Unboxing and Disassembly Photos of the New Mac Mini

[KnightWRX]

But is that what you want? An ultra-small 'desktop' with a silly large external power supply, no keyboard, no mouse and no display at MORE than the going rate for a much higher-end PC? I, as well as many, will pass. Bad move Apple.

D

It's just not for you then. You value specs. I don't really care as pretty much any computers sold in the last 5 years are still plenty capable of doing what I need them to do (browse the web/write code/read e-mails/ssh into the servers at work). If I want to play games, I use my PS3.

Reduced power consumption is a nice feature too with the raise in power costs.

Of course, my Macbook does everything I need it to do, so the only reason I'd have to even get a Mini would be to retire my Sun Ultra 5 and Pentium 2 333 that are presently serving my home network and drawing a lot of load on my UPS.

I could then hook my wireless network to the UPS and have Internet during power failures (cable is battery backed here because of IP telephony). Basically, everyone I see complaining about the mini doesn't understand what market it is aimed at. Just like the Mac Pro isn't a mid-range desktop, neither is the Mac Mini.

 

[Eidorian]

Nahh i don't like cheep plastic. I like metel and something that preforms well have is aesthetically pleasing.

Thankfully it's not my money. Proceed.

 

[Cabbit]

Thankfully it's not my money. Proceed.

Immensely pleased i have the go ahead to spend my money on two products i have been excited to have the ability to work together for a long time. I will be sure to pass by you the new jeans from tk-max, or god forbid they don't have my size but yet i still like them so i will have to pay full price. Better yet i will save a few pounds on my shopping and buy battery farmed products over free range and organic.

The wee point i am getting to here is that different people see value in products. Do not tell someone at a whim to buy another product as if your some teenager in high school that can't stand your friend is buying a uncool phone.

 

[sighlent]

I'm really happy about this update.

For the last 6 months I've been going on NewEgg spec'ing parts for an HTPC that I would install OS X on. However I was always hesitant, and never went through with it because I was always worried that one of the parts would fail, I'd have to go back to that specific manufacturer to get a replacement. There was also the fear of certain motherboards with particular firmware that cause problems (I was looking at a Gigabyte board with the 9400M that does HDMI out + audio). The whole thing seemed like more mess that it was worth. There is something to say about the price of peace of mind to have a computer that runs OS X without any fuss, and if anything happens to said machine, Apple will take care of you.

Ultimately it came down to me purchasing a new Mini this morning. I got the barebones, updated the processor to 2.26GHz for $684. Bought a 7200RPM 320GB drive and 4GB of RAM on NewEgg for $140 with tax/shipping. The main downside of the whole thing is going to be the limitation of analog stereo audio, but I don't have a surround setup so it's of no matter.

I think for being a music and movie jukebox, this thing will totally rock. Playback of 1080p Bluray rips are flawless (on the unibody MacBook) in Plex/XBMC. I have a Bluray player for actual discs. I could have gotten a much more capable machine for the same price, but ultimately it would have been larger, less reliable, and I'd still have to pay $129 for Leopard.

 

[081440]

Not to Complain...but....

I don't want to add to the list of complaints, because most are without reason. And heck - everyone complaining about the price hikes or lack of price drops shows Apple is returning to its old self! haha

My one complaint though is:

120GB, 250GB, or 320GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive4

really..... 5400 rpm drives?!??!?!? even my mom can notice the lag! many would accept a decline in size for an increase in speed.

Just my 2 cents.....

 

[Mr Maui]

I'm really happy about this update.

For the last 6 months I've been going on NewEgg spec'ing parts for an HTPC that I would install OS X on. However I was always hesitant, and never went through with it because I was always worried that one of the parts would fail, I'd have to go back to that specific manufacturer to get a replacement. There was also the fear of certain motherboards with particular firmware that cause problems (I was looking at a Gigabyte board with the 9400M that does HDMI out + audio). The whole thing seemed like more mess that it was worth. There is something to say about the price of peace of mind to have a computer that runs OS X without any fuss, and if anything happens to said machine, Apple will take care of you.

Ultimately it came down to me purchasing a new Mini this morning. I got the barebones, updated the processor to 2.26GHz for $684. Bought a 7200RPM 320GB drive and 4GB of RAM on NewEgg for $140 with tax/shipping. The main downside of the whole thing is going to be the limitation of analog stereo audio, but I don't have a surround setup so it's of no matter.

I think for being a music and movie jukebox, this thing will totally rock. Playback of 1080p Bluray rips are flawless (on the unibody MacBook) in Plex/XBMC. I have a Bluray player for actual discs. I could have gotten a much more capable machine for the same price, but ultimately it would have been larger, less reliable, and I'd still have to pay $129 for Leopard.

Thank you ... it's nice to hear at least ONE person is happy about one of Apple's updates. You are amongst the minority it appears.

... Basically, everyone I see complaining about the mini doesn't understand what market it is aimed at. Just like the Mac Pro isn't a mid-range desktop, neither is the Mac Mini.

Thank you. I appreciate a supporting opinion. Seems everyone wants the Mini to be a full destop computer for $300. Never gonna happen.

I don't want to add to the list of complaints, because most are without reason. And heck - everyone complaining about the price hikes or lack of price drops shows Apple is returning to its old self! haha

My one complaint though is:

120GB, 250GB, or 320GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive4

really..... 5400 rpm drives?!??!?!? even my mom can notice the lag! many would accept a decline in size for an increase in speed.

Just my 2 cents.....

Simple solution to your one complaint. Go to NewEgg or similar, buy a larger 7200 rpm drive. swap it out, and you'll join the poster above and be happy too.

 

[Eidorian]

Immensely pleased i have the go ahead to spend my money on two products i have been excited to have the ability to work together for a long time. I will be sure to pass by you the new jeans from tk-max, or god forbid they don't have my size but yet i still like them so i will have to pay full price. Better yet i will save a few pounds on my shopping and buy battery farmed products over free range and organic.

The wee point i am getting to here is that different people see value in products. Do not tell someone at a whim to buy another product as if your some teenager in high school that can't stand your friend is buying a uncool phone.

Quite true. If we're both happy with our valued products what's the problem again?

 

[anubis]

Hmmm, where are all of the people who were certain the spy shots were fake NOW???

 

[stephenli]

I do wish it was fake...
Mac Mini is the only computer that keep updating spec without changing design since its born. Good design do not need any changes, but, does Mini being a perfect piece that do not entitled a change? Personally I would say, no.

 

[MasterNile]

Hmmm, where are all of the people who were certain the spy shots were fake NOW???

Does it really matter people do that with all product updates, they did that with the unibodies. If we hung everyone who has been wrong on MR we'd have a lot less people to talk about macs with

 

[Mr Maui]

I do wish it was fake...
Mac Mini is the only computer that keep updating spec without changing design since its born. Good design do not need any changes, but, does Mini being a perfect piece that do not entitled a change? Personally I would say, no.

Are people buying it without design changes? Yes.
Will that continue? Yes.
Will significantly more people buy it with design changes? We'll know when Apple changes the design.

 

[Doug183]

Home Theater

I too was looking to build a hackintosh to make a home theater and resisted it for one main reason: You can't seem to get a silent case like mac mini. Isn't that crazy? The other reason was that even after you price out all the parts, you still end up somewhere in the $400 dollar range. And I got to be honest, it would take me countless hours of frustration to set it up, so I guess I am willing to shell out the $200 to have someone build it for me, guarantee it works out of the box, and make it look real nice.

So all I got to say now is ... someone go out and buy one and see if it will do two things.

1. Play back Hi-Def 1080i from an antanea or Clearcam. My Core2Duo mini 1.83 drops frames occasionally. Livable, but a bit annoying.

2. Flash 10/9 SD or HD content playback from Hulu. Again my mini occasionally chokes on a frame here or there. Not unwatchable, but not the same as my old tv on my cable box.

 

[Tilpots]

The main downside of the whole thing is going to be the limitation of analog stereo audio, but I don't have a surround setup so it's of no matter.

The mini has optical digital audio in/out.

Audio

Combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack)
Combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack)

 

[strange days]

upgrade

Ultimately it came down to me purchasing a new Mini this morning. I got the barebones, updated the processor to 2.26GHz for $684. Bought a 7200RPM 320GB drive and 4GB of RAM on NewEgg for $140 with tax/shipping. The main downside of the whole thing is going to be the limitation of analog stereo audio, but I don't have a surround setup so it's of no matter.

What's the right specs for the RAM module ?
Should it be 1066Mhz ?
Can you link to your buys, please ?
Was it easy to upgrade ? ( any online tutorials )
Are you happy with the performance ?
Any benchmarks ?

...heh, I know, it's not even 24 hours it's out; I will be grateful for any bit of info you can share though...

Cheers

 

[Rocketman]

I am amused by all these replies.

Apple sells "form factors" at "price points".

It has chosen not to sell a midi.

It has chosen not to sell a maxi.

It has a mini, an i, a pro, a book, a book pro and a book air.

These are form factors.

If one wanted them to fill all known niches, they would want a desktop AND a midi too. And a tablet and a small book and, and, and, and . . . .

Rocketman

Feel f'n lucky they have an iPhone!

 

[intel]

Who would buy???

This thing has the specs of my 2 yr old macbook minus the keyboard, mouse and screen.

Seriously?? I was hoping for more. At least a core i7. Apple needs to pull its finger out. We're not asking for a core i9 or anything, just some technology that is not backdated and sold as 'faster; greener; still mini' but 'caught up to the smaller macbook specs of 2 yrs ago; made of the same ****; looks pretty cool'

 

[Kar98]

You'd think people would be happy that the thing was updated (after all the complaining about that) but then there is always a complaint about price.

For almost a thousand bucks I'd get a mild speed bump, a different graphics chip and one more USB port, compared to what I've got now (and counting only the features I can make use of). And the remote is now extra.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I don't want to add to the list of complaints, because most are without reason. And heck - everyone complaining about the price hikes or lack of price drops shows Apple is returning to its old self! haha

My one complaint though is:

120GB, 250GB, or 320GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive4

really..... 5400 rpm drives?!??!?!? even my mom can notice the lag! many would accept a decline in size for an increase in speed.

Just my 2 cents.....

The MacBook Pro doesn't even come with a stock 7200RPM. How can you expect the mini to have better specs? I realize the mini is a desktop, but it's internals are pretty much a lowend MacBook w/o the display.

 

[Westside guy]

I'll be buying one in the next few months, unhooking my TV's DVD player and putting this in its place.

The DVD player will mainly be for Netflix disks - all the DVDs we own are getting ripped onto the FW hard drive that'll be hooked up to this.

Yay!

 

[antominus]

discount

I wish it was cheaper. 120GB HD and 1G of RAM, I don't think I can justify purchasing it.

Speaking of such, the edu discount is now $50, the same as the macbook, making it $549. This is the biggest edu break ever on the mini, which has been $579 for a long time.

 

[Eidorian]

Speaking of such, the edu discount is now $50, the same as the macbook, making it $549. This is the biggest edu break ever on the mini, which has been $579 for a long time.

Rejoice for the Mac mini is cheaper from Apple than Amazon now with my education discount!

Stay in school.

 

[BJWanlund]

I must say, that Mac Mini now looks like a reasonable computer! Of course, I'll ask the Apple Store guy (if my father obliges for my birthday) what the best computer for a gamer who doesn't really want to play the latest and greatest games, but at least those games that require an ATI or NVIDIA graphics card would be.

BJ

 

[Mr Maui]

For almost a thousand bucks I'd get a mild speed bump, a different graphics chip and one more USB port, compared to what I've got now (and counting only the features I can make use of). And the remote is now extra.

A Mini is almost a thousand bucks? Did I miss something? Last I checked the prices were $599 and $799.

If that is the only difference for you from your current Mini, why would you want a new one. What do you want to use your Mini for? Rendering high resolution 3D graphics? For the record, its not designed for that.

 

[sharma911]

apology notice

Dear fellow macrumorers,

Here is my notice of apology.

I'm sorry.

Yesterday I was one of 'those' people who didn't believe that the leaked photo(s)/vid of the mac mini were real.

Today, I stand corrected.

Big thanks to the real sources for uploading the photo(s)/vids and giving 'us' something to speculate about.

FYI, I ordered a mac mini this morning, and will be buy a second display.

My *future* setup:

mac mini 2.0ghz, 4gb ddr3 ram, nvidia 9400 - 256MB, 2 x samsung 24" 2493hm 16:10 LCDs!!!

Boo Yeahhhhh!

Peace

 

[Shanpdx]

What's the right specs for the RAM module ?
Should it be 1066Mhz ?
Can you link to your buys, please ?
Was it easy to upgrade ? ( any online tutorials )
Are you happy with the performance ?
Any benchmarks ?

...heh, I know, it's not even 24 hours it's out; I will be grateful for any bit of info you can share though...

Cheers

and to add to the question, what is the CPU number inside mac mini and iMac?

is it E or T Series Core 2 Duo?