[milf]

I'm looking for suggestions on which mac-mini configuration to purchase. I have a 1Ghz PB that will still be my primary. The mini will serve primarily to hold and play music. I'll have it connected to my stereo system and my Pio plasma. I'm also looking at the wireless keyboard and mouse. I don't think anything too strenuous will be required of this little system.

So my question is, should I still jump for the faster processor and/or extra ram? Will I notice that much more snappiness in OS X, or are these additions primarily for heavy users and graphics folks? Should I at least get the 512 and then upgarde to 1GB if I deem necessary down the road? That's a bit easier to do than the processor. Also, what should I consider for resale value down the road.

Suggestions?

[iREZ]

i'm in the same situation as yourself. i have the same pb and want a mini to serve as some sort of media center. i'd say go with the higher clock speed because for an extra hundred bux you not only do you get a faster machine, but you get the hard drive upgrade which is a $50 extra for the smaller version (and seriously...40gb isn't enough in this day n age). superdrive is up to you, and you have to get that sucker up to 1gb of RAM if you wanna use it as anything else other than a server, but if you're only gonna use it as server/web/email machine...then 512mb should be plenty. if it were me, i'd go with the 1.25 model, up the ram to 1GB and toss in a 100gb 7200RPM hard drive in it and get an external superdrive or internal depending on how frugal i wanna be, luckily i have a filthy rich cousin who's gonna sell me his dual 1ghz for 800 bux, or else i'd be in the same boat as you are right now. post back and tell use what you ended up doin...i'm very curious in this.

[milf]

I'm not so much worried about HD space, as I have a 120GB external firewire drive that I plan to leave connected to the mini. I went to the Apple store set on walking out with a mini, but their configuration options are so limited, that I have to order from the online store.

The Apple store guy did bring up a good point. I do intend on using this as a means for recording digital HD cable down the road. I'm sure the 1GB of ram would serve nicely for that. Anyone else have a suggestion?

Originally Posted by iREZ

i'm in the same situation as yourself. i have the same pb and want a mini to serve as some sort of media center. i'd say go with the higher clock speed because for an extra hundred bux you not only do you get a faster machine, but you get the hard drive upgrade which is a $50 extra for the smaller version (and seriously...40gb isn't enough in this day n age). superdrive is up to you, and you have to get that sucker up to 1gb of RAM if you wanna use it as anything else other than a server, but if you're only gonna use it as server/web/email machine...then 512mb should be plenty. if it were me, i'd go with the 1.25 model, up the ram to 1GB and toss in a 100gb 7200RPM hard drive in it and get an external superdrive or internal depending on how frugal i wanna be, luckily i have a filthy rich cousin who's gonna sell me his dual 1ghz for 800 bux, or else i'd be in the same boat as you are right now. post back and tell use what you ended up doin...i'm very curious in this.

[TomR]

Originally Posted by milf

I'm looking for suggestions on which mac-mini configuration to purchase. I have a 1Ghz PB that will still be my primary. The mini will serve primarily to hold and play music. I'll have it connected to my stereo system and my Pio plasma. I'm also looking at the wireless keyboard and mouse. I don't think anything too strenuous will be required of this little system.

So my question is, should I still jump for the faster processor and/or extra ram? Will I notice that much more snappiness in OS X, or are these additions primarily for heavy users and graphics folks? Should I at least get the 512 and then upgarde to 1GB if I deem necessary down the road? That's a bit easier to do than the processor. Also, what should I consider for resale value down the road.

Suggestions?

The difference between the 2 processors (IMHO) is minimal and you'll never ssee it unless you run a benchmark test so I say go with the 1.25 and at least 512 RAM. That's the mini I bought and received last week and it rocks.

You'll love it.

Tom

[andreas_g4]

1.25 GHz with 512 MB RAM will suite you just fine. However, RAM is so cheao nowadays, I'd get the 1 GB stick.

[milf]

I went ahead and bought the 1.42 w/ 512MB, airport, superdrive, and bluetooth.

While the 1.25 probably would have been just fine, the Apple store doesn't carry a wide variety of options containing the wireless and bluetooth options. The only choice I had was to pick up the 1.42. Either that or wait a week or so and order from the online store.

So I set everything up last night. It's a fun new toy. I'm working on setting the resolution and font size to something reasonable. I have it connected to my 43" plasma. At the top resolution, I have plenty of space to work with, which I prefer, but I can hardly see the letters from 6ft away. I'd have to jump it up to 1024x768 at least to see without straining. Is there a way to globally increase the font size throughout os x, so that I can keep the high resolution, just have super large font?

[milf]

Originally Posted by TomR

The difference between the 2 processors (IMHO) is minimal and you'll never ssee it unless you run a benchmark test so I say go with the 1.25 and at least 512 RAM. That's the mini I bought and received last week and it rocks.

You'll love it.

Tom

Damn it. I knew as soon as I bought it something else would come up. Found a local seller willing to give the exact same machine for $700. Of course it's a few months old, but regardless. I'd save $100 bucks buying his.

[TomR]

Originally Posted by milf

Damn it. I knew as soon as I bought it something else would come up. Found a local seller willing to give the exact same machine for $700. Of course it's a few months old, but regardless. I'd save $100 bucks buying his.

"MILF"! I love it!

[tooki]

I agree that the CPU difference will be minimal.

I say go for 1GB of RAM -- but not from Apple. It's silly to buy 512MB now, and then have to remove it and replace it with the gigabyte later on. Especially since, IIRC, RAM prices are expected to rise.

tooki

[sodamnregistered2]

If you are just going to use the mini as an app server type of thing, the 1.25 will be fine.

Def get 1GB ram.