Mac Mini Refresh Soon?

[Dave K]

Could the deciding factor be the noise?

Not arguing about whether a Conroe would fit in the iMacIntel case - but wondering whether the extra heat would result in extra noise from the cooling fans.

The iMacIntel doesn't have to as fast as it possibly can, especially since the New Form-Factor Conroe Mini-Tower/Home-Theatre Mac® will be there for people who want a bit more power without the size and cost of the maxi-tower ProMacIntel.

I know Maximum PC was playing around with the Core 2 Duo Extreme and, with an aftermarket heatsink + fan, were able to keep it at ~50 degrees C running at 100% U. on both cores. For fun, they unplugged the fan, made it recode an entire DVD to DivX and couldn't get it to a) go over 75 C, b) report a cut in processor speed, or c) shut off in protest.

So, with a well designed cooling system, i suspect they shouldn't have any problem fitting that in a iMac and keeping it quiet.

 

[pjo]

(HD)Tv recorder

I've been thinking of the Mini as a new dedicated Mac

...
Just add a Dell 24" Display for $704 and you have a native HD TV with Tivo Like Recorder for only about $1452

I still can't decide between this setup and a 20" iMac (educ discount) for my TV requirements...

Edit:
hmm.. the iMac's audio input isn't optical so that may swing it towards the mini.

 

[mrgreen4242]

Ah.... this speculation really brings back the memories of PowerPC rumors. Like when everyone was speculating if we see 3 Ghz G5's. I thought the feeling would be gone now we have intel (and its roadmaps), but debating on wether we might see a Core 2 Duo line-up soon brings the excitement right back. Hope this time the rumors do come true. This eventhough I am completely not in the market for a new Mac (neither was I for a 3 Ghz PowerMac )


You got some serious ideas frankie
Yeah I also had that idea. Given the number of people that use the mini as server or multimedia center that will be nice (Microsoft is already planning for giving mini-screen support in vista, so it is a good idea). I actually though about this to turn the mini into a laptop. Thus some kind of battery+Screen+keyboard add-on. This would truly emphasize the phrase BYOMKM (Bring your own Monitor Keyboard and mouse). But then again; a laptop would be much easier.
Yeah you are quite right. It is predominantly the size of 3.5" hard disk that will hardly even fit in the total casing.

• 3.5" Hard disks are (4.00 x 5.75 x 1.00) inch.
• 2.5" Hard disks are (2.75 x 3.94 x 0.67) inch.

The original G4 mini had a dedicated graphics chip and full size SDRAM so that is not the problem. Maybe the Mini should get an external SATA port on the bottom. External SATA ports are becoming available for PC's so it might be an idea for the mini. This way makers of external hard disks like LaCie can offer a real high performance solution. The hard disk is now a serious bottleneck in the mini's performance as can be seen here (g4 mini benchmark) and a standard 3.5" disk would solve this. Particularly when loading applications and interface responsiveness (especially if you have not that much ram as how most people configure their mini which, to make things worse, also uses the ram as video memory).

Or just wait until Robson flash-harddisks will be included in Macs. This will make the performance better and eliminate the need for large and high data capacity hard disks. Since not many users will be able to fill a 250 GB harddisk, although they might want the performance of a 250 GB harddisk.

The G4 mini HDD was/is teh suck. The Intel machines are pretty decent, from most accounts (5400rpm SATA comes close to 7200rpm IDE drives, which is adequate for casual use, which is obviously the mini's market). The capacity is really killer for the mini, though. Even a fairly casual/moderate user wants more than 100gb now-a-days.

An external SATA port would be sweet, and also gives Apple an opening, which I think they should have taken when they launched the mini: an "official media breakout box" or Asteroid 2.0. A box about the size of the mini itself with a SATA bay+big ass drive, FW and USB hubs, AND a ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuner w/ a few input choices (RF for the tuner, and some direct to the encoder vidoe options like Svideo and Component). Put the IR reciever in that, bundle it with the remote and FrontRow Pro, with built in DVR and a (PPV?) movie/TV show download system linked into iTMS. Throw in a choice of DVI/HMDI, DVI/DVI, or DVI/Component cable as a 'free' BTO option and they could move a lot of units.

 

[AidenShaw]

...an "official media breakout box" or Asteroid 2.0. A box about the size of the mini itself...

This came up earlier, and I said "That would be too *ugly* for Apple to even consider..."

 

[Multimedia]

HDTV 24" + Mac Mini Way Better Than 20" iMac

I still can't decide between this setup and a 20" iMac (educ discount) for my TV requirements... hmm.. the iMac's audio input isn't optical so that may swing it towards the mini.

Keeping components separate is much wiser. You can keep the 24" Screen when you upgrade the mini in future. iMac is a problem when either screen or computer break or become power obsolete. 23/24" screen is NATIVE HD Resolution 1920 x 1200 (1080) - not so the iMac 20".

 

[TangoCharlie]

Core 2 Duo in iMac?

Is Conroe pin-compatible with the iMac, though? I didn't think it was...and I definitely think that Apple should try to get a Conroe chip in that computer (or else release a mid-sized tower).

The Merom chip is pin compatible with the current iMac CPU, and I believe Apple will release an updated iMac using Merom. Intel is marketting both Merom and Conroe as Core 2 Duo, which is confusing...

The Mac mini will, it seems, get the Core Duo as standard. This is as I predicted a while back. The Mac mini, _will_ eventually get a Core 2 Duo, but not yet.... Apple will want to get the Mac Book Pro and the iMac updated first.

The update to the Mac mini line is more of a Marketting thing.... it allows Apple to boast that it's the only big manufacturer to use dual-core exclusively across the whole line-up.

 

[TangoCharlie]

Evesham in the UK...

a bit off topic... does any one know of a comparable pc and cost? the mini seems a bit expensive at 799 for a 1.6 dore duo

For comparison, Evesham (a UK based company)** do a "mini" PC, which
goes gor 699 GPB, which is about $1300. Specs are as follows:

* Genuine Windows® XP Media Centre Edition 2005
* Intel® Core™ Duo processor T2300 (1.66GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 667MHz)
* 512MB DDR-2 533MHz RAM
* 100GB 5400rpm Serial ATA hard drive
* Intel GMA950 integrated graphics
* Microsoft Works 8
* Bronze 1 year warranty

I'd say that's pretty close in specs to the specs of the "better"Mac mini,
which in the UK is priced at 529GBP, or about $1000.

* Mac mini
* 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo processor
* 2MB L2 Cache
* 667MHz Frontside Bus
* 512MB memory (667MHz DDR2 SDRAM)
* 80GB Serial ATA hard drive
* Double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
* Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0
* Apple Remote


I think the Apple unit has the edge in terms of specs, looks, price and of course, OS! (Well, I would, woudn't I!!)





** I've bought Evesham PC's and servers in the past, and I find them pretty good

 

[milo]

I think the Apple unit has the edge in terms of specs, looks, price and of course, OS! (Well, I would, woudn't I!!)

Sure. But many people don't WANT a tiny box. On the apple side, you're paying extra for the miniturization. Unfortunately, since apple doesn't offer any alternatives to the mini, it's also competing with regular budget pc's.

When you look at what you can get for $799 in a pc, the mini looks way overpriced.

 

[Aeolius]

Don't worry, the New Form-Factor Conroe Mini-Tower/Home-Theatre Mac® will be here soon.

Apple better hurry. The TiVo Series3 is on its way. I'd still like a media server/home automation server solution from Apple, but until then, I'll keep looking at Indigo (2.0 beta coming soon) for home automation and a DVD server like Kaleidescape .

 

[M-Life]

Would something like this work?

Would something in this realm be feasible for the mini updates? Just wondering while waiting for updates. Of course this is very vague on my part.

$499: Core solo - 1.5
$599: Core duo Yonah - 1.66
$699: Core duo Yonah - 1.83
$799: Core 2 duo Merom - low end (Not sure what that is)

 

[aswitcher]

Would something in this realm be feasible for the mini updates? Just wondering while waiting for updates. Of course this is very vague on my part.

$499: Core solo - 1.5
$599: Core duo Yonah - 1.66
$699: Core duo Yonah - 1.83
$799: Core 2 duo Merom - low end (Not sure what that is)

I will be surprised if the Solo continues. Duo across the line, even C2D, would be a nice milestone and there shouldn't be a lot of money difference.

 

[surroundfan]

I will be surprised if the Solo continues. Duo across the line, even C2D, would be a nice milestone and there shouldn't be a lot of money difference.

Also, let's not forget that Solos are Duos that have one core disabled. As Intel's yields have improved have improved over time (I would guess), I suspect that the need to sell Solos to recoup losses would be reduced...

The big guessing game will be when the speed bump occurs: now, on 12 September or on 25 September (Photokina)...

 

[MacinDoc]

Would something in this realm be feasible for the mini updates? Just wondering while waiting for updates. Of course this is very vague on my part.

$499: Core solo - 1.5
$599: Core duo Yonah - 1.66
$699: Core duo Yonah - 1.83
$799: Core 2 duo Merom - low end (Not sure what that is)

Won't happen, all Core Solos are now the same price as the 1.66 GHz Core2 Duo. So, the Solo is dead. And, regrettably, a price drop is unlikely.

 

[After G]

I thought Core Solo production was winding down, so maybe Apple could buy 'em all and do a price-drop.

Maybe in another life ...

 

[echeck]

...or on 25 September (Photokina)...

Oye, I hope it's sooner than that. I want to buy a mini for my office, but I can't wait that long. The 12th is about as long as I can wait, so come on Apple, help me out!

 

[surroundfan]

I thought Core Solo production was winding down, so maybe Apple could buy 'em all and do a price-drop.

Maybe in another life ...

Better still, Apple could move to Duos and do a price drop... (I wish!)

 

[UnreaL]

Any updates guys?

I mean its the 5th today!

I want a new mac mini!

 

[Chris Bangle]

2pm GMT

 

[DRewPi]

Where Are The Updates ????

Bring on some stuff Today APpLe COMMON !!!!

 

[longsilver]

Store's down

Looks like something's happening

 

[longsilver]

US store is down

Well, the US store is down anyways. UK and Ireland are still up. Anyone checked any others?

 

[awraisch]

do they usually shut the store down for something as small as a speed bump?

 

[DRewPi]

Something is coming Up !!!!

Well something is happening since the store is down that should be good newz for at least today !!!! we should see some upgrade of a kind, probably the mini with some shiny new MBP C2D !!!

GO APPLE !!!

 

[HecubusPro]

Well something is happening since the store is down that should be good newz for at least today !!!! we should see some upgrade of a kind, probably the mini with some shiny new MBP C2D !!!

GO APPLE !!!

I'll say let's see a mac mini refresh since this thread is about the mac mini (but what I really want is the MBP C2D as well. Here's hoping )

 

[Goldfinger]

Go to Apple.com and you'll see there is a blank space next to the 30 inch Cinema Display ad.