I have a Mac Mini G4 now. Am looking at the new 2GHz Super Drive.
They tell me the speed/capacity difference is “night and day”. I’m wondering if (hoping that) this is accurate.
On my G4 I can’t burn DVDs, I can’t upgrade to Leopard, I deal with sluggishness/disk space issues. I feel like it may be “time”.
Anybody have experience “upgrading” to the newer Mini, and how do you like it?
The newer intel-based Mini is approximately 1.3 zillion times faster than the G4 Mini. I think you will be very happy with it, although it’s still using a 2.5" laptop drive, so an external drive is often called for (if you really need the storage).
I just got a Fantom 500GB external drive yesterday, so that part of it is taken care of. I think I’m gonna do this!
The Mini you are looking at is essentially the same as the MacBook I am posting from right now, although your video card might be faster. You will be very happy with the performance.
On Mac sites I hear that the new Mini is much faster than a G4, but that the current Mini isn’t a very good deal compared to other current computers. They’ve gone well over a year (which is a long time in computers) without upgrading the Mini, or lowering its price.
An iMac would be more future-proof, as long as you’re happy with the built-in screen that it has. (There has been controversy about the 20" iMac screen, which is about the same quality as any normal low-end brand name screen, except it’s glossy, but they imply that it’s a better one in terms of how many colors it has.)
I have an eMac G4 and I’m in the process of upgrading. I think I’m past due. It’s pretty sluggish on normal web-browsing and other common tasks these days. I’m kinda broke, but this eMac is taking up too much of my time staring at the Beachball of Death. I’m building a “Hackintosh” computer (a PC that will run Mac OS) about equivalent to a current iMac. I was told though, that even if I went with a dual-core Pentium processor, which is slower than the Core 2 Duo ones that Apple uses, it would still be a huge step up from a G4.
I have a nice monitor that I would hate to have wasted if I got an iMac. Also, the whole computer/monitor all-in-one worries me…like if one part goes out, you lose the whole thing…is this crazy?
I also just got off of a very informative chat session with Apple. I want to upgrade to Creative Suite 4 (from CS2) and they warn me that the Mini may not support it, because it’s much more graphics-intensive than before.
This worries me. A lot.
I’ve had the 24 inch iMac for almost a year now and I love it. No problems whatsoever. And fast. I’m also running Parallels and VMWare’s Fusion, which are memory hogs and don’t like games much, but the machine itself has been great so far.
I love the all-in-one aspect. No separate CPU to nick my legs, or spill coffee on. I even got over my dislike of the tiny wireless keyboard once I realized it’s really the same size as a standard keyboard, just without the numeric keypad.
If I had to throw my Mini SuperDrive plan overboard and consider an iMac, could I still use my old keyboard (with numeric keypad)? I can’t live without that side keypad!
This whole Creative Suite problem is killing the Mini idea, I fear…
…and the cost is making me choke…
Yeah, I’m not happy with the idea of an iMac either, which is why I’m going the Hackintosh route. (I can’t say if it’s worth it yet, since I haven’t finished.)
One of the weaknesses of the Mini is that it uses the motherboard’s built-in graphics hardware, as opposed to the iMac which has a graphics card.
You can use any standard USB keyboard and mouse with an iMac. Note that the 24" version has a better quality screen than the 20" version, so make sure to take a look at a 20" and see if you’re happy with the screen. The 24" uses a high-end panel, while the 20" uses more of a low-end one like you’d see in a basic monitor or a laptop.
For what it’s worth, I’m running CS3 on a MacBook (the first version, with a 2 GHz Core Duo and the GMA 950) and it runs just fine. I have CS4, but haven’t installed it yet; there’s nothing in the system requirements that make me think an Intel Mac Mini would have problems with it. Probably just Apple playing CYA.
If you can wait one more month, though, the latest rumors say Apple might be updating the Mini at or shortly after the Macworld Expo in January.
I wondered if maybe s/he was just trying to upsell me, but I’d be pissed if I made even this smaller investment on a rig that didn’t support newer software fully. S/he said something about “certain features not working properly” with CS4 on the Mini Super. I can just imagine dropping money on both only to have them not work together!
As for the 24" iMac- jeez, so expensive. Not really what I was wanting to spend. This Mini upgrade seemed so sweet at the time, but I fear cheaper is not going to be better for me.
Maybe I’ll hold out to see if the rumors are true…(c’mon CS4 Mini!)
Only the wireless aluminum keyboard is sans-number pad. I have the wired one with my Mac Pro, and it is the BEST keyboard I have ever typed on. While I wanted the wireless one (I HATE wires!) I wanted the number pad and the “delete >” key much more.
I think you have the same predicament that I had… I wanted a Mac with iMac power without the attached monitor. I bit the bullet and bought the Quad 2.8 ghz MacPro with the assumption that it would last me 6-8 years. I wish Apple offered a mid-level machine.
How’s that working for you? I’m on the market for an external hard drive, and need recommendations.
So far, so good. It came pre-formatted for cross-platform use, and I just re-formatted it for use with my Mac, plugged it in and went to town! I got the one that’s USB/Firewire- my work IT guy said Firewire’s faster and he’s the one that recommended the Fantom brand. I understand they’re made not too far from here (in Torrance CA which is next door to me…)
So far, so good. It came pre-formatted for cross-platform use, and I just re-formatted it for use with my Mac, plugged it in and went to town! I got the one that’s USB/Firewire- my work IT guy said Firewire’s faster and he’s the one that recommended the Fantom brand. I understand they’re made not too far from here (in Torrance CA which is next door to me…)
I’m looking at this fantom drive. Is that what you got?
If I were you, xanthous, I’d pop into an Apple store and check out the 24 inch iMac. It really is amazing, and the screen, as alluded above, is bright, huge, and phenominal.
CS3? Pffft. This thing can probably handle CS83. Joking, of course, but it is a very powerful and fast machine.
ETA: I have the 3.06 GHz model with 4 GB of 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, so I’m flying here. 
That is the one, but <cough, cough> you’re getting a much better deal than I found 
p.s. I think the less-than-favorable reviews are from people who didn’t format theirs correctly. It’s amazing how well you do when you actually read the manual!
I know once I see it I will dream about it at night…I just don’t have that kind of scrilla at the moment…