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markothecro

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 19, 2009
8
0
I will most definitely be buying myself one of the new mac minis in the near future. I plan on going for the baseline $599 version, and then upgrading the hard drive and RAM myself. The one thing I don't plan on upgrading is the processor (is it even possible?). So I want to make sure that the processor I select is worth the money. Should I shell out $150 for the 2.26ghz? Is there any noticeable difference? I will be upgrading to 4GB of RAM eventually, so will I even need the slightly faster processor?

Although the mac will be primarily for web browsing, mail, chatting, using evernote and other such tame things, I also want to be able to edit 1080p video with imovie and list through large photo albums in iphoto, without any major hiccups...

Any advice or input is greatly appreciated!

Thx,
Marko
 
Don't bother with the faster processor. The RAM and HDD upgrades are money much better spent. The only caveat is, are you comfortable opening up the mini to change those components? It's a bit of a challenge with the mini. If you are, then buy the base mini and the RAM and HDD off NewEgg. If you're not comfortable, you might consider buying the Apple RAM upgrade and just using external storage.
 
Hm... I've always heard it's a bit tricky, but how hard can it really be? You just snap the cover off with a putty knife, remove a dozen screws, replace the components, screw everything back together, and snap on the cover again. As far as I see, the most difficult part is prying off the cover.

But anyway, thx for the advice. I found it strange that with all the '09 mac mini reviews scattered across the web, not one mentioned anything about the faster processor or posted benchmarks with it. I'm glad that I won't be needing it, $150 does seem a bit intimidating...
 
But anyway, thx for the advice. I found it strange that with all the '09 mac mini reviews scattered across the web, not one mentioned anything about the faster processor or posted benchmarks with it. I'm glad that I won't be needing it, $150 does seem a bit intimidating...

I seem to remember reading a post in another forum about Mini processors, that they are soldered in place.
:(
 
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