Mac Mini

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Pojo

n00b
Joined
Feb 22, 2006
Messages
9
Hey all, soon I will be buying the Mac Mini, but I can't decide wether to get 1gb of ram or wether 512mb will do? I will be only using it for chatting to mates, graphics (Photoshop), browsing the web and listening to music.

It'll be the 1.42GHz combo drive one.

Thanks for any help. :)
 
For photoshop, 1GB is recommended, especiall since the mini is already ram starved as it is.
 
Don't buy it at the apple store online.

Get something cheaper from your favorite reseller (pc2700 or pc3200, can't remember)
 
It's fine, i use one (1.2 ghz, 1gb ram) for all my general intarwebnet browsing needs.
 
you'll save some dough by buying the RAM upgrade from a third party rather than from the Apple Store.
 
I'm new to all this but how you you go about upgrading the ram on a Mac Mini without buying it with it?
 
Mac mini computers have a single memory slot. This slot accepts a standard PC2700 or PC3200 184-pin DIMM with the following specifications:
* PC2700 or PC3200 Synchronous DRAM (SDRAM)
* 2.5 volt
* 8-byte
* non-parity
* 64-bit wide
* 184-pin module
* maximum of 16 memory devices on the DIMM
* unbuffered—do not use registered or buffered SDRAM
* maximum height of 50 mm
Click to expand...

Here is instructions on how to open the Mini. After that its like changing RAM in a normal PC.
 
Is it worth me probably breaking a Mac Mini for the sake of.. £10? £15?
 
last I checked, none of the parts in mini are user serviceable. Take that for what it's worth, because if you have to have it repaired under warranty and they figure out what's gone on, it's bye bye warranty and hello large bill.
 
yea, since your buying new I'd say get it with the ram pre-installed.

i would really wait till april 1st at least, to see what apple has up their sleeve for their 30th anniversary, could be an intel core duo mini! (wishing. then i could sell mine and upgrade)


if you just need it now, then i suggest getting the ram pre-installed, since your new to macs, and you DO want to keep the warranty in case something breaks...
 
get a gig period, OSX is a delightful resource hog like XP. as per installing it yourself, it's up to you, i had a wonderful time (Sarcasm) doing it myself, mainly because i didn't have a finely sanded putty knife.

-esr
 
esr2 said:
get a gig period, OSX is a delightful resource hog like XP. as per installing it yourself, it's up to you, i had a wonderful time (Sarcasm) doing it myself, mainly because i didn't have a finely sanded putty knife.

-esr
Click to expand...
hint: use a razor to scrape crap off, i scraped 5 year old crap off of my putty knife! and it took me literally 10 seconds to open my mini the first time! scraping crap helps :p

granted, i had to take the drives and mobo out too, because i was overclocking...not adding memory.

also. on the memory thing, it is a bad hog, but it hogs it in a good way. :p
 
TUAW says no more bulk mini orders and new "fun" products on the 28th. I would wait.
 
4b5eN+EE said:
yea, since your buying new I'd say get it with the ram pre-installed.

i would really wait till april 1st at least, to see what apple has up their sleeve for their 30th anniversary, could be an intel core duo mini! (wishing. then i could sell mine and upgrade)


if you just need it now, then i suggest getting the ram pre-installed, since your new to macs, and you DO want to keep the warranty in case something breaks...
Click to expand...


I wouldn't even mind a Core Solo...
 
Yeah I think I'll just get it pre-installed. I'm stuck on wether to get the proper Mac Keyboard & Mighty Mouse or wether to just get cheap USB ones for now?
 
Pojo said:
Yeah I think I'll just get it pre-installed. I'm stuck on wether to get the proper Mac Keyboard & Mighty Mouse or wether to just get cheap USB ones for now?
Click to expand...

I would go with the Apple keyboard just because it has a USB hub on it for things like mice. It would save an USB port to use for other things. Now its totally up to you but $50 on the Mighty Mouse might not be worth it but it is programmable for to do certain things and it can scroll every direction.
 
I'm fairly new to the Mac, Infact I just got my G5 a few days ago and based on the 2 days I have taken off of work to play with my new baby, I have to agree.. Get the keyboard and the Mighty Mouse...

The extra Usb spots on the keybard make for easy mousing and use of other hardware that uses the Usb port. <usb drives, printers, wireless etc)

The Mighty Mouse is god's gift to Mac users. It is far more friendlier than the Pc mouse, customizable, easy to use, and the ball goes up, down, left and right and you can set what it does when you press it.

As far as the ram goes... I say go with the 1 gig because what you will spend on getting the 512, and purchasing a 1 gig dimm, then putting it in (after trying to pull apart the mini) it will be worth the $20 or so difference in price to have it in there, under apple warrantee, and installed by a professional Mac Tech.

That is just my humble opinion as a new Mac User...
 
gaer42 said:
I'm fairly new to the Mac, Infact I just got my G5 a few days ago and based on the 2 days I have taken off of work to play with my new baby, I have to agree.. Get the keyboard and the Mighty Mouse...

The extra Usb spots on the keybard make for easy mousing and use of other hardware that uses the Usb port. <usb drives, printers, wireless etc)

The Mighty Mouse is god's gift to Mac users. It is far more friendlier than the Pc mouse, customizable, easy to use, and the ball goes up, down, left and right and you can set what it does when you press it.

As far as the ram goes... I say go with the 1 gig because what you will spend on getting the 512, and purchasing a 1 gig dimm, then putting it in (after trying to pull apart the mini) it will be worth the $20 or so difference in price to have it in there, under apple warrantee, and installed by a professional Mac Tech.

That is just my humble opinion as a new Mac User...
Click to expand...

Unless they have changed it or my iMac G5 is funky you cant plug usb drives into the keyboard usb ports.
 
Kaos said:
Unless they have changed it or my iMac G5 is funky you cant plug usb drives into the keyboard usb ports.
Click to expand...
Sorry... my mistake [as I said I am fairly new to the world of Mac......]

So what is the 2nd port for then?
 
Kaos said:
Unless they have changed it or my iMac G5 is funky you cant plug usb drives into the keyboard usb ports.
Click to expand...

Because the most drives (I'm assuming thumb drives) require power the keyboard hub can't supply it. Not to mention the Mighty Mouse also requires power to make the optical unit work. Not to mention the keyboard hub is only USB 1.1(?) so if you want fast transfer don't use it save that hub for things like mice and printers.
 
Might wanna wait until after 2/28.... rumor has it that a new intel-based mac mini will be announced. If so, it will have other improvements too, like a better video card.


My 1.42GHz mini has served me well for about a year now but I'm going to replace it. Go with 1GB memory, but buy the memory elsewhere and install it yourself or get the apple store to do it.
 
Sasaki_Kojiro said:
I agree with Thud wait untill 2/28 and definetly get the 1gig of ram.

Sasaki
Click to expand...

Add me to the list of possibles. My Mini works well but I'm feeling cramped and want something a bit more.
 
if you are really wanting photoshop badly the intel macs are not currently the way to go.
 
mngl1200 said:
if you are really wanting photoshop badly the intel macs are not currently the way to go.
Click to expand...

why not? they currently run apps like photoshop around G4 speeds, and a mini has what...a G4?! :jawdrop: so they will run photoshop around that speed *until photoshop/other adobe apps are released as universal binaries* (by the end of the year)

once that happens, they will FLY compared to a g4/mini, not to mention its like a free upgrade since adobe will, hopefully (they better, or thats GAY), release a free crossgrade to the universal binaries for people that need it but already bought PPC versions of their software (im thinking they would do this via their updater? easy....)
 
adobes universal version is going to be their next actual version (ie creative suite 3), so there will be no crossgrade or cheap upgrade to universal adobe. go check out adobes web site if you want anymore info...
 
bahula03 said:
adobes universal version is going to be their next actual version (ie creative suite 3), so there will be no crossgrade or cheap upgrade to universal adobe. go check out adobes web site if you want anymore info...
Click to expand...


damn..that sucks, guess i was wrong then...got a link?

on another note....these sourdough "nibblers" pretzels are good.... :)

:Edit:

found it :(
http://www.adobe.com/products/pdfs/intelmacsupport.pdf
:edit2:
gotta show my shop teacher that....to convince him to upgrade to CS3(or whatever) once we get our Intel iMacs in shop... :)
 
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