Apple Mac Mini Review

Apple recently upgraded their entire desktop line, including the oft-forgotten Mac Mini.  Almost two full years since the last update, Apple finally upgraded almost every aspect of the “most affordable Mac ever”, including the processor, chipset, RAM, hard drive and graphics system.  With a starting cost of $599, can the Mac Mini really compare to its more expensive Apple brethren or even their PC equivalents?  Read on for our full review.

Specifications

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 @ 2.0GHz (3MB L2 cache)
• Memory: 1 GB DDR3 SDRAM @ 1066MHz
• Hard drive: 120GB SATA @ 5400RPM
• Optical drive: DVD+/-RW SuperDrive
• Sound: Integrated audio
• Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics with 128MB shared memory
• Networking: Gigabit Ethernet
• Wireless networking: 802.11a/b/g/draft-n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• Operating system: OS X 10.5.6 Leopard
• Power supply: 110 watt external
• Warranty: 1 year limited hardware warranty with 90 days phone support

As configured, the Mac Mini carries a suggested retail price of $599.

Build and Design
Apple learned some time ago that to win market share from the considerably larger Microsoft-dominated consumer space, they’d need to stand out.  While they’ve always been different, it wasn’t really until the emergence of OS X and, to a separate extent, the iPod, that large swathes of the public began to sit up and take notice.  Criticized for overcharging for their products, Apple developed the Mac Mini: a small, value-minded desktop.

The computer is almost impossibly small: at only two inches high, it’s barely thicker than many laptops (and actually thinner than some!), and since it’s only 6.5 inches on a side, it certainly doesn’t take up very much room.  The outer shell is mostly aluminum, like the rest of the Apple line, with sharply defined edges on top.  Since the aluminum case does have an edge, it’s worth noting that it can scratch something if you aren’t careful.  I managed to scratch up the back of my Dell laptop by pushing the display up against the Mini.

Inputs and Expansion
The slot-loading drive on the front of the machine known as a SuperDrive, which is Apple-speak for a drive that reads and burns both CDs and DVDs.  It’s too bad that Apple refuses to realize that people like high-definition optical formats since you can’t upgrade the Mini (or any Apple computer, for that matter) to a Blu-ray drive.  This is especially annoying when you consider that the Mac is just about perfect for use as a home theater PC, certainly more useful than the AppleTV device.  While it’s still a good choice, the Blu-ray drive really would have put it over the top.

Software
We can’t do a proper review of an Apple computer without taking a moment to look at the software that Apple uses with its computers.  This isn’t an in-depth review of OS X and how it compares to Windows: at the core they are both complex pieces of software that let you use your computer to accomplish specific tasks.

Apple develops a fair amount of software aside from OS X, however, that they use to try and set their computers apart from their Windows brethren.  OS X comes bundled with several of these applications, such as Time Machine, Apple’s intuitive backup software, Mail, their desktop mail client, iChat, the IM client, Safari, Apple’s web browser, Photo Booth, a little program that lets you add kitschy effects to photos, Front Row, their media presentation software and Boot Camp, which lets consumers easily and pretty quickly set the Mac Mini up to install Windows next to OS X on the hard drive and selectively boot between them.

Performance
We installed a 32-bit copy of Windows Vista Ultimate on the Mac Mini with the aid of Boot Camp so that we could run our suite of benchmarks and compare them to other systems that we test.  Using Boot Camp was simple and self-explanatory, and the software quickly walks users through partitioning the hard drive to free up space.  One of the software DVDs that come with the system include a copy of all of the Windows drivers you’ll need to get the hardware working.

The performance is about what you'd expect: not amazing but perfectly useful.  Apple really should include 2 gigabytes of RAM on the base model; I think it would make the system feel "peppier" overall.  The hard drive is also pretty slow, but that's not surprising, considering that it's a 5400RPM model.

wPrime is a PC performance benchmarking program that forces the computer to perform recursive mathematical calculations. This program is multithreaded, meaning we can take advantage of more than one core of a processor at a time, resulting in a more realistic estimate of a computer's performance.

wPrime benchmark comparison results (lower numbers mean better performance):

PCMark05 overall system performance comparison results (higher scores mean better performance):

3DMark06 overall gaming performance comparison results (higher scores mean better performance):

The Mac Mini also managed a score of 2,647 PCMarks in PCMark Vantage.

HDTune results:

Power, Heat and Noise
The Mac Mini is designed not only to be the smallest Mac ever, but also the greenest.  In addition to using eco-friendlier materials in the computer's construction, Apple developed the Mac Mini to sip from the outlet instead of sucking the power down.  Power rates were equivalent between Mac OS X and Windows Vista, with the Mini idling right around 15 watts, which is absolutely impressive and compares to notebooks, actually.  When maxing out the processor, graphics card and hard drive, we could only get the machine to use 43 watts, so regardless of your other computer worries, using too much power won't be one of them. The Mini never got very loud, though the fan is audible when the computer gets warm.  The loudest part of all is easily the slot-loading optical drive; it sounds like the drive is going to eat your disc instead of read it.  Slot-loading drives are notorious for being loud.  Not unsurprisingly, the Mac Mini runs a little warm.  While you probably won't need to worry about the computer overheating, even after extended periods of time, it's still important to insure that the computer receives adequate ventilation.  Just don't block the vents on the bottom or rear.

Conclusion
Overall, Apple has an incredibly strong offering in the form of the Mac Mini, and I don't think that it gets the respect that it deserves.  While it isn't the fastest machine you can get for your money, it's one of the most efficient and most like the best designed.  The machine is so small that it can go anywhere: on your desk, next to the TV or even in your car.  It's small, beautiful, and very sturdy.  It also comes packed with a capable OS X that most people haven't used and several applications that you won't find anywhere else.  While most of them are geared toward unleashing your creativity, just about anyone can sit down and use them without much instruction or trouble.

It's not all roses, though; if you're the kind that likes to tinker with the hardware in your machine, the Mini may not be for you.  Apple designed the computer to be completely non-user serviceable -- if you have any problems or need to replace something, you're going to need to take it in to the shop.  Additionally, at the lower end, the Mini comes with one gigabyte of RAM, which is underpowered for today's computers, and it gets taken down to less than 900 when you factor in the shared graphics memory.  The hard drive is also a little bit slow.  While it's possible to open the machine up and make a few modifications, you're going to be on your own and anything you do is most certainly not supported. 

The Mac Mini is honestly a fantastic little machine.  Aimed at those switching to Apple computers from Windows PCs for the first time, the Mini may seem expensive in terms of performance and hardware for your dollar.  The intrinsic value found in great design and fantastic software, however, simply can't be denied.  If you're curious about the Mac platform, the Mini is a great way to get your toes wet, and if you just want a small, stylish computer, you can buy it and exclusively run Windows.  People will ooh and aah over your new machine but you'll be too busy learning guitar to notice.  Either way, the Mini offers something for almost everyone, and we can't help but recommend it.

Pros

• Small...very, very small
• Very power efficient
• Great design

Cons

• Very difficult to upgrade
• No high-definition optical drive available
• Slow hard drive