Minimalist approach

[richfromroch]

Hello everyone,
I currently have a five-year-old core 2 iMac (2.16GHZ, 250GB drive, 3GB of RAM), several external hard drives and an older Airport Extreme (first to support N protocol). I have an eyeTV Hybrid and Turbo.264 HD accelerator attached to the iMac to record local cable TV shows and convert them to iTunes.

I'm tired of all the cables, drives, etc. and the high cable TV bills. I plan on dropping back to basic cable but I also want to switch out the aging hardware.

My minimalist plan would be to purchase a basic Mac Mini and add 8GB of RAM (for 50 bucks or so). I'd also purchase a 2TB Time Capsule for backup. I'd attach the eyeTV hardware to the new Mac Mini. I would be feeding two ATV2 devices.

Besides the eyeTV recordings/conversions, we just access the web, e-mail and do some iPhoto editing. Since I currently have a little more than 100GB of iTunes stuff and photos, does this sound like a viable plan?

Thanks for your responses in advance.
Rich
Rochester, NY

 

[talmy]

Seems very viable. You don't really even need the extra RAM.

 

[S.B.G]

Sounds good to me. I like the minimalist approach you're taking. I try to live that way myself.

My desk at home only has on it:

iMac 27"
Keyboard
Mouse
Magic Trackpad

Anything else is temporary and gets cleared away when I leave the desk.

 

[treestar]

I say forget about the Time Capsule and put two large capacity HDDs in the mini.

 

[talmy]

I say forget about the Time Capsule and put two large capacity HDDs in the mini.

My first thought, but he said "I'm tired of all the cables, drives, etc." He replaces the AEBS with the TC and gets rid of the external drives and corresponding cables. (Note that it is not advisable to have a backup drive in the same unit as the drive that is being backed up -- a hardware failure in the computer could easily take out both drives.)

 

[S.B.G]

My first thought, but he said "I'm tired of all the cables, drives, etc." He replaces the AEBS with the TC and gets rid of the external drives and corresponding cables.

He meant add two INTERNAL HDD's to the Mini, not add two external ones.

 

[talmy]

He meant add two INTERNAL HDD's to the Mini, not add two external ones.

Noted and clarified -- two internals are a bad idea to have a backup, so I didn't even think about that possibility when I replied.

 

[treestar]

He meant add two INTERNAL HDD's to the Mini, not add two external ones.

I think the Time Capsule is wireless maybe, I don't know.



I don't think any system failure will wipe out two drives except a fire. If the TC will be in the same house, it's just as prone to theft, fire, and power surges. I still stand by backing up to an internal drive.

 

[S.B.G]

Noted and clarified -- two internals are a bad idea to have a backup, so I didn't even think about that possibility when I replied.

I agree, about not adding the extra HDD's internally, but my point would be increased heat inside.

If I were getting the Mini in his situation, I'd probably go with the TC so the backup drive and router are all-in-one.

My Time Machine HDD, AEBS and cable modem are tucked away on a shelf below my desk top so they're not easily seen.

 

[treestar]

Noted and clarified -- two internals are a bad idea to have a backup, so I didn't even think about that possibility when I replied.

Really? What is going to happen? How is a TC any better if it's 12" away or a room away.

 

[richfromroch]

Time to weigh in here.
Keeping the backup separate from the mini seemed logical. I do that now with an external USB drive for Time Machine. By using the TC, I can still attach the Mini to the TC via a network cable, have the TC multi-channel wireless available for pads, pods aging iBook, etc and achieve minimum clutter on my computer desk. Thanks for the replies so far.

Now if dinner hasn't burned up...

Rich