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Apple Store has refurbished 2012 Minis!

hfg said:
I can pretty much guarantee that your front channel SoundBlaster speakers will sound better than any monitor's built in speakers! :)

I haven't done any surround sound from the Mac Mini, so others will have to give their advice there.

You might get some ideas from these articles on Google:

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=mac+mini+toslink+5.1&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
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Thanks will have a read up tomorrow ordered a mini displayport to displayport cable so wont be using hdmi for the sound . I like using the sound system for watching the occational movie and music in the summer months.
 
adamcarvell said:
Thanks will have a read up tomorrow ordered a mini displayport to displayport cable so wont be using hdmi for the sound . I like using the sound system for watching the occational movie and music in the summer months.
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What do you normally use as input to your SoundBlaster speakers?

If you have a Surround Sound Amplifier/Receiver, some have Toslink inputs for the 5.1 audio ... unfortunately the SoundBlaster six-speaker systems I looked at online didn't have that input, but it may not have been the model you own.
 
WilliamG said:
Core Duo? Good grief. An iPad Air would feel 20x as fast as that. :)
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Might be like a rocket to me then lol.

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hfg said:
What do you normally use as input to your SoundBlaster speakers?

If you have a Surround Sound Amplifier/Receiver, some have Toslink inputs for the 5.1 audio ... unfortunately the SoundBlaster six-speaker systems I looked at online didn't have that input, but it may not have been the model you own.
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the three
Inputs that go ito the sound card on the win 7 pc they are 3.5 jacks.

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Was thinking i could get a three in to one adapter cable .
 
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adamcarvell said:
Might be like a rocket to me then lol.

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 the three
Inputs that go ito the sound card on the win 7 pc they are 3.5 jacks.

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Was thinking i could get a three in to one adapter cable .
Click to expand...

Ahhhh .... you have the companion SoundBlaster audio card in your PC.

You need to duplicate the functionality of that card with the Toslink output of the Mini with either a standalone "box" or surround-sound receiver to decode the 5.1 audio. Then you can use the total capability of your 6-speaker system. For now, use a 3.5mm stereo-plug patch cable to just use the 2 channel audio from the headphone jack to the front-speaker inputs ... no surround however.

There are some other threads here discussing this issue and you will get better advice there as this is off topic for this thread. :cool:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1304180/
 
hfg said:
Ahhhh .... you have the companion SoundBlaster audio card in your PC.

You need to duplicate the functionality of that card with the Toslink output of the Mini with either a standalone "box" or surround-sound receiver to decode the 5.1 audio. Then you can use the total capability of your 6-speaker system. For now, use a 3.5mm stereo-plug patch cable to just use the 2 channel audio from the headphone jack to the front-speaker inputs ... no surround however.

There are some other threads here discussing this issue and you will get better advice there as this is off topic for this thread. :cool:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1304180/
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Or i can buy at a later date some new speakers that will do the job and are compatible with the mac mini.
 
This is becoming addictive... 3rd 2.3Ghz i7 server on the way! :eek:

I'll stop when I get a 2.6 I promise and give someone else a chance. :cool:
 
Omega Mac said:
This is becoming addictive... 3rd 2.3Ghz i7 server on the way! :eek:

I'll stop when I get a 2.6 I promise and give someone else a chance. :cool:
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Did you see the post where the person says the 2.3Mhz runs quite a bit cooler than the 2.6Mhz models? The extra speed comes at the cost of much more heat and potentially heat related issues or a shorter life. I'm sticking with my 2.3Mhz purchase. I was trying to snag a 2.6 model myself, but the 2.3 may be the best deal overall.
 
Zubba said:
I get that. I asked the question because I was curious about the specific application, not because I was commenting on the purchase decision.
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No worries, in my case I've had several minis in service as HTPCs, file and media servers and most recently a VM host and workstation.
 
Zubba said:
What do you need three for?
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Good question.

Gonna sell them for double on ebay..... only kiddin' :cool:

All Commercial use thus far and a cheap and easy way to upgrade our existing macs some of which are getting old and if they fail would be a problem while getting more power and future proof connectivity and upgradeability.

Graphics is not a priority nor is Yosemite a requirement! :eek:

Intel 4000 is more than adequate and probably more than existin gmachine have. Many of our machines are still on Snow Leopard too.

1) A server running our software suite with a requirement for RAID 1(headless).
2) A flexible Workstation i.e. VM usage. (Possible upgraded to SSD )
3) A Dedicated Security cam & file sharing box that might also be used as back up workstation (RAID 1 again).

Also 3 machines using less power in total than my both my old M$ server HP box and 08 Macpro is always a plus.

So that's three spoken for already.

Apple don't seem to value the commercial applications of this form factor (which they created and others followed) with their recent mac mini charade but I do.

However the 2014 base model is also interesting proposition as it's value oriented proposition and you can trade lack of upgradability at that price point but the higher models no way.

Paying more and not being able to addition HD or more memory in the future is a big no no. While the servers still available they're the one to get.

Also I wouldn't mind one for home too and personal use that I would SSD upgrade.

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thepixelpusher said:
Did you see the post where the person says the 2.3Mhz runs quite a bit cooler than the 2.6Mhz models? The extra speed comes at the cost of much more heat and potentially heat related issues or a shorter life. I'm sticking with my 2.3Mhz purchase. I was trying to snag a 2.6 model myself, but the 2.3 may be the best deal overall.
Click to expand...

I'll keep that in mind. The 2.3 are the only one becoming available now and all the base server model. Which is fine.
 
With prospects for 2012 models growing dimmer by the day, I jumped on one of tonight's 2014 offerings: Refurbished Mac Mini 2.6GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5 (8GB ram, 1TB HDD) for $589. That is the same price as the 2012 2.3GHz i7 I have been desiring.
I think I have 14 days to check it out while keeping my eye on the refurb site for 2012s.
I was thinking that I would try the HDD for a while and possibly upgrade later with an external Thunderbolt SSD for the OS down the line. However, I am wondering if I should actually skip this 2014 model and spend the extra $180 for the same refurb with a 256GB SSD instead of the standard 1TB 5400-rpm HDD. I currently have all my photos, videos, and music on external HDDs and will probably leave them there. So maybe I just shell out the extra cash now to have the blazing fast PCIe-based Flash Storage.
But again, I am not a heavy user. I have just been spoiled by SSDs in all of my current computers and wonder if I will notice the slow down of going back to an HDD.
Also, if I get the SSD model now, the price goes up to $769, which is the same price as a refurb Macbook Air. Granted the Air has less ram and storage, it could still serve the same purpose of the mini as a home hub with everything connected by external HDDs. ARGH! I am talking myself in circles. That is why I need you all to chime in;)
Thanks again,
RJ
 
cinealta said:
Lot of 2014 refurbs available if anyone is interested.
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Yeah, you could see the 2012 Mac Mini going in less than an hour, sometimes in minutes. I got 2 email alerts today for a total of 5 different refurbed 2014 Mac Minis and all are still available at the time I'm writing this (1/2 day later).

The power users that run most of their programs utilizing multiple cores are still trying to scoop up the 2012's. I use it for Handbrake and as a extra render setup for 3D images. I'm sure the 2014 models are fine for most users. In some situations it's faster than the 2012 and offers Thunderbolt 2. It was a pretty weak upgrade to 2014 though. That said, the Mac Mini is entry level anyway and most people wouldn't notice the difference.
 
3rd mac mini server arrived. Looks brand new. Not a scratch on the box. Was in place to snag a 4th but I decided I'll let some other poor soul grab that one and it was gone not long after breakfast. :cool:
 
Omega Mac said:
3rd mac mini server arrived. Looks brand new. Not a scratch on the box. Was in place to snag a 4th but I decided I'll let some other poor soul grab that one and it was gone not long after breakfast. :cool:
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Do these arrive in brown refurb boxes or are they showing up in white retail boxes?
 
Basically it's the same packing but no printed outer carton. You still get the same 1-year warranty. The shells of the casing are replaced if scratched before it's refurbed and it's tested as fully or maybe even more so than the factory new ones.
 
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