“Apple’s Mac Mini remains an impressive, and impressively compact, piece of hardware, wrapped in Apple’s excellent OS,” Matt Safford reports for ComputerShopper. “The addition of Intel’s ‘Ivy Bridge’ processors makes it more powerful for productivity and media-processing work, even if a lack of discrete graphics limits gaming performance. Plus, the quartet of USB 3.0 ports brings fast external storage options to those unwilling to shell out for pricey Thunderbolt drives.”
“And while we did bemoan the high price of the Fusion Drive, it’s undeniably a compelling option for professionals for whom speedy storage is worth the extra price—as well as speed geeks who don’t want to configure such a solution themselves,” Safford reports.
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“Those opting for a Mac Mini as a second or third home computer, or who don’t do much with their systems besides surf the Web, play Flash games, and write documents, will be well-served by the entry-level $599 model,” Safford reports, “This is especially true if you’ve already got a monitor and a set of peripherals you’re happy with. That said, Mountain Lion incorporates more multi-touch gestures than previous iterations of OS X, so you may want to invest in a touch pad, such as Apple’s very good Magic Trackpad.”
Read more in the full review here.
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Apple’s new Mac mini offers an attractive bang for the buck – November 2, 2012