Page 1 of Your opinions on the MAC MINI

I am thinking of getting one of these as I can`t afford to pay for a laptop that will enable me to make my movies and music. This little champ sounds perfect, however I am not very good with specs etc and wondering what your views are. Thanks!

MAC MINI

My general thoughts are that it`s a fantastic piece of kit for the price - £339 for the 1.25Ghz version, and it looks stunning. Since yesterday I`ve been trying to come up with reasons not to buy one... Will make a great replacement for our current G3 imac for much less than it would have cost to replace it last week.

Having had a look on the newsgroups and some of the mac forums for reaction I`ve a couple of comments on it`s suitability for you. Consensus seems to be that taking the RAM up to 512MB is definitely the way to go. There are various opinions on whether the specs are up to more than "casual" video editing, and one of the things you might want to consider is the fact that the maximum HD option is 80Gb (not a problem if you`e got an external USB2/Firewire HD that you already use for video storage). If video editing is going to be one of the main uses I`d suggest you look into it further and possibly wait to see how it does in lab test etc before taking the plunge and ordering one.

I think this will be a must have second pc. I`ve used Imacs at work for video editing (did out weddding video on one) and loved using it from then - but couldn`t really find an excuse to buy one. Got an Ipod last year and now I want one of these minis so I can store all my music and video on that and use the pc for internet and gaming.

The size is good as i could have it on my desk with a switch box and use my existing monitor, keyboard and mouse. Problem is do I get the mini or a psp..... probably both to be honest.

You`ll need to get a usb hub if you don`t already have one. There are only two usb ports and they will be taken up by your keyboard and mouse. If you want to print or use a usb memory stick or plug in your mp3 player, digital camera etc you`ll need more usb ports.

Dosen`t usb daisychain?

Nope




A man who doesnt need any more Grecian 2000 :D

USB can daisychain in a way - it`s just that it doesn`t usually. A number of keyboards including Apple`s older ones have two USB ports on them, although I can`t see any mention of this on the specs of the current apple keyboards. They seem to have moved from incorporating the additional usb ports in the keyboards to adding them to the monitors - the current line up of apple displays include 2 USB and 2 Firewire ports, and I`ve seen quite a few other displays including built in hubs. Personally I`ve always quite liked having the mouse plugged into the keyboard.

That said, they should have included at least one "free" port, but I guess the other reason they haven`t is that they will be expecting quite a percentage to go for the bluetooth keyboard and mouse option leaving the two usb ports free.

The Mac mini? For that price you can spec up a more powerful shuttle PC. I cant see what all the fuss is about.

And the Ipod shuffle? Whats all that about? Apparently it hasnt even got a display screen. Which just seems stupid to me.

I`m also pretty tempted.
I have a nice LG monitor with dual inputs (DVI & VGA) so could switch between boxes on that - for the display at least. Then just a USB keyboard & mouse added and I`m away.

The RAM definitely needs to be upped to 512MB. HD of 40GB is OK for casual use but 80GB (or more) would be better.

I`m a definite PC man, but at this price it would be nice to have both on the desk. (well the Mac Mini can sit on the desk, the PC is way too big for that ;))

I`m with Miles on this, will see how things pan out first & then possibly get one for experience in the other camp.



I enjoy being wrong and clueless on other subjects - my wife usually alerts me to which ones, as there seem to be a lot around the house.




A man who doesnt need any more Grecian 2000 :D