Almost lost in all the noise about new atomic number 13 iMacs , iLife 08 and iWork 08 is a refresh to Apple ’s modest Mac mini . Its damage remains starting at $ 599 , but it now features a fast central processing unit and more heavy disk space .
Apple COO Tim Cook note the refreshed Mac mini ’s existence on Tuesday at the tail end of a question and solvent session abide by Steve Jobs ’ presentation to analysts and reporters at Apple ’s Cupertino HQ . The intelligence of a speedier Mac mini stop weeks of speculation that Apple planned to root for the plug on the ingress - degree system all together . The Mac miniskirt has hold up yet another day .
Apple ’s gloomy - end consumer figurer has n’t been redesigned like the iMac — in fact , the new Mac mini is externally indistinguishable from its herald . Apple ’s minor desktop figurer ever , the Mac mini stands two inches magniloquent and measures 6.5 inches on a side , weighing in at just shy of three Sudanese pound . It still come equip with one FireWire 400 port , four USB 2.0 port wine , a Gigabit Ethernet connexion and Digital Visual Interface ( DVI ) connecter .
But in spite of appearance , the meager Intel Core Duo processor has been exchange with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor instead , marking the end of the route for the Core Duo , which has already been supervene upon on the MacBook and iMac line with the speedier Core 2 couple modeling .
The processor stop number has been happen up , as well — where the humble - terminal Mac mini formerly had a 1.66GHz mainframe , the new low - final stage arrangement gets a 1.83GHz processor , and the higher - remnant system now has a 2.0GHz C.P.U. . Level 2 on - chip cache is 2 Mbit or 4 M , respectively . Apple claim the Core 2 Duo processor provide a speed boost of up to 39 pct , liken to their predecessor .
The system still uses a 667MHz frontside bus , but the revise Mac mini features 1 GB of DDR2 SDRAM on two SO - DIMMs , twice the capability formerly offer in the ancestry box .
Perhaps of disappointment to gamers and others look for improved graphical performance , the Mac mini remains circumscribed in its abilities , with Intel ’s integrated GMA 950 art processor , still with 64 MB of TV store borrowed from divided up main memory .
The Mac mini retains 802.11g - compatible Wi - Fi wireless networking and stock Bluetooth 2.0+EDR ( Enhanced Data Rate ) , for wireless connectivity to keyboards , mice and other gadget .
The low - end modelling have an 80 GB , 5400RPM driveway and “ Combo ” DVD - ROM / CD - RW drive ; the high - end model feature a 120 GB , 5400RPM driveway and “ SuperDrive ” with threefold - layer support for DVD - R and other optical medium . The gamey - oddment mannequin is now priced at $ 799 .
Both system feature Mac OS X v10.4 “ Tiger ” and iLife 08 pre - installed .
