Limitations of a Mac Mini


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I have been running OSX86 on my PC setup for quite some time now, so much that i think i may as well just buy a mac... but i just don't agree with the pricing of the iMacs.. even the educational discount is a very small discount.

So i'm looking at the Mac Mini... but what are it's limitations, with it being so small.

Can i upgrade the parts?... i'd just buy the cheapest mac mini then upgrade it myself.

I'd like to upgrade the processor to around 3.0ghz, I'd replace the HDD with something like 500GB/1TB

and also the memory would be replaced with my own non-apple 4GB memory (800mhz)... whats the highest the ram can go?

The only thing i'm not bothered about is the graphics card, if the "NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics" is capable of playing world of warcraft then i don't need to change it.

I only really use my osx86 for Logic Pro 8, browsing/im and world of warcraft.

Any advice on this would be great, is it possible? i really want a mac now.. but can't afford the high pricing, whats the cheapest way to obtain a mac?

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The processor and RAM are easily upgradable, as long as you are fairly handy with a screwdriver and a little bit of playing around with a putty knife to get the machine open. Keep in mind that the hard drive in it is a laptop-style SATA drive, so your size there is limited by what is available, but I'm fairly sure a 500GB drive is available that would fit. The RAM is laptop-style as well.

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If you already have it running on your PC then I don't see how buying a Mac Mini will make things any better.

Laptops are a completely different thing, but a Mac Mini is just like a PC, its case doesn't offer any benefit other than its size.

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CPU, RAM and HDD are about all you can upgrade (without replacing the mobo, but it's a custom design so good luck)

Browsing, IM and WoW would run fine on it, they run fine on a 4 year old eMac with a 1.2Ghz G4 processor, so a new Mac with a 2Ghz C2D would run them even better.

Edit: The GPU in the Mac Mini uses Shared Memory, so make sure you boost the ram (I've got the stock 2GB, 256MB of which is shared with the GPU)

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If you already have it running on your PC then I don't see how buying a Mac Mini will make things any better.

Laptops are a completely different thing, but a Mac Mini is just like a PC, its case doesn't offer any benefit other than its size.

It's not a mac though is it, i have the shutdown problem which only shuts down one core so i have to turn off the computer from the power button... i also have a problem with no Quartz Extreme but that can be fixed by upgrading to a compatiable gfx card.

I have also been told that the OSX runs alot better when it's on an actual mac, even though my installation is quite flawless apart from that i mentioned above.

I didn't realise it was basically a laptop, surely that will make it slower than my PC.. 2.5ghz intel core 2, 4gb drr2 800mhz, 500gb, etc...

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It'll be slower due to the fact that the CPU is 500Mhz slower.

Just being a closer to a laptop than a desktop won't effect the speed, the speed of the parts will though.

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I had Mac minis and currently own 2 iMacs. The only limitation is hard drive spindle speed, specifically with stuff like Garageband. Besides that, I have found no major issues with using the Mac mini as a full time desktop. The only reason I went with iMacs is I needed new monitors anyway and I wanted better performance for audio recoriding with the faster hard drive speed. You could get pretty close with a mini though.

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It's not a mac though is it, i have the shutdown problem which only shuts down one core so i have to turn off the computer from the power button... i also have a problem with no Quartz Extreme but that can be fixed by upgrading to a compatiable gfx card.

OK, I assumed your install was running with no issues.

But I still think that the "Mac" experience on a Mac Mini is retrieved only from OS X, so you'd be better off with a regular, cheaper PC running it.

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I had Mac minis and currently own 2 iMacs. The only limitation is hard drive spindle speed, specifically with stuff like Garageband. Besides that, I have found no major issues with using the Mac mini as a full time desktop. The only reason I went with iMacs is I needed new monitors anyway and I wanted better performance for audio recoriding with the faster hard drive speed. You could get pretty close with a mini though.

So do you think i could run into problems with Logic, i run all my samples from the hard disk.. i also record audio from time to time, i would have an professional external usb/firewire sound card though.

OK, I assumed your install was running with no issues.

But I still think that the "Mac" experience on a Mac Mini is retrieved only from OS X, so you'd be better off with a regular, cheaper PC running it.

your probably right, i could buy a mac mouse, keyboard, compatible gfx card and even a better supported motherboard for alot less of the price and have a 100% working install.

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So i'm looking at the Mac Mini... but what are it's limitations, with it being so small.

It uses laptop parts.

Can i upgrade the parts?... i'd just buy the cheapest mac mini then upgrade it myself.

You can upgrade RAM and Hard drive. You cannot upgrade the CPU.

I'd like to upgrade the processor to around 3.0ghz, I'd replace the HDD with something like 500GB/1TB

and also the memory would be replaced with my own non-apple 4GB memory (800mhz)... whats the highest the ram can go?

As high as you can get 2xDDR3 notebook RAM

The only thing i'm not bothered about is the graphics card, if the "NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics" is capable of playing world of warcraft then i don't need to change it.

I only really use my osx86 for Logic Pro 8, browsing/im and world of warcraft.

Should be able to do both of those.

Any advice on this would be great, is it possible? i really want a mac now.. but can't afford the high pricing, whats the cheapest way to obtain a mac?

Save :)

Macmini was one of the best things i've bought.

I have also been told that the OSX runs alot better when it's on an actual mac, even though my installation is quite flawless apart from that i mentioned above.

Lies It runs the same.

I didn't realise it was basically a laptop, surely that will make it slower than my PC.. 2.5ghz intel core 2, 4gb drr2 800mhz, 500gb, etc...
It'll be slower due to the fact that the CPU is 500Mhz slower.

Just being a closer to a laptop than a desktop won't effect the speed, the speed of the parts will though.

The_Decryptor is Currect, but the RAM is faster :)

Edited by offroadaaron
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