I really like the new Mac Mini!!

Maybe a pointless thread, considering I'm not an Apple fan especially after my two bad experiences with a 2009 and 2010 macbook, and not being impressed by OS X, but I have to admit I really like the new Mac Mini and it's form factor! I'm actually seriously considering picking one up. It's honestly a very beautiful machine, and I can't seem to find any equivalent SFF machine elsewhere.
I've read many comments that many people are unhappy about Apple removing the ODD, but since I have an external one already that would be a non-issue for me.
What are your thoughts on the new mini?

 

It definitely is a well built SFF machine. I'd even consider getting one if I didn't have a desktop.

 

It's a notebook without a screen, battery or external power adapter. Nice form factor. Pricey? Yup, but I don't see any serious competition, outside of boutique PC brands.

As far as the lack of an optical drive, it's actually a selling point. I've always hated slot loading drive and don't trust them.

If Apple had only reduced the Mac Mini back to a $499 starting price, I might have made the plunge......

 

I was reading yesterday at the macrumors forums, that some have had heat issues with the new mac mini, but I don't know if it's widespread or not. I'm sure an SSD might help with that. Looking at the tear down pics, it is pretty tight inside considering the tiny size of the machine.
I agree if it was a little lower I'd be less hesitant, but I'm already seriously considering it. I like the lack of an ODD. That's the one thing I had such trouble with in my former macbooks, I had to have them replaced IIRC a total of three times (maybe two, can't quite remember).

 

I read there's room for a 2nd HDD which is great for those SSD + HDD combos.. but yeah heat may be an issue.

 

I would really like the Mac Mini if it were less expensive. As it stands, the machine is incredibly small (about the same size as many drastically underpowered nettops) and has a decent CPU but the price is killer. Like many of Apple's other Macs, the price is high but it comes in at a price I think is higher than it should be. I would actually buy a Mac Mini for my Grandparents if it were priced at $400 (as it should be). They represent the perfect candidates for an inexpensive Mac as well. They already have a rather large monitor, a wireless keyboard and mouse combo, and speakers. They keep buying up $400 desktops running Windows, download all sorts of malware and spyware, the computers become unusable, and then they buy a new one instead of just going Mac. They download all the crap because they don't know any better. Whenever they get a pop-up, they click OK instead of Cancel or just backing out of it. They believe those fake virus scanning ads, download the software, and then can't get rid of it.

However, the Mac Mini is about $200 more than it should be. The baseline configuration should start at $399 and the dual-core i7 version should come in at $499 ($599 if they threw in a 1TB hard drive and 8GB of RAM). I like the design and have always wanted a Mac Mini but I can't justify it right now.

 

The Mini really is a beautiful little thing, and I agree it's overpriced but perhaps by $100 to start at $499. Like most things Apple it holds up really well in resale value.

This past weekend I picked up TWO Minis off Craigslist locally. First was a 2009 with 2.26 Core 2 Duo with 8GB and Apple wireless keyboard and magic mouse for $450. Then later in the day a 2010 came up also locally, also $450 mad: ) with a magic mouse and a magic trackpad everything like new!

So I kept the 8GB and the keyboard and mouse and sold just the 2009 Mini with 4GB for $425 shipped So in the end I paid $475 for a 2010 Mini with 8GB, Apple wireless keyboard, TWO Magicmouse (one is new sealed in the box), and a magic trackpad which I really like using. The Mini still has 5 months warranty too. So assuming retail prices for all the accessories which come out to $280 ($70 apiece), netting the mini for $195!

If you want a Mini, browse your local Craigslist listings.

 

I think they should have kept the ODD... I was considering getting a mini to use as a HTPC... really... it's a desktop... leave the disk... remove it from laptops... I don't care, but it's a draw back... and an unnecessary one. other than that the new mac mini is really nice...

 

I like it, but it's too expensive.

 

It's not too bad, but I've got a agree it's too expensive. The high-end model would've been a much better deal if it at least came with 512MB graphics mem. The Radeon 6650M as it stands is useless with such limited memory.

 

Mac Mini is good.. especially if you are transitioning from Windows based desktops and don't want to fork out too much money for an Apple product.

I am getting the new Mini in 2 months, my Mac Mini 2.1 is slightly too slow for my liking.

 

I considered one but ultimately decided against it.

A Macbook Pro will always be better than a Mini. Yes it is more expensive but not only is it a more powerful desktop than the Mini, but it's also a laptop (and a very good one at that).

I think most people are just seduced by the looks of the Mini, it's got a mobile processor and a mobile GPU in a bloody desktop. I'm sure that suffices for most people but in my opinion, it's just a niche product.

I'm glad I came to my senses before forking over the cash and having to upgrade the damn thing before it was to my liking.

 

and people don't get seduced by the look of the MBP? Also, at that price the Mac Mini is selling at, what more can you ask for?

Also, Mini has a better heat management system than the MBP, and don't throttle that much when the CPU and GPU are stressed.

Some people only need a desktop and Mac Mini offers a compelling option for these customers.

 

I actually have a friend who is about the pull the trigger on a Mac Mini. He has always wanted a Mac but only has about $600 to spend. He was going to get some HP desktop with a quad-core Phenom processor, 6GB of RAM, 1TB hard drive, and blu-ray drive for the same price but he really likes the idea of owning a Mac.

So I agree that the Mac Mini is an alright option for people who want a Mac yet don't want to shell out $1000+ for an iMac, MBP, or MBA but the starting price of the Mini is still way too expensive. Apple's computers have almost always been more expensive than their PC competitors and that is fine but the Mac Mini carries an abnormally high price for what you get and Apple didn't even decrease the Mini's footprint when they removed the optical drive. It is still the same size as last year's model.

All-in-all, the baseline Mac Mini should start at $400 with the higher end one coming in at $550 and the server version at $700. That is why I can't really recommend the Mac Mini to my friend as I think he is overpaying by about $200.

 

You know, I think the price difference between Apple and Windows PCs is grossly exaggerrated when we start talking about total cost of ownership.

 

Maybe, maybe not. Apple has rolled out some lemon Macs just like every other company out there. Apple lost a large deal of control over their quality when they started contracting everything out to a country that will not be named while also selling larger volumes of products. You have just as good of a chance of buying a high maintenance computer from Apple as you would anyone else.

My issue isn't so much that Apple hardware costs more. That has always been the case dating back to when Windows 3.1 was on the scene (though there was a time when Apple's computers were actually cost effective for the home consumer). I actually don't mind spending a little more for a MacBook Pro or a MacBook Air. However, the Mac Mini's price differences between the competition are way too high. We aren't talking about $100 here but rather a drastic difference (~$200 and that is a lot for a system that is $600).

 

has dell made changes for the zino line? from what I can see, while the mac mini is indeed more expensive it has more power than the usual top box that these computers are

I would only buy the mini to serve as htpc

 

I don't know what you mean with total cost of ownership but, I do know that I only paid for my Dell desktop once. I never had to talk to customer support or send anything in after I bought it.

I've owned it for about 16 months now.

I'm sure the Mac Mini is a no hassle purchase too, but I don't think it's one or the other. Windows products have been very reliable for me as of late.

 

I concur. Dell and HP have improved their hardware and Microsoft has done an excellent job with Windows 7.

 

Depends on the model you're talking about.

For $600, I'd want discrete graphics to start with. Oh and how about having more than 2GB of RAM? It wouldn't hurt if they'd throw in a Apple Keyboard and Trackpad/Mouse either. I'm also not sold on a 5400rpm HDD in a desktop.

For $800, I'd want a GPU with more than 256MB of VRAM. a 7200rpm HDD at the bloody least, and like the $600 model it would be more enticing if they threw in the Apple Keyboard and Trackpad/Mouse

Mac Mini is a compelling offer if you have nothing else to do with your money at that point in time. It's not a great machine, but people are willing to overlook it's shortcomings (myself included) just because of it's aesthetics and design.

 

I love the upgraded descreet graphics mini. the only thing that kinda sucks is a 5400 rpm hard drive. the good news is i heard it can hold 2 drives now that the cd rom is gone you just need to find the wire adapter for it. either way i heard upgrading the hard drive is easier in the 2011 model then 2010. I have dream of this mini and a 240 gig ssd drive.

 

A lack of software bloat saves the user time. The bundled software that comes with Mac OS X means that, compared to Windows, software expenses are much less because the system is ready to work out-of-the-box. There are hidden costs that Apple computers don't have, narrowing the price margin.

 

can I ask what expenses?, when I got my first windows laptop 2 years ago I got Open Ofice for free and learned to use Picassa, the MS Live suite/ Windows movie maker ... which is as horrid as iMovie. for the novice/intermediate user there is no need to buy any software for either platform. one you get into larger applications software costs are more or less similar for either.

once I got into business class equipment it became the other way around as all support was free as was the tech coming to me and I no longer had to pay shipping or spend time nor gas driving to the Apple store. even many apps such as Office Professional and the lighter Adobe applications such as PSE were included.

 

Although I agree that a lack of pre-installed crapware saves the user time when first setting up their system, I still don't think Apple computers have lower hidden costs than Windows machines. As previously pointed out, Windows too can work out-of-the-box without issues (aside from having to either reformat and start from scratch or take the extensive time to remove every trace of crapware). Both OS's come pre-loaded with basic software to get people up and running with movie editing, web surfing, and even very basic document writing. More advanced features are going to require software purchases under both platforms.

My MBP had the same "hidden" costs as my last Dell Windows notebook. I still had to buy Office, iWork (because Keynote>PowerPoint), MATLAB, and AutoCAD. Aside from iWork, those are the same programs I had to buy for my Windows notebooks too. So what did I actually save when buying a Mac? Nothing. Luckily all the software was purchased through either my first or second university so it was extremely inexpensive (essentially paying $5-$10 for each title) but the costs and required software for me didn't change.

In fact, I would say that is true for most people. Users who require Office are going to need to buy it regardless of computing platform and the same holds true for anyone else who wants more advanced programs. A Mac is going to cost just as much as a PC (maybe a little more, maybe a little less) in the long run when it comes to software. People are either going to need Office and more advanced programs or they aren't. Buy a Mac or Windows machine isn't going to change that.

 

Everything that comes free on Mac is available free on Windows, everything that I had to buy on Windows I had to buy on Mac or an equivalent of.

 

if you go by category name.. sure...

and WordPad is a Word Processor, so its the same as MS Word too...