MacMini performance

clv101 · 17 Jan 2008 at 11:34

My main system is a C2D E4300 running at 3.2GHz, 2GB of RAM (711MHz), all in sync at 356MHz (1422MHz effective FSB), I use two Seagate 7200.10 drives totalling 640GB, an ATI x1950PRO, a TV card and two monitors.

I really like MacOS so I’m considering a Mac replacement however £1700+ for a MacPro is just crazy money. How good is the MacMini? The 2GHz C2D I could probably live with but I’m concerned about the HDD, the graphics and loss of TV card.

I don’t game at all – the system is used mostly for MS Office, photo and video editing, web and email.

Questions:
I’m happy to use a ~500GB USB2 or Firewire external drive for the main storage, but how fast can I get the internal drive? I could put a 160GB 7200rpm drive in the Mini but how does that compare to a fast 3.5” drive?

The Mini uses Intel’s GMA 950, like I said I don’t game, but how good is this for regular use? Supporting two displays is essential, can the Mini drive two displays, how?

Are there good USB TV solutions for the Mac?

Considering I need a mouse, keyboard, external drive, TV tuner, printer… I’m getting tight on USB ports, can a powered USB hub be used?

Maybe the show stopper is 2 displays?

Failing that – anyway to run MacOS on OEM equipment?

Hxc · 17 Jan 2008 at 21:15

I don't think the mini can support multiple displays... a powered USB hubc ould be used, there is a good USB TV tuner which I've forgotton the name of...

There is a way to run OSX on OEM machines but it's very much on the wrong side of the law.

J1234 · 17 Jan 2008 at 21:39

clv101 said:
Questions:
I’m happy to use a ~500GB USB2 or Firewire external drive for the main storage, but how fast can I get the internal drive? I could put a 160GB 7200rpm drive in the Mini but how does that compare to a fast 3.5” drive? The Mac Mini uses 2.5" 5,400rpm drives, but the difference between them and the equivelent is very small, I doubt you would tell. The largest 2.5" HDD you can upgrade to is 250GB (5,400 rpm) or 200GB (7,200, buying from OcUK and upgrading yourself. Although a 7,200 rpm drive will cause a hell of a lot of heat.

The Mini uses Intel’s GMA 950, like I said I don’t game, but how good is this for regular use? Supporting two displays is essential, can the Mini drive two displays, how? The GMA 950 is fine for regular use, but wont be able to power dual displays unfortunately.

Are there good USB TV solutions for the Mac? Yep, the Elgato Eye TV, is great.

Considering I need a mouse, keyboard, external drive, TV tuner, printer… I’m getting tight on USB ports, can a powered USB hub be used? Yep, a USB hub will work fine.

Failing that – anyway to run MacOS on OEM equipment? It can be done yes, but it is against the rules to discuss on here.

bigredshark · 17 Jan 2008 at 22:01

You could run dual displays off a mac mini using one of these...

http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/gxm/products/dh2go/digital/home.php

Haven't tried it but can't see any reason why not...

J1234 · 17 Jan 2008 at 22:10

Yup, seems that is compatible ^^

clv101 · 17 Jan 2008 at 22:15

bigredshark said:
You could run dual displays off a mac mini using one of these...

http://www.matrox.com/graphics/en/gxm/products/dh2go/digital/home.php

Haven't tried it but can't see any reason why not...

That seems like a rather nasty analogue hack... not my cup of tea. I think I'll continue my investigations elsewhere.

bigredshark · 18 Jan 2008 at 10:34

clv101 said:
That seems like a rather nasty analogue hack... not my cup of tea. I think I'll continue my investigations elsewhere.

It's not brilliant asthetically but it gets great reviews! Matrox are a decent brand as well, it's not some dodgy tradeshow type product.

It's the only way I know of to get dual displays. If you want 2x 20" displays by DVI then it likely isn't for you but it's a good product, read some reviews.

clv101 · 18 Jan 2008 at 10:52

bigredshark said:
It's the only way I know of to get dual displays. If you want 2x 20" displays by DVI then it likely isn't for you but it's a good product, read some reviews.

Yeah, that's the problem, I want multiple high res DVI displays. The Matrox box has less than perfect image quality it seems.

bigredshark · 18 Jan 2008 at 11:20

clv101 said:
Yeah, that's the problem, I want multiple high res DVI displays. The Matrox box has less than perfect image quality it seems.

Well it won't be DVI quality no, but it's also worth considering that grpahics in the mini aren't really up to multiple hi res displays. You'd likely be better with a imac, which has a mini DVI out for an additional external display...

wij · 18 Jan 2008 at 14:06

Seems to me like you are expecting too much from the MacMini

As others have said you might be better off considering getting an iMac, or you could also consider getting a MacPro with only one CPU in it and try blagging the HE educational discount over the phone with Apple.

clv101 · 18 Jan 2008 at 14:12

Yeah, the box I want is the singe CPU (I'd be happy with a duel core) MacPro. Thing is I'd only pay £500 for it - it's shockingly expensive.

Ender · 18 Jan 2008 at 14:34

clv101 said:
Yeah, the box I want is the singe CPU (I'd be happy with a duel core) MacPro. Thing is I'd only pay £500 for it - it's shockingly expensive.

The mac pro is a server workstation, the harpertown processor 2.8ghz (just one of em) costs around $800 if you buy it independently - its actually one of the cheapest workstations around for the lastest Xeon Processor's along with ECC memory etc etc

So its hardly a rip off is it?

bigredshark · 18 Jan 2008 at 14:43

clv101 said:
Yeah, the box I want is the singe CPU (I'd be happy with a duel core) MacPro. Thing is I'd only pay £500 for it - it's shockingly expensive.

Indeed, if there a problem with the mac range it's lack of flexibility. Surely it shouldn't be necessary to pay £1500 for a system which supports multiple monitors. Surely at least one of the consumer Macs (mini or imac) should have a quad core processor by now, a £600 Dell does so why not.

J1234 · 18 Jan 2008 at 14:48

bigredshark said:
Surely at least one of the consumer Macs (mini or imac) should have a quad core processor by now, a £600 Dell does so why not.

Because they both use mobile components (ie, laptop sized) Do you know of any Intel quad core laptops?

bigredshark · 18 Jan 2008 at 14:48

Ender said:
The mac pro is a server workstation, the harpertown processor 2.8ghz (just one of em) costs around $800 if you buy it independently - its actually one of the cheapest workstations around for the lastest Xeon Processor's along with ECC memory etc etc

So its hardly a rip off is it?

Not for what it is, but his point (and I agree) is that it's the only option for someone who wants to use 2 monitors and or have a little more processing power than a dual core 2.8. For someone who just wants those things it's a ridiculous step up.

Don't get me wrong, the mac pro is a monstor of a workstation and I'd dearly love one but you don't *need* that kind of power for what I'm doing - I just need more than an imac and I wouldn't mind dual monitors (which I think is where the OP is comign from.

bigredshark · 18 Jan 2008 at 14:52

Justin said:
Because they both use mobile components (ie, laptop sized) Do you know of any Intel quad core laptops?

There are quad core laptops out there (based on desktop processors I'll admit). Still, with all this special relationship with Intel surely they can come up with something? The imac isn't so small that they couldn't find a way of cooling an underclocked q6600 surely? I'd take a quad core running at 2.2Ghz over the 2.8ghz extreme any day.

My point is, given their friendliness with intel (special chips for the macbook air, apple tv etc) and the penetration of quad core in the market, surely they should have something by now??

J1234 · 18 Jan 2008 at 14:55

Well they will be using Penryn mobile chips soon in the Mini/Macbook/iMacs.

bigredshark · 18 Jan 2008 at 14:58

Justin said:
Well they will be using Penryn mobile chips soon in the Mini/Macbook/iMacs.

There will, though my understanding is penryn quad core mobile is still a few months away. I just think it's a shame that I can buy a quad core dell for £600 but £1000 buys me a dual core imac. I don't care about the graphics or anything else, I just need the extra processing power.

Still, it won't do any harm to the mac pro sales figures..

...unless I get fed up, buy a server, stick it in a datacenter (for free, the benefits of working for an ISP) and do all my heavy lifting on that instead

clv101 · 18 Jan 2008 at 15:19

bigredshark said:
Indeed, if there a problem with the mac range it's lack of flexibility. Surely it shouldn't be necessary to pay £1500 for a system which supports multiple monitors. Surely at least one of the consumer Macs (mini or imac) should have a quad core processor by now, a £600 Dell does so why not.

That's my problem - I want a regular computer. Industry standard, a couple of 3.5" drives, a couple of DVI outputs, a ~2.8GHz dual core C2D, 2-4GB RAM. Nothing excessive, Dell will sell me a box like that for well under £600.

Thing is I want OS X too.

The MacMini is the right price - it's just the wrong technology. The iMac is better technology - but it's got a screen attached which I don't want and its upgrade potential is too limited.

Why can't Apple do a MacPro - with basically the same hardware as a £500 Dell?

bigredshark · 18 Jan 2008 at 15:31

clv101 said:
That's my problem - I want a regular computer. Industry standard, a couple of 3.5" drives, a couple of DVI outputs, a ~2.8GHz dual core C2D, 2-4GB RAM. Nothing excessive, Dell will sell me a box like that for well under £600.

Thing is I want OS X too.

The MacMini is the right price - it's just the wrong technology. The iMac is better technology - but it's got a screen attached which I don't want and its upgrade potential is too limited.

Why can't Apple do a MacPro - with basically the same hardware as a £500 Dell?

It's the elusive mac tower, everybody wants it but apple won't make it. why? well basically because everybody wants it, it'd canabalise imac and mac pro sales in a big way and it'd be too much like a regular PC for comfort, it doesn't fit with the way apple are going.