Roundup: Three Mini PCs : Apple Mac mini
3. Apple Mac mini
Energy consumption
When idling, Apple claims that the Mac mini needs less than 13 watts to operate. This is what we got too, as ours consumes around 10 watts. This is good and a 45% reduction on the previous version. Critically minded as we are however, we cant stop ourselves from asking why energy consumption isnt even lower in idle.
Another interesting piece of info on consumption in load: we measured it at 35 watts with wi-fi activated during a particularly demanding Photshop script. This is 4 times lower than a 24-inch iMac (2.66 GHz). This is of course without the screen for the Mac mini, not the case for the iMac that has a 24-inch screen. You need to add between 35 and 120 watts depending on the size of the screen and its technology to obtain total consumption on this little Apple computer.
The Mac mini is a complete Apple computer, housed in a 6.5x6.5x2 inch case. It has all the necessary components for the proper functioning of a computer, including wi-fi to connect up to your network. Apple’s hook for this new version of the product is "Simple. Faster. Greener. Still just as small."
Handling, design and build
The first and main advantage of the Mac mini is the lack of space it takes up. It is very compact as well as aesthetically pleasing. It adopts the aluminium Apple lines with curves and the always excellent finish. Perhaps most important is the fact that it functions at almost zero noise levels. This is almost a problem as you don’t know whether it is on or off and have to bend down to hold your ear against it to check.
It has the following connectivity: 5 USBs, 1 FireWire 800, 2 mini optical jacks, 1 RJ45, 1 mini DVI and 1 mini DisplayPort. If you want to plug in a non-Apple screen, you'll have to use the adaptors (1 mini DVI to DVI supplied with the machine) sold by the manufacturer for $20 a piece. Something to remember: once you have plugged in your peripherals, your video adaptors and whatever other cables you’re using, the machine doesn’t look anywhere near as good. It may even tipple over if you place it on the edge of the table with the weight of the DVI and VGA connectors.
Can you open the Mac mini up? It isn’t impossible. Apparently Apple will even accept your guarantee if you only install extra RAM, except if you damage the machine when you take it apart. Our advice: avoid opening it, or only do so if you’re an expert – whatever the case, you’ll have to shoulder the responsibility yourself.
In contrast to the iMac, the Mac mini comes without a keyboard or a mouse. If you want to get hold of these, you’ll have to put your hand in your pocket and add at least $100 to the overall price.
Processor Power
The processor in this machine is clocked at 2 GHz. It’s the smallest of the three most recent Apples tested and this is noticeable in the tests of the Xbench tool.
Hard drive 3D OpenGL Ram CPU |  |
The Mac mini is not completely out of step. It’s hard drive compares to the MacBooks (to be expected as it is also in the 2.5 inch format and no doubt comes from the same stocks). 3D is not as impressive, which is strange as it uses the same chip as the 13 inch, which is nevertheless far out in front. The RAM is comparable and the processor, right at the bottom, doesn’t perform anywhere near as well.
In comparison to the PC laptops that have been through our lab, two tests are comparable. Launching a heavy script to work on an image in Photoshop and the creation of an mp3 file from a .wav in iTunes. The second process is no doubt better optimised for Apple machines. It takes 106 seconds to process (95 for the 24-inch iMac) as against 138 seconds for the Asus F6VE. The Asus F6VE however obtains an identical score in Photoshop: 478 sec compared to 475 sec with the Apple (342 sec with the iMac).
Generally speaking you need to keep in mind that the Mac mini is designed for office work and in this context, it does very well. In terms of the most recent tests carried out, it wouldn’t be out of place to compare it to the Asus F6VE (in terms of behaviour). It is probably around 30% slower than our stock computer, the Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Xi3650.
Gaming
Once again the NVIDIA 9400M is used in this Apple. After first appearing in the 15 inch MacBook Pro, the 13 inch aluminium and in the 24 inch iMac (as a basic), it is now also in the Mac mini. This chip, tested in the Dell XPS 13, allows you to play recent games at a resolution of 1280x800 pixels, generally with graphics options set at minimum. Keep this in mind when you choose your screen. If you go for a Full HD 24 inch screen, you’ll have problems in getting demanding 3D games to work.
Audio
The conclusions are the same as those for the 24 inch iMac with one difference. The headphones socket (optical) is very clean and the line-in (also optical) is a not insignificant plus. The built-in speaker is the difference in question. Mono, it is only for use when all other options have been exhausted (or on pain of death for example).
| Apple Mac mini | |
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| Pros | Cons |
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As an office doc machine, the Mac mini does very well. It takes up very little space on your desk and consumes very little energy. For home use, don’t expect too much when it comes to gaming and forget about Blu-Ray as Apple is yet to take this technology on board.
- Mac mini Desktop (2GHz...
It might have been worth mentioning the current limitations playing flash video (Hulu) on the atom system, even the ion. Flash is currently rendered by the CPU and does not play smoothly in full screen at HD resolutions on atom systems. This may not matter to some people, but it's one of the only things keeping me from using an ion system as a HTPC.
Adobe is supposedly working on offloading some flash processing to the GPU, but it is not clear when (or if) that will happen.
I think it's best if these mini's are used on the most basic usage. No games, no hi-resolution videos, no heavy processing.
Digital Versus seems to think anything MAC is the best thing since sliced bread. It seems to me that if you are comparing a MAC with its non-Atom processor (they don't happen to mention what it has, but at 2GHz, we know it's not an Atom), then why don't they compare it to the mini I helped a friend buy. She does email and word processing, and little more. But this little Dell machine from Best Buy had a Core 2 processor, and would run circles around either of these Atom machines. Also, it came with a wireless keyboard / mouse, and a 22" wide panel monitor.
I agree with "erichlund". Every Apple product seems to come out with a 5 star rating, yet the cons listed for the Apple product would seem to make it impossible to justify giving it a 5 star rating. At the very least the cons for the other products seem to be no worse than the cons for the Apple product. While I realize it is "chic" to lust after Apple products, part of the credibility of a review/comparison relies on objective ratings. Arbitrarily giving every Apple product a 5 star rating does nothing for the credibility of this article. When considering the price, lack of accessible ram upgrading, poor cpu performance, how is the Mac-Mini worthy of a 5 star rating?
Anyone know where you can find the Acer Aspire Revo from a reputable dealer? They were suppose to be out a while back.
It'll be good to have a few more Core 2 Duo machines added to the mix when the article gets updated. I'd also be interested in having a "value" section added. Such a section should consider what you get for your money and also the potential resale value.
P.S. CaptainRon, while I'm not saying a 5 star rating is right or not for the mini, the RAM, hard drive and optical drive are easily upgradable, the cpu performance is (at least in my opinion) fine for such a small form factor and the price isn't nearly as bad when you factor in the resale value. Since they update them so irregularly, their second hand prices stay a lot higher than other machines.
Well at 2x the price, that mac mini better be have a bit more.
Apple Mac mini, 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, SuperDrive NO KEYBOARD/MOUSE - $849.00
Acer Aspire Revo - $400
Acer EEEEEEE - $380
All prices in Canadian dollars.
At least get systems in the same price
hell even a Acer Veriton(business machine) is not too big for most users while packing more power then those Atom systems(core2 or a64 X2)
You could buy a decent laptop for the price of the apple machine, and get better performance. But i guess some are willing to pay more for looks than anything else.
I would very much like to see the AOpen MP-45 mini-PC family added to this review: http://usa.aopen.com/Products.aspx?id=74
Granted AOpen sells it as DIY mini-PC, though you can get a preconfigured system from http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/myaopen/MP45.html
Seems to me the Dell Studio Hybrid should have been covered. It's closest thing to a Mac Mini out there. Oh yea and it's at least avaliable to buy in the US.
Does anyone know where to buy that Acer Aspire Revo in the US?
For the EeeBOX the lack of "keyboard mouse screen" is a very stupid thing to B!@%& about since this is standard throughout all products
Spanky Deluxe, while you can upgrade the Mac Mini, my point was simply that for a 5 star product the ACCESSIBILITY to perform a simple ram upgrade was poor. While resale value is higher on any Apple product due to the "brand tax" associated with Apple products, the high price should invalidate the Mac Mini from a 5 star rating if one is using resale value as a factor. Simply put, you can almost buy two non-Apple mini's for the price of a single Apple mini, that really has nothing more going for it than appearance and size. Again if one is talking value, ie: bang for your buck, the Mac Mini isn't a 5 star product.
Also, I have no problem with the CPU performance of the product, my problem is with the rating it was given. It's touted as an a decent office computer and I'm sure it handles these functions fine, but the vast majority of office workstations are Windows based (for better or worse), which you can get for CHEAPER.
My argument is not with Apple, it's with the review. Apple products are generally above average quality items, but in this case the Mac Mini isn't discernibly better than the other minis which were rated at less than 5 stars. Again, no problem with Apple, but the objectivity of the ratings of this article should be brought in to question.
Rock and roll.