Apple Mac Mini user reviews (2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 120GB, Winter 2009)

Pros Super Small form Factor, Best OS to date, Resale value A+, DDR3 1067 Mhz, Upgraded Graphics 9400M, and low Wattage usage even at full load.

Cons No HDMI port - Not really a con, but for Media Center usage it is. Only comes with 1GB or Ram, and 120GB drive. Ease of upgrading to novice's is really bad.

Summary Let me start off by saying I am a Windows user switching to Mac. I have become very comfortable with Mac within a week of using the Mini off and on. I really enjoy the switch, plus the availability of running Windows on the Mini through many options. I upgraded the MIni through Apple to 2GB of Ram for $50, only because I didn't know I could upgrade it without voiding the Warranty. If you upgrade the $599 model from 1GB of Ram to 2GB's then you up the Shared Video memory from 128MB to 256MB at full load. It also makes apps seem a bit snapper, and loading big videos become faster tasks. I wouldn't say go to 4GB unless you plan on running VMware or Parallels.

All that tech stuff aside now, and back to my pros and cons. I love the small form factor the mini give you. It almost hides on my desk, minus the Power brick I believe its a transformer. OSX 10.5 Leopard is stunning, the fonts are crystal clear. And if you look at the last 3 models over the years, they still sell for something close to what you pay for them new. Graphics run just as good as I have seen on iMac's, and Macbooks. And 13 watts while not being used, not to mention it's very, very quiet. But not all is good, minus the HDMI it isn't the Media center unless you buy a dongle (PC lingo for Add-on adapter). Does apple really think 1GB of ram is enough for Mini users? Do yourself a Favor and upgrade to 2GB before you even boot it up. And the 120GB drive is very small. If you intend on doing anything Video oriented 120GB will fill up really, really fast. So buy a External drive or slap your old PC Hard drive into a External drive for extra storage. The biggest problem I have with the Mini also plays into its strongest selling point. Upgrading is a bear, compared to PC's. But I will take it over having to deal with Micro$oft for Vista.

Almost forgot this Mini also comes with iLife '09 that is a A++ in my opinion. Try getting Windows equivalent, It may cost you hundreds of dollars.

Over all I can't stop smiling when I see people buying anything but a Mac. I almost feel like I have been invited to a club that all the secrets are out and everyone just wants to help you enjoy your Mac. If you are looking at this review and feel confused about switching, don't be there are thousands of Video's on youtube that explain every little detail about every app that OSX has pre-installed. Yep no booting the PC and having to install a OS, it's already there. Just type in the info that it asks for and your off and running.

Updated on Mar 23, 2009

It is funny how Windows users thing that Mac users are mindless, LOL. I just can't understand why anyone would want to give their Money to Micro$oft, then let them kick you in the Balls. The last time I bought something I had to fix was a 10 year old Car. Most people would say a PC, but that's may be a matter of if it was used of new.

Updated on Mar 23, 2009

A good rule of thumb if you compare a PC that's three times bigger then the Mini that's not really a comparison, now is it? Also if you don't own this Mac Mini please refrain from commenting on how Good or Bad you think it preforms. I love when people haven't owned the product and then make crazy accusations about value about products they haven't even experienced. Also if you want to take pop shots at Apple in general, there are blogs that most intelligent people don't read that you can post on.

Pros no viruses
works from switch on
low maintenance
high resell
iLife suite
Stable
Easy to Use

Cons Limited upgrade options

Summary You will never regret buying this. The total cost of ownership is the same or less than the same PC because of the resell value and the light tough maintenance.

Pros First and foremost: MacOS X! With all due respect, the Editor is totally off the mark comparing Mac Mini, running the newest, one and only--i.e. full-- version of OS X, to an Acer machine brutally handicapped by having to run Vista Home OS (LOL!).

Cons Although a feat of superb engineering, the entry level Mac Mini could do with larger HD and more memory. Obviously, you ought to have at least one external back-up drive (I have four, totalling 3TB), yet 120 GB (or even 320 GB) seems a bit stingy.

Summary The new Mac Mini improves upon its vastly popular predecessors. Running without any hitches the best operating system there presently is (Vista Home Premium is a joke, really; I speak from the power user perspective; Vista Ultimate is decent at best and besides, it crashes constantly), this little machine offers unprecedented elegance, ease of use, efficiency, and productivity.

In its class it is clearly ahead of the competition. It performs very nicely, including a whole slew of professional programmes, including Adobe Suite CS4, Finale, BIAS Peak and many others, not to mention the MS Office 2008 for Mac, vastly superior to its clumsy Windows counterpart.

I have been working on this machine every day, performing heavy-duty professional tasks such as sound editing, page layout, graphic design (all for high-end clients such as independent music labels with serious international distribution), and am still astonished when people tell me I should acquire a Mac Pro. Silly though it may sound, I do not need a Mac Pro, although I will readily admit that if you are a professional photographer, video artist, or filmmaker, you will surely need as powerful a Mac as possible, Mac Mini being, simply... mini in those departments.

If you are a gamer--I am not--you will likely sneeze at the Mini, but to those of us who like working at a slower pace (and why not?), or simply enjoying time off, this machine will remain priceless, both as a work horse and arts and entertainment centre.

Also, one EXTREMELY important aspect here is the machine's appeal to the younger users such as kids and teenagers. No contest here, Mac Mini wins hands down, largely of course because of the OS and its easily accessible cool features.

Pros Most important - TOTALLY QUIET! Unlike all other PC's (<$4K) the Mac makes no noise. Secondly - reliable. I run 2 of these bootcamped/XP and they are stone reliable. I have only had one of the machines crash once in 2 years. Third - Small - tiny.

Cons Nothing major. I did have a drive fail and I replaced it myself. It is a little unusual but you open the case with a butter or putty knife.

Summary I hear the complaints about drive size and processor/RAM. I run two of these and store all of the data on a NAS. As a result I ordered the smallest harddrives available. I can play back VOB files and Windows Media HD without any issues so for what I'm using them for they have enough power.

Note that I am not running Vista but am planning to convert at least one of the machines to 7 when it ships.

The quality of the hardware is phenominal and saving $100 but getting a noisy fan and cheap case wouldn't be worth it.