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Hi
I am looking at buying a mac mini, but am pretty clueless when it comes to macs. Some advice would be really nice on a few things. 1. Is a mini a good choice for a first look at macs? I mainly use my machine for browsing, mp3 ripping, im and general stuff. 2. What resolutions and refresh rates will a mini work at? 3. Would i see an increase in going for the 1.4 over the 1.2? Performance as well as actually being able to see a difference? 4. Is there anything else i should think about before buying? Thanks |
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1. The Mac Mini is an excellent machine for a first look. It's my first Mac and I enjoy working with it a lot as my main home machine!
2. For digital (DVI) connections, you can set your display up to a widescreen resolution of 1920 by 1200. For VGA, see up to 1920 by 1080. I use a 17" Benq flat screen at 1280x1024 resolution connected to DVI. 3. I bought the fastest version (before the recent 'bump') with Bluetooth, Airport and 80Gb hard drive. Recently I upgraded the memory to 1Gb to increase the overall performance. 4. The internal hard drive is a 4200 rpm model. If you use a fast (7200 rpm) external Firewire hard drive as startup disk the Mini runs even faster. |
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Passing by
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: London, Europe
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Last edited by Franz Josef : 2005-08-17 at 15:14. |
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Western MA
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Above all, make sure you get 1GB of memory. My mini was lethargic till I installed the 1GB. Just don't get the memory from Apple or you will pay too much for it.
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I bought my 1Gb memory module at http://www.crucial.com using the 'Memory Advisor Tool'. Works fine and much cheaper that the Apple Store!
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
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Be careful using the Memory Advisor thing at Crucial. They do weird stuff with their pricing. If you use that tool to search for RAM that will work in an Apple computer it may charge you a significant amount more than if you find the proper RAM without the tool. Try using the advisor, write down the chip it recommends, and then reset your browser (cookies, cache, temporary files) and find the chip on the Crucial site without using the advisor. Saved me over $50.
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Some good tips, thanks. What sort of refresh rates can i expect on normal (600 x 800 and 1024 x 768 ) settings? Low refresh rates make a comp unusable for me, so i really need to know this.
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Promise Land of Trustafarians
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I don't have a CRT handy, but you should be able to use any refresh rate your display handles, if all you have is a standard monitor, like, say, a 19" CRT or 17" LCD.
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Veteran Member
Join Date: Jun 2004
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Mini is a great choice for a general purpose computer.
The speed difference isn't that great - 20% best case, assuming processor is the bottleneck, which it usually isn't - but I think the new prices are structured so that all the other specs you get with the 1.4GHz speed make it worth it. 1.2GHz in itself is enough, that's the speed my iBook runs at. |
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High Monarch of MacDebate
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Kuwait
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i love the mini
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I just got the Mini two days ago and I love it.
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Antimatter Man
Join Date: May 2004
Location: that interweb thing
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60 75 85 90 95 96 100 and 120 Hz. TV output offers different options. Quote:
I've read elsewhere that the actual CPU performance difference is closer to 8%. Hardly justifies the extra $ IMO, given that the 80Gig drive is slower (4200RPM w/8Mb cache) than the 40Gig drive (5400RPM w/2Mb cache) that ships in the 1.25. If you want a faster/bigger drive, get a 7200RPM external 6-pin FW (which you can use on multiple machines). I'd generally recommend that the money is better spent on max RAM in a 1.25 rather than a mildly faster CPU with slower drives. YMMV Quote:
The only other minor issue might be microphone... all other Macs have built-in microphones... the mini does not... if you want to audio conference using iChat or other IM, you'll require extra gear with a mini (although you could spend the money you saved not buying the 1.42 on an iSight...) I love my mini, but I miss not being able to work in transit at times. If you don't have long journeys where portable computing or personal "inflight movies" matter, the mini will probably be more than enough for you to make a brilliant introduction to the Macintosh. Last edited by curiousuburb : 2005-08-28 at 05:09. |
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Florida
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NO.
Buy an eMac! It's the most overlooked product in the Apple line. Preforms way better than the specs would lead you to believe. It's a well balanced machine that'll run for years and you got everything you need in the one package. Cost you less in the long run. Not a race car, but a good solid Chevy that'll get you where you're going! |
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