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Hardware Apple Quietly Updates Mac mini Lineup
Brandon Hill (Blog) - August 7, 2007 3:31 PM
Print 16 comment(s) - last by PumpkinEscobar.. on Aug 9 at 1:09 PM

  (Source: Apple)
Apple's Mac mini soldiers on for a little while longer

Although Apple's new iMacs have been garnering the majority of the attention today, another update was taking place under the radar screen.

Apple quietly performed some updates to its Mac mini range. The entry-level $599 Mac mini now sports a 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory and an 80GB HDD. Stepping up the high-end $799 model gets you a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of DDR2 memory and a 120GB HDD.

Standalone options for the two models include the option for 2GB of DDR2 memory along with a 160GB HDD.

Both models come standard with OS X 10.4, Front Row, the newly introduced iLife '08 and an Apple Remote.

Apple first introduced the Mac mini in January of 2005. At the time, the machine was outfitted with 256MB of memory and came equipped with a 1.25Ghz or 1.43GHz PowerPC G4 processor. Apple last year updated the Mac mini with Intel Core Solo and Core 2 Duo processors and bumped the standard memory to 512MB.

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RAM limit
By Squuiid on 8/7/2007 5:45:40 PM , Rating: 2
What's the RAM limit on these things now? Has it gone up to 4GB with the advent of the Core 2 Duo?
Still the same Intel 945 chipset?

If this can handle 3GB RAM at least, then I'm buying one!




RE: RAM limit
By VooDooAddict on 8/7/2007 6:42:58 PM , Rating: 2
I believe it needs to move to the "santa rosa" chipset before you can get past 2Gig RAM.


RE: RAM limit
By Anh Huynh on 8/7/2007 7:43:16 PM , Rating: 4
The limitation is because the system only has one memory slot.


RE: RAM limit
By Chadder007 on 8/7/2007 10:26:45 PM , Rating: 2
No, it has 2xSODIMM slots.
On the specs page it lists... "1GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2x512MB"


RE: RAM limit
By Anh Huynh on 8/7/2007 10:30:34 PM , Rating: 2
Well I'll be damned, it does use SODIMMs. I figured it used regular DIMMs like the G4 Mac Mini.

I don't see why it couldn't accept 2GB SODIMMs. The chipset supports up to 4GB of total memory.


What would intice PC users
By borowki on 8/7/2007 7:10:42 PM , Rating: 2
A built-in, software-controlled KVM switch would make the Mini-Mac much more attractive to existing PC users. All they'd need is the box to get the Mac experience--and with a keystroke, return to the Windows world.




RE: What would intice PC users
By Hare on 8/8/2007 12:05:36 AM , Rating: 3
Why? There's virtualization so you can run Windows and Mac OS X simultaniously on the mac mini with the same host OS. With full screen virtualization it's easy to go back and forth from one OS to another. If the user preferred Mac OS X he/she could use it and run PC apps simultaniously (PC apps appear as their own windows similarly to native apps).

I'm seriously thinking about using the mac mini as a HTPC. DVI, optical audio out and it's silent. Sounds good to me. Just plug a usb digiTV dongle and that's it. Frontrow rocks :)


RE: What would intice PC users
By afkrotch on 8/8/2007 1:46:49 PM , Rating: 1
Virtualization tends to suck hard. Try playing a game in virtual Windows. Bootcamp requires you to reboot to swap between OS's, so not a great open.

KVM built-in would be good for that. Also not limited to a small Mac Mini. The thing has decent specs, but when compared to a standard desktop of today, it's got much of nothing. Course, they are aiming at different markets.


hi
By 8steve8 on 8/7/07, Rating: 0
RE: hi
By Spuke on 8/7/2007 5:35:35 PM , Rating: 2
I agree. This unit could be SO much more than what it is now with a few simple upgrades. Namely, Nvidia 8x video. If you can boot Vista then you can use the Xbox360 HD DVD drive.


RE: hi
By bespoke on 8/8/2007 1:41:22 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
still gma950?
bleh.


What's funny is when the original Mac Mini came out, they touted the fact that it came with a real GPU (ATI Radeon 9200 - not anything to get excited about), not just integrated graphics. And then when Apple switched to Intel, the video card silently disappeared. Lame.


Second Gen Mini didn't have Core 2 Duo
By drunkenrobot on 8/8/2007 9:25:36 AM , Rating: 2
The second generation mini had:

Core Solo
Core Duo

It didn't have a Core 2 Duo... This is a pretty big upgrade.




By daftrok on 8/8/2007 5:18:38 PM , Rating: 2
The jump from Core Solo to Core 2 Duo is major, but the jump from Core Duo to Core 2 Duo is not as gargantuan as you'd think.


Mac Mini and Analog Input/Output
By rich24460 on 8/8/2007 8:28:23 PM , Rating: 2
I believe that only the Mac Pro has RCA jack analog input/output capabilities. I want to digitize and transfer my old recording tapes to CDs and perhaps future Ipod tunes. What kind of hardware and software would I need to do this with the Mac Mini?




By PumpkinEscobar on 8/9/2007 1:09:14 PM , Rating: 2
What you'd need is a USB audio input/output device, such as the Griffin iMic (US$40). Obviously more expensive models are available, too.


By otispunkmeyer on 8/8/2007 8:18:31 AM , Rating: 3
seems to get more expensive every time i look lol, but it may just be me seeing UK and US prices as the same thing by mistake.

anyway i love the mini, always toyed with getting one. think im gonna browse flea-bay and try pick up an older model perhaps. parents would love it.

i have a new SR MBP and i love it....the thing really does just work, flawlessly, day in day out. its so easy to use.

my mother seems to either break or get in a right fuddle trying to work the email on our xp machine, so i was thinking of getting a mini and popping it in the AV rack and have it hooked up to the 46 inch bravia X-series we have (though it wont let you do 1080p through VGA) and they can just use that for their email and photo needs.




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