Mac mini lasting?

[Daylene]

Hi everyone,

I need a new pc and am seriously considering buying a mac mini. What I'd like to know, is a few things.

1) Will the mini last a good lot of years? I am thinking of getting upgraded to 1gb of ram when I have the extra cash when I buy it

2)Can I use external hard drives with it?

3) I have a usb mouse, but a keyboard that goes into the ps/2 keyboard slot I believe. Will this work with the mini?

4)Would you recommend buying it?

5) Is there any good sites with lots of info on the mini?

Oh and one more thing, does the mini come with an osx cd so I can reformat if needed?

Thanks :)

[Scraggles]

I plan on getting a mac mini myself soon. I already have 3 comps though, so I'm debating it. I do believe that the mini will last as long as any 500$ pc would be expected to last. Basically, it's for people like you and I who want a mac, but we don't know if macs are worth 3k. It's a great place to start in my opinion.

I don't know much about macs, but I have heard of people using their own mice and keyboards with em.

www.mac.com has more information.

[spcargt]

There aren't any PS/2 ports, but you could get a PS/2->USB adapter. You can use either USB or FireWire external HD's with it (it's encouraged actually). I'm a switcher and I've never looked back.

[punker429]

1. They should last a long time, I have an Apple LCII from the early 90's that still runs perfectly.

2. OSX has full support for external drivers.

3. You will need a USB keyboard the mini lacks ps/2 ports. I though they should include at least one since many pc users still use ps/2 connectors.

4. I'm going to order one next week. I was waiting to see how they stack up against other computers in the apple line and I'm very impressed.

5. Anandtech Mini Review They did a pretty good review except for comparing it to the Dell.

[unspec]

Hi everyone,

I need a new pc and am seriously considering buying a mac mini. What I'd like to know, is a few things.

1) Will the mini last a good lot of years? I am thinking of getting upgraded to 1gb of ram when I have the extra cash when I buy it

It won't get slower. You will have to predict your own useage habbits to answer that question. However, you can upgrade the RAM at a later date either yourself or through an Apple service centre.

2)Can I use external hard drives with it?

Yes, both USB2 and Firewire will work.

3) I have a usb mouse, but a keyboard that goes into the ps/2 keyboard slot I believe. Will this work with the mini?

The mini has no ps/2 ports. USB mice and keyboards will work fine.

4)Would you recommend buying it?

No. I have no idea what you would need it for, or what you are comparing it to. Advice without that information is pointless.

5) Is there any good sites with lots of info on the mini?

http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/ubb.x/.../m/679008139631

Oh and one more thing, does the mini come with an osx cd so I can reformat if needed?

They supply an install CD, you will be able to re-install with.

[ph3412t3h13]

Hi everyone,

I need a new pc and am seriously considering buying a mac mini. What I'd like to know, is a few things.

1) Will the mini last a good lot of years? I am thinking of getting upgraded to 1gb of ram when I have the extra cash when I buy it

2)Can I use external hard drives with it?

3) I have a usb mouse, but a keyboard that goes into the ps/2 keyboard slot I believe. Will this work with the mini?

4)Would you recommend buying it?

5) Is there any good sites with lots of info on the mini?

Oh and one more thing, does the mini come with an osx cd so I can reformat if needed?

585383677[/snapback]

1) it should

2) u should

3) it should

4) i would

5) there should

u r welcome :whistle:

[gdodson]

The mac mini will probably "function" for a long time, but it will become obsolete in the next year. It really isn't worth it unless you want a mac, you can build almost twice the pc for the same money. The mini would only be good for typing and internet surfing, that's it.

[Rudy]

Hi everyone,

I need a new pc and am seriously considering buying a mac mini. What I'd like to know, is a few things.

1) Will the mini last a good lot of years? I am thinking of getting upgraded to 1gb of ram when I have the extra cash when I buy it

2)Can I use external hard drives with it?

3) I have a usb mouse, but a keyboard that goes into the ps/2 keyboard slot I believe. Will this work with the mini?

4)Would you recommend buying it?

5) Is there any good sites with lots of info on the mini?

Oh and one more thing, does the mini come with an osx cd so I can reformat if needed?

Thanks :)

585383677[/snapback]

1) yes

2) yes

3) no, u need a usb keyboard or a usb to ps2 adapter

4) yes

5) yes

[Devoto.]

I'm anxiously awaiting my Mac Mini to be shipped out, should be on or before 4/2/2005 and I can't wait.

If I get on well with Mac OSX, which I think I almost certainly will, I will certainly upgrade to a PowerMac or similar in the future. When I get my Mini my PC will become pretty much defunct, apart from the odd usage of it here and there.

Anyway, I found a decent Mac Mini Forum at http://macminiforums.com/forums/ - it's an interesting read. So check that out.

Edited January 30, 2005 by bass87

[meamog]

The mini would only be good for typing and internet surfing, that's it.

B.S.

At school, we recently upgraded our Mac lab to dual-processor G5's, very nice machines indeed. Still, last year, we had 500Mhz G4's. They ran photoshop and illustrator fine, though they could have really used 512 Ram. I use a 800Mhz Powerbook with a gig of ram, and it's a very very capable machine. Macs aren't all about clock speed, the OS is really optimized well for the hardware, so don't listen to the people saying "it's so slooooow, only 1.25 Ghz!" Regardless - as long as you aren't gaming, the Mac mini will most likely be able to do anything you throw at it, at least until OSX Tiger comes out.

[gdodson]

First of all, the mini isn't a dual G5, so why post that? I'm not dumb, I know about the clock speed, but since the only advantages of macs over pc's are the editing software, the mini isn't quite as fast as it should be for that software. So, compared to a regular pc, it's not worth the purchase, unless all you want is a mac to type and surf the net. Plus OSX is a memory hog.

[Devoto.]

First of all, the mini isn't a dual G5, so why post that? I'm not dumb, I know about the clock speed, but since the only advantages of macs over pc's are the editing software, the mini isn't quite as fast as it should be for that software. So, compared to a regular pc, it's not worth the purchase, unless all you want is a mac to type and surf the net. Plus OSX is a memory hog.

585384185[/snapback]

Man, why post something that doesn't contribute to the thread at all? If it isn't worth saying then don't say it!

The Mac Mini is aimed at switchers, i.e people wanting to get to grips with Mac OSX and not spend too much money. Not for people who want a really powerful computer capable of running really intense applications. Like me for example, all I use the PC for is web surfing, checking my email and using iTunes with my iPod Mini. That's all I will be doing with the Mac Mini so it will suite me down to the ground.

[sundayx Veteran]

no. i would recommend buying it but not at this moment in time. wait till tiger. then there will be hardware upgrades. i dont see why so many people are buying it at the moment. i mean, tigers coming in less than half a year. :huh:

[unspec]

First of all, the mini isn't a dual G5, so why post that? I'm not dumb, I know about the clock speed, but since the only advantages of macs over pc's are the editing software, the mini isn't quite as fast as it should be for that software. So, compared to a regular pc, it's not worth the purchase, unless all you want is a mac to type and surf the net. Plus OSX is a memory hog.

585384185[/snapback]

No, you are being dumb.

Did you not read the part about the 500MHz G4s? Or the 800MHz Powerbook?

I guess not.

The mini is fast enough. The PC comparison might mean something when the same software is on XP.

As for being a memory hog, what exactly is the use of free memory?

[aldo]

Agreed.

OSX is a ridiculous memory hog. I was watching the NextStep 3.0 promo video (from 1992). It was running on a 68k (IIRC) 33MHz w/ 4MB RAM.

It was almost exactly the same as OSX is. Apart from the eyecandy, OSX hardly fits into 512MB RAM, and it really hasn't changed much.

[prz]

.. Windows trolls are going to get this thread closed, remain on topic.

Yes, the Mini will run tiger fine, and will have a longer lifetime than any PC you'll buy. Don't be misled.

Edited January 30, 2005 by XxiNickxX

[Rudy]

.. Windows trolls are going to get this thread closed, remain on topic.

Yes, the Mini will run tiger fine, and will have a longer lifetime than any PC you'll buy. Don't be misled.

585384919[/snapback]

:yes: :yes: :yes: :yes:

[macman87]

The mac mini will probably "function" for a long time, but it will become obsolete in the next year. It really isn't worth it unless you want a mac, you can build almost twice the pc for the same money. The mini would only be good for typing and internet surfing, that's it.

585384111[/snapback]

Yes, everyone can build PCs. Hold on, can you build one as small as the mini with the same price?? and the mini is only good for "typing" (word processing), surfing the net, and running iLife. And thats all it needs to be good at. Heck, that will satisfy me for quiet a while I think.

[fuzzy_logic]

How long the Mac mini can last, in my opinion, hardly has anything to do with the hardware. It really depends on the OS and other software. If you are content with running DOS, a machine from 1995 will probably last you quite long.

From past trend, it seems like every new version of Mac OS runs faster than the its predecessor on the same machine. Take Tiger, for example, is reportedly faster than Panther on the same machine. If this trend continues (of course it will not go on forever), you'll probably be happy with your Mac mini for quite a while... It's your call!