Mac Mini Updates

[TooncesLives]

Has anyone heard anything regarding a mac mini update? The current model was released in September 2006, so it's getting kind of dated. I wanted to purchase a new MacBook, but the last round of updates wasn't what I was expecting, and I'd rather wait for OS 10.5 before I get my new laptop. For the time being I was thinking of selling the G4 in my signature and getting a mini. What does everyone think of that? The mini would just be an everyday music, email, internet machine. The real reason I want to do it is so I can finally have an Intel Mac I would just need the mini...I have the monitor and keyboard already. Do you think I could get almost enough for my G4 to cover the cost of the mini? I'd upgrade the ram myself (I have two external 500gig hard drives, so I wouldn't worry about bumping up the internal hard drive...unless I find a deal on a 7200rpm drive ). Thanks for the opinions.

 

[santaliqueur]

Use a question mark in your thread titles. I came into this thread looking to read about the new Mac mini updates, only to find there were none.

 

[tronmaster]

I have the Mac Mini G4 1.42 version. I have been waiting for an update from Apple with Leopard. But I sort of come to an understanding that the Mac Mini is basically the "black sheep" in the Apple hardware family.

Meaning that the Mac Mini probably will be the last to be updated to the newest "Santa Rosa" Intel chips. From my understanding the current Mac Mini as stated by you hasn't been updated since September 2006. It is still using Core Duo instead of the Core 2 Duo's. The last "Merom" chip according to Newegg is the T7600 price at $669. So you can buy a Mac Mini now and replace it with that chip. There are websites with people replacing the Core Duos with the Core 2 Duos, from my understanding the disadvantage would be the heat and fan usage of the Mac Mini.

Now Steve Jobs may release a Mac Mini next month with the new "Santa Rosa" chips but I don't think so. The other thing I was thinking and this is pure speculation on my part is that Apple will discontinue the Mac Mini as they did with the iPod Mini. Why?

One of the features of Leopard is Time Machine, as we know almost all of Apple's hardware is based on one hard drive, but in order for Time Machine to work correctly you will need two hard drives. Now Apple can tell you go buy an External hard drive but perhaps all the rumors of new hardware include a secondary hard drive? If that is the case the Mac Mini would be to small for two hard drives.

So Apple will either replace the Mac Mini with something larger such as a Cube (I know they did this before) or maybe nothing at all.

So finally, I am still using my Mac Mini G4 1.42 and I am waiting impatiently for a hardware update from Apple but only when Leopard comes out.

 

[supergper]

I have the Mac Mini G4 1.42 version. I have been waiting for an update from Apple with Leopard. But I sort of come to an understanding that the Mac Mini is basically the "black sheep" in the Apple hardware family.

Meaning that the Mac Mini probably will be the last to be updated to the newest "Santa Rosa" Intel chips. From my understanding the current Mac Mini as stated by you hasn't been updated since September 2006. It is still using Core Duo instead of the Core 2 Duo's. The last "Merom" chip according to Newegg is the T7600 price at $669. So you can buy a Mac Mini now and replace it with that chip. There are websites with people replacing the Core Duos with the Core 2 Duos, from my understanding the disadvantage would be the heat and fan usage of the Mac Mini.

Now Steve Jobs may release a Mac Mini next month with the new "Santa Rosa" chips but I don't think so. The other thing I was thinking and this is pure speculation on my part is that Apple will discontinue the Mac Mini as they did with the iPod Mini. Why?

One of the features of Leopard is Time Machine, as we know almost all of Apple's hardware is based on one hard drive, but in order for Time Machine to work correctly you will need two hard drives. Now Apple can tell you go buy an External hard drive but perhaps all the rumors of new hardware include a secondary hard drive? If that is the case the Mac Mini would be to small for two hard drives.

So Apple will either replace the Mac Mini with something larger such as a Cube (I know they did this before) or maybe nothing at all.

So finally, I am still using my Mac Mini G4 1.42 and I am waiting impatiently for a hardware update from Apple but only when Leopard comes out.

Why do you need two hard drives with Time Machine? I don;t think Time Machine is supposed to be a disaster recovery solution but rather a, "Damn, I just accidentally deleted that file and emptied the trash" solution. It will allow you to go back to yesterday before you deleted that file and recover it. (Hence the name, Time Machine). I don't think Apple will discontinue the Mac Mini, that is a great cross over machine and even a great second machine. Saying you have to have two drives will eliminate all but the Mac Pros, and those only come with one drive without an upgrade.

 

[0ptional]

It doesn't have to be two hard drives, it can also just be two partitions, they don't even have to be equal size. But that's under NDA *cough*

 

[CreativeMac]

Has anyone heard anything regarding a mac mini update? The current model was released in September 2006, so it's getting kind of dated. I wanted to purchase a new MacBook, but the last round of updates wasn't what I was expecting, and I'd rather wait for OS 10.5 before I get my new laptop. For the time being I was thinking of selling the G4 in my signature and getting a mini. What does everyone think of that? The mini would just be an everyday music, email, internet machine. The real reason I want to do it is so I can finally have an Intel Mac I would just need the mini...I have the monitor and keyboard already. Do you think I could get almost enough for my G4 to cover the cost of the mini? I'd upgrade the ram myself (I have two external 500gig hard drives, so I wouldn't worry about bumping up the internal hard drive...unless I find a deal on a 7200rpm drive ). Thanks for the opinions.

Unless you really like moving machines around, I'd say just stay with your G4. I'm not sure even a C2D Mini would justify the expense and hassle.

As we sit here today, I think it's silly to put off a hardware purchase waiting for Leopard. If you're not going to buy until the fall anyway, that's one thing. But Leopard is what, 5 months away? Buy what you need when you need it.