After over a year without a single update, the Mac mini is officially back. The last update to the Mac mini came way back in August 2007 when they received Core 2 Duo processors. They are still using Core 2 Duo processors, and not the Intel Atom as many feared. There is no change to the speed, only the processor revision, which is the same that’s used in the entry level Alu MacBook. Elswhere the graphical prowess has been boosted thanks to NVIDIA and their rather tasty 9400m Chipset/GPU combo chip, which offers up to 5 x the performance over the Intel GMA950 GPU in the existing Mac mini. Also a welcome boost is the inclusion of N-spec WiFi, the lack of which some found as a limitation when using the previous model as a Media Server, many ended up connecting it via Ethernet.
2.0GHz : 120GB
2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
1GB DDR3 Memory
120GB Hard Drive
8 x double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M Graphics
£499.00
2.0GHz : 320GB
2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB DDR3 Memory
320GB Hard Drive
8 x double-layer SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M Graphics
£649.00
Not much bang for your buck I’ll have to be honest. Very dissapointed to see the top end model only have a 2.0GHz CPU, what about the 2.4GHz? You can get a 2.26GHz BTO option on both models, at a whopping £120! No thank you Apple.
I’m quite disappointed too. I was waiting on these updates before making a decision on buying a Mac Mini (to have permanently connected to my HDTV and Amp) but these specs at these prices mean i’ll wait a while longer, or possibly look to eBay for an older model if i do decide to buy one.
I agree Dave, although the base model is a decent machine for £499 I still think the price is rather high. The main benefit you’d have getting one of the new one’s is high def video, I’d see the GMA950 in the older Mac Mini struggling with 720p, nevermind 1080p. Saying that thought, how about I test it out for you!
Yeah, cool if you can do that.
My MacBook 2Ghz C2D will play 720p no worries (and even 1080p if i have nothing else running haha!).
That’s using XBMC. I found Quicktime and VLC to not be as good (and certainly incapable of using FWD and RWD without causing problems).
I guess until these current Mini’s drop in price or get superseded, i’ll stick with connecting my MacBook to my HDTV to watch HD stuff. I would love to have a dedicated Mac for this though.