop parts

5. Have you been happy with your Mac Mini purchase?

The best part about the Mac Mini is you can cater it your tastes - you can choose the display and everything else and don't have to deal with stuff you do not like - such as a glossy display on the new unibody macbooks

Thanks for the help


P.S. I preferred laptops but if I am not going to be portable, why spend the extra dough? Laptops do seem a bit more productive as you can use it anywhere you'd like and it may seem more personal, but you don't always get the options you want.
Click to expand...

1. The mac mini's speakers are in the back and it's pretty weak. You're going to need to get external speakers if you want to listen to music.

2. I haven't used the newest machines, but it's going to be more silent than your macbook because of the new graphics card. Browsing and youtube videos aren't going to start your fans.

3. For sure future proof. Snow Leopard is going to run well.

4. It's not the easiest to upgrade because you have to pry it open, but it is easier now then in previous mac minis. ifixit is your friend.

5. I've had 4 mac minis, one 1.42 G4 sucked way bad, one 1.5ghz core solo was decent, and two 1.83ghz core duo's much better. They've gotten better every revision so this one should be bomb.

Enjoy you're computer, let us know how it goes when you get it up and going.
 
1. As long as you use external speakers, the quality is as good as any computer.

2. Its very quiet but you will probably want to sleep it at night.

3. 9400m is the mini video card. "future proof" is such a loaded term. It will probably see your needs for 3 years at least.

4. Its not easily done. Search youtube for videos. The first time in is a little hairy. It will still have laptop parts after your upgrade but I get your point.

5. I have been very happy with mine.
 
thanks for the reply guys
the reason why I am going to have it on 24/7 because it will be my Alarm Clock

Awaken FTW

This is one of the main reasons why speakers is important to me, even if they are not of high quality
 
Ditto with what everyone else has said about speakers, graphics cards, and etc.

Another option would be to find a local, 3rd party authorized apple repair center and ask them how much they would charge to install ram and a 7200 rpm hard drive in your mini. I'd rather spend some money than risk frakking up my new system. The 7200 rpm hard drive would be a good way to future proof the mini for a bit, and will make it faster to boot up and help with disk intensive tasks.

One thing about the mini, I was speaking to an apple rep at my local comp usa store before it went out of business. He had nothing but good things to say about the design of the mini. Besides being quiet, he said the "mini's are tanks. I have never seen one returned to us for repair. They're the best built, best designed system that Apple has ever made."

Considering that my needs are not high end, I will buy a mini myself if I ever need a new desktop mac.
 
flopticalcube said:
System Preferences->Energy Saver->Sleep tab. In the bottom right corner is a button labeled (Schedule). Click that and you can schedule the mini to awaken 1 minute before your alarm goes off.
Click to expand...

Going one step further....Alarm Clock 2 will wake your mac from sleep. Used it every day for the last 3 months, not let me down once.
 
I've just got a Mac Mini which I used exclusively as my main computer.

I have it connected to my 40" Sony Bravia in the living room. I can get 1080p out of it and it looks stunning but I sit about 6' so it's a pain to read things!! I've got it set to a really random resultion at the minute...1344x756 I think. Makes reading websites easy, especially when you used cmd and + or -.

I may move the sofa closer so I can use 1080p :eek:)

I didn't even realsie the Mini had a speaker, sure enough you can hear the start-up chime but I didn't think it was a proper speaker. It sounds lame, and you'd HAVE TO connect some speakers to it. I've got mine connected to my Sony DG910 receiver.

I've got the top spec model with 4GB ram that Apple installed for me and it's dead silent. It's the quietest kit in my rack, by far.

To answer your final question; I've had mine since Sunday and I'm mostly happy with it. Going from a 2.0Ghz, 4GB ram, ATi 2400 XT iMac, the '09 mini is a smooth transition. The mini takes a few seconds longer to start all my apps (when I wake the mini, I have iCal, iTunes and Safari all start up) then my iMac did. But I've not noticed any signficant reduction in speed with other tasks.

If you're going to put a 7200rpm HDD in it, then I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the mini. I may even try using my external FW800 1TB drive as the main hard drive, see if that reduces access time. I'd love to whack a SSD drive in this but that won't happen for a long time!

Once I sort out my resoultion and viewing distance, I think I'll be pretty damn happy with it.
 
Changed my mind and decided to wait for the 15" unibody macbook pro matte display
 
I want to be able to adjust the brightness of the monitor while using the Apple keyboard. Amongst other things, such as wanting to relax on the bed browsing the web or chatting...I know I can buy the Apple Cinema Display but its too highly priced for what I need
 
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