Yet another "will a Mac Mini be suitable for me" question.

Good afternoon all

My laptop a samsung Q330 has died so I need a replacement computer. In an ideal world I would replace it with another laptop but funding an adequate (for my needs laptop) seems to be pretty pricy and I dont have a lot of spare cash.

A review and specs of my laptop are here the laptop was as supplied except for changing the hard drive to a SSD. This should give you an idea of what I have been using and I have been happy with.

The mac mini appears to be a very good viable option as I have a large monitor in storage from my gaming days. And also a mouse and keyboard.

As we all know any modern computer is sufficient for most taks however I do use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop CS6. Although 90% of my photo work is in Lightroom.

I no longer play games except for Football Manager, for those who don't know it is a management simulation that does have a 3d match engine.

So my first question is would the entry level Mac Mini be suitable for my requirements on the basis that I have (until it died) been happy with the performance of my Samsung. I'm guessing the processor trumps my laptop as does the RAM but do I have anything to worry about the graphics in the Mac Mini.

If I purchase a Mac Mini I am considering replacing the hard drive with my SSD from my samsung. I have seen how to do it on Youtube and having built my own PC in the past I am reasonably confident.

The only concern is that it would invalidate my warranty but does the Mac Mini have any sort of seal? If I succesfully install my SSD and it all works fine but later the Mac Mini developed a fault what would stop me sticking the hard drive back in and then taking it to Apple under warranty.

The other thing I have been wondering about is the Mac Mini comes with USB 3.0. I have never owned a machine with USB 3.0 but would buying an external USB 3.0 enclosure and using my SSD in that be a viable option as my main OS drive?

My final worry is that everyone expects the Mac Mini to be upgraded soon, I appreciate that no one knows when and what the new Mini will be like but for my uses should I be really holding out? I am not going to be able to affford a replacement till mid March at the earliest.

Appreciate any thoughts or comments

Darren

If the specs of the Mini match your laptop closely, then your experience should be about the same, right? It's hard for anyone to advise you unless they can run benchmark tests and compare them.

I know that my 2007 Mini is difficult to get opened up. I'm told the newer models are more accessible. If you like to play with fire, go ahead and make the switch. Or, don't go into the Mini at the entry level. What if you have major problems? You'd lose all that you saved by going cheaper.

Your big concern about switching from the Samsung to a Mac Mini is all that expensive software you have is not going to be able to be used unless you run Windows on the Mini.

As far as replacing the hard drive in the Mini with your SSD, how big is the SSD and is it worth risking breaking something in the process? Using an SSD in an external enclosure defeats the speed of the SSD as it will be tied to USB speeds. The Mini has USB 3 which is backward compatible to USB 2. USB 3 devices use a different type of male connector and the cables are more expensive than USB 2.

Also, how old is your monitor? The keyboard? Mouse? Keep in mind the Mini does not have an optical drive which means you would need an external if you have software or other things on disk that need to be installed.

toMACsh said:

If the specs of the Mini match your laptop closely, then your experience should be about the same, right? It's hard for anyone to advise you unless they can run benchmark tests and compare them.

I know that my 2007 Mini is difficult to get opened up. I'm told the newer models are more accessible. If you like to play with fire, go ahead and make the switch. Or, don't go into the Mini at the entry level. What if you have major problems? You'd lose all that you saved by going cheaper.

Click to expand...

I'm sure the Mini CPU and RAM will be faster than my Samsung laptop. I'm just not so knowledgeable about the graphics.

chscag said:

Your big concern about switching from the Samsung to a Mac Mini is all that expensive software you have is not going to be able to be used unless you run Windows on the Mini.

As far as replacing the hard drive in the Mini with your SSD, how big is the SSD and is it worth risking breaking something in the process? Using an SSD in an external enclosure defeats the speed of the SSD as it will be tied to USB speeds. The Mini has USB 3 which is backward compatible to USB 2. USB 3 devices use a different type of male connector and the cables are more expensive than USB 2.

Also, how old is your monitor? The keyboard? Mouse? Keep in mind the Mini does not have an optical drive which means you would need an external if you have software or other things on disk that need to be installed.

Click to expand...

Well my LIghtroom and Photoshop is all through Creative Cloud now so that shouldnt be a problem switching from Windows to Mac and Football Manager is through Steam which again should not be a problem switching. Steam and my adobe products are all available for OSX as far as I am aware!

My laptop is dual boot with Ubuntu so I only use Windows for Lightroom, Photoshop and Football Manager. I rarely use the optical drive so I have no worries on that front and cannot see me needing one.

The SSD is 128gb I have various hard drive in caddies for backing up stuff so the small size of the SSD is not an issue.

My monitor is a Samsung 226BW and my mouse is a Logitech G5 I've used these connected to my laptop when doing extensive photo editing and whilst they are a few years old they are pretty good to my mind.

I'm guessing from what you have said that conneting the SSD via USB 3.0 kind of negates any speed benefit that the SSD brings?

Thanks for all your comments so far.

Benchmarks

Q330 - i3 350M - "1,911"
Mini - I5-3210M - "3,803"

Q330 - Intel GMA 3150 - 384 MB - "2"
Mini - Intel HD 4000 - 512 MB, max 768 MB - "457"

(no, that "2" is not a mistake - see here - I believe that is the lowest Passmark score I have seen for any GPU I have ever looked at a benchmark)

A lot of us are suggesting to wait unless you need a computer 'now'
The current model Minis were released in Oct. 2012 and are due for a refresh.

bobtomay said:

Benchmarks

Q330 - i3 350M - "1,911"
Mini - I5-3210M - "3,803"

Q330 - Intel GMA 3150 - 384 MB - "2"
Mini - Intel HD 4000 - 512 MB, max 768 MB - "457"

(no, that "2" is not a mistake - see here - I believe that is the lowest Passmark score I have seen for any GPU I have ever looked at a benchmark)

A lot of us are suggesting to wait unless you need a computer 'now'
The current model Minis were released in Oct. 2012 and are due for a refresh.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the benchmarks although the actual figures don't mean a lot to me I'm guessing from your general tone that the Q330 score of "2" is pretty poor.

I guess then that I have nothing to worry about in respect of the Mac Mini specs considering I have been happy with my Q330.

Thanks

gredawarha said:

Thanks for the benchmarks although the actual figures don't mean a lot to me I'm guessing from your general tone that the Q330 score of "2" is pretty poor.

Click to expand...

Poor would not be the term I would use.
The current king of GPUs - the GeForce GTX 780 Ti - posts a score of 8,650

I guess then that I have nothing to worry about in respect of the Mac Mini specs considering I have been happy with my Q330.

Thanks

Click to expand...

I believe that would be an accurate statement only comparing specs to specs.

Unless you decide you want to run some 3D game that requires a dedicated GPU instead of one of these integrated Intel GPUs. In which case, you'll be up the creek - the same as you would with the notebook you've been using.

gredawarha said:

Good afternoon all

My laptop a samsung Q330 has died so I need a replacement computer. In an ideal world I would replace it with another laptop but funding an adequate (for my needs laptop) seems to be pretty pricy and I dont have a lot of spare cash..........

Click to expand...

/yawn



OK, lets start buy telling you what I do on my 2012 Mac Mini.
I use Lightroom, Photoshop, Pixelmator, Photomatix Pro, Star Stax, Garage Band, iMove, plus a plethora of other A/V and Image editing apps heavily...

I have the 2.6Ghz i7 version with multithreading, 8GB of DRAM, 256GB Samsung SSD and the 1 TB stock Hitachi HDD. I am also running mavericks. To put it lightly, my system screams.. I have no lag doing nothing. I can edit HD (1080p) video with ease. I can edit 90MP Panoramic Photos like they are a joke.. And I do this daily..

Don't let the size of the Mini scare you to thinking its some crappy netbook nightmare.. If anything they should have just named the systems "Little Beast."


Now in regards to the new systems coming out in about 5 months or so. Expect them to be 8% (you will never notice) faster CPU wise. And since you said you don't game, then Iris or Iris Pro iGPU isn't going to be that big of a deal for you. I know I want..

Hope this helps..
Joe

EDIT: BTW since the release of Mavericks the HD4000 iGPU video memory has been boosted to 1024.. Up from 768MB..

bobtomay said:

Poor would not be the term I would use.
The current king of GPUs - the GeForce GTX 780 Ti - posts a score of 8,650

I believe that would be an accurate statement only comparing specs to specs.

Unless you decide you want to run some 3D game that requires a dedicated GPU instead of one of these integrated Intel GPUs. In which case, you'll be up the creek - the same as you would with the notebook you've been using.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I am certainly content that if I bought a Mac Mini today it would do everything I need. I think that unless an anouncement is made about the replacement comes before the mid to end of March then I will buy the current model.

I'm really struggling without a proper computer at the minute. My wife has a nexus 7 which is handy and I have a smart phone but they dont compare to a "proper" computer.

An obvious example is last night when I videoed my 3 year old Son singing nursery rymes (and his alternative version). I showed them to my wife and her resonse was "you have to put that on Facebook". Mt response, "I will once I have a computer!"

Many thanks

Exodist said:

/yawn



OK, lets start buy telling you what I do on my 2012 Mac Mini.
I use Lightroom, Photoshop, Pixelmator, Photomatix Pro, Star Stax, Garage Band, iMove, plus a plethora of other A/V and Image editing apps heavily...

I have the 2.6Ghz i7 version with multithreading, 8GB of DRAM, 256GB Samsung SSD and the 1 TB stock Hitachi HDD. I am also running mavericks. To put it lightly, my system screams.. I have no lag doing nothing. I can edit HD (1080p) video with ease. I can edit 90MP Panoramic Photos like they are a joke.. And I do this daily..

Don't let the size of the Mini scare you to thinking its some crappy netbook nightmare.. If anything they should have just named the systems "Little Beast."


Now in regards to the new systems coming out in about 5 months or so. Expect them to be 8% (you will never notice) faster CPU wise. And since you said you don't game, then Iris or Iris Pro iGPU isn't going to be that big of a deal for you. I know I want..

Hope this helps..
Joe

EDIT: BTW since the release of Mavericks the HD4000 iGPU video memory has been boosted to 1024.. Up from 768MB..

Click to expand...

Thanks Joe

I certainly didn't think the Mac Mini was a "crappy netbook nightmare" but with work a family and my photographic hobby I am kind of out of the loop when it comes to hardware now. And I'm probably not the only person who finds the numerous different acronyms and part numbers difficult to follow.

I appreciate the help.

Exodist said:

...
EDIT: BTW since the release of Mavericks the HD4000 iGPU video memory has been boosted to 1024.. Up from 768MB..

Click to expand...

Didn't know that...

I don't have a Mac that will play the newly released OS X version of Tomb Raider - which I would love to get - and neither will the Mini - which is a drag for me...

bobtomay said:

Didn't know that...

I don't have a Mac that will play the newly released OS X version of Tomb Raider - which I would love to get - and neither will the Mini - which is a drag for me...

Click to expand...

Only game I have installed is Diablo III. Not even sure if it was faster or not before and after the upgrade.

Here is what I though was interesting. Apple changed the Monitor look under about this mac. This is what got me on the topic about possible new monitors for the Mac Pro last month..

Okay.

No choice about jumping into the Apple world now. I mentioned to the missus that I was considering a mac mini for my replacement computer.

Today she came back from shopping with our Son and although my Birthday is not till Tuesday I am now the owner of an entry level Mac Mini!

So far so good, I think having used Ubuntu I'm not finding the OS substantially different.

Now do I crack her open and install my SSD?

Unless you can't bear the speed of the HD, I'd wait till the warranty is done before changing out any parts that require you to disassemble the machine. You can upgrade the RAM on the Mac Mini now, and I'd strongly encourage you to do that.

"Except for memory, do not attempt to replace or repair any components inside your Mac mini. If your Mac mini needs service, consult the service and support information that came with your Mac mini for information about how to contact an Apple Authorized Service Provider or Apple for service.
If you install items other than memory, you risk damaging your equipment, and such damage isn't covered by the limited warranty on your Mac mini." -- Apple User Guide

Also, the operation on the current Mac mini, while hardly impossible, is rated as "difficult," meaning users are prone to damage the machine in the attempt unless they are experienced at such repairs.

Glad you are having a good experience so far, I hope you enjoy it very much, and Happy Birthday!

gredawarha said:

Okay.

No choice about jumping into the Apple world now. I mentioned to the missus that I was considering a mac mini for my replacement computer.

Today she came back from shopping with our Son and although my Birthday is not till Tuesday I am now the owner of an entry level Mac Mini!

So far so good, I think having used Ubuntu I'm not finding the OS substantially different.

Now do I crack her open and install my SSD?

Click to expand...

Almost... That said I do agree with Chas_m...

But if you want to go ahead and add your SSD..
I suggest ordering this kit from OWC.
OWC DIYIMM11D2 'Data Doubler' 2.5" Hard Drive/SSD... in stock at OWC

You will need the 2nd ribbon cable if you want both your SSD and keep your current HDD in the system for more storage. Also the tools are pretty much essential for the break down of the unit. And it comes with very detailed instructions and they have online videos for DIY people.

Its really not hard, but it does take patience and a keen eye to watch and make sure you follow every step and don't harm any of the wiring.

Cheers,
Joe

Thanks guys

Okay fitting my SSD was not to bad, the cowling was rather fiddly and getting the antenna grate back on was tricky.

I've now tried to install osx using internet recovery however it doesn't recognise the ssd. In hindsight I should have formatted the ssd prior to installing.

Would this be the issue?

ferrarr said:

If you can get to Disk Utility, you can use that to format the SSD. It should be an option under Utilities in the top menu bar.

Click to expand...

That was my first thought but disk utility only shows a small apple drive of about 1gb which is presumably on the logic board.

gredawarha said:

Okay fitting my SSD was not to bad, the cowling was rather fiddly and getting the antenna grate back on was tricky.

I've now tried to install osx using internet recovery however it doesn't recognise the ssd. In hindsight I should have formatted the ssd prior to installing.

Would this be the issue?

Click to expand...

Did you just stick in the SSD or clone the HDD first?

Either way check this out from Apples website.. Its how to use the recovery mode.
Apple - OS X Recovery restores your Mac with a few clicks.


These little features are what separates a Mac from just another PC.. Fat chance seeing this on a windows based PC..