Intel Atom-Based Mac Mini Due in March?

[MattInOz]

Of course we do have take in to account Apple history and way of working the vast number of prototypes that made there way public in the past.

Apple likes to build stuff to test it. not just draw stuff.
So it makes sense they would have got their hands on chips as soon as and have playing with any number of ideas that may never see the light of day.

 

[AidenShaw]

Most Atoms are 32-bit

Plus - if Windows 7 is being designed to run on netbooks with similar hardware like the Ion, maybe Snow Leopard will also run OK on this type of hardware also?

Only the 230 (1.6 single core) and 330 (1.6 dual core 1MiB cache) support x64 64-bit.

None of the others will run Snow Leopard - they are x86 32-bit CPUs.

 

[VoR]

Of course we do have take in to account Apple history and way of working the vast number of prototypes that made there way public in the past.

Apple likes to build stuff to test it. not just draw stuff.
So it makes sense they would have got their hands on chips as soon as and have playing with any number of ideas that may never see the light of day.

They should try testing some off the shelf mini-itx boards. Trim the edges off something like the DG45FC from intel, add any socket 775 cpu they want, bung it in the mac mini case with a slightly larger (or smaller...) lump of copper and try and work out how little they can charge without making the rest of their line up look like a rip off

 

[Eidorian]

Yes, entry level desktop.

The mini is
- 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
- 1GB memory 1GB memory
- 120GB hard drive

for $799.

Gee, what kind of entry PC can I get for $799?

You're being much to kind with ~$799.

 

[PVguy]

shuttle xpc

http://us.shuttle.com/X2700.aspx

$440 for dual core, so Apple had better do better than this rumor claims, especially if they delete the firewire.

The shuttle is bigger though. Just a bit bigger than my external CD burner.

(L)9.8 X (W)7.3 X (H)2.8 Inches

 

[mandoman]

I wonder if the custom intel low power chip in the MBA can run on the nvidia ION platform? I see that as a more likely combo to go into a mini. Though I'm sure the mini will be the same as the MB.

I don't see the atom being used except for maybe the Apple TV or possibly the rumored apple file server. Sure would love an atom based apple netbook though.

 

[numbersyx]

Reduced size mini - how much smaller do they want to get it?

 

[DaBrain]

I don't believe it.

If it is true, and there is not a new addition to the product line to fill the gap.

Hackintosh here I come.

Yeah your not the only one! Man I need to hear some good news soon! And this isn't it!

 

[reallynotnick]

You can totally do 1080p H.264 video with the 9400m, I see this being more a merger of Mac Mini/Apple TV. Hopefully they will also come out with an xMac to fit in-between this Mac Mini TV, I think this would flesh out Apple's lineup just perfectly.

 

[CyberBob859]

As small as they can get it

Reduced size mini - how much smaller do they want to get it?

Imagine the size of an iPod Classic 120 GB with a minidisplay port, Bluetooth to handle the keyboard and mouse, and one USB port for I/O.

And I'm only half joking.

 

[CyberBob859]

Only the 230 (1.6 single core) and 330 (1.6 dual core 1MiB cache) support x64 64-bit.

None of the others will run Snow Leopard - they are x86 32-bit CPUs.

The Nvidia Ion platform uses the 330, so I guess Snow Leopard is theoretically feasible.

 

[yrsonicdeath]

I would rather have waited all this time and the mini be discontinued. It would at least make more sense.

 

[alexbates]

The Mac Mini badly needs an update and it will probably happen in March.

But, the last thing the Mac Mini needs is an Atom processor. 1.6GHz is nothing compared to the current Mac Mini. What I am hoping for is an Intel processor that is 2.2GHz or faster. The only way I would ever consider buying one with an Atom processor is if is cost $399 or less. An 2.2GHz processor would be something that Apple could charge $599 or more for.

I will not get a Mac Mini because I don't need a desktop, but I know many people who would consider one. Apple needs to continue to make this statement true: "If you switch to a Mac, you will never go back." Using a processor of 2.0GHz or more is the best way to do it. Hopefully the 2nd Generation Mac Mini will also have 2GB of RAM to go along with it.

I can't wait to see the new Mac Mini and hopefully some new (and cheaper) Cinema Displays to go along with it.

 

[AidenShaw]

You're being much to kind with ~$799.

There were some quad-cores on sale this week for $499, but they had some weird AMD Pheromone processors and other dodgy specs.

A Q6600 (2.4 GHz quad core) with 4 GiB, Blu-ray and 1 TB disk for (slightly) less than a 2.0GHz dual core 1 GiB Mini was too good to pass by

Remind me, what's Apple's rationale for not using desktop parts in any system?

 

[phytonix]

Mac nano! Dual core Atom + Ion
$399

Mac mini! C2D + 9400M
$599

 

[gkarris]

The Mac Mini badly needs an update and it will probably happen in March.

But, the last thing the Mac Mini needs is an Atom processor. 1.6GHz is nothing compared to the current Mac Mini. What I am hoping for is an Intel processor that is 2.2GHz or faster. The only way I would ever consider buying one with an Atom processor is if is cost $399 or less. An 2.2GHz processor would be something that Apple could charge $599 or more for.

I will not get a Mac Mini because I don't need a desktop, but I know many people who would consider one. Apple needs to continue to make this statement true: "If you switch to a Mac, you will never go back." Using a processor of 2.0GHz or more is the best way to do it. Hopefully the 2nd Generation Mac Mini will also have 2GB of RAM to go along with it.

I can't wait to see the new Mac Mini and hopefully some new (and cheaper) Cinema Displays to go along with it.

I'll probably be the Dual Core Atom 1.6, 1 Gig RAM, 80 (or 120) Gig Hard Drive - these are the specs that will bring the price down to $499...

 

[mdriftmeyer]

http://us.shuttle.com/X2700.aspx

$440 for dual core, so Apple had better do better than this rumor claims, especially if they delete the firewire.

The shuttle is bigger though. Just a bit bigger than my external CD burner.

(L)9.8 X (W)7.3 X (H)2.8 Inches

Intel 950GMA isn't going to cut it for OS X.

 

[Wolfpup]

There were some quad-cores on sale this week for $499, but they had some weird AMD Pheromone processors and other dodgy specs.

A Q6600 (2.4 GHz quad core) with 4 GiB, Blu-ray and 1 TB disk for (slightly) less than a 2.0GHz dual core 1 GiB Mini was too good to pass by

Remind me, what's Apple's rationale for not using desktop parts in any system?

There's nothing dodgy about AMD's Phenom. Clock for clock it's not as powerful as Core 2, but it's still crazy powerful, and destroys anything BUT Core 2.

And anyway, a good year ago Dell sold very solid mid range systems with a Core 2 quad for $500 at various points. (Though they were normal minitowers...which for me is a huge plus, but...)

 

[Porco]

I don't like this rumour and I'm not up on how powerful various graphics chips are - but as an old Amiga fan I know the difference that putting tasks out to other chips can make to a system. The Amiga was ahead of its time in many ways, and it might just be possible that the CPU becomes less important going forward, if Snow Leopard means that the GPU (or GPUs) handle much more of the gruntwork, in a similar fashion to the way the Amiga could farm out various things to other chips than the CPU.

Maybe people who have played with 10.6 will have a better idea of the performance gains than I though.

My initial reaction was still 'yuck' though.

 

[Wolfpup]

I don't like this rumour and I'm not up on how powerful various graphics chips are - but as an old Amiga fan I know the difference that putting tasks out to other chips can make to a system. The Amiga was ahead of its time in many ways, and it might just be possible that the CPU becomes less important going forward, if Snow Leopard means that the GPU (or GPUs) handle much more of the gruntwork.

Maybe people who have played with 10.6 will have a better idea of the performance gains than I though.

My initial reaction was still 'yuck' though.

It doesn't really make the CPU less important. All that's happening is the GPU is evolving into a different type of CPU, that's optimized for different types of things. Heck, if Intel has it's way, we'll end up with x86 'CPUs' AND x86 'GPUs' (which are just massively parallel but more primitive CPUs)

 

[Chundles]

There were some quad-cores on sale this week for $499, but they had some weird AMD Pheromone processors and other dodgy specs.

A Q6600 (2.4 GHz quad core) with 4 GiB, Blu-ray and 1 TB disk for (slightly) less than a 2.0GHz dual core 1 GiB Mini was too good to pass by

Remind me, what's Apple's rationale for not using desktop parts in any system?

Geeze that's a good price. Wish we had that sort of competition down here - I'd snap up that sort of system in a heartbeat, it'd be a great handbrake/media machine.

 

[dlewis23]

Guys, Open your eyes!!!

This wouldn't be for a mac mini. Its for the next Apple TV, a Intel Atom with NVIDIA Ion can do high quality 1080p with no problem, and at a much higher bit rate. And its much cheaper to build. So they can sell it to you cheaper and grab some people away from Netflix because they would be able to offer 1080p video.

Of course your gonna need a fat internet connection to get it with out having it buffer ever 2 seconds. Probably 10 mbps +

 

[Joe The Dragon]

I don't like this rumour and I'm not up on how powerful various graphics chips are - but as an old Amiga fan I know the difference that putting tasks out to other chips can make to a system. The Amiga was ahead of its time in many ways, and it might just be possible that the CPU becomes less important going forward, if Snow Leopard means that the GPU (or GPUs) handle much more of the gruntwork, in a similar fashion to the way the Amiga could farm out various things to other chips than the CPU.

Maybe people who have played with 10.6 will have a better idea of the performance gains than I though.

My initial reaction was still 'yuck' though.

but apple will likely cheap out and use 9400m with system ram and only

Single Channel ram. There was a laptop with atom with 9300 / 9400 with 256 of it's own ram and the cpu was too weak to make full use of the video card.

 

[Eidorian]

There were some quad-cores on sale this week for $499, but they had some weird AMD Pheromone processors and other dodgy specs.

A Q6600 (2.4 GHz quad core) with 4 GiB, Blu-ray and 1 TB disk for (slightly) less than a 2.0GHz dual core 1 GiB Mini was too good to pass by

Remind me, what's Apple's rationale for not using desktop parts in any system?

I'll admit you can make a bargain basement Q6600 system for about $499. I hope you're just as knowledgeable with AMD's processors as Intel's.

Intel 950GMA isn't going to cut it for OS X.

The current Mac mini would like to have a talk with you.

 

[Porco]

It doesn't really make the CPU less important. All that's happening is the GPU is evolving into a different type of CPU, that's optimized for different types of things. Heck, if Intel has it's way, we'll end up with x86 'CPUs' AND x86 'GPUs' (which are just massively parallel but more primitive CPUs)

but apple will likely cheap out and use 9400m with system ram and only

Single Channel ram. There was a laptop with atom with 9300 / 9400 with 256 of it's own ram and the cpu was too weak to make full use of the video card.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want Apple to skimp on the CPU even if Snow Leopard's technologies make it more feasible to do so. I'm just saying as undesirable as it might be, I could envision a situation where the CPU wasn't quite so important for doing the things that people typically buying a mini would use it for (media, web-browsing, e-mail etc).

But maybe it is just for a new AppleTV, I hope so. Time will tell.