mac mini upgrades

[yagran]

hello all. as you can see inmy sig, i have a mac mini.

however, i really want to do it up a bit.

i found the fast mac bluray upgrade which im going to get done

but i was also wondering how mch ram i can put in it? is 1gb max?

also is it possible to upgrade my dual core 1.83ghz to a quad core chip?

thnx in advance

 

[Eidorian]

1. I don't know of any slot loading Blu-Ray drives
2. A maximum of 2 GB RAM
3. Yes you can update the processor to a Core 2
4. There are no mobile quad core processors to date


I still suggest on waiting for a Core 2 Mac mini unless you really want to upgrade it. RAM is very trivial to install but I believe it voids your warranty now. I just need someone to confirm this other then the Apple representative that wants me to spend money on becoming an Apple Self Service Technician.

 

[yagran]

1. I don't know of any slot loading Blu-Ray drives
2. A maximum of 2 GB RAM
3. Yes you can update the processor to a Core 2
4. There are no mobile quad core processors to date
QUOTE]

1. http://store.fastmac.com/product_info.php?cPath=10_2_52&products_id=195

2. great! cant i get it upgraded in store?

3/4. Is it not a normal processor in the mini then?

 

[Eidorian]

1. $800 for what purpose now?
2. Yes, but Apple RAM is ridiculously overpriced for the Mac mini at this time
3. The Mac mini still uses a Core Duo processor.

 

[yagran]

ok so i think ill install that slot loading bluray drive, i want it to go with the ps3 im buying, that way i can use bluray discs in both

also i read somewhere that the mac mini has TWO ram slots...is this right?
so could i put two of these 2gb sticks innit http://store.fastmac.com/product_info.php?cPath=10_2_52&products_id=195 ?

could you give me a link to what processor i could upgrade to? if i can upgrade to C2D then y cnt i upgrade to quad core? same pin type isnt it?

also i might upgrade internal hard drive to this http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Toshiba/MK2035GSS/

 

[Eidorian]

1. How will you use Blu-Ray discs in your Mac mini?
2. There are two RAM slots in the Mac mini (2 x 1 GB) for a maximum of 2 GB
3. Any Socket M processor will work in the Mac mini

Note: Installing a new processor requires the complete disassembly of the Mac mini. Please say goodbye to your warranty.

 

[yagran]

i have a blu ray movie collection starting up now. so ill use it to play them on. also so that i can write all my music backups and data backups to disk, rather than wasting my external hard drive space.

i guess ill have to just go to 2 gb then. o well.

ill have a search for socket m processor now. i thort i read about an announcement of mobile quad cores coming soon recently?

 

[Eidorian]

i have a blu ray movie collection starting up now. so ill use it to play them on. also so that i can write all my music backups and data backups to disk, rather than wasting my external hard drive space.

i guess ill have to just go to 2 gb then. o well.

ill have a search for socket m processor now. i thort i read about an announcement of mobile quad cores coming soon recently?

There isn't a Blu-Ray disc playing software out for OS X right now. The Mac mini also lacks HDMI support. You'll end up with a rather expensive drive and its coasters for you mini.

There has been no announcement for a mobile quad core processor.

 

[Cave Man]

i have a blu ray movie collection starting up now. so ill use it to play them on.

Do you have software that can read Blue-Ray movie DVDs?

 

[yagran]

how annoyin. so theres no point in that bluray drive other than for backups? (then not worth like £400)

plus theres no point upgradin processor to only a slightly faster one.

im so dissapointed. o well. save my money then

 

[Eidorian]

how annoyin. so theres no point in that bluray drive other than for backups? (then not worth like £400)

plus theres no point upgradin processor to only a slightly faster one.

im so dissapointed. o well. save my money then

Leopard should have Blu-Ray support built into DVD Player 5.0.

It would be much more cost effective to backup using an external hard drive. It would be much more faster as well.

 

[yagran]

ah well thats summat. i have leopard installed now. how you think i can test for blu ray support? email apple or something?

 

[Eidorian]

ah well thats summat. i have leopard installed now. how you think i can test for blu ray support? email apple or something?

If you are a developer you might have a good chance.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/271350/

 

[yagran]

If you are a developer you might have a good chance.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/271350/

i only have my basic developer connection. but ill send a message and ask.but i just checked the release notes on my build and it dont say anything about inclusion of support.

but honestly the build im on doesnt include half the rumoured stuff... either we gna have alot of dissapointed peeps, or theses one hell of a lot of internal testing happening right now.


anyways thanks alot for your help

 

[localoid]

... plus theres no point upgradin processor to only a slightly faster one.

Some interesting XBench results:

Stock Mac mini w/1.66 MHz Core Duo, T5500 w/2M shared L2 cache

CPU Test: 63.85
Floating Point Basic: 55.96
Thread Test: 164.41
Memory Test: 91.85
Quartz Graphics Test: 109.39
OpenGL Graphics Test: 189.28

Mac mini w/2.0 MHz Core 2 Duo, T7200 w/4M shared L2 cache (about $300 currently)

CPU Test: 105.36
Floating Point Basic: 119.60
Thread Test: 196.30
Memory Test: 113.96
Quartz Graphics Test: 140.12
OpenGL Graphics Test: 219.37

Getting (at least) the T7200 is the way to go (least expensive c2d w/4MB cache)... the prices of the Meroms will likely fall somewhat soon (with release of Santa Rosa) and then come down even more by fall.

 

[iW00t]

how annoyin. so theres no point in that bluray drive other than for backups? (then not worth like £400)

plus theres no point upgradin processor to only a slightly faster one.

im so dissapointed. o well. save my money then

Well with Windows Vista at least you can actually *cough* watch your HD movies.

"Most people" do not watch their movies in HD, that is why there is no mini Mac Tower and why Macs come with wimpy GPUs. "Most people" find no need for them.

It will be a cold day in hell before Apple even bundled BD drives into Macs, I certainly won't be holding my breathe waiting for it before every cheap $600 Dull laptop has it before Apple will finally decide to *gasp* give us some more value for our money.

 

[livingfortoday]

Well with Windows Vista at least you can actually *cough* watch your HD movies.

"Most people" do not watch their movies in HD, that is why there is no mini Mac Tower and why Macs come with wimpy GPUs. "Most people" find no need for them.

I don't get it. You're saying you can't watch HD content using a Mac? Or simply that Apple hasn't found the need to put a drive that retails for $600 into a $600 computer?

 

[JAT]

Well with Windows Vista at least you can actually *cough* watch your HD movies.

"Most people" do not watch their movies in HD, that is why there is no mini Mac Tower and why Macs come with wimpy GPUs. "Most people" find no need for them.

It will be a cold day in hell before Apple even bundled BD drives into Macs, I certainly won't be holding my breathe waiting for it before every cheap $600 Dull laptop has it before Apple will finally decide to *gasp* give us some more value for our money.

Ah, you continue to be a misguided fool. GPU still has nothing to do with HD video playback. Could you make up your mind? Is Apple smart to not offer one since "most people" do not watch in HD, or are they stupid to not have jumped into the still ridiculously overpriced BD world? I'm a little confused by a 4 sentence post that contradicts itself so entirely.

A BD drive costs about $250 right now. That's cost (not price), as in, what Apple would pay as a huge OEM customer to have thousands made for them. The cheapest BD players and drives are therefore priced at $800, ignoring the PS3 which loses money on each machine. It is a little strange that Apple hasn't offered one for the Mac Pro, yet. But I think they are waiting for Leopard.

 

[myrowd]

Stats on new Mac Mini ???

Any (educated) guesses about speed and RAM-abilities of the new Mac Minis - or about their availability dates???

 

[Mr. MacBook]

Blu-Ray wont work in a mini. Period.

 

[MacBass]

I too am looking to purchase a Mini this summer, to replace my aging Digital Audio. I'm hoping for an upgraded integrated graphics chip (or even a dedicated graphics card), and I'm going to put 2 GB of RAM in.

 

[livingfortoday]

Blu-Ray wont work in a mini. Period.

http://store.fastmac.com/product_info.php?products_id=195

You should probably get some tampons for that period.

 

[MacBass]

ok so i think ill install that slot loading bluray drive, i want it to go with the ps3 im buying, that way i can use bluray discs in both

also i read somewhere that the mac mini has TWO ram slots...is this right?
so could i put two of these 2gb sticks innit http://store.fastmac.com/product_info.php?cPath=10_2_52&products_id=195 ?

could you give me a link to what processor i could upgrade to? if i can upgrade to C2D then y cnt i upgrade to quad core? same pin type isnt it?

also i might upgrade internal hard drive to this http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Toshiba/MK2035GSS/

Yes, the mini does have 2 RAM slots, but the motherboard's limit is only 2 GB, not 4 GB.

Keep in mind that the mini utilizes a laptop processor, not a desktop processor, so putting a quad core processor, which are only available for desktops, into a mini would create an incredible amount of heat, and most likely destroy all components within the mini.

 

[MacBass]

Well with Windows Vista at least you can actually *cough* watch your HD movies.

"Most people" do not watch their movies in HD, that is why there is no mini Mac Tower and why Macs come with wimpy GPUs. "Most people" find no need for them.

It will be a cold day in hell before Apple even bundled BD drives into Macs, I certainly won't be holding my breathe waiting for it before every cheap $600 Dull laptop has it before Apple will finally decide to *gasp* give us some more value for our money.

As for the value point you brought up, if you compare similarly loaded Apple laptops with the likes of Toshiba, Sony, Dell, HP, etc., you will see that Apple laptops are better equipped for the money than the said brands' laptops. The same can be said for desktops.

As for GPU's, you can throw a PC PCIe video card into a Mac Pro, but that limits you to only running XP.

 

[nathanbuchanan]

HD on Vista? Really? Show me.

Well with Windows Vista at least you can actually *cough* watch your HD movies.

For all you who think Vista can play HD Video I would recommend that you read this whole article to find out what is really happening with Microsoft and Vista

http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html

As far as a blue ray drive in a mini. I would say you might want to think about your Video output capabilities. None on a Mini will support blueray HD output.