Mac Mini what to buy with it?

BigManBill

BigManBill

BigManBill

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Just purchased a mac mini and I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for stuff to get with it. Already ordered the touchpad and wireless keyboard with it. looking at monitors at the moment and ive decided on this one so far (havent got a tv so tv tuner is a bonus). anyone got other suggestions for the monitor or anything that is a must have?

So far ive thought of HDMI cable (it doesnt include one right?), rechargeable batteries, maybe a usb3 external hard drive? already got speakers and soundcard etc cause its gonna be used for music production.

cheers.
 
You get it with a SSD or Fusion drive? If not, I'd highly recommend getting a SSD and lobbing that in, very easy procedure and can be done in 20 mins and makes a huge difference.

Also upgrading to 16GB RAM isn't a bad idea, quite cheap as well these days.

I'm personally waiting for the updated Apple Thunderbolt displays to be released, then I'll be bagging one of those on launch for a display.
 
Agreed, SSD and 16gig of ram are cheap upgrades that make it a lot of fun.

I'd get a proper monitor for picture quality, tv's tend not to look at good with the computer.

Rechargeable batteries are a good move and an external drive is a good idea, usb3 is cheaper but tunderbolt is faster. Worth having a look to see what's out there.
 
When I got a Mini I tried a Phillips 27" 1080p monitor and the picture was awful. Nothing I could do made for a crisp viewing experience. In the end after trying every input / output I could and numerous converters etc, I sent it back and got a 27" Asus with Displayport interface.... also much higher res. (1080p @ 27" is pixel city)

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-043-AS&groupid=17&catid=1120&subcat=0

Also got 16GB RAM and plopped a SSD in leaving the existing drive as storage. Also added a 1GB external USB3 drive for Time Machine
 
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oh yeh forgot to mention those things, got it with a fusion drive as the only hdd intensive thing i do is on Logic so i figured the benefit of 128gb of ssd was worth it combined with the 1tb drive.

id maybe look to upgrade in the future but at the moment the thought of taking apart a £1000 box that has 3 year warranty on it is a bit much for me seeing as the last time i built a system was 5 years ago. that said id always planned to put 16gb of ram in it as that is easy.

as for the monitor ive decided on maybe this one

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0077L2MD8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

and then if i want to use it as a tv in the future just get a freeview hd box? would this work? also is the pixel size noticeable on a 27 at 1080p? im not too fussed about sitting close with it cause im mainly gonna be on Logic which doesnt have to look great, and i couldnt stretch to over £300 (im a student and have just been made redundant by the recent closing of a major record shop...) ive tried asking in the monitors forum but so far seen no replies.

cheers.
 
BigManBill said:
as for the monitor ive decided on maybe this one

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0077L2MD8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

and then if i want to use it as a tv in the future just get a freeview hd box? would this work? also is the pixel size noticeable on a 27 at 1080p? im not too fussed about sitting close with it cause im mainly gonna be on Logic which doesnt have to look great, and i couldnt stretch to over £300 (im a student and have just been made redundant by the recent closing of a major record shop...) ive tried asking in the monitors forum but so far seen no replies.

cheers.
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As mentioned above, I wouldn't risk a screen without a Mini DisplayPort connection as it would seem many reports on the web seem to suggest a dodgy picture through the HDMI port. I can't be sure of that, but I was running mine through HDMI on a tv for a bit and it looked pretty naff!
 
Ok after watching the guides I am confused. Can you add an SSD drive to the 2012 Mac Mini and still use your standard hard drive with it? The guides I have watched show them installing the SSD and putting the original drive back in with it but they don't connect it up?
 
keogh said:
As mentioned above, I wouldn't risk a screen without a Mini DisplayPort connection as it would seem many reports on the web seem to suggest a dodgy picture through the HDMI port. I can't be sure of that, but I was running mine through HDMI on a tv for a bit and it looked pretty naff!
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Mine was on my samsung HDTV until I set hdmi3/dvi to a description of PC on the TV. It now has a very clear 1080p picture for text, desktop, films etc.
 
DarkHorizon472 said:
Mine was on my samsung HDTV until I set hdmi3/dvi to a description of PC on the TV. It now has a very clear 1080p picture for text, desktop, films etc.
Click to expand...

Ah right, gotta say I didn't play with it much via HDMI, as soon as I could hook it up via MDP I did, it's perfect via that at 2560x1440. When the new Thunderbolt displays are released it will go in that.
 
bertles86 said:
Get a Twelve South Magic Wand, amazing accessory to combine the touchpad and keyboard into one unit for your lap.
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If you're using the keyboard and trackpad on your lap, the accessory to get is the BulletTrain Express keyboard platform. Great bit of kit:

5489225420_650c0bdc61_z.jpg
 
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