If you're willing to build a machine yourself, you can do better than a Mini. However you have to... build it yourself. If you're interested/able to go that route you might want to look the Zotec H55-ITX WiFi Mini-ITZ board. It would end up costing probably about as much as the high end mini, but would be a faster machine.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Okay, it's decision time. Mac Mini, or...
- Thread starter dh2005
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Thanks mate, but that's not the way I want to go about things. I'm looking for equivalency, both in style and substance; or close to it.
I have the added temptation, re all things Mac, that I get a 12% student discount. That helps to narrow any price gap... but the question remains; do I commit now, or wait a month or two?
I suppose, if I bought a Mini and it was superceded in the next six months, I could sell it for a modest loss. Particularly as it's going to be costing me 12% less from the kick-off...
I bought a Mac Mini late 2009 2,66 GHz BTO and it has to be by far the worst piece of computer I've ever had.
For the 900 euros I payed for the Mini you'd get quite a fast PC. The Mac Mini is so slow that's practicly unusable, at least for my standards. I did plan to put an SSD in the Mini wish would probably speed things up a bit. But it never happened, instead I will try to sell the Mini.
For the 900 euros I payed for the Mini you'd get quite a fast PC. The Mac Mini is so slow that's practicly unusable, at least for my standards. I did plan to put an SSD in the Mini wish would probably speed things up a bit. But it never happened, instead I will try to sell the Mini.
this can't really be a tricky decision to make IMO.
the ONLY reason to buy the mini is if you want OSX. As gizmodo correctly state, from a spec/price point of view, it's horrendous value.
Logic tells you to stay away.
only you know how much OSX is worth to YOU.
Win 7 is at least as good if not better...
http://www.betanews.com/joewilcox/a...er-Snow-Leopard-and-you-should-too/1253136981
for the same money (once you add the OS) on the 'other side' look at this i3 system...
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=43667
wireless cards and BT EDR card can be added cheaply.
or for C2D
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=34698
like I said, the ONLY reason to get the underspecced, overpriced Mini is Mac OSX..if that what you NEED.
If you don't NEED OSX then IMO it would be a foolish buy.
Sorry to hear that. And thanks for the insight.
And Archie... thanks. Sincerely. I appreciate the imagination and the effort. And I'll admit that those are compelling little machines.
But again, I must return to the point about them not being what I want. They're too big to fit in my current setup, they'll have fan noise, and there's no added expense re Windows 7 because I already own it.
With all due respect to you and the points you've made, I can't agree that OS X is the only reason to buy a Mini. There's the form-factor, the silence, the general appearance, that iLife package... and probably a few others, if I think about it!
It sounds truly like you want the Mini, so I'd get it (since it's not going to be updated in the near future). I know of some people that have them and they love them, which persuaded me to get a Mac. So get it, try it out for 10 days during the "grace" period, if you don't like it, take it back and get a similar PC. It's really that easy. 
cool like I said if you need (or think you need OSX) then buy the mini.
if you are going to base a buying decision on a half assed set of programs such as iLife then maybe you already knew the decision before you posted here.
Much better programs on any platform you mention.
Mini's are far from silent..especially under any sort of load. Easy to make a PC virtually silent.
the appearance? a silver block with a plastic lid...really? that really is opinion.
as gizmodo said...
"flies in the face of all logic.."
the only good news is that the hard drive or optical will probably die inside 2 years (my experience) and then you can buy something much more sensible ..
sounds like you are a real kool aid swallower...
last try...
http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTCONFIGPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=637409
the Dell Zino's look sweet, now thats nice design.!
I'm in the same boat. I'm considering a Mini to hook up to my TV for a file server, backup server and some light gaming/video. The only difference is, I've tried that Dell Zino HD already. I bought a top of the line one with their best video card and best processor. That thing was SLOWWWWWW. Not to mention, it broke on me the very day I received it from them. It took me about a week of arguing about a brand new broken machine for them to agree to a return and give me my money back. It was also much larger than the Mini and it uses a laptop tray drive for the optical drive. Feels really cheap to use. Don't waste your time with Dell, get the Mini.
Hahaha...!!! Archie, you truly are the Forum Tool. Thanks for the chuckle.
Again, those computers are fine; but not nice to look at, in my opinion. And two of the first three reviews I hit using Google found them far too noisy for living room use:
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/desktops/351193/mesh-cute-x215-hd
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=3202964
So, the Mesh Cute is stillborn. But thanks for playing... and, personally, I think the Zino looks kinda crap; and yet you like it, which is fine. Conversely, you don't like the look of the Mini; and yet I do. Let's agree that our tastes in such things differ.
gage006;
Sounds like you just had a bad computer, there. I can't imagine that your consumer experience was typical, otherwise the Zino would never have got off the ground - though I feel for you, nonetheless.
Again, those computers are fine; but not nice to look at, in my opinion. And two of the first three reviews I hit using Google found them far too noisy for living room use:
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/desktops/351193/mesh-cute-x215-hd
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=3202964
So, the Mesh Cute is stillborn. But thanks for playing... and, personally, I think the Zino looks kinda crap; and yet you like it, which is fine. Conversely, you don't like the look of the Mini; and yet I do. Let's agree that our tastes in such things differ.
gage006;
Sounds like you just had a bad computer, there. I can't imagine that your consumer experience was typical, otherwise the Zino would never have got off the ground - though I feel for you, nonetheless.
no problem I just thought as my 40% tax was paying your tuition fee refund I should have a say.
the Mesh does appear noisy in the reviews but then I guess that might be because it actually can do something...?
just a hunch...
Not that much actually... Mainly as a Media Center with Plex and usually running Transmission, wish alone takes the computer down to it's knees. Virtualizing Windows XP is a pretty painful experience as well.
8 GB of ram and an SSD would probably fix the problem but it would also make the computer unacceptably expensive for what you get.
Though it's very cute and quiet, it has not impressed me in any other way
Titan Quest runs like ass on it. So does the Tales of Monkey Island, unless you turn down all details/resolution. I love my mini, don't get me wrong, but it's JUST for 1080p video/720p video and Transmission. That's it. It's a media center.
Any problems with Transmission eating up all your RAM? Only few 1080p-torrents plus some 10-20 small torrents ****s my Mini up.
It's so frustrating. I wish there was a torrent application for Mac equally good as uTorrent for Windows (no there isn't one). Even with 100 active torrents at my 1,2 GHz low-power CPU gives no load or memory-usage what so ever on my Asus Laptop (and that computer has 1/3 of the power of the Mini).
This is probably Transmissions fault for most of the part, but it sucks anyway. Torrents and Mac's seems like a no-no.
I don't ever notice any problems. ALL Torrent apps suck in that they read/put in bytes at a time from/in to your hard drive, which is a RAM muncher. However, I can torrent and watch 1080p video in Plex with no issue simultaneously. I love my mini, but it is in NO way a main system for anyone except for those who want to web surf and write documents etc.
And take that from someone with a 320gb 7200rpm drive in there as well as 4GB. My new iMac i7, 8GB, SSD blows it away, - but then again it should.
Now those might argue you can do more with a mini, and it all depends on your tolerances. I mean, truthfully you can do pretty much anything on a mini you can do on any other Mac system/PC system. It's whether you can deal with the speed of it all happening that's up for debate...Well, if we're being pedantic, it's actually your National Insurance Contributions...!
I had a previous career before I came to med school, so I think I'm still in credit with the Treasury. Though I won't be by the time I graduate.
Back on topic...!
As I've said before, running older games is my ambition. Is there anyone out there running the original Half-Life, Knights of the Old Republic, and things like that...?
cool like I said if you need (or think you need OSX) then buy the mini.
if you are going to base a buying decision on a half assed set of programs such as iLife then maybe you already knew the decision before you posted here.
Much better programs on any platform you mention.
Mini's are far from silent..especially under any sort of load. Easy to make a PC virtually silent.
the appearance? a silver block with a plastic lid...really? that really is opinion.
as gizmodo said...
"flies in the face of all logic.."
the only good news is that the hard drive or optical will probably die inside 2 years (my experience) and then you can buy something much more sensible ..
sounds like you are a real kool aid swallower...
last try...
http://www.meshcomputers.com/Default.aspx?PAGE=PRODUCTCONFIGPAGE&USG=PRODUCT&ENT=PRODUCT&KEY=637409
the Dell Zino's look sweet, now thats nice design.!
You Are keep saying a lot of BS about Apple's product.
You Are misleading ...
Win7 better than OSX ... Mini far from quiet ... iLife "half asset" ... as I said: a lot of BS.
To the OP: buy a Mini and try it. If it doesn't fit your needs (could be, all of us have different needs), go for a refund
Not that much actually... Mainly as a Media Center with Plex and usually running Transmission, wish alone takes the computer down to it's knees. Virtualizing Windows XP is a pretty painful experience as well.
8 GB of ram and an SSD would probably fix the problem but it would also make the computer unacceptably expensive for what you get.
Though it's very cute and quiet, it has not impressed me in any other way
Transmission is running on my Mini 24/7, and in the meantime I'm using Safari, Mail, iTunes and Aperture (working with raw pictures from my DSLR).
all of the above flawlessly ...
Your Mini was a lemon ....
I'm not misleading, its my opinion based on my direct experiences, nothing more, nothing less.
Everyone knows how bad flash is on OSX and creates a resource hog that needs cooling. The fans, can and do ramp up excessively at times. Google tells you that. If an app crashes in OSX (yes it happens) then the noise can be horrendous. Yes at times the mini can be virtually silent, but a PC for similar money can be built to be equally silent. The distracting thing for me with a mini is the fluctuations...up and down...
Lots of people think that Win 7 is better, I posted a link in an earlier post. Doesn't mean its better for everyone if they NEED OSX.
If you like iLife then fine. I think (careful my opinion) its awful. Under powered and not useful. Much better elsewhere, some of them are free!
The library organisation in iPhoto in particular is a nightmare!
Remember opinions are allowed. The OP asked for one, it was given.....end of story.
if he wants to waste my money on an underpowered, underspecced, overpriced machine with dubious reliability then unfortunately he's welcome to do so.
no accounting for taste or sense.....takes all sorts to make a world.
You Are simply fighting your personal war against every Apple's product (I know you're not alone here, so no needs to point to other).
You don't like Apple and prefer Dell and Acer (OMG!): fine, but don't mislead other people who are looking for a Mac with false informations.
You don't like Apple and prefer Dell and Acer (OMG!): fine, but don't mislead other people who are looking for a Mac with false informations.
Gentlemen, gentlemen...! Please!
I don't object to being given constructive negative information. But Archie, infantile smash-mouthing and "anythingbutipod.com" does nothing for your credibility, mate. If you really want to put a dagger in the heart of my plans to buy a Mini, why don't you tell me precisely why you don't like them? You've mentioned, amidst the other nonsense, that you've had one fail on you... that's what I'd like to hear about.
I already have the money to buy a Mini, but you'll notice that I've not yet done so. Which means I'm undecided. If you want to convince me to see things your way, shoot with your criticisms; preferrably without all the other bollocks, if you please. Don't just give me links to online articles; I can find just as many that say the 2009 Mini is a decent purchase. Tell me what you think, and why.
I'm listening.
I don't object to being given constructive negative information. But Archie, infantile smash-mouthing and "anythingbutipod.com" does nothing for your credibility, mate. If you really want to put a dagger in the heart of my plans to buy a Mini, why don't you tell me precisely why you don't like them? You've mentioned, amidst the other nonsense, that you've had one fail on you... that's what I'd like to hear about.
I already have the money to buy a Mini, but you'll notice that I've not yet done so. Which means I'm undecided. If you want to convince me to see things your way, shoot with your criticisms; preferrably without all the other bollocks, if you please. Don't just give me links to online articles; I can find just as many that say the 2009 Mini is a decent purchase. Tell me what you think, and why.
I'm listening.