need advice on mini

[Brandonnn]

Well, I am doing all the info gathering before I finally make the switch from windows. I have a few question. I am very grateful for the people in this forum, It's like having your own genius bar at your disposal.

I am looking to get a mini still debating the 1.83 or 2.0. I have a few questions hopefully you guys can shed some advice. Thanks

ps: I will only be using the mini for basic stuff surfing, music and watching movies.. no games.

1)forgive my ignorance but does the difference between the 2.0. and 1.83 processor or affect how well dvd movies will play?

2)is the difference between 1.83 and 2.0 worth getting?

3)Do you guys think that there might be an upgrade in macworld for mini to similar parts as the macbook? I have feeling I might wait till then before buying.

4)I need some advice on wireless mouse and keyboard..do you guys find it to work well? I mean is it as responsive as wired? I know I used to have a wireless mouse for pc ..it seemed to lag few seconds with he signal.. Its not a must but I wanted to keep my desk clean as possible.

5)I keep hearing in the forums that the mini uses a slower drive? That its better to buy an external firewire drive?

6)regarding upgrading the ram... i don't want to pay the apple prices but I am really not comfortable in doing it myself..especially after watching the video on how to do yourself....can you buy the ram seperatley and go to authorize apple dealer to do it? If so, does that void your warranty?

7)regarding speakers.. I am interested between
GigaWorks HD50 and Creative GigaWorks T40
http://www.asia.creative.com/


If anyone has tried these or has had experience with this company before..please do share. I am looking for more quality sound then really loud bass boom speakers.

8)finally trying to save for apple monitor 20inch..its so expensive. Do you see any adjustment to apple cinema price to match the competition a little? Dell seems my back up..since I am kinda budget.



Well thanks for your patience on this long list.

ps: I am new to this forum...how do you quote someone when you want to reply? Keep messing it up, not sure which icon to use or procedure..

 

[0007776]

ps: I am new to this forum...how do you quote someone when you want to reply? Keep messing it up, not sure which icon to use or procedure..

if you look at the bottom of the post that you want to quote there will be a button that says quote, if you press that it will let you reply with a quote.

There won't be a difference with watching movies between the two. the current 1.83 has a combo drive so you can't burn DVDs.
And a suggestion to help you save some money buy it refurbished. I just got a mini that way, and other that it coming in a brown box instead of the original box it seemed no different than new. and buying refurbished you can sometimes get free upgrades.
The RAM should be able to be installed by an apple authorised service provider and it would not void your warrenty.

 

[Brandonnn]

to mrkramer

if you look at the bottom of the post that you want to quote there will be a button that says quote, if you press that it will let you reply with a quote.

There won't be a difference with watching movies between the two. the current 1.83 has a combo drive so you can't burn DVDs.
And a suggestion to help you save some money buy it refurbished. I just got a mini that way, and other that it coming in a brown box instead of the original box it seemed no different than new. and buying refurbished you can sometimes get free upgrades.
The RAM should be able to be installed by an apple authorised service provider and it would not void your warrenty.

Thanks for your advice. Regarding the quote how do you respond to only part of what you said versus having the whole quote showing? How you did..you had only part of my question in box.

I will be keeping an eye out for refurbish store. Good reminder for me.
Question..if I purchase a combo drive theres no way to save any data files on a disc? Only through external burner? Sorry not to much tech knowledge..
You wouldn't happen to know how much they charge to install ram at authorize dealers? Thanks again for your help mr kramer

 

[0007776]

Thanks for your advice. Regarding the quote how do you respond to only part of what you said versus having the whole quote showing? How you did..you had only part of my question in box.

You go in and while typiny your post delete everything except what you want to quote, and leave the [/QUOTE] tags around it.
With the combo drive you can burn CDs but not DVDs.
Unfortunately I do not know how much they would charge to install RAM for you.

 

[DrBunsenHoneyde]

Now then I cant give you much help on the mini side of things but if I am geting your usage right for this system then I would look at different monitors than dell or apple.

If your in the Uk check websites like ebuyer and dabs and look for the 23" Cibox displays for something like 150 pounds, you will save alot compared to even the dell 20". Its a good budget monitor and looks nice. Its no good for designers and the such due to certain limitations in it but for your usage you will be saving alot and will have a nice decent larger monitor.

but just to give you a ltl bit of help on the processor side of things, i bought a macbook with a 1.8 in it over a year ago now and to be honest I dont even see much difference in the speed of the 2's now. a 1.8 to 2 is not worth the money in my eyes its barely noticable and again i dont think its worth your budget.

hope that has helped at least a little.

 

[kermit4161]

1)forgive my ignorance but does the difference between the 2.0. and 1.83 processor or affect how well dvd movies will play?

2)is the difference between 1.83 and 2.0 worth getting?

3)Do you guys think that there might be an upgrade in macworld for mini to similar parts as the macbook? I have feeling I might wait till then before buying.

4)I need some advice on wireless mouse and keyboard..do you guys find it to work well? I mean is it as responsive as wired? I know I used to have a wireless mouse for pc ..it seemed to lag few seconds with he signal.. Its not a must but I wanted to keep my desk clean as possible.

5)I keep hearing in the forums that the mini uses a slower drive? That its better to buy an external firewire drive?

6)regarding upgrading the ram... i don't want to pay the apple prices but I am really not comfortable in doing it myself..especially after watching the video on how to do yourself....can you buy the ram seperatley and go to authorize apple dealer to do it? If so, does that void your warranty?

7)regarding speakers.. I am interested between
GigaWorks HD50 and Creative GigaWorks T40


8)finally trying to save for apple monitor 20inch..its so expensive. Do you see any adjustment to apple cinema price to match the competition a little? Dell seems my back up..since I am kinda budget.

Wow... I posted a long response this a.m. and it is gone I was almost late to work too... oh well, here goes:

1). Not from my experience. I tested both an older CD 1.66 processor model and my C2D 2.0 Ghz model. For normal DVD playback, there does not appear to be any difference between the two. If there is, I cannot tell just by watching.

2). I would say yes for the long haul. There is about a 9 - 13% speed boost depending on the process between the 1.83 and the 2.0 according to tests I've seen on the Internet.

PLUS, the 2.0 is cheaper when if you look at the costs for upgrading the 1.83 to 2.0 specs (in other words, the 2.0 Ghz is a deal if you factor the costs of the processor, the larger drive, Superdrive, etc).

3). I hope not... I just got my 2.0 Mini It might get an upgrade to the new Intel video card, but I kind of doubt it. All the 'rumors' are that Apple is going to drop the Mini. But it is always possible...

4). I'm using a Logitech LX7 wireless mouse and an Apple wireless keyboard (new model). I haven't had any trouble with lag... and I'm playing WoW with them.

5). The drives for either model are 5400 RPM. They aren't the 'fastest' 2.5" drives, but they aren't the slowest either. I haven't noticed any slowness due to the drive. That said, having an external FW drive wouldn't be a bad idea for storing media files (music, video, etc).

6). Yes. I recently sent a company Mini to an Apple Cert. repair center to have RAM installed and it cost $25.00. It does NOT void your warranty.

7). I can't answer that one

8). As much as I like the Apple displays, I'd never again pay their prices. I got a 22" Samsung monitor for about half of what a 23" Apple Display costs... and it has MUCH better specs than the Apple Display. Keep an eye out for sales... there are a TON of deals to be had on monitors.

Good luck!!

 

[robcoles]

Questions 1+2

DVD playback will be no sweat for a Core Duo Mini .. I've actually ending up using a 1.83 mini for HD video editing, a much more ardous task, and although I do get the beach balls from time to time, it does it a darn sight more reliably (in terms of drop frames on capture) than a theoretically much faster XP box I used to do this on.

Question 4 - No complaints on the wireless keyboard ( a long as you don't miss the full numerical keypard as my wife does ), I hear the mouse doesn't have such a good reputation,but to be fair thats 2nd hand info.


Question 5 - The drive is 5400rpm - which is the one area I think it would be great to upgrade for HD video capture, but for DVD quality and most common usage it should be fine, and of course it is very quiet. The firewire port on the mini is firewie-400 and there is no sata external interface, so I don't think you will get any better performance out of a faster external drive due to that.

Question 7 - The mini has a toslink out so my peronal recommendation/solution is to use an external DAC ( Surround Receiver ) and Hi-Fi bookshelf Speakers, for not a lot more money I think you will get a real step up in sound quality.

 

[Brandonnn]

You go in and while typiny your post delete everything except what you want to quote, and leave the

tags around it.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for that mrkramer, Iam testing it out now hopefully it will look ok.

With the combo drive you can burn CDs but not DVDs.
Unfortunately I do not know how much they would charge to install RAM for you.

I hope this isn't sounding like a dumb question. If I get the combo drive, what other options do I have if I wanted to burn a movie to memory? Just external drive that can burn? If thats the case I guess I'd better fork out the extra $200.

 

[Brandonnn]

oops sorry double post . Still learning how to quote.

 

[Brandonnn]

If your in the Uk check websites like ebuyer and dabs and look for the 23" Cibox displays for something like 150 pounds, you will save alot compared to even the dell 20". Its a good budget monitor and looks nice. Its no good for designers and the such due to certain limitations in it but for your usage you will be saving alot and will have a nice decent larger monitor.

I am residing in Canada, I haven't heard of Cibox displays. Ill take a look. I get your advice and that of others, the apple cinemas are over priced unfortunately.

but just to give you a ltl bit of help on the processor side of things, i bought a macbook with a 1.8 in it over a year ago now and to be honest I dont even see much difference in the speed of the 2's now. a 1.8 to 2 is not worth the money in my eyes its barely noticable and again i dont think its worth your budget.

hope that has helped at least a little.

It certaintly has, thank you Drbrunsen. It seems the 1.83 might be the best model for me. The only bummer part would be that i cant burn movies ..meaning I have to keep inputing the dvd to watch. Thats not too much of an inconviniency. I am probaly beter off putting the extra $200 towards 2g ram or a display for future.

 

[Brandonnn]

Wow... I posted a long response this a.m. and it is gone I was almost late to work too... oh well, here goes:

hehe a true apple genius angel. Thanks for taking the time to help kermit. Hope you made it to work all right.

1). Not from my experience. I tested both an older CD 1.66 processor model and my C2D 2.0 Ghz model. For normal DVD playback, there does not appear to be any difference between the two. If There is, I cannot tell just by watching.

Thats good to hear. I watch a lot of movies. Do you think that the mini drive can handle load of using the mini as the a replacement for a dvd player? Or will the wear and tear cause the drive to be nosier or overheat?[/QUOTE]

4). I'm using a Logitech LX7 wireless mouse and an Apple wireless keyboard (new model). I haven't had any trouble with lag... and I'm playing WoW with them.

I've heard that mouse mentioned by some. I am happy to hear you haven't had any major problems with it. I think ill get the wireless keyboard for sure..and look into the a good mouse. Haven't heard to many people say they love the might mouse here...

ps: whats your mini set up by the way? Do you use it for media center or primary desk top? Just curious.

 

[Brandonnn]

Question 7 - The mini has a toslink out so my peronal recommendation/solution is to use an external DAC ( Surround Receiver ) and Hi-Fi bookshelf Speakers, for not a lot more money I think you will get a real step up in sound quality.

That sounds like good idea. I definitely want to set up a music listening system with high end speakers. How is the sound from the mini? or is that all based more on speakers...i don't know much about the sound cards on mini...

 

[kermit4161]

hehe a true apple genius angel. Thanks for taking the time to help kermit. Hope you made it to work all right.


Thats good to hear. I watch a lot of movies. Do you think that the mini drive can handle load of using the mini as the a replacement for a dvd player? Or will the wear and tear cause the drive to be nosier or overheat?

I've heard that mouse mentioned by some. I am happy to hear you haven't had any major problems with it. I think ill get the wireless keyboard for sure..and look into the a good mouse. Haven't heard to many people say they love the might mouse here...

ps: whats your mini set up by the way? Do you use it for media center or primary desk top? Just curious.[/QUOTE]


The Mighty Mouse is okay for general usage, but it takes a bit getting used to if you do a lot of right clicking (have to have your other finger off the mouse... touch sensitivity and all). The LX7 has surprised me. I almost took it back at first because it was skipping... but I didn't use the included extension cable for the wireless adapter (proprietary). I went back and gave it another shot with the extension cable... it is doing great now. I think it provided a better signal strength as it wasn't sitting in the back of the Mini. I'm sitting about 6-7 feet away from my Mini and haven't had any problems.

I'm using my Mini as a media center computer. It is hooked up to a 37" LCD HDTV and surround system. Before I got the surround system, I was using it to show DVDs with no problems. I think the drive will hold up fine for watching movies. If it does wear out, you can always replace it (or have the store replace it) pretty cheaply. Front Row rocks in Leopard... I actually miss using it now that I'm using the surround system to play my DVDs. But I still use the Mini to watch TV from the Internet and iTunes.

 

[0007776]

It certaintly has, thank you Drbrunsen. It seems the 1.83 might be the best model for me. The only bummer part would be that i cant burn movies ..meaning I have to keep inputing the dvd to watch. Thats not too much of an inconviniency. I am probaly beter off putting the extra $200 towards 2g ram or a display for future.

If you get the previous generation 1.83 Core Duo, not core 2 duo, from the refurb store you will get a DVD burner. for what you want the older model would be fine, and if you want a DVD burner, that is the best deal you will get. If you want to get the current model though it may be worth the extra money for the DVD burner.

 

[Brandonnn]

another question regarding ram..little confused

I am a little confused I've read in the forums that u can put up to 4G of ram in mini, yet apple says the maximum is 2G? If its true that you can add up to 3 or 4 G of ram....will a apple authorize dealer put in the ram over 2G , will it void my warranty? I know I don't want to do it myself.

Anyone tried know if dealers would upgrade past 2G's? And if you add 3 or 4G's, will the system run just as efficient even though it only recognizes 3G?

Thank you for the help. Any advice is welcome.

 

[0007776]

the previous gen could recognize 2GBs with 2x 1GB. the current gen will work with 2x 2GB, but only 3.3GB will be recognized. the best for the current Gen would be 1 2GB stick and a 1GB stick.

 

[Brandonnn]

the previous gen could recognize 2GBs with 2x 1GB. the current gen will work with 2x 2GB, but only 3.3GB will be recognized. the best for the current Gen would be 1 2GB stick and a 1GB stick.

Thanks for the clarification mrkramer. Why doesn't apple acknowledge the 3-4 G's?
Does that mean that a apple dealership would not upgrade to 3G's if I wanted it done?

 

[0007776]

Thanks for the clarification mrkramer. Why doesn't apple acknowledge the 3-4 G's?
Does that mean that a apple dealership would not upgrade to 3G's if I wanted it done?

I'm not really sure why Apple does not acknowledge it, they have done it before with the G3 iMacs, then I think the larger chips were not available at the time of release and they never updated the specs. I assume that it is somthing similar now.

I think that they probably would upgrade your RAM to 3GBs but I would try asking before you buy any RAM for them to install.