![]() ![]() They also carry graphics card upgrades including the Radeon 9000 AGP. They also have memory and hard drive upgrades. Other World Computing carries the PowerLogix upgrade I used in this test. Need a mouse for your mini? The right mouse can make it seem faster than it really is. I recommend one with a DVI port and response time of 16ms or less. I've seen 17" LCD displays for as low as $228, and 19" LCD displays for as low as $300. Need a snazzy but low priced LCD display for your Mac mini? PowerMax has a large selection of LCD displays at good prices. (They have a high quality movie on their site.)įastMac is offering a similar "send it in" upgrade for memory, hard drive, and 8X SuperDrive. For $99, you can send your Mac mini to OWC to do both upgrades for you - and pay bargain prices for the drive and memory you choose. Other World Computing has a memory and drive upgrade special. If that is too scarey, there are two companies that will do the memory and/or drive upgrades for you: And you'll want to have two THIN, clean putty knifes handy. If you do the upgrade yourself, you'll want some instructions like those posted by MacWorld. They also have the Hitachi 7K60 7200rpm and Seagate Momentus 5400.2 5400rpm drives we tested. You can also order them from Small Dog Electronics and PowerMax.Īgain, I suggest buying the 1GB memory upgrade from Other World Computing or TransIntl or FastMac at less than half the price that Apple charges. Order the Mac mini from the online Apple Store or visit your local Apple authorized dealer. Macworld has a good article on disassembling the mini including a photo showing an example of the two thin putty knives you need to pop the case open without damaging it. MacMiniHacks has a way to open the Mac mini without using putty knives. You can also download their QuickTime movie of the same instructions. SmashDot has the complete technical scoop on the mini including disassembly instructions. On page 8, he explains in detail how to disassemble the Mac mini. My favorite PC Performance site ( Anandtech) has an extensive article on the Mac mini. Macintouch compares the Mini mac to the iMac G5, eMac, and iBook using xBench, Cinebench, iTunes, and other tests. If you don't have a keyboard, mouse, and display already, you can find yourself spending as much as the cost of an iMac G5/1.6 - which is a faster machine as you can see from the test results above. Of course, adding drives and memory can drive the price of the mini up quickly. I suggest purchasing from "Mac aware" companies like Other World Computing and TransIntl who test the modules in each model of Mac, then sell them at reasonable prices (like $189). You don't want to buy it from just anyone, since I found out with the iMac G5 and G5 Power Mac that not all memory modules are compatible with the Mac. ![]() I suggest buying the mini with the default 256MB module and getting the 1GB module from a third party. If you order the 1GB memory with the Mac mini at the time of purchase, Apple charges $425. She said, "I wear a 7, but an 8 feels so good, I buy a 9." I think your mini will "feel better" if it had 1GB of memory. I'm reminded of the lady who was asked her shoe size by a salesman. Mac OS X is a virtual memory operating system, but I don't think you want constant virtual memory hits on your mini. They must know better since they send out review units with 512MB. It's a scandal that Apple still considers 256MB as adequate for entry level Macs. Anyway, if you are curious what difference faster drive will make, check out the HARD DRIVE PAGE. But then, you just doubled the footprint on your desktop. Or, if you don't want to crack open the case, an external FireWire 400 drive would give a boost. If you aren't on a tight budget, I recommend either upgrading to a 5400rpm or 7200rpm drive. As you know, the size, weight, and price design goals dictated that it have a sluggish 4200rpm 2.5 inch drive. The biggest weakness is the hard drive speed. If you play 3D accelerated games, it won't do as well as its "siblings," especially at extreme settings. Cube owners, for example, should give it a serious look. For about the price of a CPU upgrade, you can replace your old, slow Mac with something smaller and faster. The mini will certainly make switching less painless to Windows PC users who already have a display and USB keyboard/mouse. Unless you are a speed fanatic with demanding, resource hungry applications, you should be very happy with your mini. The Mac mini is a credible performer when running "normal" productivity applications. There are other optional cards available for Power Mac such as the Radeon 9800 Pro and GeForce4 Ti There are other cards standard and optional for the Cube such as the Radeon Edition, GeForce2 MX, Radeon 7000, and Radeon 9000. ** We included the listed optional graphics cards in the GRAPHICS INTENSIVE tests ![]()
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