Nope. Sandybridge uses 1155/P67-Z68 sockets/chipsets, 1st gen i3/i5/i7 uses 1156/P55 sockets/chipsets.
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2011 Mac Mini - Speculation
- Thread starter Nanker/Phelge
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They could always do dual core SB processors which in a way would keep them a "generation" behind the iMac's which are all quad core and all but the 13" MBP's. Think of a 13" MBP without the screen. Have a base i3 and upgraded i5 dual core. They would still be stout machines.
don't get me wrong, whether it's a Sandybridge or whether it's the previous generation Core i processors, it will still be an amazing machine and will make me feel much, much better at the thought of buying two of them instead of building two Core i5 hackintoshes 
There was some grumbling in an iMac thread that Apple is locking down their hard drives in the 2011 iMacs. Anyone concerned this will happen with the Minis?
no concern what so ever. mac mini internal drives should not be swapped out anymore unless you want a standalone machine. the mac mini's future is this
http://www.sonnettech.com/news/nab2011/
I will just stack the mini on the fusion F2TBR. Then I will use it to boot and the mini's internal becomes the backup drive. I am concerned this will not be allowed to boot if so no mini for me.
Apparently, the 'grumblings' in the iMac thread are false and users have reported no issues with swapping the hard drives so I doubt they'll do anything with the Mini hard drives.
I don't think that'll be a solution for everyone. As you said, there are people that will want a standalone system, rather than external drives, etc. There's alos the people that buy the mini for a 'budget mac' that won't be able to afford those Sonnet devices.
imac or mini
New to forum ...
Was eagerly awaiting the new imacs and although am very happy with the specs, I was really hoping for a 24' and matte display.
Now am thinking about getting a mac mini and just getting a 24' matte flat panel screen instead.
I really only use my mac for school, the occasional tv show (hulu), skype, and some photoshop stuff very occassionally.
Is the Mac Mini going to suffice? I know I will not be getting the best value for money, but feel that for what I need the mini will be just fine and plus I'll get a screen that I can stare at for hours. I just can't stand the glossy Imac screens, plus the 21.5' is on the smallish side and the 27' is too big ...
Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
New to forum ...
Was eagerly awaiting the new imacs and although am very happy with the specs, I was really hoping for a 24' and matte display.
Now am thinking about getting a mac mini and just getting a 24' matte flat panel screen instead.
I really only use my mac for school, the occasional tv show (hulu), skype, and some photoshop stuff very occassionally.
Is the Mac Mini going to suffice? I know I will not be getting the best value for money, but feel that for what I need the mini will be just fine and plus I'll get a screen that I can stare at for hours. I just can't stand the glossy Imac screens, plus the 21.5' is on the smallish side and the 27' is too big ...
Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
Welcome to the forum
I quite like the glossy screens but ever since Apple ditched the 24" iMac and went with the 21.5" and 27", I always thought the 21.5" was too small and the 27" was too big, so I'm in a similar situation to you.
The Mac Mini as it is now would suit your needs just fine, but I'd wait it out if you can as the new Mini is believed to have SandyBridge processors so will be much faster.
What screen are you considering? I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find a 1920x1200 screen rather than a 1920x1080.
I use a 24" Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP. Refurbs are available from Dell Outlet for $399. It's a fabulous display.
I've got a Dell 2407WFP and it is a great screen. I'd love to get a 24" Cinema Display though
Go for the Mini, particularly if you can wait for updates, but even if you can't. That'll be fine for your needs.
If you can't stand glossy screens, chances are you'll find the iMac's to be as insufferable & c-rap as I did for over 2 & 1/2 years, until my iMac's logic board fried. The screen is such an important part of the user-experience, IMO, it's really not worth the compromise.
BTW, plenty of others feel the same way about glossy screens:
http://macmatte.wordpress.com/
GL, whatever you buy!
Which means there's no sense updating it to a more expensive processor and more RAM and all the other spec increases you guys are claiming it will have.
If you can get away with selling the C2D version with 2 GB RAM and no Thunderbolt for $699, why ruin a good thing?
As for the concerns that C2D processors may not be available at some time in the future, I'm sure Apple knows better than we do when that's going to happen. And remember Intel only said they're no longer marketing C2D, not that they are ending production. It seems likely Apple is going to stick with C2D in the Mini as long as they can get away with it.
No, I don't have insider knowledge in Apple's affairs, but neither do any of the people who are saying that the Mini is going to be updated this summer. They're relying on the assumption that the Mini is updated every 6-9 months, which of course is not reliable. We're all just guessing at the end of the day, so it's pretty silly to be telling people not to buy a computer they want now based on your guesses.
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No it is not silly. Why do I say this?
T-bolt is on the macbook pro 13 inch. Fact.
This gives you 3 choices ;
1)buy an outdated computer for 700 bucks just to get a mac.
2) Buy a 1200 dollar computer just to get an up to date computer o
3)wait to see if the mac mini gets updated.
Now if you have been waiting apple has already put out a refurbed macbook 13inch. 2011 model see link
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC700LL/A?mco=MjIwMTAxNjg
this kills any mac mini on the market. price is 1019 so by waiting you saved 180. it is easy to put in an hdd or an ssd and it is easy to put in ram. I would tell anyone that really wants a new mac mini today suck it up and buy this or wait.
two other macbook pro 13 inch refurbs
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC724LL/A?mco=MjIwMTAxNDI
http://store.apple.com/us/product/G0LX0LL/A?mco=MjIxNDg4NjI
Every 6 to 9 months? It's been 11 now. Plus the last upgrade did little to the CPU, blabla, you know the arguments why it is due.
Point is, I would have probably bought a fresh mini if it had launched alongside the MBP's. Might have regretted it now because something else came up that sucked up alot of money, but I'll be able to buy soon anyway. By that time, though, I might have reconsidered, if it doesn't pack a punch worthy of its cost. iMac's are too expensive, so I might steer away from Apple.
I bet there's more people like me, so that Apple would sell more Mini's if they had a better price/performance ratio. IDK if it does hurt iMac sales, could be made up for by people that now buy Dell/Acer/etc machines.
Point is, I would have probably bought a fresh mini if it had launched alongside the MBP's. Might have regretted it now because something else came up that sucked up alot of money, but I'll be able to buy soon anyway. By that time, though, I might have reconsidered, if it doesn't pack a punch worthy of its cost. iMac's are too expensive, so I might steer away from Apple.
I bet there's more people like me, so that Apple would sell more Mini's if they had a better price/performance ratio. IDK if it does hurt iMac sales, could be made up for by people that now buy Dell/Acer/etc machines.
That's absolute carp and you obviously have no idea what you're talking about! Going by your logic, Apple would never update any of the products it sells. I mean why update the iPhone 3Gs with an iPhone 4? The 3Gs worked didn't it? It was a good phone wasn't it? It sold well and was still selling well upto the release of the iPhone 4.
Similarly, the iMac. The last iMac used Core i processors and were really great specs, so why update that? Apple could've got away with selling them for another year but still updated them!
Apple knows that many of its customers keep up to date with Intels processor updates and other hardware updates. They also know that they need to keep up with current pc systems to a certain extent, so it's reasonable to expect them to update each of their products once a year.
That's a difference of almost $350 from buying a 2010 mini now. If you're going to spend that much you may as well buy the 2010 mini now, then buy the next version when/if it comes out and sell the 2010 version on eBay. It'll sell for more than $350, that's for sure.
lvlarkkoenen said:
I know how long it's been, I'm just quoting the figure on the macrumors site for the average time between updates, which is the sole criterion they use to advise you whether or not you should buy. The problem I have is that Apple has waited much longer to update it in the past, when they had less reason to wait (ie, no iPhone and no iPad to lure PC users into the Apple ecosystem). There was no 2008 mini, remember.
Better price/performance ratio means less profit per unit. Higher volume at lower profit is not necessarily a good thing.
hsj2011 said:
The iPhone and iPad are marquee products. Updating those gets Apple massive coverage in the mainstream media. An update to the Mac mini would get a little coverage from the techie blogs but you're not going to see squat about it in the MSM.
The iMacs are much more profitable than the Minis due to the customer lock-in from forcing them to buy an all-in-one computer.
Of course I may be a bit invested in this question myself since I just bought a 2010 mini last week with a $50 academic discount and free printer to soften the blow a bit. One thing I noticed: only about 10% of the customers at the busy Apple store I was at were looking at computers. The days of Apple as a computer company are over, friends.
And they were trying to do everything possible to get me to buy something other than the Mini, which tells me that the Mini is not profitable and/or they're not trying to get rid of stock ahead of an update. The "Genius" "assisting" me went so far as to tell me that the Mini "doesn't do much".
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I've got a Dell 2407WFP and it is a great screen. I'd love to get a 24" Cinema Display though
I use a Dell u2410. I love this display!
If they were trying to get rid of the Mini's I think they'd be trying to get you to buy em.
you simply had an honest Genius trying to be nice to you. The 2010 mini is pretty much a dinosaur.
+1
I'd hazzard a guess that any half decent genius would try to persuade customers against the current Mini because it's so outdated. However, it's their job to make Apple as much money as possible, and whether the iMac makes Apple more profit than the Mini or not, the iMac, they will always try to push the more expensive systems to gain a bigger turnover.
Har dee har. I'm sure that's why he was trying to sell me the extended warranty on the dinosaur and the $99 file transfer rip off once it was clear I wasn't moving up to an iMac.
In any case it does a great deal more than my 2006 mini does, which is the relevant criterion.
I use dell u2711 nice monitor.
Anyone knows will i need any adapters to use the monitor through display port when new mini with thunderbolt arrives? please, answer
Anyone knows will i need any adapters to use the monitor through display port when new mini with thunderbolt arrives? please, answer
I use dell u2711 nice monitor.
Anyone knows will i need any adapters to use the monitor through display port when new mini with thunderbolt arrives? please, answer
Why not just use HDMI and keep your TB port free?
Or a Mini-display to DVI adapter if you must use the TB port.