Mac Mini in my future....?

[Sauk]

Well I tried the whole hackentosh thing and could not get it working. Maybe I am dumb and messed up (very possible) or my computer is not compatible.

Anyways looking at the mini the specs look pretty good for a low price. I run all my important stuff off externals anyways so HD size is not an issue.

I plan on upgrading to 4GB memory as well.

Can the mac mini run 2 monitors ok? I have a Dell 2407 (24 inch) and a ASUS 22 inch monitor.

Now I just need to figure out what I am going to do with my PC computer lol The thing still kicks arsh but I just can't handle vista anymore. Anyone in the market for a really nice cpu?

[LostShootingStar]

Man i have been wanting to get a Mac Mini since I saw them, im jelous! http://m08o1124znfu179.imageshacknow.info/img/2465/o09a0208gstn/POTNsmile.gif
http://m08o1124znfu179.imageshacknow.info/img/3218/n08d1214eybr/1by1.gif
http://m08o1124znfu179.imageshacknow.info/img/3200/n08d1214eybr/1by1.gif

[Mark1]

What problems are you having with Vista? I have not had 1...yet. Besides 7 is rumored to be out by summer.

I have been wanting a mini since they came out. No real reason other than they are cool.

[Sauk]

To be honest I used to have an iMac after being a windows use for many many years. When I made the switch I was instantly hooked on the mac os. Vista OS is slow and boring.

I tried windows 7 and it was better, but it still was not my cup of tea.

[Mark1]

I see. Going to Windows from a Mac can be a shock at times.

[Titus213]

A recent discussion at Apple about this very question - http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1926673&tstart=0

[jrm27]

I have one of the older minis and it is fantastic. Small, powerful, and can do everything I need to do. Not sure about the dual monitor setup though as I don't think that is possible with the older intel minis.

[Sauk]

Well I am officially posting on the new mac mini :) I only have one monitor hooked up right now, but I will be changing that soon. Not bad to be honest. Speed wise it feels good.

[cory1848]

New mac minis have dual monitor support via adapters, they will run your monitors fine. Pretty much the same machine as the macbook without the screen, KB, mouse, etc... good machine for the money.

[Sauk]

yep I am working with two monitors from this itty bitty machine. Kinda cool and very quite. If there is another reason I like apple is how quite their machines are.

The nice thing is both monitors are calibrated as well :) Spyder Elite calibration tool.

So far it runs pretty darn fast for what I have used it for.

[Mark1]

At my last Job I got the IT guys to get us USB - VGA adapters. So I ran a second monitor by USB. It looked great. Responce to movement was slow so definatley not a gameing setup. But as a side monitor to put your PS tools it is a great setup.

[Colorblinded]

You can definitely do all that with a Mini although it would not be my preference nor would I really recommend it. Not to mention for the price of a Mini I'd probably just build my own desktop which would be much more flexible and capable. I've got an older G4 Mini... man what a slow pig that is!

It's a shame Apple doesn't just offer a Mac desktop, but so be it. Use whatever OS you like, it's just too bad Apple doesn't let you use theirs on whatever hardware you like.

[stathunter]

I have been a iMac owner for a year and love it. I have never heard of a Mac Mini before-- so I googled it-- I found a few neat uses for the mini:http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/top-5-most-creative-uses-for-the-mac-mini

[René Damkot]

:lol:

[Damian75]

Apple uses or use to use mac mini's running OSX server to handle the POS systems in there stores they are solid little machines.

[[CaliGirl]]

yep I am working with two monitors from this itty bitty machine. Kinda cool and very quite. If there is another reason I like apple is how quite their machines are.

The nice thing is both monitors are calibrated as well :) Spyder Elite calibration tool.

So far it runs pretty darn fast for what I have used it for.

Curious as to what software you are running on this mac mini? Are you using it for photo editing?

[[CaliGirl]]

Hey Matt...can you give an update on how the mac mini is performing and what software you're running. I am thinking about getting one.

[Sauk]

Let me first say that little thing is solid. It is good, but it wasn't good enough for my needs. That little thing has some power and I love how small and quite it is, but I was hoping for a miracle and it was almost there.

It has plenty of connectors and what not. It rain a dual display easily. But I do a ton of ripping home dvd's, image stuff and what not and it just wasn't powerful enough for me to keep it.

I would highly suggest upgrading to 4gb of ram.

Anyways if you just do image work and browsing the internet, I would highly suggest the mac mini.

Solid solid machine.

I decided to return the little bugger and stick with my stupid PC that I yell at every day.

[jrm27]

To add to Sauk:

I've been running a mac mini for over a year now. It's my only computer. I personally haven't experienced any prolems with my uses. Photoediting (photoshop,lightroom, DPP, etc...), Audio production, design, etc... I'm running full stock. I too rip home dvd's and haven't experienced problems.

I may not be using it to the extent of Sauk though!

[Sauk]

jrm27,

Yeah we have like a 1,000 dvds at home and with my pc I can do 3 at a time which really helps. With the mac I was limited to just 1, but hell I might give it another shot to be honest down the road or move to a imac or mac pro.

I just wish I could buy pc parts and use mac OS without going through loops holes galore lol

[[CaliGirl]]

Matt, just for photo editing in LR and CS4, how did it handle the work load?

[Sauk]

I thought it did just fine. Like I said though I would invest in the ram upgrade for sure. But I thought it did just fine. That little thing has some serious power when running mac OS.

[Colorblinded]

;7692951']Matt, just for photo editing in LR and CS4, how did it handle the work load?
On specs alone it'll handle the work load alright but you're paying a pretty hefty penalty for getting it in that small box so that's certainly something to consider. That much money (I configured what I would want for a photography editing machine and hit at least $800) and you could do much better with other options in terms of performance, storage and well almost everything except size.

[Sauk]

To me the biggest perk and want is the OS. And mac to me is light years ahead of MS.

[[CaliGirl]]

To me the biggest perk and want is the OS. And mac to me is light years ahead of MS.

I agree with you here. I'm not really interested so much in the size of the mac mini as I am in the OS. I can get a good deal with a student discount, so it's more more affordable to me then trying to custom build a PC or buy a used G5 which may be overkill for my needs anyway.

[Colorblinded]

To me the biggest perk and want is the OS. And mac to me is light years ahead of MS.
If the OS matters to you then perhaps that penalty in price is worth it. I'm pretty indifferent about what OS it runs, so I personally would not buy a Mini (I do own an older Mini, but that belonged to a friend first).
;7693222']I agree with you here. I'm not really interested so much in the size of the mac mini as I am in the OS. I can get a good deal with a student discount, so it's more more affordable to me then trying to custom build a PC or buy a used G5 which may be overkill for my needs anyway.

I've never seen a student discount that made it a better deal than a custom PC but if you've got that then that's pretty cool! If I could tell someone they could get the Mini with that kind of pricing then I could probably actually recommend it to friends.

Apple really needs a "Mac" desktop with a single dual or quad core processor (not Xeon) and standard motherboard and components.

[jrm27]

The OS is great. I currently have 2gig of Ram in mine and it hasn't hiccuped. Sometimes I'll be is Photoshop with as many as a dozen hi-res Tiffs (50meg+)open, LR going, itunes playing, and a few internet browsing windows up. No problems there.

Having it in a small form is really cool actually. I don't have a laptop, so last year when the band I was in at the time traveled to do a couple weeks of recording, I just unplugged my mini and shoved it in my bag. The studio had an old monitor and keyboard hanging out in the back. So I was able to hookup my mini and do whatever I needed. Pretty cool.

[Sauk]

Apple really needs a "Mac" desktop with a single dual or quad core processor (not Xeon) and standard motherboard and components.


I completely agree and still do not understand why they have not done this. I think it would really begin to take the market share away from MS.

Especially if it was priced right.

Right now I have a PC that has 8GB of ram, q6600 quad core, 1tb of internal HD space and 3 on externals. To be honest though I really have not noticed the big thing about quad core from core 2 duo.

[Colorblinded]

Right now I have a PC that has 8GB of ram, q6600 quad core, 1tb of internal HD space and 3 on externals. To be honest though I really have not noticed the big thing about quad core from core 2 duo.
It depends greatly on how you use it.

I built a desktop a little over two years ago with a dual core and 4GB RAM and wasn't totally satisfied when I was doing some more involved multi-image work with many layers. I sold the board and major components to a friend and upgraded to a quad with 8GB RAM and have been very happy I did.

The OS is great. I currently have 2gig of Ram in mine and it hasn't hiccuped. Sometimes I'll be is Photoshop with as many as a dozen hi-res Tiffs (50meg+)open, LR going, itunes playing, and a few internet browsing windows up. No problems there.

This is a good example of what I mean. Although it may work for him and many others I would find that system inadequate when doing the same things, in fact take many of those running programs out of the picture and I'd still be unsatisfied. 2GB on OSX is an entry point for me (as it is on Windows) but not ideal in either case. Again, this is for me. Everyone has a different way of working, a different definition of fast, smooth or "hiccup" free.

[Mark1]

To be honest though I really have not noticed the big thing about quad core from core 2 duo.


It is not in how you use it. It is in how you write the program! There are tons of programs still not written to take advantage of dual core tech. No less 4 core. Program compays simply cant keep up. They are just now getting in the swing of dual cores.... meanwhile the hardware companys are ready to move from 4 to 8 cores.

[Colorblinded]

There is of course that as well. Adobe makes some use of the cores as does Capture One so I'm seeing the advantages there in terms of processing speed alone based on some rough comparisons I did once many moons ago and didn't care to remember or write down.

The quad with 8GB also passed the "can I use the computer and do other things without noticing a slowdown while merging a big panorama in PTassembler?" test.

[Sauk]

Oh I know the companies are behind, I can really tell the difference between CS4 and CS3 to be honest. But beyond that nothing really

[Moppie]

I've used a Dual and Quad core to process the same images from the same RAW files.
I deffinitly noticed a difference doing clear cutting. Working with layers, refining the edge, and batch processing the images from RAW to Tiff, and from Tiff to JPEG, and the resizing to low res JPEG.

The Quad Core was noticably faster, especialy during the batch processing.

But, more importantly for me, the Quad Core allowed me to multi-task with out any noticable effect on performance.


Both Photoshop and Lightroom will make use of as many cores as you give them.
Note, however that Windows currently handles multi core processing better than OS-X.
The next version, due for release this year is supposed to remedy this however.