Apple's Mac mini - Tempting PC Users Everywhere
by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 25, 2005 7:39 AM EST- Posted in
- Mac
Sound Impressions
The Mac mini is basically the quietest desktop computer that you can get with a fan. Unless you put your ear next to the unit, you cannot hear it. There have been reports that the 1.42GHz models are louder, but we haven't been able to confirm first hand. From our experience, the 1.25GHz Mac mini is as close to silent as you can get with a hard drive and a fan. We'd love to post audio clips or SPL readings, but we don't have equipment that can register something that quiet.
The slot-loading Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW) is definitely noisy though, especially when inserting a disc. Operational noise of the drive is the loudest consistent noise that the mini will emit, but even taking it into consideration, we were quite happy with the mini from a sound perspective. The $499 mini is quiet enough to be in the living room or bedroom, something that we haven't been able to say about too many manufacturer-built computers.
A Couple of Surprises: 5400RPM and DDR400
Although it uses desktop memory, the Mac mini uses a 2.5" notebook hard drive. The base $499 version comes with a 40GB drive and the $599 version comes with a 80GB drive. What is surprising, however, is that some units appear to come with Seagate's 5400RPM Momentus ST94011A drive, including the unit reviewed here today. The 5400RPM drive is fairly snappy for a 2.5" drive. It's still much, much slower than a 3.5" desktop drive, but it's a nice surprise to see a 5400RPM drive used in the mini. We have been getting reports of some units coming with 4200RPM drives, however. Right now, it seems to be a luck of the draw as to which drive you get.
The other surprise was that the memory installed in the mini was in fact CAS 3 DDR400 and not DDR333, as Apple's spec sheet suggests. Granted, anything above DDR333 does absolutely nothing for the mini as the G4 is FSB limited to the bandwidth of single channel DDR333 SDRAM.
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ehanneken - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
I got my Mac Mini yesterday. It came with iLife on a DVD *and* preinstalled.gibhunter, the upgrade to 512 MB is a $75 option when ordering the Mini; the owner is not required to do it himself. The only other expenses I had were taxes and a $13 USB adapter for my old PS/2 keyboard and mouse. I already had a spare 17" monitor. Altogether, I spent about $630.
I may buy a cheap new keyboard, though. My old keyboard doesn't have a Windows key, and I think OS X maps the Apple key to it.
deathwalker - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
#12..I'm in your corner. If you can see through the fog of the $499 price tag then you are really looking at a $900-$1000 "Pig"...no thanks!~!ianwhthse - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
#4, downtowncbThey might not know the speed of the hard drive, true, but they're definitely going to notice it's slow.
I think you underestimate the average user's ability to notice that their computer is running like a pig. Why deal with a spyware infested Windows machine when you can switch to a Mac and get a system that's barely faster than said infested machine because Apple decided you needed a slow HDD, and pathetic amounts of ram?
Anand commented about how the 256 MB of ram was insufficient, but do you think most people are going to magically know that they need to double the ram to get a good experience? (Assuming "most people" aren't Anandtech readers).
Anyway, I'm done with that rant.
Anand, are you going to look more closely at the iMovie, Garageband, iDVD trifecta? I currently use the Adobe Video Collection Professional (Premier, After Effects, Encore DVD, Audition, and Photoshop). I’m just looking for something that can make something nice for the smaller projects I end up working on. So those applications are interesting (plus the fact that you can buy the Adobe collection on Mac would allow me to make a complete move off the PC). Well except for gaming. But all I play on my PC now is KOTOR, so I won’t cry too hard.
(I can also get a Mac version of Seti@home, how ‘bout that?)
Avalon - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
#13, most people do NOT have $300 flat screens and USB keyboards/mice just simply laying around. Take this for what it is: the cheapest way to use OS X.hopejr - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
#11, I have a 1GHz iBook G4 and it's good for audio editing with Garageband. I'm sure the Mac Mini will be better#12, many ppl already have those things laying around (apart from the RAM).
Good article!!
gibhunter - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
You're all forgetting the fine print.First, a Mac mini is crap with 256MB of RAM. Gotta buy the more powerful Mac. Do they offer them with 512? If not, suddenly the average Joe needs to learn how to upgrade. Suddenly it's $600.
Gotta get a keyboard and a mouse. Only USB ports are available though so they will be pricey. $700.
Gotta get a monitor. A stylish PC absolutely requires a stylish flat panel. $300.
Suddenly you have a very weak personal computer for a thousand bucks. What a bargain! (sarcasm)
ksherman - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
hey Anand, do you think this little box would be any good at Audio Editing? My lil bro is starting to get pretty heavy into it and REALLY wants a Mac, and this mini seems like it may be in his price range.downtowncb - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
#7I know a few techie friends who have always been PC users that are purchasing Mac minis because they are a cheap way to get familiar with OSX while getting to work with BSD. Also the built-in Apache server is good for them (and can be activated by a single click). I'd say there are at least 2 crowds buying minis, the techie "I just want to try it out and it's 25% the cost of my last system" crowd and the $499 "I always buy the cheapest thing" crowd. You're right, the normal arguments don't apply because in the first case the arguments are overlooked in favor of software and OS and in the second they've never even heard our arguments (to them RPM is how fast your engine is going).
bob661 - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
#5Itunes isn't preinstalled. It's part of the iLife package.
jfpilon - Tuesday, January 25, 2005 - link
About the office compability: why not just use openoffice.org?check it out: http://developer.apple.com/darwin/runningx11.html