for me it is the end of the world, i have been waiting and waiting for a new Mini since forver.. it will become my media centre type thing.. if they bring out ****** Atom's then i have no need for the Mini.
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Intel Atom-Based Mac Mini Due in March?
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for me it is the end of the world, i have been waiting and waiting for a new Mini since forver.. it will become my media centre type thing.. if they bring out ****** Atom's then i have no need for the Mini.
Um, Atom-equipped Mini could handle media-center tasks just fine.... Hell, AppleTV handles those tasks just fine, and with less horsepower!
Atom in Mini? NOT GOOD
Maybe Apple can release a Mac nano with this thing, but I want a Mini with at least a Core 2 duo in it, anything less is not good enough for what I want to do with it.... I don't believe that an Atom can out perform a similar clocked Core 2 Duo, unless I'm wrong....
Maybe Apple can release a Mac nano with this thing, but I want a Mini with at least a Core 2 duo in it, anything less is not good enough for what I want to do with it.... I don't believe that an Atom can out perform a similar clocked Core 2 Duo, unless I'm wrong....
What do you want to don with it?
The CPU would be slower. But then again, the GPU would be faster. In some tasks it would be slower, while in some other, it would be faster.
ok i dont think you understand haha...
my media centre will be decoding 1080p for playback, converting 1080p, importing and exporting multiple files STREAMED from my external HD's that are downstairs (ethernet of course).
thus i need a MacMini, the
TV is useless, and an Atom based Mini would be too.I don't understand haha? Is haha something I need to understand?
Ion-equipped mini could handle 1080p just fine. Don't know about handling several streams at once though, but I don't really see C2D-equipped Mini doing it either.
thus i need a MacMini, the
Like I said, Ion can handle 1080p
I am a little confused. If you are getting a new mac mini for a media centre, then an atom / ion combination will be much better then the current mac mini (C2D GMA 950). You would actually get decent hardware acceleration of graphic and video tasks.
The key point for me is that most of these "it will be too slow" is based on people's experience with the N270 and 945 chipsets, not the 330 with an Ion chipset. The N270 is a slow chip coupled with a power hungry (relatively), slow chipset.
That said, the only reason I see going to the atom is to reduce the cost of the mac mini. In the current economic climate having a < $400 machine would be a real advantage.
ill rephrase
I dont think you understand, haha.
like i said, it will be needed to convert high-quality movies as well, not to mention other things.
without other hardware acceleration, i doubt it would be able to handle a full uncompressed BR/HDDVD stream coming in, which is what i will be doing.. games play a big part in my decision aswell
thus why i have been waiting for a good year and a half for a decent mini to be brought out!!!
your link doesnt work. EDIT: wait yes it does, let me read it.
if somebody could give some benchmarks that accurately show how the Atom would compare to a C2D then i may be swayed
[/quote]HAHAHAHAHAHA. apple would still charge the same prices, i guarantee it.
EDIT: ok i read it, nowhere near good enough. i would have it hooked up to my TV at 1920x1080.. games would fail hardcore on that thing. no thanks
. doesnt seem very good at converting video either (laughs at 1fps).
Just 1.6 GHz? When the current ones run at 1.83 and 2.0 GHz?
...why?
Because in most circumstances, GHz has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with performance.
But it does here. Google "Megahertz Myth".
without other hardware acceleration, i doubt it would be able to handle a full uncompressed BR/HDDVD stream coming in, which is what i will be doing.. games play a big part in my decision aswell
Current Mac mini has Intel GMA950. Ion has NVIDIA GeForce 9400M. One of those is a decent GPU, I'll let you determine which one.
http://www.nvidia.com/object/sff_ion.html
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It appears that many people are not too happy with this news. I don't know much about the Atom processor. What are the drawbacks/issues with it?
It appears that many people are not too happy with this news. I don't know much about the Atom processor. What are the drawbacks/issues with it?
im in a similar position to you, its either a GOOD mac mini, or hackintosh (already got one so i know what im doing
Ditto.....been waiting patiently for an update to the Mini, but if this is it I'll be looking at an EFix module and build my own.
There's a whole lotta negativity about this thing, but I for one hope it portends a mini-TV fusion box. If it does, then the resultant system is EXACTLY what I'm looking for (well maybe not exactly, unless it shipped with Boxee), and I may actually be able to replace cable TV with it. It would pay for itself in a few months.
I'm imagining an Apple TV HomeTheater capable of 1080p playback, with a blue ray player, iTunes (and Boxee?!?!?) integration, and still able to check my mail, and RSS feed right on my TV.
No, I'm not hoping to Photoshop on it during commercial breaks, and I don't need it to be a gaming PC either (I've got other hardware for those tasks).
But I suppose if you're hoping that the new mini would be a headless gaming PC that is cheaper than a MacPro, then you would be disappointed by this.
Now if Apple simply releases another mini it its current form that happens to be really small - that would be stupid. I don't know of anyone looking at a mini that says "you know, I would buy that thing, but it just too darn big - if they could make it a little smaller, then it would fit on my desk...".
There is no affordance in simply making the mini smaller, but I think there would be good reason for Apple to want to merge the mini and AppleTV product lines together.
TV fusion box. If it does, then the resultant system is EXACTLY what I'm looking for (well maybe not exactly, unless it shipped with Boxee), and I may actually be able to replace cable TV with it. It would pay for itself in a few months. I'm imagining an Apple TV HomeTheater capable of 1080p playback, with a blue ray player, iTunes (and Boxee?!?!?) integration, and still able to check my mail, and RSS feed right on my TV.
No, I'm not hoping to Photoshop on it during commercial breaks, and I don't need it to be a gaming PC either (I've got other hardware for those tasks).
But I suppose if you're hoping that the new mini would be a headless gaming PC that is cheaper than a MacPro, then you would be disappointed by this.
Now if Apple simply releases another mini it its current form that happens to be really small - that would be stupid. I don't know of anyone looking at a mini that says "you know, I would buy that thing, but it just too darn big - if they could make it a little smaller, then it would fit on my desk...".
There is no affordance in simply making the mini smaller, but I think there would be good reason for Apple to want to merge the mini and AppleTV product lines together.
That is strange.
For a media center machine, an Atom teamed with an Ion would be ideal. Trying to use Atom to power apps associated with general purpose computing is the loosing equation.
That is if the GPU can successfully accelerate the required video playback. I have no doubt that a dual core ATOM chip and GPU acceleration will be successful in a media center or server.
Dave
For a media center machine, an Atom teamed with an Ion would be ideal. Trying to use Atom to power apps associated with general purpose computing is the loosing equation.
That is if the GPU can successfully accelerate the required video playback. I have no doubt that a dual core ATOM chip and GPU acceleration will be successful in a media center or server.
Dave
Actually, nobody really cares what's powering the Mini, as long as it performs well and overall much better than the current one. If Apple doesn't seize this opportunity to come with an attractive offer (in terms of performance/price), no doubt thousands will turn away and spend their hard earned money elsewhere. Nobody wants to buy a computer that's both more expensive and slower than the competition. So, if the Mini can only be used as a second desktop for specific tasks like BitTorrenting or playing music and videos, then truely why not just buy a cheap PC that can do the same for half the price or less?
Obviously Apple has to come with a decent proposal or, alternatively, a great one!
Obviously Apple has to come with a decent proposal or, alternatively, a great one!
That approximates what I could see as a successful ATOM based product would be to me. It would be a box designed to sit in the living room hooked up to a big screen TV.There's a whole lotta negativity about this thing, but I for one hope it portends a mini-
Exactly. Well almost, playing with BluRay is a waste of time right now.
However it could make a fairly decent gaming machine depending on just how fast that Ion can go. Processor wise ATOM isn't much different than what is currently in the big game boxes. Imagine if Apple could deliver a quad core machine with a mid to high end range GPU. Such a machine would perform very well against the 360 and PS2.
I don't really see ATOM going into a Mini replacement. Rather I see ATOM going into new hardware or a new take on current hardware. The Media center PC is one example, as would be a more general server, or a TV with built in computing hardware. There are many possibilities where ATOM would help Apple out.
However I do see people look at Mini and ask why it uses so much power.
There is a wide range of potential TV products that could come from Apple. It is certainly one way to employe ATOM. But I also see opportunities outside of media serving.
Dave
Um, there are already millions of people using Atom for general purpose computing.... It really isn't THAT slow. It might not be suitable for hi-end tasks and gaming, but everyday-computing it's fast enough.
It can, and the end-result would be a lot better than with current Mac mini.
seriously people... READ the article!!
All it stated was that apple had RECEIVED production samples, NOWHERE did it mention what they being used for. The site has obviously jumped to it's own conclusions and made a stupid call at that. With so much talk on every rumor site of a want for a new mini, a company as successful as Apple what not downgrade a machine. If they made decisions like that they would have died out years ago.
Use your feckin heads people!! I'm getting really bored of the retards on this site now. This whole situation of people believing everything they read with absolutely no concrete evidence as being gospel is just ridiculous.
Honestly, 300+ replies with 90% blindly following this is just insane.
All it stated was that apple had RECEIVED production samples, NOWHERE did it mention what they being used for. The site has obviously jumped to it's own conclusions and made a stupid call at that. With so much talk on every rumor site of a want for a new mini, a company as successful as Apple what not downgrade a machine. If they made decisions like that they would have died out years ago.
Use your feckin heads people!! I'm getting really bored of the retards on this site now. This whole situation of people believing everything they read with absolutely no concrete evidence as being gospel is just ridiculous.
Honestly, 300+ replies with 90% blindly following this is just insane.
neither actually, they are both integrated.. so technically (by my standards anyway), they are both crap.
no EFIx for me, costs to much. probs cant buy it in australia anyways. ill just build something tiny that can decode and encode for me
for a basic server/centre yes.. for people like me who will be using it more intensly, no.