- Feb 14, 2004
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I've been an avid Mac Mini fan since their initial release and have done a lot of modding and upgrading throughout the years. I posted a little writeup on my new site if you're interested in some of the more technical details on the new model:
http://www.appleknacks.com/archives/25
Some key points that are really interesting:
* $100 less than the previous model (starts at $599 now)
* Available with an i5 or i7 mobile CPU (no cheapo i3's!)
* All chips feature Turbo Boost 2.0 (auto-overclocking) & Hyperthreading (minimum of 4 threads on all models)
* Lion Server gives you the option for Quad-core 2.0GHz (2.9GHz Turbo) i7 CPU with 6MB L3 cache (8 threads in Activity Monitor)
* From what I've read, the Intel HD3000 integrated GPU is a little faster than an Nvidia 8400GS and beats out the Radeon HD 6310
* Optional 256mb Radeon 6630M GPU (50FPS HL2, 60FPS Portal 2 @ 1080p)
* Max 16 Gigs of RAM ($$$ though!)
* Dual 6Gb/s SATA ports = 1000 MB/s of SSD RAID 0
So you can buy a Quad-core Mini (8 cores usable w/ HT) and upgrade it with 16 gigs of RAM and a 1Gb/s SSD array. Yowza! That's a pretty huge performance leap for Apple to make. Also, 1.0TB drives are now available in 9.5mm heights and can fit inside the Minis, so you can pop one (or two!) inside. Western Digital and Samsung both have models out for under $130. Pretty awesome revison overall :thumbsup:
http://www.appleknacks.com/archives/25
Some key points that are really interesting:
* $100 less than the previous model (starts at $599 now)
* Available with an i5 or i7 mobile CPU (no cheapo i3's!)
* All chips feature Turbo Boost 2.0 (auto-overclocking) & Hyperthreading (minimum of 4 threads on all models)
* Lion Server gives you the option for Quad-core 2.0GHz (2.9GHz Turbo) i7 CPU with 6MB L3 cache (8 threads in Activity Monitor)
* From what I've read, the Intel HD3000 integrated GPU is a little faster than an Nvidia 8400GS and beats out the Radeon HD 6310
* Optional 256mb Radeon 6630M GPU (50FPS HL2, 60FPS Portal 2 @ 1080p)
* Max 16 Gigs of RAM ($$$ though!)
* Dual 6Gb/s SATA ports = 1000 MB/s of SSD RAID 0
So you can buy a Quad-core Mini (8 cores usable w/ HT) and upgrade it with 16 gigs of RAM and a 1Gb/s SSD array. Yowza! That's a pretty huge performance leap for Apple to make. Also, 1.0TB drives are now available in 9.5mm heights and can fit inside the Minis, so you can pop one (or two!) inside. Western Digital and Samsung both have models out for under $130. Pretty awesome revison overall :thumbsup:
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