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Is a 1.83GHz Mac Mini an efficient computer in 2010?

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Canceled
Original poster
Sep 16, 2010
28
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Hi all,

I'm planning on purchasing a mac mini from eBay, and I want to know whether a mac mini with a 1.83 GHz processor and 2GB RAM would be sufficient for general computing without too much slowdown? I will be using the computer for word processing, occasional DVD ripping (via Handbrake) and as a server for media streaming to my iPad.

I'm used to using a 2.26 GHz macbook pro with 4GB RAM - would there be an especially excessive difference in performance between the two computers? Should I fork out for a 2.0 GHz mac mini (bearing in mind that I'm on a tight budget) or could I get away with a 1.83 GHz one?

Any insight would be greatly received :)
 
I'm sure the core duo minis where the ones you could upgrade the CPU with little fuss
 
How would I go about upgrading the CPU? Apple store? what sort of price would I be looking at? Thanks to you both ;)
 
Purchase the correct CPU from a retailer or eBay and do it yourself. Whilst in there upgrade the ram to 3gb and the hdd to a 500gb or 640gb and you have a monster.
 
it will certainly do the job with wordprocessing and general surfing
i used handbrake on my Mini G4 1.42 with only 1 GB ram so maxed out and a 4200rpm hdd and it does the job ,so does my eMac 1.42 , he's a bit faster ,because 2 gb ram and a 7200rpm hdd
and i even tried it on my iMac G3 700mhz with 768mb ram which has a dvd drive and a fast 7200rpm harddrive
and it works too ,he only takes a bit more time :)
i have tried it too with my MSI wind with a intel atom 1.6 and snow leopard ,just out of curiosity and it does the job with a external dvd attached to it, as its a netbook that only thinks its MacBook Pro in about this Mac :D

but i dont like too rush things anyway, its not about speed its about quality when it comes to ripping a dvd
so i put the dvd in and let them do the job over night when i'm sleeping anyway most of the time and in the morning they are all finished with the job

so yes the mini 1.83 ghz intel core duo with 2 gb ram should be fine
 
The CPU is fine today, and the disk would be fine with an upgrade. But that 2 GB RAM limit will be an albatross around your neck. My HTPC is a Core Duo MBP with the same 2 GB RAM limit, and I'm constantly having to ensure that only one or two applications are open to avoid swapping and the resulting stuttering in the video.
 
dal20402 said:
The CPU is fine today, and the disk would be fine with an upgrade. But that 2 GB RAM limit will be an albatross around your neck. My HTPC is a Core Duo MBP with the same 2 GB RAM limit, and I'm constantly having to ensure that only one or two applications are open to avoid swapping and the resulting stuttering in the video.
Click to expand...
This is also what I found with my 1.66GHz mini. OP might be better off selling the 1.83 CD and looking for a 2009 or later mini. According to refurb.me there was a 2.0C2D Early 2009 mini on refurb for $429 just 3 days ago. If you get $200 for your old mini then you are just $230 away from one that has a much better graphics card and can take up to 8GB of RAM. A much better investment than just trying to upgrade the CPU, IMO.
 
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