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Supply Shortages Hint at Possible Mac Mini Refresh

Wait, did aiqw9182 and Durendal finally stop crapping all over this thread?

Hallelujah!
 
I was going to wait to see what is coming up especially with the mini but I wanted to get into the world of i3/5s' sooner rather than later and at an affordable price. So I've just picked up an i3 notebook with nvidia gt320m at what I think was a reasonable deal. I know, I know viruses, build quality .... but I think between our mac and this pc our home/work computer needs are probably going to be fine for at least another 2-3 years if not longer.
 
Mal67 said:
I was going to wait to see what is coming up especially with the mini but I wanted to get into the world of i3/5s' sooner rather than later and at an affordable price. So I've just picked up an i3 notebook with nvidia gt320m at what I think was a reasonable deal. I know, I know viruses, build quality .... but I think between our mac and this pc our home/work computer needs are probably going to be fine for at least another 2-3 years if not longer.
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Which notebook was that?
 
KnightWRX said:
Some kind of imaginary notebook, because the 320m doesn't with the Core series processors. It's an integrated part that's part of the chipset for Core 2 Duos. He probably means a 330m (better) or 310m (worse).
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There appears to be a GT 320M (not 320M) that isn't integrated. It's not the same as the integrated 320M. While the 320M is 40 nm with 48 SPs, the GT 320M is 55 nm with 32 SPs (1250 MHz). On the other hand, the GT 320M has higher bandwidth.
 
KindredMAC said:
There are only two things I would prefer to see changed on the mini:
#1- DisplayPort with Audio support like with the MacBooks recently updated, so that I can use a DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter to hook it up to my home theater.
#2- Even if it means making it taller, the use of 3.5" SATA drives that can easily be swopped out. I would love to have an internal 1.5GB drive in that thing!
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Ditto. That mini comes out and I'm on the dog and bone to apple.:)
 
MinorBidoh said:
Originally Posted by KindredMAC View Post
There are only two things I would prefer to see changed on the mini: ...
#2- Even if it means making it taller, the use of 3.5" SATA drives that can easily be swopped out. I would love to have an internal 1.5GB drive in that thing!
Click to expand...

Ditto. That mini comes out and I'm on the dog and bone to apple.:)
Click to expand...

I concur. I would be glad if Apple decided to get off the 'must make it smaller' trip and go for the better components - which they could certainly do and still have it be compact.

I've got the Oct 2009 mini, which I put a 320GB 7200 rpm HD into and it was a bit of a chore to do that.
Together with the upgrade to 4 GB, the machine is much more responsive now!
 
Tudeski said:
Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.
Doubtful HDMI, NO BLU RAY!
definitely not quad core.
Why even post this? Too much kool aid, and imagination.:mad:
Click to expand...

Dude, quit the meds, tell your counselor to take a hike and get a date. It is beautiful outside!
 
D*I*S_Frontman said:
I don't know what the next entry level consumer Mini will have for features (grpahics, CPU, HDD, etc.). The heated debate over the relative value of Core 2 Duos and i3s notwithstanding, I would submit that it would be nice for Apple to cough up a super-cheap Mini-Node" machine for those of us using Logic and FCP.

Take a Mini case. Throw out the optical drive. Add in its place bigger drives with SSD options. 4 GB RAM. Graphics would be of no concern, so crappy integrated Intel would be more than fine. Maybe take out extra USB and FW ports and add more Gigabit Ethernet ports. Preinstall all of the necessary Logic node and or QMaster stuff for node use. Then price them @ $399.

Anyone running FCP or Logic would pick one or two up, for sure. Heck, Apple could sell rack mount kits so FCP/Logic users could group several units into their own low-rent render farms. I know Apple sells XServes for clustering applications, but audio and video projects don't need the overengineering that 24/7 file servers do.

So that's my utilitarian Mac fantasy. Mac Mini Nodes.

Now back to the i3/C2d flame war. (sigh)
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I agree, although quite why someone using a DAW or video editing would ditch FireWire for Ethernet is beyond me, as far as the node idea, losing 1 USB port would make more sense. I use Protools LE and Reason myself, after upgrading my G4 from a single CPU to a dual of the same clock and suddenly being able to (almost) get somewhere before submixing to save CPU kills my creativity and then running before and after geekbench tests that just about matched up with the decreased CPU usage in Protools, I think the current CPUs in the MacMini are going to be adequate for my uses. The storage issue is the big one though, I'd like dual internal drives, an SSD for the system for fast app loading, patch loading and booting with a large 7200rpm drive in place of the DVD to record to on 1 partition and use a larger partition for general storage with an external DVD.


I plan on buying a mac mini by mid august if I can and because I don't want to crack it open straight away, already have a 1TB USB drive for back ups and lots of ATA drives, I'm just going to get an external FireWire case with the oxford chip set to record to.

The main issue with the mini is the BTO options. I'd rather have a BTO option of having an SSD, 4GB RAM and a 7200rpm drive instead of DVD and the 2.53Ghz CPU at the time of purchase. The cost of RAM means the price difference between the 2.26ghz and 2.53ghz model is actually worth it.
 
I was at the Apple store yesterday afternoon trying to pick up a new Mini for an employee and they too were out. The girl was all smiley hinting about a refresh, though she said she doesn't know more than the public. I'd imagine it'll be out very very soon. Hopefully the next couple of days because I need it by Monday.
 
mingoglia said:
I was at the Apple store yesterday afternoon trying to pick up a new Mini for an employee and they too were out. The girl was all smiley hinting about a refresh, though she said she doesn't know more than the public. I'd imagine it'll be out very very soon. Hopefully the next couple of days because I need it by Monday.
Click to expand...

I hope you have a Plan B.
 
Here's what I think this update will be which seams the most realistic.

-2.4Ghz Standard on $599 model
-2.66Ghz C2D on High end $799 & Server (Optional 2.8 Ghz or 3.06Ghz C2D )

-320GB HD Standard on $599 Model
-500GB HD Standard on High end $799

-NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphic

-4GB Ram Standard across the line

http://www.youtube.com/pokeeto2


Of Course I wish for--------------

- Side or front SD Card Slot
- Side or front USB ports
- HDMI
- 7200RPM Hard Drive
- BT Keyboard, BT Mouse included on $799 Model
- Optional Blue Ray Super Drive
- Included Apple Remote
- Standard Dedicated GPU ( Exp. ATI HD 4670 or other Comparable GPU's )
 
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