Intel mac mini as good as DC G5 2.0?

it seems from the benchmarking tests that a maxed out mini performs as well as the DC G52.0. It would probably do even better if someone could get the node trick to work (as it does on the intel imac) bringing the mini's power up (at least for music related work) to a DC 2.3!
anyone got this going?

The node trick runs on the mini. It just doesn't give any additional power (and on most machines the improvement is only about 10% anyway). In the one case where an intel box saw a huge improvement from the node, I suspect something wasn't working right.
I wouldn't expect more than we've already seen out of the mini duo.

Similar Messages

The Intel Mac Mini uses on-board graphics... how good are they?

I'm seriously considering getting an Intel Mac Mini and telling all my friends to get one, too. However, there's one problem - the graphics.
The whole reason I'd want an Intel Mac would be so that I could dual-boot into Windows Vista (when it comes out) in order to play the latest games.
How suitable are the on-board graphics for gaming? Would it be able to play Halo and Command & Conquer Generals well?
Basically, I want to know if it's the equivalent of a 64 MB graphics chip in speed, or if having on-board graphics makes it a bit slower. Does it have hardware acceleration? And is it suitable for smooth casual gaming at an average resolution?

I am very uneasy about finding integrated graphics in the new mini too.
When I first saw the new Mini website on Apple's website I was so excited "intel processor", "4 usb ports", "faster drives" but something was missing from the website; the "graphics" sub-category. I instantly wondering what was up with that, thinking right away obviously the graphics weren't good enough to brag about. I was right. On Apple's MacMini website, on the "Intel Core" sub-category page, bottom of the page, right side there's a weee comment on integrated graphics, "oh." was my only thought.
It's really disappointing to see integrated graphics in the new Mini. That AND the increase in price. The price of the Intel iMac dropped by $100 when it got introduced, but the Intel Mini's price goes up $100 upon introduction, further closing the price between the iMac and the Mini and making the iMac looking more and more attractice in terms of features-performance-price-value. I better run out and buy a Intel iMac before Apple removes the miniDVI-out port (which I'm predicting it will be removed in the next iMac revision)
Hopefully some Intel MacMini review tests in the coming weeks will reveal better-than-expected graphics performance.
I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned this but... doesn't anyone here see that Apple has given us a preview of what's to come by putting integrated graphics in the new Intel MacMini? -- Anyone? I'll tell you -- we're going to see the exact same integrated graphics in the upcoming Intel iBooks, that's what.
Mac Mini Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Intel Mac Mini stuck in reboot loop

I just upgraded the hard drive in my 2007 intel mac mini core duo. Drive formatted successfully, contains GUID Partition Table.
OSX 10.5 installed successfully.
Machine rebooted, I ran software update to 10.5.7 successfully.
Upon installing Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Acrobat Reader, machine began to react slowly to commands.
Rebooted machine, went to Grey Apple Screen with spinning dash wheen icon.
Machine rebooted itself, once again going to the grey apply screen with the spinning wheel.
After about 15 minutes of letting the continual reboot cycle happen, I inserted the installation DVD for 10.5, held the power button in to power off the machine, and booted from the disk.
I ran disk utility. Disk Utility shows the hard drive, shows the partition (GUID Partition) correctly.
I Verified Disk, which verified as "OK"
Repaired permissions.
Restarted machine.
Once again, it loaded to the grey apple screen, stayed there with the spinning dash wheel for about 3 minutes then continued to reboot over and over (everytime it reboots it sticks on the grey apple screen for 3 minutes before rebooting.
I once again powered off the machine and reset the PRAM.
Machine stuck again on reboot cycle.
I powered off the machine and reset the mini's SMC.
Machine is still stuck in reboot cycle.
I have also taken the mini back apart and verified that all RAM and connections are seated properly.
Any advice on what to do at this point will be very helpful.

+And I promise I will not download and install a hundred different programs this time.+
Good idea.
Any time you install software in OSX, there is a small, but finite, chance that the installation process won't be able to access a needed file because it is in use. This can mess up pre-binding, or even prevent files from being updated.
So the best advice is not to run any other programs while doing software installs or updates. And when in doubt, run DiskUtility afterwards and fix permissions one more time.
I cringe whenever I think of a post I read a while back about a Mac user who boasted about what music he likes to run in iTunes while doing system software updates. Not a good idea. It's "Russian roulette" with maybe 99 blanks in the "gun", but one real bullet that can kill your Mac's installation.

Intel Mac mini and widescreen TV output (analog)

I just replaced my 1.25 GHz mini with a dual-core Intel one, and are really disappointed that the wide-screen resolution options are nowhere to be found. I'm using the Apple DVI-to-Video adapter with an S-Video cable.
On the G4 Mac mini, I would get 640x480 (NTSC 4:3), 800x480 (NTSC 16:9), 768x576 (PAL 4:3) and 1024x576 (PAL 16:9). Together with Overscan and Best for Video, I got a really nice picture on my 16:9 CRT TV (can display PAL and NTSC in either 4:3 or 16:9).
With the Intel Mac mini, I only get 640x480.
(The other available resolutions do not match with the actual NTSC or PAL frequencies or aspect ratios. For example, 720x480 or 720x576 is used as the pixel format for some digital media, but the pixels are not square, and so far, all software expects display pixels to be square. So it's actually quite useless.)
Is there a trick to get those resolutions to show up in Displays and become usable?

1.) I am using either 1920x1080 (interlaced) which is the resultion that has the worst problem with text sharpness. Now, I have discovered the Zoom feature in OSX and I can use it to some degree to make things readable. This may be my best option.
2.) I have done the calibraton and it does look quite a bit better. Those the DVD output is good but not great.
3.) Apparently, from what I have read, this is a common problem. Maybe a driver upgrade from Apple or Intel could fix?
I bought a Philips DVI cable. I know it's not the best but it should suffice. Monster cables seem to be overpriced. I plan to hook my PC to my HDTV with the same cable. My ATi card supports HD resolutions as well.
I also hooked the mini to my CRT that I have on my Dell and it looks very good there. I am impressed that OSX adjusts the resoltions that it can display upon boot. Even which switching displays.
Intel Mini Duo Core Mac OS X (10.4.5) 512MB RAM

Need Advice: New Intel Mac Mini Still In The Box

Hi!
Okay.. I know... I have several posts going here as I have several issues I am trying to solve rather simultaneously. Thanks for being patient with me.
I have my old 1.25 Ghz PowerPC Mac Mini running 10.4.11 and all was well and happy. Then Security Update 2007-009 happened and all went to ....well... you know and, yes, it was bad! Went to Apple, got it running of sorts as they re-installed the OS, but they used an old version of OS X. (10.4.7. Can you believe that?) This caused other problems. It continues to have all sorts of difficulties, as I have had to get applications to re-recognize that the computer is back up to 10.4.11. Currently, I am struggling with trying to get iTunes to access it's music folders on the external hard drives. Realized that I hadn't even gotten around to figuring out whether or not some of my other applications work, like some of the games and third party, etc.
The thing is I got a new Intel Mac Mini for Christmas and it's still in the box because as I suspected I need to get my old mac perfect again before I can even think about migrating stuff over to the new Mac. But.. here's the thing... it's starting to look pretty much like 2008 will come and go before I can get the old Mac ready enough to take the new Mac out of the box. This really is rather silly!
Now... I can't get the old Mac to see the music and it made me think. I have all of my iTunes music and iPhoto backed up on an external hard drive (I used Apple's "Back-up" software to do it) and in addition to this two complete copies of the iTunes music and iPhoto photos albums on two separate external hard drives. Should I just forget using migration assistant? Can I get my music and my photo albums into the new mac directly from the external hard drives?
Or...can I use "back up" to restore the music and photos into the new Mac?
I am starting to think that the best way to get my new Mac running is not risk it by attaching it to my old Mac. What do you think?
Thank you so much for any advice or experiences you can give. -Charlotte

I know that I am vacillating back and forth as to what to do. Thanks so much for being patient with me. All of your advice is really appreciated and I am at least closing in on deciding on my strategy. Probably will follow your first response advice, especially considering that some of the third party apps may not have updates to handle Leopard quite yet. Anyway... it's a good strategy since everything is on the externals anyway.
You can say that fine.
Ha ha ha.... yes, I've been messing around with computers since my parents bought our first Apple computer back in 1979. Just like you, I've never had a serious problem with any of the computers and we've had them all, running all sorts of things from the Original Apple and Apple IIc (which my parents still have and it still runs!) to the Commodore and all the Windows permeations and then on to the Macs running Jaguar, Panther and Tiger, probably because we've always been careful with the machines and what we install in them and how we update them. I have always kept my computers on UPS' and un-plug them when storms brew outside. As it is I am still using my eight year old Windows 98 computer, (for games mostly) and it still runs quicker than most peoples windows pcs and it's only a 740 Megahertz.
I haven't had to re-install anything, especially on this lovely little Mac Mini until now and wouldn't have in this situation, had I known more. I had taken the little Mac Mini in for a Procare "Tune-Up," only four days before the big up-date disaster. Not sure what they did to my mac in the tune-up but the guy gave me back the machine assuring me that the computer was perfect with no problems in answer to my asking "were they sure?" Even after the Genius Bar techs at the Apple Store re-installed the OS to fix the big problems it seems that no one ever thought to run verify disk. Had the Genius Bar techs at the time of the tune-up done this, or at least told me to do this, the last security update would not have wrecked so much havoc. It was only after I got the machine back from Apple that second time that I found that the directory had been corrupted when I ran disk verify. Actually it is amazing that I have had this little Mac Mini for so long and so not have had any problems on it that I would be able to go so long without having to know this really pretty important aspect of keeping one's mac in good running shape. I had been running maintenance scripts and permissions verify and repair and thought that was all there was to it. Silly! You know... that really is a testimony of how nice these little machines are.
Anyway... experience is a good teacher and I have learned so much it's actually been great! This stuff is pretty interesting.
Now... on to Leopard!
Thanks so much and you have a great New Year! -Charlotte

Best app for QT on Intel Mac Mini kiosk?

Hi all:
I've sent variations of this message off to various folks and fora pertaining to Flash, Director, Livestage, etc., so I thought I'd ask here as well.
I'm working on a very high profile exhibit here in NYC, which is opening to the public on Sept. 11th (draw your own conclusions). It involves a number of standard definition (not HD) video-based kiosks.
These are running on bottom of the line off-the-shelf single-core Intel Mac Minis w/ 512MB RAM. No, we cannot change the platform. We have to make it work with what we have.
We built our prototype in Director. Unfortunately, using QT in Director projects on Intel-based Macs is a non-starter, because Director executables are not Universal Binary yet.
The app is very simple -- a black background that just waits to trigger the video on a mouse click and returns to the black background when the movie is done playing.
The key thing is we need to display the highest possible image quality. We had hoped to use H.264. We've also tried 3IVX and Motion JPEG B, all of which play beautifully in the QT Player but stutter noticeably once in Director. This turns out to be a known problem, and a Universal Binary version of Director isn't due until next year.
I've also tried making a QuickTime Media Link (QTL) file that allows us to "quit when done" so that we can use BuddyAPI to open the program with the QT Player and then drop back to the Director app when done.
That works great, except for the fact that as of OSX 10.3, you can't hide the menu of an app when switching to another app, which looks terrible. Arrgh.
Flash's Player v9 (which is Universal Binary) only runs in a Browser, not as a standalone. So unless there's a browser that will run fullscreen with no chrome, that's out for the foreseeable future as well.
So now I'm thinking about building the whole thing as a self-contained QT movie in Livestage.
Livestage only runs in Rosetta, so I don't know if the QT file I build run natively in the QT player, so that I can use h.264 or 3IVX or whatever without it stuttering. I'd be perfectly happy w/ 3IVX, by the way...
Any help or direction appreciated. We have to have this up and running on site by next Monday, the 14th.
best,
FBC

Right -- well, I'm not concerned with editing the video (I use FCP, too).
I completely understand the role of bitrate in making videos look good, and for the record, I've gotten decent looking videos from Motion JPEG B at the Medium (default) quality settings...
But that's not my question here. The problem is playing back any QT codec as an asset in a larger application (eg, Flash, Director, Livestage) running specifically on the Intel Mac Minis. At the root of the problem is lack of universal binary projectors.
At the moment, the best option I have so far is using SAFT to put Safari into Kiosk mode (no title bar, etc.) and using that to play back a Flash SWF file (which give me the needed interactivity) as the default home page.
We're also going to try to roll our own Cocoa app as a wrapper for a 3ivx file. That will almost certainly look better than even a very high bandwidth FLV/SWF.
Any other ideas appreciated...

Someone tell me why is it so difficult to print from my Intel Mac Mini

I'm so frusrated at this Intel Mac Mini of mine. I wish honest to God that I never bought this evil little machine.
I have the following printers:
HP Photosmart 7550
HP Laserjet 1012
Canon MP830
I can't get anything to print! It so **** frustrating. I switched my wife from her WinXP to a Intel Mac Mini (10.4.6). She hates the Mac Mini because she can't print anything.
Why is it so difficult? Please someone enlighten me.
After months (not kidding) of searching on the web I was able to get the Photosmart 7550 to print using one of the gimp drivers, but I couldn't get it to change the paper type or quality. So that tells me I can't print any photos from my Mac. Need to use the WinXP box.
Then I was able to get the 1012 printing by selecting "open using rosetta" for the Printer Setup Utility, and selecting the "HP LaserJet 4 series - Gimp-Print v5.0.0-beta2". So now I could at least print BW docs. Great the Mac Mini is not a total waste. Then I updated software, which include the Mac mini SMC Firmware Update. I don't know what did it, but now I can't print to the 1012 anymore. ARGHH!
I tried deleting the Library/Printer/HP directory, Reseting the Printing System, Restarting the CUPs, Installing PDDs, Installing the gimp drivers. What the ****! Why do I need to do any of this? I thought the Mac was suppose to be so easy. With all those **** commercials talking about how the Mac can do anything a PC can do, you would think one of those things is being able to print.
Those people making those commericals should try using the "Printer Setup Utility" program. That will change their tune. First you have to search for your printer, then pick the Printer Model, and then pick the specific model. And God forbid you click to fast, oops you've now picked a generic printer, needs to start all over again. There's no back button. You've already committed to the generic printer type. Now you have to open the Printer Setup Utility again and delete the generic printer and go search for your printer again. Lame.
Don't get me started with the Canon MP 830. I thought, ok maybe its because the 1012 and 7550 are older printers. I'll go buy a new printer - they must have current drivers for that. Canon tells me that the MP 830 is only a single OS machine, meaning you can only connect it to a windows machine and only other windows machines can print from it, or connect it to a Mac, and only other Macs can use it - Again, Lame.
Really I wanted to love the Mac OS. When I first got it, I was loving it. But what good is it if I can't print. I searched the web and it seems I'm not the only person having issues with printing.
I hate this Intel Mac Mini with every fiber of my being. Ok, maybe my printing woes are only because it's a Intel chip, and the PPC macs are golden. But come on, if you can't print from a computer, what good is it?
Please, someone help me. Otherwise, anybody want to buy a Intel dual core Mac Mini?
mac mini duo core Mac OS X (10.4.6)

You have two different issues: HP and Canon.
I don't know if I believe the Canon people. Windows XP has lots of different print options. Try installing Bonjour on Windows and then setting up a networked, Color Apple Laserwriter PS printer using "http://macmini.local:631" (assuming macmini is the name of your Mac). I have done this before (though not on a Canon). I am sure Canon will only support a standard configuration and this is not quite standard. Give it a try. It doesn't sound like it can hurt anything in your current setup.
For the HP, you might have to just wait for an updated driver from HP. HP has always had this problem. They are a huge printer company and I'm sure they get Apple hardware and OS versions before anybody else in the world. And yet, it seems as if they don't even begin working on their drivers until Apple officially releases a new OS. HP drivers are always the last to show up for a new OS and the first to break. If you get it working under MacOS 10.4.6, and then upgrade to 10.4.7, it is very likely that the HP drivers will stop working.
Unlike some of the other big companies, HP seems to have made the transition from Classic MacOS to MacOS X seamlessly. Their printer driver software works just as well on MacOS X as it did under MacOS.

Intel Mac mini vs PowerMac Dual G5 storage server

I would like to setup a server to store family pictures, iTunes purchases and other media. Also I would like to use it as a backup for important documents and data.
I have a Intel Mac Mini 1.66 and a G5 PowerMac dual 1.8GHz.
I have purchased 4 400GB drives and I am trying to figure out the best solution for the money.
I would like to put the drives into external enclosures like OWC 2 drive FW800/FW400 and use the first pair as either RAID 0 or use the hardware spanning, and the 2nd pair as the backup.
Will this be too much for the FW400 bus of the Mac Mini, seeing I also use an EyeTV 500/200 solution to capture TV and burn DVDs. I will do video editing, iMovie, iPhoto stuff.
I would like to sell the G5, but would it make more sense to install 2 drives in the G5 and use 1 external enclosure with FW800 for the backup? I would like at least 1 external enclosure for the backup?
Any suggestion would help.
Thanks!

I have both of the systems to which you refer. I am typing to you on my G5 dual 2 ghz. I have an older G4 dual with 4 drives in it that I use for backup purposes, I do not use a fileserver at home in the sense of what you are talking about. My mini is my entertainment system with 1 TB of storage, my purchases are made on the G5 then transferred to the mini (giving me a backup of all purchases) and the G4 is used to back up the entire library from my mini (not as often as I should though! )
I know Wiebetech used to make an internal setup that expanded the G5's drive capacity from 2 to 4. While you said you wanted at least one external enclosure, that option would eliminate the need for an external case, another power cord, etc. so it may be worth looking into. I do not recall the name of the product but I know wiebetech manufactured it. Perhaps someone else knows the name or you could go to the company website. It is also possible in the G5 forum there is someone who owns the product as well.
As to which one to use, selling the G5 and having just a 2 drive or 4 drive enclosure hooked to the mini is most certainly a significant space saver over the G5 (not to mention not having to either have 2 separate machines with 2 monitors, keyboards or a KVM or VNC type setup) There are many good enclosures on the market, not just single but multiple drive enclosures which could be a better/smaller footprint/economical way to go vs. 4 individual enclosures (again, wiebetech is a noteworthy manufacturer of such items...no, I don't work for them
I too have eye tv hooked to the min as well as the 2 external drives I mentioned (250gb and 750gb) all via firewire. There should be no problem with the setup you mention as far as firewire is concerned and the mini. At least, not in my experience.
Good luck, let us know what you decide and feel free to ask more questions. I will gladly help if I can (can't say I helped this time, probably gave you more questions than answers!)
Message was edited by: CaptTB

Intel Mac mini as a faxserver with more then one USB-Modems?

Hi there,
does anybody have a clue if this idea will work?
We plan to buy a Intel Mac mini and someone had the idea to use it additionally as a faxserver - BUT, we'll need more the one fax-line. So, I wonder if it is possible to buy 3 or even 4 external USB-Modem from Apple to use all of them.
Does anyone tried this before?
Any comments are welcome!
Thanks in advance, Chris.
Mac mini Core Duo, 2GB, 120GB Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Hello Chris,
incl. a four line fax-card. Why isn't it a good
choice?
From my experience the Mac's make a terrible fax machine.
I have tried receiving faxes with a 1.8 GHz iMac G5 (with built-in modem), a 2.0 GHz iMac G5 (with built-in modem), and my 1.25 GHz Mac Mini (with built-in modem).
In every single case, and experiment, they dropped the fax after the first page.
So, that means that I've gone round and round trying to get beyond the first page received without trouble.
I do have a real fax machine, and never have any trouble receiving faxes on the same line with it. So, I only use the computer as a fax when I want to only receive the first page (for example the many local doctors who send me their customers private details).
In the case of the doctors, my phone rings frequently with customer's private details. All I want is the first page so I can call the doctor and tell them to quit sending me faxes.
They will send, send, and re-send until a fax machine answers. It keeps the phone busy all day if I don't receive the fax.
But, it costs money to receive the 30-page faxes just to stop the phone ringing. So, I let the computer capture the first page, and then call them and demand that they quit calling me (which works for a couple of days).
You wouldn't believe the information they have sent me. And, with an older doner-film fax, a 30-page document is mighty expensive.
What really gets me, is when they had the nerve to request me to invest even more money and pay to mail the fax back to them. I tell them their free to drive here and get it, otherwise, it's going in the garbage.
I can tell you from experience, that your medical records are not safe with a doctor. They just assume they are dialing the right number, and will send your entire personal history (and even family history - I've received generations of information) to just about anyone with a fax machine.
Anyway, now that I explained how I use mine, I hope you can better understand why a real fax machine is going to serve you better.
The tolerance of a real fax machine will prevent you from constantly trying to receive the same fax over and over and over again.

Intel Mac Mini, Firefox and Java

I'm running an Intel Mac Mini using Firefox; mostly it's fine, but sometimes it behaves as if it and Java Applets have had a falling out.
I have made sure that I have the very latest version of JRE to go with OSX, but when I go to http://www.f1.com and log on to "Live Timing", the frame comes up, but no steaming teacup, then the bottom LH corner says "Done", but the timing area is still blank. Live timing works in Safari & Opera on the same computer, and on any PC running IE6.
Going to the help section on the live timing box says to go to download the latest version of JRE from the Apple.com website - if I try to do this, OSX refuses the download saying it is older than the version already installed.
I have sent questions to both Sun & Mozilla weeks ago, but have received no reply; any ideas?

Dont really have any solution other than the fact that some browsers act funny on certain sites. I think it is specific to the browser, not the computer itself. I have encountered the same thing with certain applets. Also just wanted to give a shoutout from another F1 fan. Good season so far, I think Alonso has the Chin's number this year.

What 32inch plus tv to buy in the UK to use with new intel Mac mini

As the title - What 32inch plus tv to buy in the UK to use with 1.83 intel Mac mini. It does not have to have freeview as I will be using tubestick. I do want to use the hdmi connection. Who's got a great setup, with no issues - model numbers appreciated £1200 ish budget

So everything is working normal except for screen saver? Hmm. That's odd. Perhaps your settings are such that shortly after the screen saver kicks in the mini is also set to go to sleep. That would cause the screen to lose sync and give the "no signal" message. Check your Energy Saver against the Screen Saver settings and adjust the sleep interval if need be.
FYI, running a screen saver on an LCD TV is not a good idea long term. An LCD uses a lamp as a backlight, and the lamp has a finite lifetime. Consuming it's limited hours of life by running a screen saver all the time (like overnight, everynight) will shorten considerably the service life of your TV.

Retro Migration: Intel mac mini to PPC G4 powerbook

I have a perfectly good top of the range G4 powerbook sitting around and my partner wants to use it to to go mobile, is it possible to use the leopard migration assistant to move data from an intel mac mini to a G4 powerbook, is it all just a normal transfer or is there anything special i need to do?

You want to be careful about using the migration assistant when it comes to copying items from the user library. Rather than use the migration assistant, I'd do a Finder copy of the Documents, Pictures, Music and Movie files and install the programs manually. If you want to give her her bookmarks, contacts, and mail, you can safely copy the Safari folder from the Library to the G4's Library. I'd set up Mail Accounts on the G4 manually and then export the mail from each mail folder and copy them over for import. I'd export the contacts and then import them as well.

Normal + 3 chimes at startup with intel mac mini

I posted this in the mac mini forum, but didn't get a helpful response. So maybe someone can help me here.
I have a 300GB USB drive (formatted as Mac OS extended (journaled)) connected to my intel mac mini with the drive's power on all the time. When I start up the mini after the USB drive has spun down I get the regular startup chime plus 3 lower volume startup chimes. The activity light on the USB drive flashes during the 3 chimes. Then the system starts normally with the USB drive icon on the desktop. I can read and write to the USB hard drive with no problems.
If I shutdown the mini and start it up again but now the USB hard drive has not spun down, I get just the normal single chime. Also, if the USB drive is disconnected, I get the normal single chime. I've tried a different USB port, but still got the same behavior.
I've connected a USB flash drive, but it exhibits normal behavior, that is, just the single startup chime.
Are the subsequent 3 chimes at startup OK and just telling me that there is an external hard drive? Or is there a looming problem? Has anyone else experienced this?
Intel Mac Mini Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.7) Apple BT Mouse & Keyboard

Thanks. But the article says you won't hear the normal startup chime but some number of beeps if there is a problem with 3 beeps meaning no good banks.
I hear the normal startup chime, then 3 of the same chimes but at lower volume. Must be something about the USB hard drive.
When I bought the drive, it was formatted for windows with NTFS. I used disk utility to format is as Mac OS Extended (journaled). I've copied about 100 GB of data to it.

Dual PowerMac G4 or Core Duo Intel Mac Mini?

Right now I have a Intel Core Duo Mac mini. I have the following setup and specs on my desk. The mini contains the Duo 1.66GHz processor, 2GB DDR SDRam, 80GB hard drive, OS X & Windows XP, AirPort +Bluetooth, and so on. My problem is that I have always been a tower lover and that is why I purchased the Mac mini because I purchased a 20.1 widescreen HD Dell LCD with DVI-D, VGA, Component, and so on imputs. I wanted this for my Xbox 360 also.
Here is where it starts to get complicated. I also have four, yes four, external hard drives sitting on my desk, and I still need more hard disc space. I have a 250GB, 120GB, 250GB, and 60GB. Plus remember I have a 80GB in the mini. I am also looking into another 250GB or 500GB external hard drive.
Now before I had the mini, I had the original iMac G5 which had a 1.6GHz PowerPC G5 processor in it, 160GB hard drive, and 1.5GB of ram. It was showing age and I needed more speed and a bigger display so I ditched it for the Intel Mac mini.
In addition I am pulling 12 USB ports out the back of my Mac mini. I have a few hubs fulling almost all the ports. I need these for the external hard drives. If I go internal, I can probably live with 6-8 USB 2.0 ports. I will need at least 1 firewire or an iSight camera or my Sony HD handycam, but USB is more needed. In addition I see some PowerMac G4's came with Firewire 800? Is this something I would need, I currently however have no use for it.
But now I really see the need of a PowerMac G4 Quicksilver tower. I was looking into the Dual 1.42GHz PowerPC G4 models, and really don't know which is faster. I would obviously love the expandability of the PCI cards, and independed graphics memory, but am I willing to transition back to PowerPC after moving over the Intel?
I don't know so I am posting it all here in the PowerMac G4 section of the Apple forums. I really hope I can get some good advice here. By the way, I am very Apple and technology frantic, so I know the ins and outs of a tower and stuff like that. So a non Apple warrenty would probably not be a problem.
But one problem is, how much could I get for my Mini which cost me $1099 and how much would a decent G4 tower cost me? I have an extra Nvideo GeForce 4 MX 5400 Ultra with 64MB of ram and DVD-D/ VGA outputs, so that isn't a problem. Plus to replace the AirPort Extreme built into the mini, I have a AirLink 101 Super G (108MBPS) Wireless PCI card. Bluetooth can be added with a simple USB dongle.
UPDATE: Forgot the mention I already have a DVD Burner compatible with OS X and 3.5inch bays. I would like a Dual Layer, but if its a tower, I can upgrade that anytime.
UPDATE x2: I would also like to mention that I use Gigabit Ethernet so any PowerMac model I choose would have to acomidate that such as the Intel Mac mini does.
THANKS EVERYONE!!!!
Mac Mini 1.67GHz Intel Core Duo, 2GB ram, 1.5TB storage, OS X v.10.4.6, 30GB iPo Mac OS X (10.4.6)

I would like one day to have a tower with 4-8 HD drives
(120-250GB each) and HD DVD and Blue-Ray burners.
Good luck Even the Dell towers we have at work have space for 3 HDs, and thats only of you give up one of the CD bays.
Honestly, I unless a blueray player ships in the CPU, I would get a PS3. 1/2 the cost of a standalone blu-ray player, and a game system too
Expected street prices from Sony and Toshiba web sites:
standalone Sony blueray player: 995.
Toshiba HD-DVD: 599
Sony PS3 w/ bluray: 499/599
Is the reason the PowerPC G4 can't handle HD DVD is
processor speed or what? Cause there is always
processor upgrade cards up to 1.8GHz and 2.0GHz Dual.
Thanks.
One of the Apple support pages says you must have a G5...
does not give the background behind it.
On a G4, the OS will not allow HDDVD playback (as HD is defined by FinalCutHD) via the DVD player, BUT it will play back HD video clips (like QT trailers)
On my 867, 720i clips played back w/o a problem, but 1080 would freeze for 20 seconds at a time, (while audio continued normally)
on my Dual 1.42, I have no problems with 1080.
I hesitate to consider or recommend processor upgrade cards b/c for some, the price approaches the cost of a new machine w/o the benefits of faster busses, etc, and, right on the side of the OS X box, it says processor upgrade cards not supported. I would hate to upgrade the OS to find it refused to support my machine.

Dead Intel Mac Mini - any electronics geniuses?

Hi all,
Shortly after powering on my personal 1.66 GHz Intel Mac Mini last night it went straight off not to turn on again.
It made the startup chime and began booting but that was as far as it got. Now completely dead.
Luckily I am an independent Mac repairer and have access to a known good power supply so that was the first thing I checked but no luck - still dead.
Have obviously reset PMU and SMC as well as every other trick I know but it resolutely remains lifeless.
Have removed all peripherals (HD, SuperDrive, AP and BlueTooth) and shorted across the power button switch (just in case it was a duff button)
I have arrived at the conclusion it is something power related - a dead GPU or CPU would usually still give a glimmer of life but there is absolutely nothing happening - plus the fact that it started to boot then went straight off rather than froze.
I'm handy with a soldering iron and know how to use a multimeter but need a helping hand locating/testing for dead components at board level
Does anybody know what component/components might be causing this? Any help gratefully received as always
Ryan

Not exactly your same problem, but an interesting thread here that might help:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9524465#9524465

Intel mac mini as good as DC G5 2.0?

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