Son wants one for christmas and I think it looks expensive for what it is, does anyone have any experience good or bad. Do not get too technical as I am a luddite with technology.
Thanks for any input.
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Apple mini macs opinions
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Posted 6 months ago #
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Great machine but if you have to buy a screen, keyboard and mouse to go with it then it's not cheap, especially when a better performing iMac isn't much dearer. If you have the rest then worth looking at if you/ he really wants a mac. Usual mac/pc debate will now follow
Posted 6 months ago # -
They are a bit expensive for what they are compared to a PC, but they're the cheapest way into Mac ownership by some margin. They also hold their value like no other computer, buy one now and you'll sell it in 3 years for more than half what you paid for it!
Posted 6 months ago # -
Thanks M6TTF thats the kind of stuff I am looking for.I suspect he only wants one cos his mate has one, And please everyone I do not want to turn this into a Mac/PC debate.
Posted 6 months ago # -
Bought one about 3.5 years back and the previous owner did a clean install on it. Despite not running antivirus sw it's running smoothly still and has had no issues at all. By far my most positive computing experience tbh.
Posted 6 months ago # -
I have 2 from 3 and 4 years ago. They are fine and look good. But not very powerful. If you were needing to do video editing, or gaming, avoid. Memory upgrading is a fiddle but worth it... Good for basic family stuff and as media servers. Nice small shape too. But I think they are now coming without the optical drive which I would want.
I have had them crash a bit, where as my iMac has never crashed. ILife gives you a good range of free software.
I'm not a macaddict btw. We also have a pc and a laptop on Linux.
Posted 6 months ago # -
I've got the latest Mac Mini 2.5GHz i5 500gb one connected through my 42" plasma tv in the living room and can really recommend it. I use the wifi keyboard and trackpad mouse with it which all works well together. I use it to stream movies from the Internet and to watch movies stored on my Apple time machine via the built in wifi. I only bought it as a multi media centre rather than a computer for computing, I have a MacBook for that!
Posted 6 months ago # -
I have an older (2007) one; it's not the fastest thing in the world but it's silent, takes very little power, and most importantly sits on the desk taking up very little space instead of the old PC taking up loads of precious legroom under the desk. The new ones don't need a separate power block too, so my next computer will almost certainly be a new mac mini. I don't know why most PCs aren't built like it...
Posted 6 months ago # -
Same as Mr_Mojo, needed to update my eight year old PowerBook, and managed to get my hands on one of the previous models reduced because the latest had just come in. I had the optical drive removed and a second HDD installed in the space, and the shop found some RAM on a shelf which they shoved in for free, I bought it with the BT keyboard and the Trackpad, total cost £630, with 4Gb RAM and 1.1Tb storage.
Added an external optical drive for ripping CD's and burning discs if need be. Sits under the TV which is the monitor, a 40" Bravia.
Works perfectly for me, quiet, unobtrusive, there when I need it just by selecting its HDML input on the TV's menu.
If you have a monitor and keyboard from an older PC then use that; it's how the Mini was designed to be used, after all,
but a TV works fine.Posted 6 months ago # -
We use ours in the same way as Mr_Mojo and CountZero except it is also used as the main music server for the house as well as cachup TV services.
The new version is very easy to upgrade the RAM. It's a 2 minute job.
The lack of a optical drive is a bit of a pain, as we use ours to rip new CD's we needed to get an external one. The external drive wasn't particularly expensive but it would have been nicer if it had been built in.
They are expensive compared to a similarly specified PC but they do not depreciate as quickly should you decide to sell it in a couple of years.
If you don't already have a mouse keyboard and monitor then as mentioned above the imac is probably a better overall deal. Used with the TV the combination of bluetooth keyboard, mouse and trackpad is great. means that the computer can stay tucked away in a cupboard out of sight and still be used sat across the other side of the room. I also have an imac for work and that uses the wired apple keyboard and a logitech mouse as I find the apple mouse a poor shape for extended use. The multitouch functionality on the magic mouse make it fantastic for occasional use but I find I get a sore hand if i use it all day every day.
Power consumption is very low and ours has so far been on permanently (it goes into sleep mode when not in use) for about three months without any issues. Double tap on the space bar to wake it and it's good to go every time. As it should be.
Posted 6 months ago # -
I've not bot one but would like one for a business server. If you want a cheap way into mac ownership you could look at installing OSX on a PC. I did a dell optiplex yesterday and once I've got the/a network card working it will be a great Internet tool for the kids.
Posted 6 months ago # -
If you have the time - build an ITX hackintosh.
If you have the money, just get the Mac.
Posted 6 months ago #
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