Mac mini

Jimmy1983 · 18 Oct 2012 at 17:41

Just after some advice please guys. Since owning an iPhone/iPad/ATV I really would like a full blown 27'' iMac badboy!

but just can't afford one

ALways told myself to go for the full iMac experience and save and get the 27'' but my current C2D PC is pretty slow now so looking at the Mac mini.

What are peoples thoughts? Uses will be LR mainly then just your usual chrome etc.

Only thing that iam not sure about it how I could be arrange my HDD's , any ideas on this? Maybe some kinda icybox or caddy? Or maybe even the HP server box that keep coming up on HUKD's, and yes iam aware that hopefully the mini will get a refresh next week

Thoughts?
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hartgeh3 · 18 Oct 2012 at 19:06

Dont see any probs with that, i had a similar setup with my old Mac mini (c2d) with a 24" Prolite but replaced it with a Macbook air(1.8 i7)which I have in a stand but can remove it too and carry around. All connected to a HP Server aswell as a Seagate 2TB external hdd.

Jimmy1983 · 19 Oct 2012 at 12:27

Hmmm 480 quid for a SSD, don't think I will bother will one of those then, shame the stock HDD is only a 5400RPM spinner

shine · 19 Oct 2012 at 12:30

You can upgrade the SSD yourself - there's plenty of guides. My plan is to replace the internal HDD with an SSD and then put the internal into a caddy as extra storage.

hartgeh3 · 19 Oct 2012 at 12:35

you can pick up a 2nd hands cheap enough (id get a i5) just swap the hdd out for a ssd, jobs a goodun lol

uniQ · 19 Oct 2012 at 14:38

I prefer the mini + separate monitor route. There's something about selling the 27" monitor in the all in one and replacing with another when you want to upgrade that just doesn't sit right with me.

lamboman · 19 Oct 2012 at 14:55

By LR I'm presuming you mean living room, media and stuff like that?

Which option makes the most sense completely depends on what you have now. If you have a mediocre monitor and plan on buying a 27 inch one and only having one system, it makes more sense to buy an iMac than it does a Mac mini. However, either machine will be more than powerful enough for you (of course, wait for the new ones to come out).

Jimmy1983 · 19 Oct 2012 at 14:57

lamboman said:
By LR I'm presuming you mean living room, media and stuff like that?

Adobe Lightroom, sorry should have added that.

hmmm, any idea how I can use two monitors with it? New mini has HDMI and TB... ive got a 24'' and 19'' both with DVI/VGA not sure if you can just use adapters or not

lamboman · 19 Oct 2012 at 16:51

You can use an HDMI to DVI adaptor for one, and a miniDP to DVI adaptor for the other.

Jimmy1983 · 19 Oct 2012 at 21:12

lamboman said:
You can use an HDMI to DVI adaptor for one, and a miniDP to DVI adaptor for the other.

Don't think the mini comes with a miniDP...

shine · 19 Oct 2012 at 22:26

Jimmy1983 said:
Don't think the mini comes with a miniDP...

It does - the thunderbolt port is essential a miniDP and a miniDP to DVI will work as I used the same setup when I got my MBP last year to connect to the U2311H at my parents place.

PardonTheWait · 20 Oct 2012 at 00:59

Jimmy1983 said:
Don't think the mini comes with a miniDP...

Current Mac Mini has an HDMI slot with included HDMI-DVI adaptor and a Mini Displayport port.

Jimmy1983 · 20 Oct 2012 at 09:00

shine said:
It does - the thunderbolt port is essential a miniDP and a miniDP to DVI will work as I used the same setup when I got my MBP last year to connect to the U2311H at my parents place.

PardonTheWait said:
Current Mac Mini has an HDMI slot with included HDMI-DVI adaptor and a Mini Displayport port.

Cheers, so basically the TB and miniDP port is the same if you are only connecting one device...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110722091931AAt1DPn

I shouldn't have a problem using my current monitors should I? They are fairly old with just DVI/VGA connections. I know what it's like when you don't use apple products with each other.

lamboman · 20 Oct 2012 at 14:00

TB output to miniDP inputs will work fine here. For reference though, a miniDP display daisychained off a TB display will not work, and miniDP into a TB display won't work.

Rambaud · 22 Oct 2012 at 07:40

I added a 250Gb SSD as an extra internal drive to the installed 500Gb drive - a special caddy is needed.

Just about to swap the 500Gb for a 750Gb Scorpio Black as I have run out of space.

Jimmy1983 · 22 Oct 2012 at 13:58

Rambaud said:
I added a 250Gb SSD as an extra internal drive to the installed 500Gb drive - a special caddy is needed.

Just about to swap the 500Gb for a 750Gb Scorpio Black as I have run out of space.

Yeah would like to do that but it would screw up the warranty if I bought new. Was it strafe irks easy to do?

uniQ · 22 Oct 2012 at 14:00

Hard drives and RAM are user serviceable. So it wouldn't effect the warranty.

EDIT: Checked the user manual and it's just the RAM that's user serviceable so changing HD would invalidate the warranty.

Page 67: http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/mac_mini_mid2011_ug.pdf

Jimmy1983 · 22 Oct 2012 at 15:13

uniQ said:
Hard drives and RAM are user serviceable. So it wouldn't effect the warranty.

EDIT: Checked the user manual and it's just the RAM that's user serviceable so changing HD would invalidate the warranty.

Page 67: http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/mac_mini_mid2011_ug.pdf

Yeah thought as much

maybe the new mini tomorrow will ship with an SSD...well wishful thinking I guess

Does the mini have two HDD bays?

shine · 22 Oct 2012 at 16:20

Jimmy1983 said:
Yeah thought as much maybe the new mini tomorrow will ship with an SSD...well wishful thinking I guess

Does the mini have two HDD bays?

The mini can take two 2.5" drives - it is a little fiddly to install an extra drive yourself but there are guides out there on how to do it.

Jimmy1983 · 22 Oct 2012 at 17:38

shine said:
The mini can take two 2.5" drives - it is a little fiddly to install an extra drive yourself but there are guides out there on how to do it.

Ok cheers, good job I checked I thought it just took one 3.5'' :eek: