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Great computer. just give it plenty of RAM. (not from apple if you can)
good for everyday everything.

Thanks for the input.  I just wanted to make sure that it would perform well.  Question though.  I can't add the ram myself b/c it would break off the warrenty, right?  So I have to have them do it and the ram cost like a stinkin $100 for an additional 256.  Is the additional ram necessary for it to run properly???

mitunes75. wrote:

Thanks for the input.  I just wanted to make sure that it would perform well.  Question though.  I can't add the ram myself b/c it would break off the warrenty, right?  So I have to have them do it and the ram cost like a stinkin $100 for an additional 256.  Is the additional ram necessary for it to run properly???

Here is a recent review I did of the Mini.  This review was designed for people like you with questions like yours.


Get the extra Ram.  Yes, it is about 2x the cost of the Ram, but it is installed, covered under the Apple warranty.  Still a little pricey, but it is part of the Apple "tax" so that they can say that they have a sub-$500 Mac.  They should have just included the 512 MB Ram, priced it at $599, and no one would know the better, except then they would bitch and complain that there wasn't an option to get it with only 256 MB ram for cheaper. 

Czachorski wrote:

Get the extra Ram.  Yes, it is about 2x the cost of the Ram, but it is installed, covered under the Apple warranty.  Still a little pricey, but it is part of the Apple "tax" so that they can say that they have a sub-$500 Mac.  They should have just included the 512 MB Ram, priced it at $599, and no one would know the better, except then they would bitch and complain that there wasn't an option to get it with only 256 MB ram for cheaper.  shrug

If you install a 1GB module on your own, it's one third the price and is covered by a lifetime warranty (just the memory - not the computer).  http://www.otherworldcomputing.com/ has an excellent video on how to upgrade the mini's RAM, HD, optical drive, etc...  Right now they sell 1GB mini RAM sticks for $125 versus Apple's $325, but I'm sure there are even cheaper prices out there.  Just make sure they are guaranteed Mac compatible.  Other than that, get the cheapest RAM you can find that has a lifetime warranty (which pretty much everyone has).  Also, when the Mac mini debuted, it was a commonly held belief that upgrading the RAM on your own would void your warranty.  Later it was confirmed that this is not the case.  Just something else to think about before paying the OEM tax.

So now the qestion becomes:  Just how tough is it to open the lil' sucker?  Well, it took me a good ten minutes, but afterwords I realized I was being way more cautious than I needed to be.  I thought that if I pried too hard, I would damage the guts.  But as soon as I got one of the sides out, I realized that it was "designed" to be pop open under this pressure.  So to answer the question, it's tough, but it's something anybody can do.

I have a mac mini. I kinda modded it as a server....Apache2/php4/MySQL run great. The FPS on halo is OK, utk2004 runs great. This is a 1.42/512MB RAM/80 GB HD. The 1 GB RAM model at the apple store had Final Cut Studio running great, FCP ran without a hitch. But the thing has only 1 RAM slot. Great for general stuff(email, web, etc), OK for pro. G5 is nicer if you got the $$. And one thing that is really annoying is the fact that you have to buy an adapter if you have an old Studio Display, but I personally like the $30 17" Sony I got better. Not as grainy. Oh, and btw, I am using itunes, ichat, mail, preview, and safari right now and it isn't even flinching.

gozer wrote:

it's a great everyday computer. i'm on one right now, my fianc

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iBook G4 | 12" | 40GB | 1.33GHz | 512MB | Combo | 10.4.3
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