[djmpower]

I am considering purchasing an Intel Core Duo Mac Mini with a 23" Apple Cinema Display.

Is the the graphics chip on the new Intel Mini powerful enough to drive this display properly (quickly and well)? I know that it is compatible, but would the integrated video card be strained running such a large display - is it going to tax the system trying to run this display or cause fans on the Mini to run loudly?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
DJ

[iREZ]

the 128mb will run it just fine with no noticeable lag in expose or dashboard...of course while running a game, you'll notice lots better performance if you ran it on only your imac with the external not plugged in. if you upgrade the imac to 256mb i will put 100% guarantee that you will not notice any slowdown.

[EFFENDI]

This is the exact same setup I am working on (just got the Mini) and I did plenty research before checking it out. I had a chance to play with this exact setup at the Apple retail store and it performed quite well. As iREZ stated, I also found that Exposé and Dashboard (with those cool Core effects) perform extremely well with no noticeable lag at all. Finder browsing is quite snappy. The ultimate advantage to this was having two full Safari windows open at a time though - browsing nirvana as far as I was concerned.

Although I didn't have any chance to try games, the reviews and benchmarks I have read find that games are admittedly slow, but still playable. UT2004, etc. are all running right around 25-30fps, in the stock configuration with 512MB of RAM. However, I highly doubt if those are at 1920x1080 resolutions. Obviously, if you are a hardcore gamer, you should be looking at other options like an iMac Core Duo or a PowerMac G5.

I plan to max out the RAM on my system soon (2 GB) and I am quite sure this will have a positive effect on framerates in 3D games, as well as 2D performance. Even though I don't particularly play games, I will report my experiences and performance findings here once I have the system in hand. Right now, I just have a 1280x1024 17" LCD, which I can't do 1080p resolution testing on.

[harrisjamieh]

Originally Posted by iREZ

the 128mb will run it just fine with no noticeable lag in expose or dashboard...of course while running a game, you'll notice lots better performance if you ran it on only your imac with the external not plugged in. if you upgrade the imac to 256mb i will put 100% guarantee that you will not notice any slowdown.

I think you need to re-read the OPs post, he is looking for a Mac Mini not an iMac

[iREZ]

holy crap i thought you said imac....count my previous statement VOID (id been drinking that night).

[plastiqueusa]

I've got a 1.66 GHz Mini and it's very good at 1900x1200 over DVI; you shouldn't have any problems. There are no issues with the fan turning on because of graphics stress--I don't think my fan has ever spun up at all.

I have 2GB of RAM, and everything visually and performance-wise is very smooth (things were a little choppy overall with the base RAM). I don't play games, though, mostly watch movies/videos and other basic stuff. The Mini is more optimized for video than 3D--it plays Quicktime 1080 movie trailers pretty well.

Hope that helps in your decision.

[MacOS-Fan]

I am only running 1 GB of RAM, I have experienced no choppy characteristics and my fan has NEVER spun up either. I am almost always running 4-6 apps at a time and it doesn't seem to phase my Mini at all.