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Mac Mini

Markleshark

Markleshark

macrumors 603
Original poster
Aug 15, 2006
6,249
10
Carlisle, Up Norf!
Well, Ive been using a 800MHz eMac for a year or 5 now, so am looking to upgrade. Just bought a 19" BenQ TFT, and now I'm looking at the mini.

I've read all the posts about possible upgrades, quiet upgrades, events, ive read the guides on here as well. Everyone seems to have a different idea of whats going to happen. So, as I was going to be ordering the Core Duo one, do you think they will change much? Is it worth waiting for a bit, coz I really am bored of waiting now. All I do really is use it as a general day-to-day computer, not anything fancy. Make the odd DVD on iDVD, have a few Photos on iPhoto, nothing the 1.66 Core Due with upgraded RAM wont handle, so I don't think I'll wait. But do you think its worth waiting?

Cheers,
Mark
 
For your stated uses the 1.66GHz Core Duo Mac Mini would be great. I would expect new ones to be released around September 12th. The updated Mac Minis will likely just sport faster Core Duos, so not much of an improvement over the current revision. :)
 
I have a friend who wasn'ts a mini and I'm trying to get him to hold off... Hoping they ditch the core solo and bump it up to a duo... :)

Feels very close to an update maybe its happen already? Take a look at page 2 rumors.
 
Markleshark said:
All I do really is use it as a general day-to-day computer, not anything fancy. Make the odd DVD on iDVD, have a few Photos on iPhoto, nothing the 1.66 Core Due with upgraded RAM wont handle, so I don't think I'll wait. But do you think its worth waiting?
Click to expand...

I think it's worth waiting for September 12th.

arn
 
arn said:
I think it's worth waiting for September 12th.

arn
Click to expand...


At this point it is probably worth waiting, September 12th is only a few days away. While the current Mac Mini would no doubt be sufficient for your needs Markleshark, I think that you will want to kick yourself in the rear for purchasing a Mac Mini now when the new ones are due to be released here in the very, very near future. :)
 
I don't see what the whole advantage of Core 2 Duo is...

I mean sure, I would wait for it, but some people have been waiting months. It's just not worth MONTHS of wait...
 
Killyp said:
I don't see what the whole advantage of Core 2 Duo is...

I mean sure, I would wait for it, but some people have been waiting months. It's just not worth MONTHS of wait...
Click to expand...

So I'm not the only one who thinks like that.

I thought this whole Merom thing that I've heard about endlessly on this forum was stupid. These are computers we are dealing with. There is always something new and faster coming out in months. And even worse, it seems Mac users have had it a little easier in the past where clock speeds bumps and processor upgrades have been far less frequent compared to the intel guys. Guess what, we're now in the PC CPU market. New processors come out every day, or so it seems. There is no sense in getting your undergarments in a knot because in 3 or 4 months Apple may rev a product line, because guess what, Apple more than likely will!

That said, I think its pretty sound advice to hold off on buying any systems this close to an event.
 
Yer, I think I will end up waiting. Thanks for your views so far peeps. Knowing my luck i'll end up waiting and nothing will happen. BUT, as you all have said, its like a fortnight, so I'll wait and see what happens. It's not like I'm Mac-less (Or it would already be on order, hehe) and I have another monitor coming, so me eMac can be dueled up for a while... Which will be fun.
 
I really think you should wait. Seems like the Core Duo 1.66 would be great for you but right now that's the top end mac mini. If these things get updated in the next few days you can expect the base model to be somewhere around equal to that, if not better. Then you could buy the base model and save a nice chunk of money that could go towards the RAM. Wait 11 days and get a "Free" RAM upgrade? I think so :D
 
dmw007 said:
It will be a whopping ~10-15% faster than the Core Duo of a similar clock speed......and it will be 64-bit......not much else.... :)
Click to expand...

And benchmarks show an extra 2fps in most games! Rock on! :p :D But yeah, wait, you never know what else Apple will throw in.
 
The only thing I'm 100% sure of is that IF an update is scheduled for this year, it will be out by November. Period. This is one of Apple's "rules"; no new products after October. If you can wait this long, I say order one on November 2nd or when it's updated, whichever comes first.
 
I'd buy it now. The current Mac Mini's have been around for a while and are stable and reliable. If there's no urgency to the purchase at all then I guess you can wait-and-see if anything new comes out, but I do think the existing product is suitable.
 
i think wait for the 12th. its only a few days away. and the core 2 is totally worth the wait. i bought a core solo mini when they first came out with the intention of upgrading to a core duo sometime down the line. now that i have found out the core 2 is pin to pin compatible im waiting to buy a core 2 chip to drop in my mini! the faster, power saving arcitecture will be great, not to mention youll have a 64 bit chip that is sure to play nicer with lepord once it is released. but if there is no annoucement of a core 2 mini on the 12th, then go ahead a buy the core duo, it will still be a good computer. and later down the road if you really want the core 2, you can be like me and just drop in a new chip :)
 
it's not just merom. The minis are by far the worst value apple offers right now. I'm hoping for a significant upgrade to the mini as well as a $100 price drop.

Besides, Arn said to wait, so there you have it. :)
 
There is no reason to get it now unless you need it urgently.
1. In mid-september we'll likely see a better mini (1.83 core duo, merom, GMA 965 etc. for the same price)
2. Along with that I can almost guarantee that there will be a dual-core model offered at $599. Or maybe a solo for $499.

There you go.
 
QCassidy352 said:
it's not just merom. The minis are by far the worst value apple offers right now. I'm hoping for a significant upgrade to the mini as well as a $100 price drop.

Besides, Arn said to wait, so there you have it. :)
Click to expand...


A price drop would probably be the best reason to wait. :)
 
For once, I'd have to agree that waiting may be worthwhile in this case. What I currently have now may cost less then. I have the core duo model. I bumped the ram up to 2GB and it's great.

You do not need cutting edge speeds to do e-mail, browsing, the occasional CD and DVD burning or working in iPhoto. I see friends with 4 yr old macs merrily doing just that and with good performance.

If your work demands high performance, then I can see the fuss with these incremental processor upgrades. Otherwise, all I see is Apple taking us all for a ride and smiling as we fuss over an issue that really isn't that important year to year and which earns them a lot more when some upgrade just to get that little extra speed which so often doesn't amount to much in real world terms.

If you already have a good display, the mini is a good buy. However, a mini and a display purchased together isn't good value for money. An iMac would be better.
 
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