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Mac Mini's are a joke!

aaquib

aaquib

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Sep 11, 2007
1,496
1
Toronto, Canada
I used my friend's iMac and it was just so sweet, I want a mac really badly now. Too bad, Im only 14 and cant spend over $1000 on a computer. I looked at the Mac mini and $600 for 1.83ghz, 1gb ram, 80gb HDD, no monitor, keyboard or mouse.

I did some researching and in the flyer for Best Buy for $100 cheaper at $500, and had 2ghz, 2gb ram, 320gb HDD, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers. How can Apple justify charging thsi much????

I want a mac, but hell no Im not getting blindly ripped off. Has anybody heard anything about a refresh, because this is almost as pathetic as $600 for a 20" monitor...
 
Actually the Mini is a great computer in a very small form factor. If you don't like the specs, don't get one. You can easily find a refub iMac or a used iMac on Craigslist or eBay for sub-$1k.
 
The mini may well be a decent little computer, but if I was in the OP's position I would save a touch more and buy a MacBook or an iMac. Especially from the refurb store, you can save even more.
 
My one week old Mac Mini would beg to differ. It's not a gaming machine, but I'm not a gamer. I'm not editing epic movies on it, though it can do some editing. I'm running Final Cut Express on it with no problems yet.

This machine plays downloaded videos, music and DVDs beautifully. AND it's quiet! Perfect for a bedroom or living room. This one is a great replacement for the G4 tower that was loudly whirring away in the corner of my bedroom. I already had a flat panel TV in my bedroom that can work as a computer monitor, so this was really a no-brainer. I can do picture-in-picture TV while I'm checking e-mails or working on web pages with this setup. So far, the only thing I can't do that I might like to do with this machine is record TV into the computer. Oh well.

The Mac Mini is tiny, easy to hide and did I say quiet? Its the perfect machine for me right now.
 
aaquib said:
I did some researching and in the flyer for Best Buy for $100 cheaper at $500, and had 2ghz, 2gb ram, 320gb HDD, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers. How can Apple justify charging thsi much????
Click to expand...

/fail

That POS you are looking at for $500 doesnt run OSX.
 
If you want a Mac, Apple sells refurbished 17" Core 2 Duo iMac's all day long for $849. They also sell the lower end model with Intel graphics for $700.
 
aaquib said:
I used my friend's iMac and it was just so sweet, I want a mac really badly now. Too bad, Im only 14 and cant spend over $1000 on a computer. I looked at the Mac mini and $600 for 1.83ghz, 1gb ram, 80gb HDD, no monitor, keyboard or mouse.

I did some researching and in the flyer for Best Buy for $100 cheaper at $500, and had 2ghz, 2gb ram, 320gb HDD, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers. How can Apple justify charging thsi much????

I want a mac, but hell no Im not getting blindly ripped off. Has anybody heard anything about a refresh, because this is almost as pathetic as $600 for a 20" monitor...
Click to expand...

Apple can justify this because Mac OS X requires half as much memory and 70% CPU speed to perform the same functions as Vista. Also, the aluminum case and small form size own.
 
Cave Man said:
It's not a joke, it's just that you have very little imagination.
Click to expand...
I think the OP is right on. It doesn't require imagination, only a little math skill to realize how a new Mini is not a good deal.

I was happy when the Mini I went to buy wasn't in stock, and I ended up with an iMac. The OP wasn't complaining about how bad the Mac OS is or how bad Apple is, etc. He was complaining that to him the form factor wasn't worth the price. He still want's a Mac. That's plenty of imagination.
 
4DThinker said:
I think the OP is right on. It doesn't require imagination, only a little math skill to realize how a new Mini is not a good deal.

I was happy when the Mini I went to buy wasn't in stock, and I ended up with an iMac. The OP wasn't complaining about how bad the Mac OS is or how bad Apple is, etc. He was complaining that to him the form factor wasn't worth the price. He still want's a Mac. That's plenty of imagination.
Click to expand...

That's how I took it as well. He wasn't bashing Macs, just the value of the mini. It is a little disheartening.
 
The lower end PC counterparts are way larger. The Slimline models from HP and Dell are approximately 11x the volume. They also use more power and aren't nearly as quiet.

The pre-configured models in stores also don't come with Wi-fi adapters, Bluetooth adapters, and some models don't even have Firewire 400. In exchange, they have bigger 7200rpm HDDs, DVD burners standard, more RAM, and some have dedicated graphics cards. It depends on needs, really.
 
aaquib said:
I used my friend's iMac and it was just so sweet, I want a mac really badly now. Too bad, Im only 14 and cant spend over $1000 on a computer. I looked at the Mac mini and $600 for 1.83ghz, 1gb ram, 80gb HDD, no monitor, keyboard or mouse.

I did some researching and in the flyer for Best Buy for $100 cheaper at $500, and had 2ghz, 2gb ram, 320gb HDD, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers. How can Apple justify charging thsi much????

I want a mac, but hell no Im not getting blindly ripped off. Has anybody heard anything about a refresh, because this is almost as pathetic as $600 for a 20" monitor...
Click to expand...

It's more expensive to miniaturize a design. I'm willing to bet that ad in the Best Buy flyer was for a conventional minitower.

Comparing like to like is the first step towards meaningful price comparisons. Anything else is... spurious, at best.
 
4DThinker said:
I think the OP is right on. It doesn't require imagination, only a little math skill to realize how a new Mini is not a good deal.
Click to expand...

You're mistaken, too.

Mini has a nice footprint.
Mini is energy efficient.
Mini takes a matte display.
Mini is usually silent.
Mini runs home theaters extremely well.
Mini is a great deal - certainly better than any WinPC you could find.
 
can final cut pro work on a 1.82 or 2.0 mac mini without problems?

Q-Dog said:
My one week old Mac Mini would beg to differ. It's not a gaming machine, but I'm not a gamer. I'm not editing epic movies on it, though it can do some editing. I'm running Final Cut Express on it with no problems yet.
Click to expand...
 
acrahm said:
can final cut pro work on a 1.82 or 2.0 mac mini without problems?
Click to expand...

I (like you) am too lazy to actually look at the system requirements but he is talking about Final Cut Express...not pro.

Regarding the Mac Mini, I imagine it will be the next in line for an update which will probably bring it into the 2+ ghz range and probably an improved integrated graphics card...not a huge deal but when your spending your whole budget I'm sure you want the most bang for your buck.

You can find tons of ****** computers for ~$500...but they are ****** computers. They will be bare bones pc's that never match the capability of the Mini nor have a robust productivity suite like the mini in the form of iLife/Work. You will get the most basic of keyboard and mouse combos as well as the lowest end monitor possible. Convince your parents that your eyes are valuable and you need a monitor that won't force you into wearing glasses by the age of 18. Maybe you can get it for your birthday/religious holiday or for doing well in school? Worked for me at your age.

edit: I am inclined to agree the mini is not worth its price currently compared to other options out there. Although you'd have to pay me alot of money to willingly use Windows OS over OS X.
 
The next Mac Mini will be a minor bump, just like all the Mini bumps.

It's really only meant if you already have the display, keyboard, and mouse. By the time you tally all those up with a Mini, you mine as well get an iMac.

That's why I say, get a G5 iMac, something used, get into the Mac experience.

I started out with a G3, it really wasn't that bad. I couldn't do anything in real-time with DV footage in Final Cut but still could have been used for rough cutting.

Have a talk with the parents and tell them you are looking to invest in a Mac. Find a good deal, if you need help just ask us. IN your case, I'd say a G5, if you got enough money, go Intel.

A G4 would even work dare I say, but people here will crap on you for getting one.
 
aaquib said:
I used my friend's iMac and it was just so sweet, I want a mac really badly now. Too bad, Im only 14 and cant spend over $1000 on a computer. I looked at the Mac mini and $600 for 1.83ghz, 1gb ram, 80gb HDD, no monitor, keyboard or mouse.

I did some researching and in the flyer for Best Buy for $100 cheaper at $500, and had 2ghz, 2gb ram, 320gb HDD, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers. How can Apple justify charging thsi much????

I want a mac, but hell no Im not getting blindly ripped off. Has anybody heard anything about a refresh, because this is almost as pathetic as $600 for a 20" monitor...
Click to expand...

1. apple refurbed page
2. ebay
3. craigslist
 
The mini is a great deal if you already have a a keyboard, mouse and monitor (I did from my previous POS Hewlett Packard) and I got the high-end mini. Sure, the iMac may be a better deal for some, But at the time I didn't have the use for a laptop, and I liked being able to pick up my computer with one hand easily, use my own monitor, and be able to fit it into my spare pocket on my backpack so I could go to friends house after school and not have to use a PC.

Bottem line, the mini is definitely not for everyone, but for your average user, it does all it needs to do, and then some (FCE, Photoshop, etc.)
 
The folks that have commented on the size of the mini compared to your typical Windows box are right on the money. Yes, if you look at JUST SPECS from one to the other the mini might seem overpriced. Although that crap Windows tower wont run OSX. But then look at the SIZE of the mini compared to that tower. Thats definitely worth something to me.
 
killmoms said:
Comparing like to like is the first step towards meaningful price comparisons.
Anything else is... spurious, at best.
Click to expand...

The OP was obviously looking for an "entry level" OS-X machine -- I'll bet he
doesn't give a rat's rump about 'like to like' comparisons or matching Apple's
quirky packaging. $850 with keyboard, mouse, and AppleCare is extremely
high for a 1.83 GHz CPU with 1GB ram and a dog-slow 80GB notebook HDD.

...OTOH, it's 'cute' -- like most of Apple's form-before-function hardware,

LK
 
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