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Discontinue the Mac Mini?

Even with better displays, mouse and keyboard the set is cheaper:
Mini + Dell U2412H: better and cheaper screen than 21 inch base iMac.
Mini + Dell U2713HM: little better and cheaper screen than the 27 inch iMac package.
Mini + Dell U2713H: professional league screen totally pissing over the iMac 27 inch screen, and still cheaper as bundle with the mini.
 
Steelseries said:
So I guess they won't be discontinuing the Mac Mini anytime soon. But for me the Mac Mini is not that upgradable for a desktop, so if you want better processors and graphics, you'll be buying the whole unit again. But still it's the cheapest Mac and I think it's main purpose is for those who want to switch to OS X. Also pairing it with any monitor you like is also an advantage against the iMac specially the 21 inch.
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The Mini was promoted as such in its early days.

It has long since moved beyond that, and it is certainly not "entry level" as they say. More than a few go from iMac to Mac Mini. There are those who use a Mini to supplement there other Macs and / or other Apple products. And there are probably many, like me, who will never go the iMac way. The Mini is just fine for my needs.
 
MacPro evolution

I know it won't happen, but I'd like to see a MacPro Mini, Regular and Max. The Mini would have desktop CPU, discrete GPU and SO-DIMMs. It would all fit in a smaller sized case that looked just like the nMP. The Max version would be larger than the nMP, have dual CPU + dual GPU.
Job done.
 
I presently use a Mac Mini 2.6 quad along with an 24" NEC calibrated monitor for Photoshop and Capture One Pro. I also use it for just about everything else I do on a Mac. This Mini replaced the older 2.0 quad server that is now being used for testing, Linux and XBMC with my home theater set up.

Candidly, I'll be happy if there is a bump in the CPU and on board graphics (Intel Iris Pro would be outstanding).

If I could get my full wish list - option for NV GPU, 32 gig RAM and TB2. This would make it my Mac Mini Pro that is affordable. - One can wish.
 
I Caved Over the Weekend and Bought the Mac Mini

This is my 1st Mac Mini (I've owned and still own many MacBooks and a couple of iMacs) -- had to replace my PC desktop...what a total cluster that was using the PC for work

I know, I know -- I should have waited for the alleged upgrade coming in ______, but I bought the base model and added an 8 gig stick of RAM for $550 (full disclosure: I had a $100 Visa card from Christmas to buy the RAM...)
 
dano0726 said:
This is my 1st Mac Mini (I've owned and still own many MacBooks and a couple of iMacs) -- had to replace my PC desktop...what a total cluster that was using the PC for work

I know, I know -- I should have waited for the alleged upgrade coming in ______, but I bought the base model and added an 8 gig stick of RAM for $550 (full disclosure: I had a $100 Visa card from Christmas to buy the RAM...)
Click to expand...

You did OK. You can always resell and get your money back and get the new release when you get ready. :)
 
dano0726 said:
This is my 1st Mac Mini (I've owned and still own many MacBooks and a couple of iMacs) -- had to replace my PC desktop...what a total cluster that was using the PC for work

I know, I know -- I should have waited for the alleged upgrade coming in ______, but I bought the base model and added an 8 gig stick of RAM for $550 (full disclosure: I had a $100 Visa card from Christmas to buy the RAM...)
Click to expand...

The thing is nobody except Apple know when it is due. I bought a mini recently too and it's a great machine. I also know that I can keep it a year or two and get a fair amount back for it when the next one comes out.
 
Well done!

dano0726 said:
This is my 1st Mac Mini (I've owned and still own many MacBooks and a couple of iMacs) -- had to replace my PC desktop...what a total cluster that was using the PC for work

I know, I know -- I should have waited for the alleged upgrade coming in ______, but I bought the base model and added an 8 gig stick of RAM for $550 (full disclosure: I had a $100 Visa card from Christmas to buy the RAM...)
Click to expand...


Why should you have waited?

You needed a new computer now, so you did the sensible thing and bought one that suits your needs.
 
I went from iMac to Mac mini in 2010, because I couldn't justify getting rid of a perfectly good screen every time I upgraded the computer, and by 2010 the Mac mini was getting to be a pretty powerful little box.

(For what it's worth, I've been a Mac owner since 1986.)

There is still plenty of room in the world for a headless Mac that isn't three thousand dollars.
 
The mini isnt going anywhere. It either will be released in june with a redesign or broadwell or both. Or it will be released very soon. Either way its coming.
 
I've been seriously considering a refreshed Mac Mini instead of a nMP. The nMP is an awesome machine, but I don't do enough video editing to justify the cost.

I have a Thunderbolt display, so I'm boned if I wanted to get an older Mac Pro. Then again, I could always just...get another, cheaper, display for it...

But I think the Mac Mini Server would actually suit my needs best, all things considered. I just wish they had a discrete GPU.
 
Count Blah said:
Expect the thinnest, least upgradable Mac Mini ever.

Yippee!!!!
Click to expand...

At least we would welcome PCI-e flash and probably gain an extra TB port, that's the plus side of it all.

But on the flip side the Mac mini has always been a fun machine to modify. I will certainly miss that aspect of it.

Either way, whatever Apple brings I will be happy with. As long as they keep the quad i7 option.
 
And said:
This is a terrible argument! A mini, a generic but ok monitor, KB & Mouse cost about 55-60% the price of the base iMac. It clearly is the cheap option (which is why there should be a home for it in apple's line-up.)
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And you buy those peripherals once, unlike with the iMac.
 
It's been 464 days since the last update. It was 461 days since the update before that one. And 400 days before that. The Mac mini is due for an update, but it's not significantly overdue for one. It's not time to start ringing the death knell for it just yet.

I think you're overlooking the fact that you can buy a Mac mini, a cheap monitor, keyboard and mouse, and still have a computer that's significantly less expensive than an iMac. Unless you're doing graphics work the monitor quailty won't matter a whole lot, and for a lot of people it doesn't make sense to have to rebuy a new monitor each time you upgrade your desktop computer.
 
warvanov said:
It's been 464 days since the last update. It was 461 days since the update before that one. And 400 days before that. The Mac mini is due for an update, but it's not significantly overdue for one. It's not time to start ringing the death knell for it just yet.

I think you're overlooking the fact that you can buy a Mac mini, a cheap monitor, keyboard and mouse, and still have a computer that's significantly less expensive than an iMac. Unless you're doing graphics work the monitor quailty won't matter a whole lot, and for a lot of people it doesn't make sense to have to rebuy a new monitor each time you upgrade your desktop computer.
Click to expand...

The display is one thing, but the iMac also has discrete graphics. If Apple made a "Mac Mini Pro" that had the specs of the iMac but without the display then I think it would sell like crazy, I know I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
 
Yahooligan said:
The display is one thing, but the iMac also has discrete graphics. If Apple made a "Mac Mini Pro" that had the specs of the iMac but without the display then I think it would sell like crazy, I know I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...

Most people who need discreet graphics are usually willing to pay a little bit more. A lot of people don't need that though, and for them the Mac mini remains a good option.
 
Liked the Cube when I first saw it, it was everything a computer stood for, power and a small footprint. I was all into the towers at the time so passed on the Cube .

Fast froward a few years and wiser, I have 4 minis spread around the house. They are a great computer, compared to the imac which is toys h in its design.

Like having a keyboard and display separate from the computer hardware. One of the minis runs a weather station, the others serve as desktops.

Do not like laptops, hate the keyboards, and the track pad just sucks. Have a laptop for work, dock it with a full size keyboard, mouse and display attached, so it ends up being a windoze mini.

Using the laptop in the field, carry the laptop, keyboard and mouse in a briefcase. Yes, I said briefcase, not one to have a purse hanging off my shoulder.

Apple would shoot themselves in the foot dropping the mini. Will be interesting to see where they take the product in the future. Would like to see 10k-15k drives that would be one hell of an upgrade.

However the SSDs are impressive, we use them in the severs at work, reliable seem to be so far. Need to qualify they are not the type most folks posting here would pay for. Sure in time that field will level out, but I am no bata tester so I'm just watching for now.


No argument the mini rocks that is just the way it is.

;)
 
warvanov said:
Most people who need discreet graphics are usually willing to pay a little bit more. A lot of people don't need that though, and for them the Mac mini remains a good option.
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Sure, I'd pay a little bit more. In this case, $200 seems more than fair. Wanting/Needing discrete graphics doesn't and shouldn't mean needing/wanting a built-in display which adds unnecessary cost.
 
The mac mini is very well a lot better then an Apple TV or Roku. When I get a bigger desk and have a solid reason to upgrade to a new computer, my mini is getting a fresh install of whatever OS it max supports (11.0, 11.1 or 10.10 most likely) and along with my Wireless Keyboard, Magic Trackpad, and 12 South Magic wand, will be going under our TV in the living room as something to use for Project Free TV, Netflix, Spotify, Hulu Plus, and miscellaneous lawful grey area file sharing purposes. Apple TV is really locked in, or, at least, a LOT more locked in then the Mac mini ever would be.
 
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Yahooligan said:
The display is one thing, but the iMac also has discrete graphics. If Apple made a "Mac Mini Pro" that had the specs of the iMac but without the display then I think it would sell like crazy, I know I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...

I would gladly pay $1500 for that. Of course I would prefer it to be an easy to open case with enough internal space for two hard drives plus an optical drive for those of us that use it.
Kind of goofy to think a DESKTOP computer needs to be so thin you can't put things inside of it.
 
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