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Mac mini Dissection
xbasque writes "Smash has a video showing the technique for cracking open a Mac mini safely. Upgrade the RAM and hard drive yourself and save a bundle (ain't that the point of the mini?)" And if you don't plan to take one apart yourself,
parvenu74 points out the pictures of exploratory Mac mini surgery on mini-itx.com, writing "From a post: 'The board itself is slightly smaller than Mini-ITX at about 160mm square by our estimations, and includes Ethernet, Modem, DVI/VGA, 2 x USB, Firewire and Audio connectors (sadly not optical).'"
This was not ripped open. This mac mini was just one motherboard provided to the press for the purpose of looking at its motherboard. MacNews.de aren't the only site with images of that particular motherboard.
RST
Read as MiniMac. Don't blame me! I'm a lighting guy!
...Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror, and you would not have been informed.
Elgato systems sells a number of models of the EyeTV, they even have an HD model! I think it's the best best for PVR style capture. I believe it also comes with PVR kind of software.
Then you just need to hook it into some kind of IR blaster...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
yes there are, there is the ATI Wonder USB 2.0 that handles regular TV and it costs $130. There is also the Elgato EyeTV 500 which handles HDTV and costs $350. Both use the elgato eyetv software which is supposed to be very good.
www.elgato.comw
It's mentioned in the article, but it probably bears repeating here: "Apple states that as long as you do not BREAK your Mac Mini while working on the inside, it is still covered under warranty."
Left unanswered is the obvious question: well then, if any hardware problems arise, how will Apple know I'm not to blame? Based on my experience getting Macs serviced (4 years in university), I'd say there's really not much to worry about. If you break the RAM slot, then tough luck. But if, say, the CPU dies through no fault of yours, Apple's not the sort of company to refuse to service your Mac on a technicality. There aren't a lot of assholes working for Apple customer service.
Nevertheless, I do wonder if there's some sort of sticker or seal on the inside to let Apple know you've opened the case.
So does the Mac Mini use a laptop hard drive or what? It doesn't say anything about the HDD on that page nor the pages that I looked at on the day of the announcement. It would make sense, seeing how the Mac Mini is basically an iBook in a box, but it would kill performance.
I have access to the Apple service manuals. Yes, it is a 2.5" laptop drive, and no it is not an SO DIMM (just to quell the inaccurate information everyone seems so intent on repeating around the web)
If you're going on about size... why don't you go for PC/104 format? 96x96mm...
http://www.pc104.org/
Check out Elgato's eyeTV: http://www.elgato.com/. They have a pretty good USB2 PVR according to the reviews, but be forewarned, if you want to play back HD video, you need a DUAL G5, since there's no video acceleration for playback with 10.3. (I'm not sure if this will change with 10.4 and CoreVideo or not... Anyone else know?)
I gotta admit, the idea of buying a Mac Mini and hooking it to my TV is mighty tempting...
this is awesome! Think of the insane value you could get out of upgrading the ram and hard drive yourself! Cheap/powerful editing station here I come!
i have a mirror at http://www.forgottennewbies.com/~natef/macmini-sma sh.mp4
:)
just in case
Don't call me back. Give me a call back. Bye. So yeah. But bye our, well, but alright we are on a shirt this chill.
Just in case you're not: the slot at the top isn't a PCI slot, it's the DIMM slot...
Simon
Physicists get Hadrons!
It appears from the pictures that the ATA100 connector that they have in there is the small form factor found on the ibook/powerbook motherboards, so I would imagine that the hard drive is also a laptop harddrive. This is unfortunate as they aren't as fast as their larger siblings.
Don't count your messages before they ACK.
What would you do with the PC Card slot though? While what I quote from another post of mine below applies to PCI slots, it's almost equaly applicable to PC Card slots as well:
Untill you get to thinking about the slots and what you need them for. Example, my PC sitting here has 5 PCI slots and 1 AGP slot.
The AGP slot is occupied by a video card, which I just recently replaced for the first time in 5 years. On the mac mini, that's already built onto the board with an ATI chipset.
1 PCI slot is used by my Soudblaster card, which I just recently upgraded, again for the first time in 5 years, and that was because the card never worked right in the first place and this happened to be the time I was upgrading things. On the mac mini, this is built into the system
1 PCI slot is occupied by an ethernet card, un upgraded in 5 years. Gigabit is built into the mac mini
1 slot contains a USB/Firewire card, again, un upgraded, and built into the mac mini.
The other two slots remain unused, and for the forseeable future, I have no use for them. In the end, they're actualy a waste.
So when I look at the mac mini, it has everything I would use PCI/AGP slots for built in.
So then the question becomes well what if you want to upgrade?
Well, when I did my mass upgrade for the first time in 5 years (until now, I had only added RAM), I bought a new motherboard, a new processor, new graphics card, new soundcard and new RAM. My total cost came out to about $600 after rebates.
After reflecting on this, it occurs to me, that if a mac mini suits my needs, by the time I would decide to upgrade it, I might as well just buy a new one for $500.
In fact, for the first time, my computer would actualy be a disposable product. Something that I could (theoreticaly) just discard and buy a new one when it no longer served my needs, and it would be roughly price equivilant to upgrading the system.
So in the end, having PCI slots and an accessable case on the mac mini would seem to be more of a waste than a benefit.
Of course, you can always argue that hard core gamers and power users have other things and upgrade more frequently, but I argue that no hardcore gamer/power user is buying a $500 computer.
And to end, I should note, I have a PC Card slot on my powerbook. In 5 years of ownership, I have used it ONCE, and that was to see if the new Nextel broadband wireless cards would work with a mac even without special drivers (it didn't BTW).
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
Umm...
A composite video/svideo adapter for the mac mini costs $20 from apple.
It has a v.92 56k modem built in
It is Airport Extreme Ready(ie 802.11g capable)
Gigabit is built into the mac mini
Oh? That's not what Apple says.
All you fan bois need to get over it. You can easily spend the same amount on a PC and get a far superior computer in terms of expandibility, speed, value, capability. Coming up with lame examples that 'prove' it isn't possible (not what this parent poster did, but many others did) just makes you look like pissy whiners who don't let reality get in your way.
Face it, the Mac mini is nice in a lot of ways, and I plan to get one, but it is nice for reasons other than expandibility, speed, and yes, value as most would see it.
If you want something (hopefully) quiet and small and reasonably capable then this makes lots of sense. Hopefully it doesn't use too much power. I just wish it had gigabit ethernet, I could use it.
Wireless gizmos come in two parts: the antenna and the guts. The antennas are already built into all Mac hardware. All you need to add is the guts.
With the Dell, on the other hand, you get neither antennas nor guts. That means that, if you add wireless via a card or some damn thing, it's either going to perform really poorly or it's going to have a big-ass antenna sticking out of it.
Advantage: Apple.
"they have the same weight and size as the iMAc mini. Only the videocard is better in the iMac mini, otherwise ePC-2-3 are better, more ports (e-PC3-2 firewire, 4Highspeed USB, serial, parallel,video out AND A PC CARD SLOT. IN ADDITION USERS ARE ALLOWED TO OPEN THE BOX"
Well, that's all well and good if you only want ports, but lets look at the facts.
EZ-GO ePC-2 (Base System)
Processor: 1.1Ghz intel celeron
memory: 128 MB SDRAM
video: integrated video (11.8MB max shared)
HD: 40GB
Optical Drive: 24x CD-ROM
Price: $589
mac mini (Base System)
Processor 1.25Ghz Power PC G4
memory: 256 MB
Video: Radeon 9200 w/ 32MB memory
HD: 40GB
Optical Drive: DVD ROM/CD-RW
Price: $499
It looks to me like the mac mini is a superior system in almost every way, and costs $90 less.
The Bluetooth module I'm unsure of, but the Airport Extreme is a mini-PCI slot, so it is a standard, although a rarely seen one. Apple sells Airport Extreme cards in their store, but I doubt you'll find a third-party one; certainly not one that will work with Apple's drivers.
This is one of those areas where it makes sense to just go ahead and buy it up front, deal with the financial squeeze for a short while, and reap the benefits for however many years you have it.
I don't know what kind of crack I was on, but I suspect it was decaf.
Here's every computer Apple has ever made. http://www.apple-history.com/frames/?
I bought the EyeTV 500 from Elgato's web site directly.
$299. No tax, free shipping.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
Maybe. I just put a Belkin 802.11g PCI card in my power mac (the half-ton shaving mirror one) and it works fine as an Airport card, no drivers to install or anything.
Mind you, Belkin's rebate system is a total fraud. Absolute total broad daylight fraud. Go ahead you assholes, sue me. I dare you. Sue me right now. Fraudsters.
Oh snap! That took me five minutes dude, you've got to come up with a better argument.
I'm a loner Dottie, a Rebel.
Standard Fujitsu Laptop HD... Basically the whole Mac mini has the same performance and speed as an iBook.
2.5 x 8.5 x 10.25
2 x 6.5 x 6.5
Same size my ass.
---
Mod me down, you fucking twits. Go ahead. I dare you.
(I read with sigs off.)
So, you claim that we will basically require Gigabit Ethernet in just few yeas? Funny, this workstation I'm currently on is hooked to a 10MB hub, and I can use it just fine. Yes, that includes accessing files on the server. Are you one of those who think that "Gigabit Ehternet makes my internet faster"?
100BaseT is more than enough for intended uses of the Mini. You can find gigabit in higher-end models and on servers. Mini has no real need for it.
Seriously: have you even looked at the specs of the Mini? it says in plain English: "One FireWire 400 port; two USB 2.0 ports"!. Yes, the Firewire is only 400. But how many PC's have 800? How many low-end PC's have Firewire at all? How many devices/apps require Firewire 800?
If the Mini had those two slots, you would just find some other flaw in it. Seriously, you cannot satisfy everyone.
Instead of upgrading your machine every two years, you can simply buy a new Mini every two years. End-result is more or less the same, as is the expense.
Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.
I believe that the parent was trying to simply state that for the AVERAGE user, a $500 computer replaced every two years is still more convienent than a computer that they have to upgrade. Yes, power users who want to run on Windows will inevitably say that they can upgrade for cheap b/c they can do it themselves, but the target audience isn't those power users, but rather the person who knows little about computers and would thus have to take it in to get upgraded in a computer shop for an extra $100 plus parts, which will be more than they really need, but they will get scammed into getting it. Considering I still don't have an internet connection that I can download from at 10-baseT, I don't see the need for a HOME computer needing anything more than 100 baseT within the estimated product lifetime. True there are some bad points to the mini, but to the target audience, this computer will be ideal! I work phone tech support for Cox communications, and guess what, we almost NEVER get a call about internet not working on a mac. The only mac calls we get are people setting up their accounts for the first time (which has actualluy been increasing). This computer is targeted to those who don't want ot worry about virii, spy ware, etc (I know they exist for the mac, but on a much smaller scale) and don't want to worry abotu driver conflicts b/c they now have an OS that is designed around/with the hardware.
just my two cents.
I came, I saw, She conquered.
"What I wanna know is what's the best way to use this as a PVR? Are there USB tv tuners? How about USB high definition receivers?"
Its a Macintosh, which means FireWire is probably the best for video in (and its unlikely any given USB TV tuner will have Mac software support).
FYI, USB is an interrupt based system where devices are allocated time on a first-come first-served basis, which makes it unsuited to streaming video (yes, it is possible, but not reliable, especially if USB 1.1 devices are on the same bus). FireWire OTOH allots a portion of bandwidth to each device, so if a device needs 100Mb/sec, that's what it gets at all times.
Hokay...
First, let's set the hardware spec target:
Mac Mini:
CPU: 1.25ghz G4 RAM: 256MB of PC2700
Video: ATI Radeon 9200, 32mb DDR, 4x AGP
Drive: 40GB Ultra ATA Drive: DVD/CD-RW
1394: 1 USB2: 2 Ethernet: 10/100
Modem: v.92 Audio: yes
amd64 system:
CPU: 1.8ghz amd64 - $114
Heatsink/Fan: Zalman 7000 - $39.99
RAM: 256MB of PC2700 - $30.75
Video: ATI Radeon 9200, 64mb DDR, 8x AGP - $47.50
Drive: Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM - $45.89
Drive: DVD/CD-RW - $30.50
FOXCONN "755A01-6EKRS" SiS755 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 754 CPU -RETAIL - $77.00
1394: 2 USB2: 8
Ethernet: 10/100/1000 Audio: yes
Modem: v.92 - $11.49
Case: Antec mid tower, 300w PS - $52.00
Total: 449.12
You have ~$50 to blow on better parts if you like. That $50 can go a long way. Keep in mind most of the hardware spec'd (video, drive, ethernet, audio, etc) is already superior to the mac mini.
Also, the amd64 system is 64 bit. The mac mini isn't.
For over $900 you can build a totally killer amd64 pc.
There's one picture at apple.com.
Martin
You are wrong. The Morex case doesn't have an internal power supply. It has an internal DC-DC power supply, which means that it has an external wall-wart to convert AC to DC.
For what it's worth - I currently run Warcraft III, Quake III: Arena in native and Unreal Tournament 2004 on an emac 1.25 which is virtually identical to the mac mini. With a gig of RAM loaded up, the emac handles all 3 superbly. I would recommend upgrading your UT2004 demo to the latest (there were several major ATI bugs in the first release which caused those terrible screen renders you are referring to). Also, stuff as much RAM into your ibook as possible. I swear, the jump from 256 to 1 gig is like doing a CPU upgrade in UT2004
Any wireless card based on the broadcom chipset will appear to the Mac as an Apple-branded Airport/Airport Extreme card, unless it's something really funky like a proprietary PC wireless card from HP or something.
According to the technical specs, the Mac Mini accepts 110V to 240V -- and from the looks of this QuickTime VR view, the cable coming out of the power brick is a regular Mickey Mouse-style connector. You should be able to get by with a simple USA-to-Europe plug adapter, or you can invest 5 Euros and replace the cable entirely.
There hasn't been a difference between "PC RAM" and "Mac RAM" for decades now. The Mac Mini takes standard PC2700 333MHz DDR SRAM.
Mod down posts with a "Free Mac Mini/iPod" sig, they're spam!
iMac sold to the US household isn't dual voltage... (but the ones sold elsewhere are.) so beware.
Actually, the Mac mini will NOT have the required antennas unless you BTO the computer with AirPort and/or Bluetooth.
First Mac to do that since the introduction of AirPort.
Since obviously no one gets it, in england (and probably other places) a mac is a type of waterproof raincoat.
For what it's worth - I currently run Warcraft III, Quake III: Arena in native and Unreal Tournament 2004 on an emac 1.25 which is virtually identical to the mac mini. With a gig of RAM loaded up, the emac handles all 3 superbly.
I played Warcraft III, Quake III: Arena, Halo, Diablo II, and Civ III with no problems on my 800MHz Flat Panel iMac. I think I had to tone down some of the screen effects in Halo, but otherwise everything worked suprisingly well.
Agreed, 1GB ram is necessary. It shocks me that Apple sells machines with less than 512 preloaded. Fortunately ram is somewhat cheap, just don't buy it from Apple.
Finkployd
i was addressing the parent poster's question ("impossible to build a sub $500 amd64").
i was addressing the parent post, which claimed it was impossible to build a sub $500 amd64 pc. it isn't.
Dumbass mods, that's SATIRE, not flamebait. There is a point in there, look harder.
Macmall is giving you a free keyboard and mouse if you order from them... Free shipping as well. http://www.macmall.com/macmall/families/macmini/ Much Love!
Heh... you non-gamers. Try running World of Warcraft on your Mac laptop for 6 hours straight. That's a spicy meatball! Then again, I'm also using Powerbooks and now the plastic insulated iBook. The 17" and the slightly older 15" G4s.
This is not the signature you are looking for...
nice but the trick is: (and I have done this)
1.Get a VIA EPIA mini-ITX (or shortly a nano)
2.Put it in a Cubid case
3.Boot off of SLAX or Knoppix
It just works!
(in linux!)
The real competition for the mini are the mini or nano ITX boxen, they have everything but wireless integrated (if you need wireless just stuff in a USB key style adapter) with a full set of drivers on a single disk for windows and full kernel support for linux. and they are a lot cheaper