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turbulentfurball
2005-12-13, 18:49
I'm definately going to buy a Mac Mini within the next couple of weeks... but I have a few questions.

Although I'm not going to use it primarily as a gaming computer, i'd still like to play the odd game. Has anyone got experiences with games on the mac mini? I really fancy the Sims 2 and Halo, and the mini has the exact requirements, but are they playable? I'm not so bothered about having a low resolution or low detail levels.... I played Quake 3 Arena on a PC - Cyrix 233 with 32 Mb of RAM quite happily ;)

Also, does the leap from the 1.25Ghz to 1.42Ghz make a difference with games or does the 32mb VRAM hinder any speed improvements?

I'm buying an Apple USB keyboard... the extra USB ports being a huge bonus. Do the ports on the keyboard have sufficient power to attach my iPod or will it have to attach to the other port on the mini?

The monitor I'm going to use is a 15.4" widescreen TFT with a native resolution of 1280x768 (or 800). Will the 32Mb VRAM make the mini a bit slow or should it cope?

Thanks :)

Brave Ulysses
2005-12-13, 18:56
Everything should work fine. It is more than adequate to play those games. But down the road you will likely have some issues with new game titles as the Mac Mini hardware is already dated and on the way out.

The processor difference is not that great but if you can afford to bump up to the top model, definitely do so, especially since now the top model is secretly a 1.5GHz processor with 64 MB VRAM (I believe)

Overall, it sounds like you will be satisfied. Make sure you get one of the "Late 2005" models when you purchase. They have unannounced improvements such as a 1.5GHz processor and 64MB VRAM. You can do this by checking the serial number on apple's support site. It should list it as a "Late 2005" model. If you can hold out till January, there is a high chance the Mac Mini will see significant improvements at MacWorld January 10th.

turbulentfurball
2005-12-13, 19:03
I've already decided not to wait ;) I'm very much in the frame of mind that if I keep putting off buying something for fear of a new improved version around the corner then I'd never buy anything!

the store I'm planning on buying it from holds one of each model of the mini in stock at a time before being replenished by apple, so I'm hoping I get the late 2005 version, but from what I've been reading... not many people have such luck in the UK :(

turbulentfurball
2013-09-22, 13:32
*EPIC BUMP*

I'm currently posting from the G4 Mac Mini I was discussing buying above. It's been in a box in my bedroom at my parents house for years and I thought I'd bring it back to my place and use for remote disk should I ever need it.

It's not as slow as I thought it would be. Also, hello Tiger. Long time no see. I kinda miss the brushed steel look.

I've also found a bunch of photos I thought I had lost forever when a hard drive died.

I suppose I could try to sell this baby, but it was my first Mac so it holds some sentimental value.

Capella
2013-09-22, 15:33
*EPIC BUMP*

I'm currently posting from the G4 Mac Mini I was discussing buying above. It's been in a box in my bedroom at my parents house for years and I thought I'd bring it back to my place and use for remote disk should I ever need it.

It's not as slow as I thought it would be. Also, hello Tiger. Long time no see. I kinda miss the brushed steel look.

I've also found a bunch of photos I thought I had lost forever when a hard drive died.

I suppose I could try to sell this baby, but it was my first Mac so it holds some sentimental value.

Brushed metal is gorgeous. I miss that skin design. Also, I'm impressed by how well older PowerPC Macs hold up. My dorm is using a G5 XServe as our webserver, and we're looking into using a G4 tower we got as a lab printing machine.

turtle
2013-09-22, 19:14
I'm still using my original G4 Mini as an iTunes server at my mom's house. Pretty cool too. Solid as can be for this use.