Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Off Topic OT: Mac Mini

I know it's not what Joel is looking for.......but for use as a Music Server, I would recommend swapping a spinning hard drive for an SSD

that's what I've done on one of the Server Mini's with a dramatic reduction in RFI.......as well as being faster for most operations........Read & Write operations also much faster for Memory Play and Gapless Playback etc.

The Library is then on a NAS feeding the PC over Gigabit

Wild thought: can iMac displays be used by other Macs? (i.e. for monitor purposes - I'm guessing no).

Yes.......and No

The iMac 27" from 2009 until the Thunderbolt equipped ones this year CAN be used as an External Display by another Mac over a Mini Displayport to Mini Displayport cable........the iMac 21" models of the same era CANNOT be used as an external display

The current iMac's were introduced earlier this year and they have 1 or 2 Thunderbolt Ports, which look Identical to a Mini Display port connection.........the new Mini's also have the same Thunderbolt (Intel Lightpeak) ports in place of the Mini Displayports

A User can use the Thunderbolt connection to connect to an external monitor

The current iMac's (both the 21" and 27") can be used as External Displays.......but only by Thunderbolt equipped Mac's........I.e. All the various MacBook Pro's, Mini's, iMac's and Air's introduced this year only

Summary

** Older Mac to iMac 27" via Mini Displayport (MDP) is OK

** New THunderbolt Mac's to 2011 iMac's is ok

** New Thunderbolt Mac into 2009 & 2010 iMac 27 will work via an MDP Cable

** An older MDP Mac cannot use a 2011 iMac as an External Display (Target Display Mode)

Not sure if that's clear........but even Apple themselves are still struggling to answer these questions.......so above is based on trial and error

Maybe post the machines you have in mind for a clearer answer, sorry

Thanks Ronnie. There is a refurb 2011 27" iMac available at the moment for less than the educational price of the entry level Mac Mini + 27" Thunderbolt display (notwithstanding the fact that the integrated graphics probably wouldn't cut it with a display of that size). Generally, I like to separate components so that you can upgrade one without having to pay for replacing stuff that you are already happy with. So iMacs are a bit anathema to me.

But, if the current iMac can be used purely as a display by any future Mac with Thunderbolt, it's an option, albeit a �1200 option. However, it looks like the iMac has to be fully "on" which isn't ideal (it's not clear to me that you can run the iMac with OSX bypassed).

Still probably going down the Mini route as forking out ��� for a Mac isn't what I had in mind, but am now thinking that the Mini with AMD graphics might be sensible to allow the option for a "big" display in the future. The iMac is more powerful though in every regard (with the heat output to prove it)...

I must say, the new Mac mini with SSD drive looks pretty nice. I am a little annoyed I just built my own "all in" media rig. I would have "settled" for the Mac mini. Seems like the AMD video processor, despite being a little old, has a great rep. Sigh....

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Don't forget that only the Mac Mini comes with HDMI (the iMac doesn't).

The Mac Mini is great controlled by an iPad or iPod Touch, with apps such as...

PLEX,
Boxee,
iPeng,
Logitech Squeezebox,
Apple Remote,
Media Remote.

Which means that you don't need a separate/dedicated display for routine operation in a music/video server setting.

I get brilliant results connected to my Panasonic plasma - where the Mac Mini automatically recognises and configures itself to the panel.

Hi Joel
The Mini 2.3 i5 will comfortably drive a 2560 by 1440 display, when running "normal" apps.......i.e. MS Office, Browsing, Photo Management, most Software Development Platforms etc. etc.

Likewise, the integrated graphics can comfortably play 1080p HD Videos from Youtube HD or Camera etc.........also HD from iPlayer or Flash etc.

Summary: the 2.3 Mini will be more than fine driving the Apple 27" Display or iMac.........so I wouldn't let that be the deciding factor for now or in the future


However, if you are even remotely tempted by the iMac 27" Quad, then serious consideration should be given to it

a) It will be a VASTLY faster machine......especially at the more Processor or Graphics Intensive applications.......but I don't know how Intensive or "Hungry" the Apps you plan to use are, so I'm really speaking in a void

b) If you haven't played around with one of the Apple High Res displays, then it might be worth visiting a shop that has them..........the 2560 by 1440 display acreage combined with the "Spaces" / "Desktop" gives a User an enormous amount of room to work with several different Apps simultaneously......again I don't know if this is important to you.........playing with one would tell you a lot

The Thunderbolt display is very lovely indeed but is not cheap (�826) even in the Educational store). The Dell U2711 panel appears to be a good alternative to the Apple display, has excellent reviews, and is �250 cheaper, but not as desirable IMO. Although it suffers from reflections, I've always been drawn to Apple's glossy displays.

Of course, there are a number of 1920x1080 displays for under �300 which have the same real estate as the Apple and Dell displays, though not the pixelage.

Interesting point about the lack of HDMI output from the iMac, but that's only of concern for an AV application, I think.

The only other thing about using the iMac as a display with a current or future Mac is that the camera appears not to be shared.

I like the flexibility of the Mac Mini + Thunderbolt display, but it's more expensive and capable than the cheapest 27" iMac.

We crossed...

That is valuable info which may have swung the argument. I do not need processing or graphics powered at the moment and Mac Minis appear to be holding reasonable used value if I decided to upgrade.

Quite.

General use, app development and, possibly, file serving and running a Squeezebox Server.

Indeed I have. I had a good play at the MK store a couple of weeks ago, mainly to try out the Magic Mouse (which I found tricky to use and limited in the range of multi-touch gestures available) and the Touch Pad (which is great). I have 24" and 22" screens connected to my PC at work and really value the real estate. There have been times recently where 24" on the main display has not been enough; hence my interest in the 27" displays.

Not sure if you know or have used Spaces (SL) or Desktops (Lion), but that's where the extra Pixels and workspace comes into play

Trackpad is the way forward with Mac.......not the Magic Mouse.......the new and old Gestures work much better on the Trackpad............the Mouse still has an advantage on some "precision" work , but.......

All told, it might be worth another visit to the MK store and a play with the Mini's to see how they compare and see if one suits you better than another

Not sure if you use Dropbox or similar, but if you do, you could have your Program Tools on Dropbox and then you can install your Tools on the Demo Mac in the shop (deleting later).............this will allow you to test the various Mac's

Likewise, Youtube HD or iPlayer or iTunes Store Movie Trailers are useful for testing the Graphics capabilities of the various machines

Picture / Video paints a thousand words.........so a demo of Desktop Spaces below..........a very useful feature IMHO (as was Spaces under SL)

Whatever you decide to buy, consider this...

When the current Mac Mini gets updated this time next year, and you can't resist updating to the new Mac Mini, all you will have to replace is the Mac Mini itself. Whatever Mini you go for your chosen monitor remains, therefore minimising your extra investment in new kit.

If you choose an iMac, however, your choice in upgrading to the next best iMac means that you will have to spend more in effectively replacing the combined CPU and monitor.

Mac Mini 2.7Ghz i7 (�799), plus 27" Apple Monitor (�899) = �1,698

iMac 27" 2.7Ghz = �1,399

So, initial investment in the iMac is �299 cheaper. However, in the fullness of time, if the upgrade bug bites you (assuming prices remain roughly the same) you would only have to buy a new Mac Mini for �799.