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Anyone else considering alternatives to an updated mini?
- Thread starter dudedude
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The way I see it a computer that's at or under $1000 is affordable. Sure you can buy a mini for way less than that but by the time RAM and storage is addressed it's pretty hard to escape $1000 price tag.
For the past few years I've used a late 2009 Mac Mini as an HTPC for my flatscreen TV. With it, I can browse the web, use Plex as a streamer, watch Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc. For live TV content and DVR functionality, I've used an EyeTV Hybrid connected to an antenna (I cut cable a while back).
My Mac Mini HD died recently (for the 2nd time), and lately I’ve been using an Acer c720 Chromebook refurb I picked up for $150. Between the TV and the c720, I can basically get all the functionality outlined above except for the DVR part.
I’m going to get a cheap SSD and repair the Mac Mini, but when the time comes for a new HTPC, I’ll take a good look at other options like the Chromebox. (The Apple TV has never been a serious option because of its limited video codec support.)
My Mac Mini HD died recently (for the 2nd time), and lately I’ve been using an Acer c720 Chromebook refurb I picked up for $150. Between the TV and the c720, I can basically get all the functionality outlined above except for the DVR part.
I’m going to get a cheap SSD and repair the Mac Mini, but when the time comes for a new HTPC, I’ll take a good look at other options like the Chromebox. (The Apple TV has never been a serious option because of its limited video codec support.)
Got my Asus Chromebox today,and have been playing with it for last couple hours....for $210 (cdn,we always have to pay more then US) it's the best computer vs price I have ever bought...period!
After unboxing and powering on it took all of 4-5 secs to boot to desktop,then it asks for wifi password...auto updated itself (5 min) rebooted in seconds and asked me to login (I already had setup a google account).
The little (it's about the size of apple tv) chromebox is very fast! Although it does have a fan,I can't hear a thing unless I put ear up to it.
I have had a number of tabs open while also watching a utube video at 1080p and it doesn't skip a beat.
Will post a few pics tomorrow.
ps: while I bought in order to tie me over until new mini is released,there is no way ill sell this puppy afterwards....best $200 ever spent!
any questions feel free to ask...
After unboxing and powering on it took all of 4-5 secs to boot to desktop,then it asks for wifi password...auto updated itself (5 min) rebooted in seconds and asked me to login (I already had setup a google account).
The little (it's about the size of apple tv) chromebox is very fast! Although it does have a fan,I can't hear a thing unless I put ear up to it.
I have had a number of tabs open while also watching a utube video at 1080p and it doesn't skip a beat.
Will post a few pics tomorrow.
ps: while I bought in order to tie me over until new mini is released,there is no way ill sell this puppy afterwards....best $200 ever spent!
any questions feel free to ask...
That's a great price and had a great review on one of the tech sites. Should hold you over until the new Mini comes. I think it somewhere in the $170s price range US.
Okay, affordable was the wrong word to use; but it does leap up in price very quickly for what you get, all while stuffing the hardware into an enclosure that's small mainly for the sake of being small. I know I've said I wouldn't mind if the Mac Mini gets smaller, but the Brix Pro is almost a perfect example of how you can go a bit too far; there's space in the Mac Mini that can either be trimmed or repurposed right now, even a 10% reduction would give you a Mac Mini that's still very slick, stylish and small. The Brix Pro meanwhile has an external power supply yet still needs a fan to run under even relatively low loads, and that thing gets pretty noisy; the Mac Mini fan is usually only audible when you're pushing it pretty hard.
I dunno, in terms of hardware the Brix Pro shows off the kind of stuff I'd like to see in a Mac Mini, though given the continued delays that's becoming less and less preferred (unless they announce soon I'd be more likely to expect Broadwell as their target). Broadwell may make sense as it's even smaller and more efficient, and I believe has Iris Pro graphics as standard (can't remember for sure though), which would be a pretty sweet update; personally I'm hoping Apple will manage to get the chips early, I mean just because Intel are having trouble producing the chips in bulk just now, doesn't mean they couldn't get enough good chips for Apple to use sooner.
But eh bit of an aside there, but yeah the Mac Mini is actually pretty good value compared to the Brix Pro IMO, or at least it would be if Apple updated it faster.
Regarding a Chromebox as an alternative, I think they could make great browsing oriented replacements for family members that don't do much else plus some office work type stuff. It'll be interesting to see what people can hack onto Chromeboxes and Fire TVs etc., sounds like it's not an easy thing to do, but I'm always looking at ways to get myself a really cheap, lightweight Steam Machine
Regarding a Chromebox as an alternative, I think they could make great browsing oriented replacements for family members that don't do much else plus some office work type stuff. It'll be interesting to see what people can hack onto Chromeboxes and Fire TVs etc., sounds like it's not an easy thing to do, but I'm always looking at ways to get myself a really cheap, lightweight Steam Machine
It can be loaded with Linux which will make it useful.
Oh please! Can we get over some of this small/cute/arty thing and concentrate on useful computers?
The new mini should look like the current one except it would be about 20mm taller in order to accommodate better cooling, a larger power supply, eight USB ports and an optional dGPU.
I think customers would be willing to spend up to $1500 - $1600 on a mini if the right options were ordered. A bottom-end i5/Intel HD 4xxx/5400 RPM HDD version could still be had for the same price as today's current version.
It's called a mac mini for a reason if you want a stronger computer there's the Mac pro. I doubt apple will go backwards in size. But don't get me wrong something more powerful in a smaller size would be awesome and if it's in the 1500 or 1600 price range you might as well get a IMac
Nothing wrong with small! This chromebox packs a Celeron 2955U Processor and future options of (i3-4010U Processor,i7-4600U Processor) the 2955U comes with a intel hd 4000 and the other two will come with intel hd 4400...also if I unscrew 4 bolts under the rubber feet on bottom I have easy access to upgrade the ram (default is 2g) I believe can ug 16g...also easy ug of the 16GB M.2 (NGFF) SSD.
With apples ever intelligent people,I'm betting they will built a power packed mini in a nice small package!
With apples ever intelligent people,I'm betting they will built a power packed mini in a nice small package!
If my 2008 iMac died tomorrow, I'd probably make do with my 2012 MBA until the Mini got a refresh. If it were discontinued, I'd probably buy two displays for use with the MBA. I love my iMac, but the new design really concerns me from a repairability standpoint.
I have a Windows 8.1 tablet, which I really like. But for desktops and laptops, I prefer the Mac OS, so switching to a Windows box isn't an option.
I have a Windows 8.1 tablet, which I really like. But for desktops and laptops, I prefer the Mac OS, so switching to a Windows box isn't an option.
Apple will not release a Mini that will take sales away from the I7 IMacs.
1.5-1.6 k for a Mini will not happen but it would be one hell of a machine.
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Amen!
But then you're stuck with looking at that horrific iMac screen
Why buy a display with a computer attached when I already have an ATD?
I'd rather spend $1500 on a Mac Mini Pro with a proper desktop/workstation-class GPU and a desktop CPU with support for > 16GB memory. Sure, I could build a pretty killer Hackintosh for that price, but then I'd have to replace my ATD and I wouldn't have Apple's support, etc.
Just another note for anyone thinking of buying the chromebox: I use a lcd tv as my monitor that has a default resolution of 1366-768...this resolution when connecting via hdmi makes the fonts look somewhat fuzzy and pictures not nice and crisp...the solution is to buy a display port to vga adapter ($29 at bb)...although still same resolution as when using hdmi,the font's,pictures ect look perfect.
Why buy a display with a computer attached when I already have an ATD?
I'd rather spend $1500 on a Mac Mini Pro with a proper desktop/workstation-class GPU and a desktop CPU with support for > 16GB memory. Sure, I could build a pretty killer Hackintosh for that price, but then I'd have to replace my ATD and I wouldn't have Apple's support, etc.
I dont think apple would do something like that you have to remember the Mac mini was made to be for people who can't afford a higher end mac, I don't think they'll price something to compete with the Imac. They want everybody's pocket size if you get what I mean
Apple making the Mac Mini bigger is just about the last thing I'd expect to happen, and I think that while the loss of a discrete GPU was a valid concern in the past few generations, integrated graphics are now at the point where it's no longer really an issue; Iris Pro graphics are doing a pretty good job of competing, and it's likely to just keep getting better and better, so there's no longer really any reason for Apple to go back.
In fact, unless 4k iMacs are on the horizon I expect the same thing to eventually happen to the iMacs too, with fewer and fewer models offering discrete graphics over time.
Disagree. Only if it was updated. The current mini has last-generation processors and graphics. And no, I don't want a Mac Pro. Neither do I want Thunderbolt (totally useless for a desktop).
Yes, the Brix Pro isn't really "cheap", but the performance is cutting edge. The i5 model ($500) is actually preferable than the i7 model IMHO. With memory, SSD and HDD you are looking at ~$800. But there's nothing comparable in terms of performance.
tonymacx86 now has a guide for micro-PCs. Check it out:
http://www.tonymacx86.com/419-customac-nano-prebuilt-micro-pc.html
After this all I read was "blah blah blah." Thunderbolt is useless for a desktop?
You probably think USB3.0 is useless, too, and USB2.0 is fine. Afterall, what could people possibly connect to these ports that need such speed?If you feel Thunderbolt is useless for your needs then that's fine, but to state that it's useless for desktops...that's just ridiculous.
Let's look at the facts. Apple squandered Thunderbolt introduction by not having a compelling offering of peripherals at launch. Even today, the number of TB peripherals is ridiculously low. And they are way, way overpriced.
I just built a powerful hackintosh desktop with USB 3. I don't feel like I am missing anything by foregoing TB. TB will forever be an Apple-only niche interface...until Apple decides to abandon it like they did with FireWire.
Really, there is no rational reason for TB on a mini.
To show that I am not necessarily against TB per se, I also have a rMBP, where the TB port is very useful in connecting to a CalDigit dock. That is the ONLY useful purpose of the TB port (OK, that and connection for a monitor).
Thunderbolt is not an Apple technology, they were simply the first to take it to market. Apple also doesn't really create the peripherals that would be using it, either.
Why would you expect there to be TB peripherals before there were computers with TB ports?
Why would you expect Apple to launch TB peripherals in the first place?
What downside is there to having a TB port (or two) on a Mac? Has it somehow bumped some other port out of the way?
Overpriced? Depends. Show me a RAID that you can connect to a non-TB port and get > 650MB/s. Yes, trick question since USB3.0 is capped at 5Gb/s, so it's just not possible.
Show me a PCIe expansion chassis that I can install a GPU or other PCIe card into and plug into the USB 3.0 port. Ah...nope...none of those either.
I'm going to plug my ATD into...what?
I have two TB devices connected to my Mini, both of which do things that aren't possible with USB 3.0.
Miss this? https://www.macrumors.com/2014/04/07/intel-expands-thunderbolt-networking/
Or this? https://www.macrumors.com/2014/04/07/lacie-thunderbolt2-storage-solutions/
As I said, if you don't have anything that would benefit from or require TB then that's great, but so far all you've done is explain why you, personally, don't need (or like) TB and you haven't actually provided any reason whatsoever to validate your claim that TB is useless on a desktop while I have every reason to state that TB is a great technology that makes desktops even better.
Only useful purpose for you. Apparently my use of TB is a statistical anomaly and should be disregarded or considered false.
How many USB devices were launched in parallel with the first PC with USB?
How many USB 3.0 devices were launched in parallel with the first PC that had USB 3.0? Heck, how many USB 3.0 devices are there today ? USB 3.0 adoption is just now starting to take off yet USB 3.0 has been around since 2008. That's 6 years since introduction and still the vast majority of USB devices are 2.0.
Thunderbolt has been around since 2011, 3 years after USB 3.0. Why don't you come back in 3 years and then explain how TB is useless.
TB has no downside or negative impact on hardware that has TB ports and it's compatible with DP, so the port is still getting action even if there's no TB device connected to it.
You seem to have a real dislike for something whose existence doesn't prevent you from doing anything and it sounds like you're trying to make excuses to justify your dislike of TB technology while making broad assumptions to try and tell everyone that TB useless.
I just don't get why someone would put so much effort into disliking something that is actually useful for a number of people. I dislike sushi, but you don't see me taking a stand and declaring that sushi is useless and there's no reason for there to be sushi bars, do you?
Either TB will be adopted and grow or it won't. Right now I'd say you're on the wrong side.