As a few have already mentioned - there would have to be some price adjustments. Right now, the Core Duo commands a $200 premium over the Core Solo. But assuming that the "new" lineup consists of a 1.66 and 1.83 Core Duo, Apple would either have to seriously adjust the price points - or majorly strip down the 1.66 Core Duo. Perhaps remove the combo drive? Or use the smaller HD?
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Mac Mini Update Specs?
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Apple upgrading the Mini with Yonah processors makes the most sense. The Mini is all about being affordable; I hate it when people use the word cheap, cheap is the crap you buy at Wal-Mart the mini is not cheap. We probably won't see a Core 2 Mini until 2007, but that just fine for me because that's when the Intel GMA X3000 will be ready. Coupling a Core 2 Duo processor with a GMA X3000 will give the Mini a lot of punch.
This is how I predict the product lines will look by the end of the year:
Yonah --> Mac Mini & MacBook
Merom --> MacBook Pro
Conroe --> iMac
Xeon --> Mac Pro & Xserve
This is how I predict the product lines will look by the end of the year:
Yonah --> Mac Mini & MacBook
Merom --> MacBook Pro
Conroe --> iMac
Xeon --> Mac Pro & Xserve
Good observation. Would be nice to see the price point on the Mini come back down to starting at $499.MrFrankly said:
Perhaps they were daydreaming during economics class.Small White Car said:
READ MY LIPS: Merom will not appear in the MacBook or Mini during 2006.
joeboy_45101 said:
UPDATE:
It looks like the GMA X3000 is ready to go now, but a Yonah coupled with a X3000 IGP would still make the Mini a great machine.
ImAlwaysRight said:Good observation. Would be nice to see the price point on the Mini come back down to starting at $499.
Perhaps they were daydreaming during economics class.
READ MY LIPS: Merom will not appear in the MacBook or Mini during 2006.
That's the same line of thought prior to the MacBook release - everyone thought they would run core solo's in the base model. The Mini could be Merom but like most here I think it will have a Yonah and hopefully go back to the $499 US price point. Personally I'm hoping they will do a MacPro and only have one model with various processor optical drive configs. Say a 1.66GHz Core Duo 512MB RAM 80GB HDD Combo BT AP etc. Then optional 1.83/2.0 Yonah 100/120GB HDD Superdrive etc. That's just me though.
joeboy_45101 said:
GMA X3000 is ready in the soon to ship G965 for Conroe desktops, but the mobile GM965 "Santa Rosa" for Merom isn't due until March 2007. GM965 also features "Robson" flash technology. New Meroms also arrive in March with the same clock speed but 800MHz system bus.
Not Core 2 duo??!!
I can't beleive they are not going to go Core 2 Duo in the mini before Thanksgiving.
And for all you Yonah FanBoys out there I say you are completely out of touch with reality living in some sort of parallel dimension where old obsolete stopgap technology prevails beyond it's short useful lifespan.
Not Core 2 Duo??!!Macrumors said:
Think Secret claims to have information on the rumored revision to the Mac Mini. According to the site, Apple will replace the existing Core Solo model with the existing 1.66 GHz Core Duo model, and add a 1.83 GHz Core Duo model, effectively eliminating all single-core CPUs from Apple's computer product line.
The new systems are said to be "ready for production." Think Secret believes the models will be introduced in a few weeks time with little fanfare, although not totally under the radar like the last Mac Mini update.
I can't beleive they are not going to go Core 2 Duo in the mini before Thanksgiving.
And Apple would be losing money with every sale.milo said:
And for all you Yonah FanBoys out there I say you are completely out of touch with reality living in some sort of parallel dimension where old obsolete stopgap technology prevails beyond it's short useful lifespan.
Here here. I totally agree. Staying with Core Duo is insane, rude and greedy.daneoni said:
If you're gonna stay with core duo why not just make the mini a 1.83 & 2.00 GHz Core Duo machine like the macbooks since the iMacs are going Conroe. 1.66 & 1.83 on a core duo is pathetic in my opinion and solidifies my believe that the mini and i will never get along....at least for now. Thats just oo much crippling to handle
Since they are pin compatible why not use a Core Duo in the entry-level model to get the price down to $499 and use Core 2 Duo in the remaining models? Let's keep in mind this is being reported by ThinkSecret which is about as reliable as MacOSRumors or O'Grady's PowerPage these days. When Appleinsider reports on it I'll start to worry.
baxterbrittle said:
That would be interesting if Apple does go to a more BTO strategy rather than the good, better, best strategy. But I imagine BTO makes the most sense for pros, who know what they want, and good, better, best makes sense for consumers who don't necessarily understand, for instance, the difference between RAM and HD space.
joeboy_45101 said:
Wow I'v heard about the GMA 965 or whatnot, and that seemed like a pretty awesome upgrade, but this is the first I've heard of GMA X3000. Are there any details on this?
joeboy_45101 said:
If you're right I'll marry you.
I don't care about a measly speedbump. Begin to produce the media center already! How hard can it be? Just slap in a TV-card and beef up frontrow. done.
ok, slightly over simplified... But I dont see why Apple procrastinate on this matter. They would sell a bundle by releasing an Apple "media center".
ok, slightly over simplified... But I dont see why Apple procrastinate on this matter. They would sell a bundle by releasing an Apple "media center".
Dr.Gargoyle said:
Maybe FrontRow 2 (I believe/assume comes with Leopard) is where this will play in. Maybe instead of making a single device and labeling it a media center Apple will allow for any Mac (any new Mac...) to be used as a media center via FrontRow 2.
Stridder44 said:
X3000 is the integrated graphics component of GMA965. It basically solves the problem of the GMA950 graphics having no hardware T&L. Hence why UT2004 scores sit in the toilet on Mac mini's and Macbooks.
It'll never challenge a midrange Nvidia or ATI card, but it'll make the mini and macbook a reasonable enry level gaming platform, which it ain't now.
See http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/G965/index.htm
for some juicy technobabble.
M.
Multimedia said:
Don't roll your eyes at me! I didn't say that they *would* do that, my point is merely that you can't make a blanket statement that yonah machines wouldn't sell. While companies like dell are announcing merom machines, they haven't stopped selling yonah, have they?
And how does pointing out that yonah will likely end up costing apple less than merom make you a "yonah fanboy"?
I really hope you are correct about FR2 in Leopard. However...Stridder44 said:
I do think you need a TV-card in the computer too. Given Apples philosophy about simplicity, I doubt they will have a stand alone TV-reciever. Furthermore, I just can't see Apple selling MP with a TV-card. So my guess is that they will make a dedicated computer. Still I am most likely wrong... as always...
Fascinating
This is exactly what I predicted would happen when Apple went Intel. Now that Macs can be compared component for component with Wintel machines and new hardware is coming out every month, everyone is worked up about keeping up with latest thing at the best possible price and getting increasingly frustrated with Apple's unwillingness to create a product line with 10000 different machines that each compete with dollar for dollar and component for component with every other machine on the market. Meanwhile, we have people talking about $299 machines with DVD burners (AND Windows? I'd like to see THAT!).
If you're so concerned about keeping up with the Jones, just buy a Dell, already.
This is exactly what I predicted would happen when Apple went Intel. Now that Macs can be compared component for component with Wintel machines and new hardware is coming out every month, everyone is worked up about keeping up with latest thing at the best possible price and getting increasingly frustrated with Apple's unwillingness to create a product line with 10000 different machines that each compete with dollar for dollar and component for component with every other machine on the market. Meanwhile, we have people talking about $299 machines with DVD burners (AND Windows? I'd like to see THAT!).
If you're so concerned about keeping up with the Jones, just buy a Dell, already.
IF they go to a 1.66ghz Core Duo, 512mb RAM, GMA950, 80gb 5400rpm HD, SD, AE, and BT model for $599 I'll get one immediately. That's a great price and would make an affordable upgrade from my current mini (assuming I could get at least, say, $350 for it which is fairly reasonable I think).
I'd probably be OK if they went with a 60gb HDD, but the SD is non-negotiable. I think the current high end mini is a perfectly acceptable machine for 90% of the people in the world, even those who want to play SOME games (the GMA950 outpaces the 9200 in the PPC minis in most things, especially in Windows).
Ideally, though, I agree that the mini needs to get back to a $499 and $599 (or $699 if the specs warrent it) price point. If they update the speed and keep the price the same this update, they need to have a mid cycle price drop to $499 and $699, followed by a move to Memrom and the x3000/Santa Rosa platform (at the same prices).
EDIT: Now that I think about it, even if they don't make those specs at that price, the refurbs are already $699, so there's a good chance they will drop to $599 after a refresh, which works just as well for me... guess I'm getting a new computer next month! (WooWoo for 3 pay period months)
I'd probably be OK if they went with a 60gb HDD, but the SD is non-negotiable. I think the current high end mini is a perfectly acceptable machine for 90% of the people in the world, even those who want to play SOME games (the GMA950 outpaces the 9200 in the PPC minis in most things, especially in Windows).
Ideally, though, I agree that the mini needs to get back to a $499 and $599 (or $699 if the specs warrent it) price point. If they update the speed and keep the price the same this update, they need to have a mid cycle price drop to $499 and $699, followed by a move to Memrom and the x3000/Santa Rosa platform (at the same prices).
EDIT: Now that I think about it, even if they don't make those specs at that price, the refurbs are already $699, so there's a good chance they will drop to $599 after a refresh, which works just as well for me... guess I'm getting a new computer next month! (WooWoo for 3 pay period months
)