Upgrading My Mac Mini or Wait.....

[jaybar]

Hi

I have a Mac Mini Purchased in March 2008. It has 2GB of RAM

I do NOT play games.

Things I do:

1) Surf the net.
2) Chat
3) Occasional importing of Photos from my Iphone.
4) Occasional editing of Photos
5) Word processing Using MS Word 2008
5) Spreadsheet Creation Using MS Word 2008
5) Presentations Using MS Word 2008
6) email using Apple Mail
7) Ical
8) Running windows XP in Virtual Machine using parallels 5
9) Quicken Mac

When I run XP in Parallels it is only for MS Office 2003

I might want to test out Windows 7. If I did, I would also run Offiec 2003.

I am not into games and do NOT run intensive applications.

Is this machine sufficient or should i be considering upgrading to either another Mac Mini or a laptop with an external monitor.

To date, mobility is NOT an issue. If I got the laptop, I might take it out of the house 5 times a year.

I like my viewsonic monitor, but a lot has happened in monitor technology since 2007. I would really like an ACD, but cannot afford one now.

I am also considering just replacing the USB kerboard and Mouse with apple's.

What are my options and if I had to do this in stages, what might you suggest?

Thanks in Advance

Jay

 

[MacMini2009]

If you are on a tight budget, just keep your current one as it seems it is ok for your needs. You did not state if you upgraded the hard drive, if you did not, upgrade to a 500GB 7200RPM hard drive or even a SSD.

 

[jaybar]

Thanks for Your Reply

I have the standard 120 GB drive that came with the mini.

I would appreciate comments about what the best upgrade strategy might be as funsd become available.

Thanks

Jay

 

[MacMini2009]

Just wondering, what is the processor speed in your Mac Mini?

 

[jaybar]

MacMini2009

It is a 2GHZ Duo Core 2

Suggestiosn for an upgrade strategy?

Jay

 

[MacMini2009]

I say its time to open up your Mac Mini and upgrade the hard drive to a 500GB 7200RPM or a SSD. It seems your current Mac Mini does everything you need it to do and I see no reason why you would need a new computer.

 

[aaquib]

Just throw in 4GB of RAM and an SSD and you'll be good to go for a while.

 

[jzuena]

If your mini has only 2GB of RAM, I assume your Windows VM is getting 512MB of RAM. That won't cut it for Windows 7, so if your mini supports 4GB of RAM, I will second aaquib's recommendation for that upgrade, then reconfigure your Windows VM to use 1GB of RAM. While you have it open you can upgrade the drive as well if you want.

 

[MacMini2009]

I think his Mac Mini can have 4GB of RAM installed, but only 3GB utilized. So you can use 1GB or 1.5GB for Windows and 1GB or 1.5GB for Mac.

 

[jaybar]

1) More Memory in my Mini?

I Purchased the Mac Mini in March of 2008. I hear conflicting Reports about more memory. Is this indeed possible? Several stores say No. Some on the internet say Yes.

I am in NYC and have no ability to do this myself b/c of disabilities. Who might I contact?

2) Will more memory buy us much?

We do really basic stuff such as email, chatting, word processing and Parallels with XP where we only run Office 2003.

Will an additional 2GB of RAM gain us anything? we rarely multi-task.

If I can't get this done, it would imply a new mac mini and is it worth it?

Thanks

Jay

 

[aaquib]

1) More Memory in my Mini?

I Purchased the Mac Mini in March of 2008. I hear conflicting Reports about more memory. Is this indeed possible? Several stores say No. Some on the internet say Yes.

I am in NYC and have no ability to do this myself b/c of disabilities. Who might I contact?

2) Will more memory buy us much?

We do really basic stuff such as email, chatting, word processing and Parallels with XP where we only run Office 2003.

Will an additional 2GB of RAM gain us anything? we rarely multi-task.

If I can't get this done, it would imply a new mac mini and is it worth it?

Thanks

Jay

You can install 4GB, but only 3.3GB will be usable. I personally would recommend it, but it's not easy to install yourself. You can take it to an Apple authorized repair center to get it done for you, or look for a technician that would be able to.

If you can't get more RAM and want an upgrade, I'd go for the latest 2.26 model. You'll notice the biggest change from the 9400M in graphics and general computing (openCL). Also, it'll allow for dual display support, come with a faster processor, and can ship with 4GB of RAM standard for an extra $100.

 

[boston44]

2 GB of ram certainly helps, but if it's not all usable, maybe you want an upgrade. How badly do you feel you need a new computer? If you can live with this one, it's not time. My PC was falling apart, that's when I felt it was time.