“Apple Computer has begun to inform service providers of a revision to its Mac mini desktop computer that is now expected to quietly make its debut in a matter of days,” Kasper Jade reports for AppleInsider. “According to documents shown to AppleInsider, the revision, which will bump the low-end Mac mini from 1.25GHz to 1.33GHz and the two higher-end models from 1.42GHz to 1.5GHz, was originally slated for release last Tuesday.”
“Sources say Apple will continue to market the three new Mac mini configurations at the current price points of $499, $599, and $699. All three models will ship standard with Mac OS X 10.4.2 and include faster hard drives operating at 5400-rpm. The current Mac minis include 4200-rpm drives,” Jade reports.
More info about the new Mac mini’s graphics, wireless technologies, and double-layer DVD burning capability in the full article here.
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RUMOR: Apple to introduce faster Mac mini models soon – September 21, 2005
This is practically the same as Think Secret’s rumor. The only thing I think that is wrong with the rumor is that I believe the next Mac mini will come with (at least) an ATi Radeon 9550. Whether it has 32 MB or 64 MB of VRam, I’ll leave to the guys in Cupertino.
They should have had 5400 RPM drives in there right from the start, IMO. I don’t think the price difference for Apple could have been all that much between the 5400 and 4200 drives. I think the 4200 drives are used in portables so they don’t get damaged too easily when jerked around (as a laptop often is). Most Minis, however, just sit on people’s desks.
Faster hard drive, faster CPU. You call this “significant”?
Yawn.
I’m going to buy one for my windows-using brother.
Peter
No, but the addition of a dual-layer 8x Superdrive at the same price point is.
what would be dope is a new Mini with a 3Ghz Pentium chip instead of the same old G4. I’d jump on that in a heartbeat.
“The only thing I think that is wrong with the rumor is that I believe the next Mac mini will come with (at least) an ATi Radeon 9550. Whether it has 32 MB or 64 MB of VRam, I’ll leave to the guys in Cupertino.”
“I think” that Apple should have incorporated at least comparable video support to the PowerBooks from the outset, so that the mini could support the (then upcoming) Tiger’s Core Graphics fully in hardware, but they didn’t…
Any other thoughts out of your ass, macnut222?
Not really much of an upgrade in the ol’ processor – .08 Ghz. Why even bother? Let me know when they reach 2.0 Ghz.
Since when did a .08 ghz upgrade count as significant?
Well, that’s old news
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For the graphic card i confirm it ll be thesame ATI 9200 (unsupporting Core image) but with 64 Mo.
For therest i’ let you check those documents published on our french website.
And last a Xbench of the new mini 1.5 GHz
http://www.macosx86.net/open/imgnews/benchnewmini.txt
Kesh
http://www.macosx86.net
Jeff: “Since when did a .08 ghz upgrade count as significant?”
To MDN a .0000001Ghz upgrade would count as signifcant.
It’s significant because if MDN had put “.08 Ghz update” in the title instead of “significant” then none of us would have clicked on this article.
Hey… I didn’t know French people knew how to use Photoshop.
moron, dont u know preview use adobe licensing ?
Significant, insignificant… i always get those two confused!
I thought significant meant something remarkable, noteworthy or important.
Where is the G5 mini—the 21st-century Cube, as it were—to go with Apple’s beautiful flat-panel displays? Not every high-end user needs a tower the size of a small refrigerator!
So where’s the damn upgrade for the towers? I’m finally going to buy one but having bought too many Apples right before price drops I’m gunshy now about buying until they make some announcement about something. Come on, Apple, take $5 off or add 1 MB RAM or something, that’s all it take to make me jump like a frog.
MW=told as in, I you so
These are nice updates to the consumer, enrety level mac. This will give people a much better “1st” experience. Its not the CPU upgrade thats significant, its the better vid card to now support Tiger tech, the “normal” speed hardrive and the standard 512 mg RAM. If these were the first specs, I might have forgone the upgrading my cube.
I would like to get one of these for my Mom, with a nice scanner and Reunion software, an iSight and a .Mac account would be perfect.
1 word Alansky, iMac
“Not really much of an upgrade in the ol’ processor – .08 Ghz. Why even bother? Let me know when they reach 2.0 Ghz.”
Because while this is a minor bump, it keeps the Mini from looking like it is totally all-ancient hardware. The faster hard drive will have a big impact on the perception of speed without really increasing component costs or requiring major engineering. And that answers why they haven’t stuck a 2.0 GHz chip in there, cause the PowerPC chips that run at that speed are way too hot for the Mini’s enclosure.
This keeps Mini interesting. Sure, the Mini’s hardware is strictly low-end, but hello, it’s meant to be a low-end machine. Some people want mid-range or even high-end hardware in so-called low-end machines, which is why ridiculous rumors of 8 GB flash iPods were flying around before the nano launch when a quick look at the flash scene showed almost nobody has measly 2 GB dedicated flash devices for sale yet.
It’s called having perspective with one’s expectations.
“Since when did a .08 ghz upgrade count as significant?”
“Significant” doesn’t necessarily refer solely to a faster processor. Here’s what’s being upgraded.
* Slightly faster processors
* 30% faster hard drives
* 3x faster Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
* Dual-layer SuperDrives
The point? It’s not just a processor upgrade. While this update isn’t on the level of a Special Event, it is significant in that it’s newsworthy. Frankly, Apple needs to keep doing this frequent updates to keep the product line fresh. It simply can’t wait 8 months before updates using the “major-update-or-no-update” line of reasoning. I’d like to see Apple pay the same attention to the PowerBooks and PowerMacs, which are dying for a little boost.
i personally almost always agree with macnut222…. and do not understand the vendetta against him/her, but what ever.
Mac minis are cute and run quite. I’ve purchased three as gifts for kiddie relatives. They love them. I might even buy one for myself now.
Better be careful, I’ve heard if you put a Mac mini in your jeans pocket that it will horribly scratch it. And we know it would be completely unusable if that ever happened of course…
there is no 9550 ati mobole chip so its either 9200 or 9600 and 32meg just ain’t enuff for my 23″ screen
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