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suprz's ghost · Dec 15, 2005, 03:01 PM

If you had to do it over again, would you have bought the mac mini? and if yes, what would have added / deleted from your order?

I'm considering one, due to the attractive price. so it's either a mac mini with a superdrive, with airport at least512 mb of ram and a 80gb HD, or a used g4 off of ebay

macforray · Dec 15, 2005, 10:18 PM

I love my Mac Mini. Of course I was a newbie to Macs when I bought it in August. I have nothing to compare it against other than almost 20 years of using and cursing PC's. It has done everything I have asked of it. I brought it home, hooked it up, and was surfing the net in five minutes. It just worked. I do "aspire" to an iMac 20" some day. I have a wireless network in my home with three PC desktops, two PC laptops and my little Mac Mini (I have seven children). I have no desire to use any of the PC's. I only do so when necessary. Get one, if you don't like it, sell it. You might lose a little money and time, but the experience may be worth it.

MDiddy · Dec 15, 2005, 10:35 PM

I have a 1.42GHz SuperDrive model with 1GB RAM. I love the mini. It works great for my use; a cheap second box to use for web design work. One tip: max out the RAM. The 1GB makes a noticable difference in perfomance for anything above listening to music & web surfing.

Simply depends on your use. I can't think of anything a G4 tower would have over the mini, other than more internal expansion if you wanted to throw an extra drive inside it.

Jasoco · Dec 18, 2005, 05:27 PM

While I love my mini, given a second chance knowing what we know now and what I know now, I would probably have waited 'til the end of this year and goten a 12 or 15" PowerBook instead, but still gotten the 20" display. (Especially since it is now $200 less than when I bought it in January with the mini.)

Cést la vie. But having said that, I do have my mini, but I may not actually be getting another one. Instead I probably will go for the PowerBook as my next computer.

Love my mini. Have it maxed RAM-wise. But it's just still a little slow. Mainly because I have a 20" attached. While I could go lower res, I can't. Not now. Not now that I have tasted 1680x1050. So unless the next mini has a huge amount of VRAM to drive this thing right, I will most likely just go with a PB. (Will most likely retire the mini to my brother. Smaller display of course.)

jfandem · Dec 18, 2005, 06:14 PM

I also have a mini, bought it a while ago, (cant remember, right after it came out I think) and love it. I have the 1.42 model, with Combo drive, and just recently maxed out the Ram and bought tiger. The ram does mage a HUGE difference, and it makes me like the computer much more. You may have read some other threads i posted about the 20'' imac i bought, well i decided to return it for a 20'' ACD and use it with my mini, then wait for the intel mini's or maybe get a powermac later on. Now i always have this display. Also it was hard to think about selling the mini because of how cool it is. Anyway, i also bought the mini due to the price, but i probably WOULD do it again too. Definetly get the 1gig right away though, this thing was almost unusable with tiger and 256mb. Jasoco, are you talking about using a PB as your main computer and then just hook it up to the 20'' while at home? Where would you put the PB to have a clean desktop? Im thinking of trading my ibook for a powerbook....let me know.

G5man · Dec 18, 2005, 09:51 PM

I would not have gotten my mini if I knew a refurb iMac 17" was 900 dollars. My mini became my main computer and its storage has been filled up forcing me to move to another HD so it can boot faster. The G5 would have been perfect but I was on a budget. I would suggest getting an iMac if refurbs are in stock.

Randman · Dec 18, 2005, 11:54 PM

My mini is the family computer (My PB17 is my main), but it more than does the job. Maxed ram, airport and bluetooth. Have it hooked up to a 19" monitor and all my externals (printer, external HDs, etc).

Great Mac for the price.

Psycho Therapist · Dec 20, 2005, 03:58 PM

I bought one back in May. If I had to do it again, I might, but now that I have a PowerMac G5 (Dual 2.0Ghz), it would be low on my list of priorities, unless the new Minis can offer something interesting.

I should have perhaps saved up a bit more and got the 1.42 version, back in May, but I wanted something immediately, to replace my infuriating Beige G3, which struggled with OS X (I had to reinstall OS X 4 times in the space of 2 months on that thing). The Mini was my first "new" Mac, since I was a late adopter (albeit I'd used the classic Mac OS on and off for several years) & the Beige G3 itself was 2nd hand. After about a month or 2, I upgraded the RAM to 512Mb, which was sufficient for what I intended to use it for and it was certainly better than the abysmal 256Mb it came with.

The Mini sits there hardly being used these days, since 4 months later I bought a refurbished G5 and that became my main system, instead of the Mini. It's main function now is just a secondary system for family use.

druber · Dec 20, 2005, 04:10 PM

I recently bought a used Mac mini to replace my MDD G4. Same 1.25Ghz processor, and I have two extra HDs inside the MDD that'll need enclosures or something. The G4 is a great workhorse, but it's big and noisy and has intermittent sleep issues. It also sucks up the electricity. Moving to the mini I'm giving up a port or two, the obvious internal space, PCI-card upgrades. I'm gaining a tiny, noiseless machine (haven't yet heard the fan) that's comparable in speed and costs considerably less. That's for the stock model, which fits my needs right now just fine. What about a G4 tower do you find attractive?

honz · Dec 20, 2005, 05:40 PM

Got my mini just after Apple announced the intel switch. I was going to get a G5 powermac, but decided to get a cheaper computer to tide me over as I know once the intel switch is done I'll be wanting a new computer.
It's the family computer and does it's job great, however sometimes it's a little slow and I hear myself muttering to myself that I should have just gone ahead and got the G5

Agent69 · Dec 21, 2005, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by druber

I recently bought a used Mac mini to replace my MDD G4. Same 1.25Ghz processor, and I have two extra HDs inside the MDD that'll need enclosures or something. The G4 is a great workhorse, but it's big and noisy and has intermittent sleep issues. It also sucks up the electricity. Moving to the mini I'm giving up a port or two, the obvious internal space, PCI-card upgrades. I'm gaining a tiny, noiseless machine (haven't yet heard the fan) that's comparable in speed and costs considerably less. That's for the stock model, which fits my needs right now just fine. What about a G4 tower do you find attractive?

I was in the same boat as you. I had the 1.25ghz Single Processor MDD and ended up going to a Mini. I have the 1.5ghz model with 64MB of VRAM, so it is basically as fast as what I had before, but without the bulk and noise. Sure, the video card is not Core Image compatable but I never missed that feature on my MDD either.

As for noise, the only time I ever hear the Mini's fan is when using Microsoft's Media Player to play .wmv files; I need to find out if the same thing occurs when using Flip4Mac.

blikum · Dec 21, 2005, 12:41 PM

It's a great little work horse! I have the 1.42 g /combo drive/80gb HD/1 gb ram running 10.4.3 server. It makes a great server! It's very quiet.

JMII · Dec 23, 2005, 09:51 PM

Originally Posted by druber

I'm gaining a tiny, noiseless machine (haven't yet heard the fan) that's comparable in speed and costs considerably less.

I just got a Mac mini for my parents and as G4 MDD owner I can atest to the complete silence of the mini (as long as CD / DVD is not in the drive). While the mini's size is impressive and downright amazing its the lack of noise that keeps a smile on your face. Anyone can hide a computer under a desk but the noise always gives it away

and given the wind tunnel sound of a MDD it's a BIG difference

osxrules · Dec 24, 2005, 03:40 PM

I bought a 1.25 GHz Mini with 1GB Ram and a superdrive. It has a 40GB HD.

I would not recommend buying the superdrive. The support for 3rd party brands is bad. All my stuff burns at 2x and it's supposed to be 4x. I had to get an external DVD burner and I honestly rarely ever use my Mini's drive now. One other reason is the slot drive - I prefer trays.

The good thing about getting the superdrive though is that it gives better resale value but if you don't have enough money for both a superdrive and an external drive, I'd go for the external.

Apple are charging $100 for the 4x superdrive. You can get a 16x drive from Lacie with Toast for $129. I actually used to have a Lacie CD burner and all I did was buy an LG DVD burner from a local PC shop. It said it was only Windows compatible but it works great.

Some might think 40GB internal HD is too low but I prefer having two drives so I have an external 80GB HD. That way, I keep a clone of my system in case of disaster and I backup regularly.

Definitely get 1GB Ram. You could get by with 512 if you don't do much with OS X but with the system sucking 256, it really doesn't leave much. Also, it can't take more than 1GB and if you ever did want to upgrade the Ram you really can't open it yourself because Apple have made it consumer-proof so you'd have to pay an extra fee to get it done.

I'd say I'm really happy with my Mini and after getting a headless Mac, I wouldn't go back to an all-in-one. I dislike LCD displays very much and that's part of the reason.

I also have a powerbook and I will say that it feels faster but the display look horrible. I'd have to use an external CRT for any pro work.

The biggest problem with the Mini is the graphics card. 32MB VRam isn't enough and it should have shipped with 64MB but it seems that they are now if you get lucky.

I'd personally hang off until the Intel Minis come out because the value of all PowerPCs will drop when they do but you won't be disappointed with the Mini. It's insanely quiet. I sleep beside mine - no jokes please - and it's like 2 feet from my head and I have no problem whatsoever. I can't even sleep with a ticking clock in the room so that's really how quiet it is. I should add that I leave it on all night downloading too so it's not like it's sleeping.

I wish they'd have made a G5 Mini and scrapped the imac too but it would probably have had colling issues too. I think the G5 imac is one ugly machine. The new version is better but I still think it looks horrible, especially compared to the Mini. When the Intels emerge, this problem should be sorted though.

colosodian · Dec 24, 2005, 10:42 PM

I bought a 1.25ghz mini in june, and have been loving it ever since. Knowing what I know now, If I were to have the chance to go back, I would have bought a 12" powerbook.

mkral · Dec 29, 2005, 10:57 AM

I love my mini. I bought it mostly for entertainement, hooking it up to our plasma TV. Originally, the plan was to play music through itunes, watch DVD's, etc. The DVD's were nowhere near as clear as through component video inputs, so I also bought a DVD player. I got the top of the line 1.42 mini, with bluetooth, 80 gig HD, etc. I upped the RAM myself, it was very easy. Two weeks ago my ibook died & the mini was forced into service. I used it pretty much non-stop for 10 days while my powerbook got delivered. Overall it was fast enough for my needs, but the only really processor intensive stuff I use regularly is Quickbooks. I think it makes a great machine. I wou;dn't have any hesitation buying one for my main computer, if I didn't need a laptop.

eddiecatflap · Dec 31, 2005, 11:35 AM

my sister was bought an mac mini 1.5 for xmas , it's a stunner

silent and SO fast , compared to my G4800 fp imac anyway , also connects to the tv and looks stunning too

really very VERY impressed , when i upgrade will prob buy one rather than a tower as i don't need all those expansions ports

demibob · Dec 31, 2005, 12:06 PM

mac mini =

iREZ · Dec 31, 2005, 02:12 PM

id buy a mini in a heartbeat but the VRAM is the sealer for me, and until they announce the new specs online, theres no way im going to gamble on a faster hd, processor and more vram.

G5man · Dec 31, 2005, 02:23 PM

I would not have gotten one again, when Apple had iMac's from the second generation of the G5's on sale for 900 dollars, I thought "I could have gotten a low line iMac for the price of a top of the line mini". Right now I ended up getting an external drive to keep the speed up on the mini, right now, if I keep adding stuff, I am going to need an iMac soon.

tahoebob · Jan 2, 2006, 02:03 AM

I have only had my mac Mini for about 3 weeks now and I love it. i was using a 333 Imac with 9.2, so the mini is a huge jump for me. I got it from the apple store a referb unit for $430.00, but they when I registered with apple they sent me a $30.00 off coupon. It only came with 256 of memory, another $100.00 for a giog chip, but I sold that 256 chip on ebay for $45.00, Apple messed up the shipping so they sent me a "mighty mouse" mouse free, I had used one before so i sold that for $35.00 on ebay. the whole thing ended up costing me $455.00. and on my budget right now thats all i could spend

G5man · Jan 2, 2006, 02:20 AM

I have had my mini for more than 4 months, this was my first Mac that I owned, it was just as fast as my 2.6 GHz HT Dell. Slows down when the HD is filled, but, it did not slow down as much. RIght now, I had to get an external drive to speed up the computer, it will not hold for much longer, and I am thinking of jumping to iMac G5.

AC Rempt · Jan 2, 2006, 03:34 AM

I use my Mini as a server, having added a La Cie 160 FireWire drive, and it works really well. I can now access my files anywhere I can get a connection and FTP. IT's whisper quiet, too. All in all, a nice little machine.