[deemery]

A small form-factor machine, with 1-2 open PCI slots, ability to hold 2 drives, and in particular with eSATA out, would be a good machine for both small desktop and for small/home server. Add a lightweight copy of OS X Server that supports LDAP accounts, etc for both Macs and PCs and provides the OS X Server multi-hosting support for web domains (including blogging and podcasting), and I think they would have a SOHO winner!

dave

[sporks]

hmurchison said:

In the overall scheme of things a midrange Mac serves little purpose.


The people that need the expansion for their business generally can afford the Mac Pro and write off the product after some time.


Consumers really don't upgrade their computers as much as they think beyond adding a larger hard drive and more RAM. The frugal Tech in me wants a midrange Mac but the realist in me knows that few people upgrade their computers significantly.


Over the years there have been many attempts to make upgrades easy. There once was a specification called Socket-X which aimed to make GPU upgrades easy as popping a chip out and a new one in. Didn't fly.


The standard rule of thumb is to purchase the most expensive computer you can afford and it'll last longer and give you better performing parts.


The mini is the perfect computer for people that know they have relatively meager computing needs and want a small quiet desktop. I love mine.

Bingo. Despite the noise from the internet echo chamber, there isn't a compelling business case for Apple making a mid-range tower.

[Dan Frakes]

hmurchison said:

In the overall scheme of things a midrange Mac serves little purpose.

sporks said:

Bingo. Despite the noise from the internet echo chamber, there isn't a compelling business case for Apple making a mid-range tower.

I have to disagree with you there, and I outlined my reasoning in the article I linked to in the previous post :) Feel free to engage in the discussion in the comments to that article so we can keep the discussion here focused on the mini.

[Dan Frakes]

gugy said:

Just a simple question.
Is it important to upgrade the Mini just to use it as media center?
I will have an external hard drive plugged on firewire.
Is the RAM that important for playing videos and browsing it using front row or plex?
Thanks for any input.

It depends on what you'll be running. If it's just the OS and iTunes, or the OS and File sharing, 1GB should be fine. But if you'll have several media apps running at the same time, I'd upgrade to at least 2GB.

[gugy]

Thanks Dan,

Yes, I just plan to use it for itunes, front row and plex. I was just wondering because I plan to play HD video and if RAM plays an important role on that.

I guess it doesn't hurt to upgrade to 2gb of RAM. It's inexpensive anyway.

Take care

[hmurchison]

Eventually I plan to replace my current mini for the new models primarily because of the faster

GPU and 4GB RAM capability. I'm seriously considering putting in a SSD and pushing larger data out to a

NAS device. Snow Leopard is likely going to take up less storage space than Leopard and I want to begin to

centralize my larger data like movies, podcasts, music and more.



I also realize I really don't don't even need and optical drive. I hope that future versions of Mac mini allow you to replace the

optical drive with another storage drive or leave it blank for extra cooling. Most of my software is downloaded straight from the developers website. I rarely use my Superdrive anymore and when I begin to re-rip my CDs I plan to use a faster external drive to speed the process.

Oh yeah one way I plan to maximize my mini is via a Newer Tech Voyager SATA drive dock. I've seen the benchmarks and the FW800 port really speeds drive access. I like having a small dock that simply takes a bare 2.5 or 3.5" SATA drive and makes it easy as ever to access. These are going to be great for doing clone setups of your boot drive.

[Dan Frakes]

hmurchison said:

I also realize I really don't don't even need and optical drive. I hope that future versions of Mac mini allow you to replace the optical drive with another storage drive

The Folks at iFixit have done just that:

http://www.ifixit.com/blog/?p=126

Of course, this will void your warranty, as there's a tiny bit of soldering involved...

[Islandgirl]

fithian said:

I opted for the 2.26 320 4GB option. I noticed that the new 500GB 7200 2.5 drive is now available. That would make it even better. Better yet would be a processor upgrade if I could find someone to solder it in.

Is there a new 500GB 7200 2.5 drive offered as an upgrade from Apple? I just looked at a Mini in the Apple Store online and didn't see that option. Where did you find it?

[cphoffman42]

Quick question - you say upgrading the Mini is more difficult than the MacBook, but how does it compare to the MacBook Pro? I upgraded the hard drive in my 2.33 Core 2 Duo a couple of months ago and, while it was a little stressful at first (and I had to make damn sure not to lose any screws), it ultimately wasn't too painful. Is it substantially worse than that?

[jtmoltz]

Does the higher rpm hard drive increase the electricity pull of the the upgraded mini? Since Apple touts the Mac Mini as "the most energy-efficient desktop computer", I was just curious if the upgrades changed the mini's energy use.

[pln]

cphoffman42 said:

Quick question - you say upgrading the Mini is more difficult than the MacBook, but how does it compare to the MacBook Pro? I upgraded the hard drive in my 2.33 Core 2 Duo a couple of months ago and, while it was a little stressful at first (and I had to make damn sure not to lose any screws), it ultimately wasn't too painful. Is it substantially worse than that?

The latest MBPs are easy to upgrade but I would say upgrading the Mini is easier than the previous MBP.

In order of difficulty of the current Macs, I would say: iMac (mainly because it so damned hard to open up) > old MBP > Mini > MB/new MBP > Mac Pro.

[hmurchison]

jtmoltz said:

Does the higher rpm hard drive increase the electricity pull of the the upgraded mini? Since Apple touts the Mac Mini as "the most energy-efficient desktop computer", I was just curious if the upgrades changed the mini's energy use.

Not really jtmoltz. I've heard the Hitachi 7200 rpm drives actually run as cool or if there is an increase it's negliglbe over the 5400rpm drives. Any increases in heat with the current drives is likely so small you're talking about a dollar a year difference in power increases.

[jtmoltz]

Good to know. Thank you

[mr.steevo]

Hi Dan,

Any chance you can test a 64GB SSD in your mini? I'm thinking it would be a great drive for the OS and applications while having an external drive for storage.

Many thanks.

s.