Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
One of two Intel - based Mac minis , this model sport a 1.5GHz single - core C.P.U. . The anatomy broker of this miniskirt remain unaltered from its PowerPC - found herald , although it adds two extra USB 2.0 ports for a aggregate of four while dropping S - picture and composite embrasure . Internally , the new miniskirt has a quicker frontside bus and built - in wireless networking via AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth . The miniskirt use the Intel GMA950 as its nontextual matter processor ; since the chip doesn ’ have its own consecrate video recording memory , it share memory with the main organization Aries the Ram . The mini also gains the remote - and - software system jazz group that make up Front Row , allowing you to curb audio , video recording , and pic from across the room .
In the first major update since its sack last class , the Mac miniskirt joins its iMac and MacBook Pro cousins in featuring Intel inside . The latest mini models are the third line of Macs to convert to the Intel chip , and they offer many improvements over the G4 Mac mini . The new minis are not only build with Intel processors , but also let in Apple ’s Front Row software package and remote .
Like the G4 Mac minis , the Intel miniskirt ship without a monitor or comment devices , but the cost of accounting entry has rise by $ 100 . Still , the miniskirt is the most economic way to become a Mac substance abuser , bestow a second or third Mac to the mix , or produce a Mac - based home - amusement system . At the same time , these minis also unveil a new , and fairly controversial , approaching to the way this computer handle nontextual matter .
Speedmark 4.5 scores are relative to those of a 1.25GHz Mac mini G4, which is assigned a score of 100. Adobe Photoshop, Cinema 4D XL, iMovie, iTunes, and Zip Archive scores are in minutes:seconds. All systems were running Mac OS X 10.4.5 with 1GB of RAM, with processor performance set to Highest in the Energy Saver preference pane when applicable. The Photoshop Suite test is a set of 14 scripted tasks using a 50MB file. Photoshop’s memory was set to 70 percent and History was set to Minimum. In iMovie, we applied the Aged video effect to a 1-minute movie. We converted 45 minutes of AAC audio files to MP3 using iTunes’ High Quality setting. We used Unreal Tournament 2004’s Antalus Botmatch average-frames-per-second score; we tested at a resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels at the Maximum setting with both audio and graphics enabled. We ran Nanosaur 2’s Time Demo at a resolution of 1,024 by 768 at 60Hz, 16bit color, and render quality set to Good. We created a Zip archive in the Finder from a 1GB folder.—Macworld Lab testing by James Galbraith and Jerry Jung
In general , we detect that the Intel miniskirt have a fast and more antiphonal feel than their predecessor when we drag windowpane around in the Finder and launched aboriginal applications . But execution fall back when we opened many applications at the same time . Not amazingly , we chance a tumid departure between the performance of the Core Solo mini , which has a unmarried - heart and soul central processor , and the Core Duo mini , which has a dual - center processor .
Mac mini with Apple ’s remote
Front Row
Like the iMac G5 (; January 2006 ) , the Intel iMac (; April 2006 ) , and the MacBook Pro (; May 2006 ) , the new Mac miniskirt include Apple ’s Front run-in computer software and the Apple Remote , which gives you the ability to control the playback of movies , photos , and medicine without having to model in front of a keyboard . The receiver for the remote controller sits just to the right of the optical - drive expansion slot .
As a system that you’re able to well park next to a television , the miniskirt is ideal for the Front rowing software system and remote combo . Moreover , concurrently with the press release of the new minis , Apple update Front Row to include a characteristic that ’s especially beseem to the miniskirt as a determine - top box : the power to play photos , music , and telecasting ( feign you have enough web bandwidth ) that are stored on other computers on your meshing . So you do n’t need to fill the mini ’s hard movement with content : Apple ’s zero - configuration applied science , Bonjour , lets Front Row find your subject matter well .
In our tests , medium share-out worked well but had some notable glitch . As with iTunes communion , you ca n’t diddle medicine or video depicted object buy from the iTunes Music Store unless you empower the Mac miniskirt for that account . If you have n’t done that , Front Row gives you cryptic warning notice when you endeavor to play such content . Also , a novel Front Row feature that lets the app recognize your iPhoto slide - show setting worked fine with local photos but not with slide appearance from partake in libraries . And alas , you still ca n’t scuffle songs from an creative person or within a playlist in Front Row .
Wide-screen- and Surround Sound-friendly
We snarf up each miniskirt to a Sony HDTV , using a DVI - to - HDMI adapter . We then used a digital visual output cable length to send the audio to a surround - audio stereo system ( neither the transcriber nor the cable system is let in with the mini ) .
Front Row execute admirably , letting us catch wide - screen DVDs with 5.1 - channel surround speech sound and enjoy music and slide show from the comfort of a lounge . But suffer the programme to function properly took much experimentation that demand a keyboard and a mouse connection : for example , we had try changing setting in the DVD Player app , switching the Overscan setting on and off , and changing answer . After the initial apparatus , however , the keyboard and the shiner were rarely call for .
The guts
Although the Intel Mac miniskirt are almost identical to their G4 precursor on the exterior , Apple has made several big alteration on the inside . Most crucial is the Intel C.P.U. — the mini do with either a dual - core processor , which is also in the Intel iMac and MacBook Pro , or a single - core processor .
In addition , the new minis propose a firm organization motorbus ( 667MHz versus 167MHz ) , faster RAM ( 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM versus 333MHz DDR SDRAM ) , and more L2 cache ( 2 MB versus 512KB)—all plan to make the miniskirt more efficient in moving information throughout the arrangement . The miniskirt now has two RAM slots and can support twice as much physical RAM as before ( 2 GB instead of 1GB)—more RAM means that more applications can be open at the same clock time without relying on slower virtual memory , and that boosts overall performance .
We suggest that you raise the mini ’s RAM , which send with two 256 megabyte modules by default . But beware : installing RAM yourself is even more complicated than before — you still need a putty knife to crack give the pillowcase , but now you also need to remove the assembly that houses the toilsome driveway and optical driving force to reach the two random-access memory slots . Moreover , Apple recommends installing RAM in matched pairs for maximal efficiency . If you intend you ’ll want more RAM , we hint take it installed when you order your miniskirt so that you do n’t have to throw off away RAM you ’ve paid for . you’re able to select between two 512 MB module for 1 GB , or two 1 GB modules for the 2 GB maximum .
New standard equipment
Although the minis ’ prices are higher than before , each one comes with AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0 wireless capabilities , as well as Gigabit Ethernet . And the $ 799 model includes a SuperDrive with double - stratum DVD combustion supporting . As with the other Intel Macs , Apple has removed the built - in modem but declare oneself a USB external modem for $ 49 .
The minis now have Serial ATA hard drives , which offer 1.5 times the motorbus bandwidth of the previous ATA drives . Apple retained the exclusive FireWire 400 port but doubled the number of USB 2.0 ports on the back from two to four — a welcome addition . Earlier models were practically unusable without tot a USB hub to gain approach to extra ports .
Apple also added sound input in analog and digital flavors , as well as digital audio yield — a Brobdingnagian blessing for people who want to connect the mini to a home - entertainment system .
About graphics
The new Mac mini take a different approach to graphics than their predecessor . Last yr , Apple trumpeted the ATI Radeon 9200 nontextual matter chipwith 32 MB of consecrated DDR memoryinstead of a art structure that borrow its memory from the organisation . But in the fresh minis , that ’s exactly what Apple practice . The mini ’s incorporate graphic feature is a mixed bag , though , since it adds to and subtracts from the old graphics features .
The Intel mini ’s GMA950 graphics chip has 64 MB of RAM dedicated to it from the main memory . That ’s twice as much random access memory as the Radeon 9200 had , and it ’s faster system RAM than ordinary video random access memory . But after you figure in an extra 16 M allow for general system apparatus , a standard 512 M Mac miniskirt is left with only 432 MB of run RAM once the 64 M is diverted to the graphics system .
On the positive side , these mini are the first mini that support Tiger ’s Core Image technology , which gives you more peculiar outcome potentiality . For illustration , you may now see the ripple outcome as you add up a widget to Dashboard . We also retrieve that resizing QuickTime and DVD Player windows was much smoother than on the G4 Mac minis .
The GMA950 chip also support H.264 HD video playback . In our psychometric test of an HD movie poke for IMAX ’s Deep Sea three-D ( H.264 encoding at 1,440 by 1,080 pixels ) , the Core Duo manikin diddle the video back smoothly . The Core Solo model , however , dropped frames , conduce to cark , stuttering video recording — even after we kick upstairs it to 1 GB of RAM .
When it comes to computer graphic - intensive 3 - D games , our tryout of the Intel - native variation of Unreal Tournament evince unsatisfying material body rate of 12.2 per second for the Core Duo and 10.4 per indorsement for the Core Solo — compared with 14.5 and 13.9 for the 1.42GHz G4 mini and the 1.25GHz G4 miniskirt , respectively . But during daily game caper , when we used the broken scene that are more suited for the mini , we got decent performance from the game .
When we try the Universal version of Nanosaur II , which takes advantage of the loyal Intel processors , we found frame rates increase by some 33 percent over the previous Mac minis . And the suite of bundled board secret plan — with 3 - D plot pieces and reflection — play perfectly on both system . However , if you ’re looking for a A-one gamy - character gaming experience , you ’ll get much better performance from the latest iMacs .
Performance varies
The Macworld Lab run a full gamut of tryout on the Intel minis to see how they heap up against both the old Mac mini and the other Intel - base Mac model . Not amazingly , the Core Duo mini — with two CORE and faster clock speeds — outshine the Core Solo miniskirt in every mental testing .
Intel Mac Minis Tested
Best final result inbold . denotation organisation initalics .
Speedmark 4.5 mark are comparative to those of a 1.25GHz Mac miniskirt G4 , which is assigned a musical score of 100 . Adobe Photoshop , Cinema 4D XL , iMovie , iTunes , and Zip Archive scores are in minutes : seconds . All organization were running Mac OS X 10.4.5 with 1 GB of RAM , with processor execution set to Highest in the Energy Saver preference pane when applicable . The Photoshop Suite test is a set of 14 scripted tasks using a 50 megabit file . Photoshop ’s storage was typeset to 70 per centum and account was set to Minimum . In iMovie , we give the cured video impression to a 1 - minute movie . We converted 45 moment of AAC audio files to MP3 using iTunes ’ High Quality setting . We used Unreal Tournament 2004 ’s Antalus Botmatch fair - frames - per - second musical score ; we tested at a resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels at the Maximum stage setting with both audio and artwork enable . We ran Nanosaur 2 ’s Time Demo at a resolution of 1,024 by 768 at 60Hz , 16bit vividness , and return tone set to Good . We created a Zip archive in the Finder from a 1 GB folder.—Macworld research lab testing by James Galbraith and Jerry Jung
Our received translation test , using the Universal Cinema 4D XL lotion , was intimately twice as fast on the Core Duo model as on the Core Solo miniskirt , and even the Solo shave 91 bit off the time it took the 1.42GHz G4 miniskirt to execute the test — a speed rise of almost 34 percent . The Core Duo performed every bit well in our iMovie filtering and iTunes encoding tests , whereas the Core Solo role model clocked speeds in - between or worse than the old minis in those test .
For people who need to practice applications programme that have not yet been updated to run natively on Intel processor , Apple ’s Rosetta translation technology works very well on the new minis , but there is a significant speed collision . In our Adobe Photoshop CS2 mental test suite , for example , both manikin performed much slower than even the 1.25GHz G4 Mac mini , choose 51 percent longer ( Core Duo ) and 117 pct longer ( Core Solo ) to complete their tasks .
On the other mitt , it was a delight to run most iLife ’ 06 coating : we found that iPhoto ’s Adjust Image palette run very well ( secure than with previous models ) , but the same alteration in iWeb were distressingly slow when neuter more than one parameter .
Macworld’s Buying Advice
In January 2005 , Apple introduced the Mac mini as a low - toll Mac — and it still is , even though the price of admission has increase by $ 100 . The Mac mini Core Duo ’s build - in melioration and performance boost are worth the high toll . And although the Core Solo model clearly underperform compared with the Core Duo in almost every respectfulness , it ’s still a secure entry - level Mac for the money .
As with other Intel Macs , non - aboriginal software package public presentation for both example get when liken with former poser , and the structured graphics potato chip diverts valuable arrangement tup . If you like to have many applications open at once or employ RAM - intensive apps , we recommend one of the build - to - order upgrades .
If you ’re concerned about the Intel mini ’ partake - RAM scheme and deficiency of a monitor , keyboard , and mouse , and if you require better carrying into action over time without spending much more money , you may want to consider an Intel iMac .
[ Jonathan Seff isMacworld ’s senior newsworthiness editor in chief . ]
