Mac Mini Purchased!

[panzer06]

My mini sits on my desktop beside a 24" display. With 2.26GHz processor, 7K320GB Hitachi HDD and 4GB ram, the mini purrs along with the fan at 1495 rpm (read in iStatPro widget from iSlayer.com), which, in my environment, isn't noticible. So far, even while editing huge Photoshop files, I haven't heard my mini. On the other hand, my 2.2GHz MacBook (also with 4GB ram and 7K320GB Hitachi internal) frequently spins it's fan up to a very noticible level when I do some more intensive work and I really don't like that about the MacBook, but I tolerate it because it's such a great little laptop!

Unless you are in a completely quiet environment, most people would consider this a very very quiet computer. Mine has the 500GB HD and 4GB of ram and it is very quiet even after 2 + hours of file copies and fans at 1750 rpm. (of course it's not really a quiet environment here so the ambient noise may mask the fan noise).

Cheers,

 

[BOSS10L]

I hope someone can help me. Does anyone know if the new Mac Mini can support the resolution 1365 x 768 natively? I have high hopes with the Nvidia chipset, and if so, I'll go get one tomorrow morning.

 

[DHart]

I hope someone can help me. Does anyone know if the new Mac Mini can support the resolution 1365 x 768 natively? I have high hopes with the Nvidia chipset, and if so, I'll go get one tomorrow morning.

You're in luck! 1920x1200 (1080P) Go forth and enjoy!

 

[BOSS10L]

You're in luck! 1920x1200 (1080P) Go forth and enjoy!

I hate to have my ignorance showing, but AFAIK 1920x1200 =! 1365 x 768.

What I want to do is have the Mac Mini connected up to our NEC 50" plasma. If I'm just being dumb and not realizing your point, I apologize.

 

[DHart]

I hate to have my ignorance showing, but AFAIK 1920x1200 =! 1365 x 768.

What I want to do is have the Mac Mini connected up to our NEC 50" plasma. If I'm just being dumb and not realizing your point, I apologize.

It drives my 61" Samsung 1080P display with razor sharp clarity. Detects external monitors & large format displays and automatically handshakes wonderfully. You will not be disappointed.

Edited: sorry, now I understand what you're asking. I honestly don't know what it would do with 1365x768, but I do know it is capable of much greater resolution than that. Sorry for not being able to help.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

I hate to have my ignorance showing, but AFAIK 1920x1200 =! 1365 x 768.

What I want to do is have the Mac Mini connected up to our NEC 50" plasma. If I'm just being dumb and not realizing your point, I apologize.

If it doesn't out of the box because of the non-standard resolution then you can use something like PowerStrip to add the custom resolution.

 

[BOSS10L]

Edited: sorry, now I understand what you're asking. I honestly don't know what it would do with 1365x768, but I do know it is capable of much greater resolution than that. Sorry for not being able to help.

No worries. I've been considering the 67" Sammy DLP, what do you think of the 61"? Is it the LED model?

If it doesn't out of the box because of the non-standard resolution then you can use something like PowerStrip to add the custom resolution.

I've tried using that before with my MB, but can never get it right. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

 

[striatedglutes]

I hope someone can help me. Does anyone know if the new Mac Mini can support the resolution 1365 x 768 natively? I have high hopes with the Nvidia chipset, and if so, I'll go get one tomorrow morning.

I'm pretty sure that's the standard wide screen non-HD tv resolution, and it should be fine.

 

[bstreiff]

I'm pretty sure that's the standard wide screen non-HD tv resolution, and it should be fine.

Well, kinda. The standard resolution is 1280x720 (for 720p). 1365x768 is, however, a very common panel size used in 720p televisions. Getting a computer to output 1:1 is tricky at best.

 

[Undo Redo]

I really hate when I can hear computers, since I would prefer they were silent (who would not I guess). But how are your units, when you sit 2-3 feet away, can you hear the fan humming, or is it totally silent?

I had the previous 2.0Ghz model a while back, and dont remember it beeing this "noisy" (I put noisy in quotes, because its not bad, but it is noticable)

Share your experiences

Using mine connected to my TV for video playback, I find it to be nearly silent. For the same purpose I've used a 2007 mini and a 2006 MacBook and they both sounded like vacuum cleaners when playing video. The only sound I can hear now is the occasional clicking of my external drive. I couldn't be happier with the cool-running new mini.

 

[jw2002]

Can you hear your fan when there are no other sounds in the room, and you are standing/sitting 2-3 feet away?

The sound from my mini is negligible. Is it possible that the HD temperature sensor in your mini never worked in the first place? Maybe put the stock parts back in, take it to an Apple Store, and ask them why the computer is so noisy.

 

[DHart]

No worries. I've been considering the 67" Sammy DLP, what do you think of the 61"? Is it the LED model?



I've tried using that before with my MB, but can never get it right. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

My 61" Sammy DLP is pre-LED and I have loved it since day one. Just as awesome today, two years later. I present professional portraits with it to clients by day and watch hi-def TV by night... fabulous tv w/ stunning image quality.

 

[superscientific]

I Know...I know

I am about to purchase a new mini but I am a little intimidated by the opening of the computer. It looks and sounds easy enough but I just want to make sure I am doing it correctly (especially the Temp sensor and the antennas). Is there a YouTube video of this RAM and HDD replacement yet? I looked at the photos at ifixit and I am still not comfortable. Are there any other sites with pics or video tutorials?
I am just afraid since it voids warranty and all.....I know I am a wimp.

 

[surroundfan]

I hope someone can help me. Does anyone know if the new Mac Mini can support the resolution 1365 x 768 natively? I have high hopes with the Nvidia chipset, and if so, I'll go get one tomorrow morning.

I'm using my new Mini with my Sony LCD TV at 1360x768 (NOT 1365x768 I hasten to add, which seems like a very odd resolution) over VGA quite happily...

 

[marbles]

I am about to purchase a new mini but I am a little intimidated by the opening of the computer. It looks and sounds easy enough but I just want to make sure I am doing it correctly (especially the Temp sensor and the antennas). Is there a YouTube video of this RAM and HDD replacement yet? I looked at the photos at ifixit and I am still not comfortable. Are there any other sites with pics or video tutorials?
I am just afraid since it voids warranty and all.....I know I am a wimp.

Nah your not a wimp, I totally understand. not seen a vid yet but there will b one soon maybe one of the fellas off here will be kind enough.....(massive hit count !!)
It only voids the warranty if you break something...or is that what your concerned about..

 

[OneMike]

I am about to purchase a new mini but I am a little intimidated by the opening of the computer. It looks and sounds easy enough but I just want to make sure I am doing it correctly (especially the Temp sensor and the antennas). Is there a YouTube video of this RAM and HDD replacement yet? I looked at the photos at ifixit and I am still not comfortable. Are there any other sites with pics or video tutorials?
I am just afraid since it voids warranty and all.....I know I am a wimp.

I haven't seen a video for the new mac mini yet but if you follow the ifixit pictures / tutorial and look at a video for the old mac mini which is similar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1UmuWdNSrk you should be ok. It's really not hard at all.

As long as you have a) a putty knife or something verrrry thin to slide between the mac mini case and a fairly long / small 0pt phillips head screwdriver (one from an eyeglass repair kit should do) you'll be fine.

 

[panzer06]

I am about to purchase a new mini but I am a little intimidated by the opening of the computer. It looks and sounds easy enough but I just want to make sure I am doing it correctly (especially the Temp sensor and the antennas). Is there a YouTube video of this RAM and HDD replacement yet? I looked at the photos at ifixit and I am still not comfortable. Are there any other sites with pics or video tutorials?
I am just afraid since it voids warranty and all.....I know I am a wimp.

I took mine to an authorized Apple service shop and paid $80 to have them to add a 500GB HD and 4GB of RAM. (I probably could have done the work myself since I build PCs and replaced the LCD on my older MBP but I just didn't want to crack open the brand new machine) Since they also perform Apple warranty work, I just use them for all service. They never question added components when working on the system for warranty purposes.

Cheers,

 

[theodk]

The sound from my mini is negligible. Is it possible that the HD temperature sensor in your mini never worked in the first place? Maybe put the stock parts back in, take it to an Apple Store, and ask them why the computer is so noisy.

Why would the HD temperature sensor be an issue? Because if the sensor was broken then the fan would start spinning faster?

My fan is stable at 1500 RPM all of the time (when not beeing stressed ofcourse), and when I check the temperatur sensors with "Temperature Monitor" (http://www.bresink.de/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html), when I can see both the Harddisk bay 1 sensor, and the internal SMART sensor in the HDD itself, and both are around 50-60 celcius.

Maybe its just my hearing that is to damn good (DAMN me not going to more concerts when I was younger), but currently I am considering turning the mini into a mediacenter, then atleast it will be placed farther away from me when in use.

 

[The Hammer]

Maybe its just my hearing that is to damn good (DAMN me not going to more concerts when I was younger)

It's not too late to do something about that. Seems like all the old bands are reforming for reunion tours.

 

[Undo Redo]

Maybe its just my hearing that is to damn good (DAMN me not going to more concerts when I was younger), but currently I am considering turning the mini into a mediacenter, then atleast it will be placed farther away from me when in use.

Try using a Power Mac MDD or Quicksilver sometime, if you think the mini is noisy. It might change your mind.

 

[DHart]

I can't imagine a Mini ever being loud enough to be heard when used as a media center.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Why would the HD temperature sensor be an issue? Because if the sensor was broken then the fan would start spinning faster?

My fan is stable at 1500 RPM all of the time (when not beeing stressed ofcourse), and when I check the temperatur sensors with "Temperature Monitor" (http://www.bresink.de/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html), when I can see both the Harddisk bay 1 sensor, and the internal SMART sensor in the HDD itself, and both are around 50-60 celcius.

Maybe its just my hearing that is to damn good (DAMN me not going to more concerts when I was younger), but currently I am considering turning the mini into a mediacenter, then atleast it will be placed farther away from me when in use.

Considering how quiet these minis are, what else will you be able to bear as a desktop machine?

 

[minik]

I'm using my new Mini with my Sony LCD TV at 1360x768 (NOT 1365x768 I hasten to add, which seems like a very odd resolution) over VGA quite happily...

I connected the Mac mini to my dad's Philips 1080p set via DVI-to-HDMI (with Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter). It detected 1920x1080, however it just looked pretty bad. I ended up picking the 1280x720 resolution. The TV set itself doesn't have PC input/VGA port.

 

[surroundfan]

I connected the Mac mini to my dad's Philips 1080p set via DVI-to-HDMI (with Mini-DVI to DVI Adapter). It detected 1920x1080, however it just looked pretty bad. I ended up picking the 1280x720 resolution. The TV set itself doesn't have PC input/VGA port.

Does your dad's TV have a 1:1 pixel mapping mode? Unfortunately they're called different things by different manufacturers; I think it's called 'Unscaled' mode on Philips' TVs.

 

[minik]

Does your dad's TV have a 1:1 pixel mapping mode? Unfortunately they're called different things by different manufacturers; I think it's called 'Unscaled' mode on Philips' TVs.

Yes, I did see the unscaled option. When I set it to widescreen mode, the Finder menu bar will cut out and a couple pixels on the Dock. Unscaled mode would show all the content, but the text wouldn't look good at all.

Not sure about mini-DisplayPort to HDMI as I rather not going for another cable.