On buying a Mac Mini

[Bobdude161]

Planning on buying a MacIntel Mini sometime in the future.

1. Is it more efficient (price to CPU speed ratio) to buy the 1.66 Ghz than the 1.83 Ghz?

2. And should I just buy the 512 MB RAM and get some generic brand RAM from a third party company? And if so what?

Also I have seen people put Core 2 Duos in them.

3. What types of Core 2 Duos fit in the standard Mac Mini CPU socket?

4. And when will prices start to drop significantly on those?

Looked on eBay and saw the Merom chip is going for 300 dollars. Sheesh.

5. And even if the price drops, is the performance change even worth it?

I wouldn't upgrade right as I get the Mac mini. Maybe a year or so after I have it.

 

[freakonguitar]

i can't seeing it be a huge speed difference personally. Yeah go for some third party ram, like crucial, samsung, etc...google for a list of mac compatable ram, but i will tell you taht you need 667mhz, ddr2 ram, although im not sure...but i think its notebook ram. The mermon version of the core 2 duo works in the mac mini...prices won't drop much until a newer chip is released.

oh and why don't you just get an imac or something if you are so worried about core 2 duo, more ram, and probably hdd space ...take a look: mac mini (version with superdrive and 1.86 core duo, 80gb 5400rpm hdd, 799, while for 1199 about the price more you will spend on ram and core 2 duo cpu ...you can get a 17" imac which has a screen, 160gb drive, way better graphics, that 1gb of ram and a 2.0ghz core 2 duo

check it out

 

[FFTT]

Mini's are a great way to get your feet wet in Mac OS X and do a fine job
for most basic uses, but there's a price to performance and feature threshold
where you're better off going for the iMac.

The iMac gives you faster processing, 7200 RPM storage, a beautiful display
and dedicated GPU options depending on which model you choose.

 

[roland.g]

I would get the RAM installed by Apple. Their upgrade price is $250 for 2GB retail before any edu discount, that is if you qualify. You will end up paying $200-250 from anywhere reputable and still have to open up the Mini to do it. Sure you have the 2x256 sticks to sell, but they aren't worth much at all.

If you want to save some money though, you can do what I did. I got a refurb 1.66 Mini from Apple for $649. It was the Rev A. with Superdrive. Personally I wouldn't get the new 1.66 because you can no longer upgrade the optical drive for $50. So for me I got a 1.66 for $649, with a printer and $100 rebate on the printer, and then 2GB RAM from OWC for $250. I also got a Newertech miniStack v2 case for $75 and threw my old 120GB IDE drive in it for more storage. I think I will end up replacing that with a 320 soon though.

The 1.66 cost me $899 plus tax.
A 1.83 would run you $1049 plus tax.

 

[ero87]

yeah, the mac mini's tough to open. Just bite the bullet and pay for Apple RAM- no faulty RAM issues, and you don't hafta tear up your beautiful new computer.

 

[emptyCup]

The mini is a nice entry level machine and some people love it just for its size (in the same way some people gladly pay $50 extra for a black Macbook). There is nothing wrong with that.

However, as FFTT says, it is not a good value if you do a lot of upgrading. Just adding a 160GB HD and a keyboard and mouse brings you within a few dollars of the entry iMac (although without the screen and iSight). If you plan to add a C2D, you might as well buy the standard 17" iMac (the one with discreet graphics).

You should consider this, but buy the mini if that is what you want. In any case, OSX needs at least 1 GB of RAM.