Inside the Mac mini Rev B
On July 26, 2005, Apple announced the first updated configurations of the Mac mini. The revised configurations represent a much-needed rebundling of features—nothing beyond the original offerings, but we do get some cost savings. Apple has apparently paid close attention to reviews and popular BTO options, as the new lineup boosts standard RAM to a level more appropriate for Mac OS X 10.4 and brings AirPort and Bluetooth in as a standard configuration; both were immensely popular options.
The $499 offering merely boosts RAM to a standard 512 MB. Clearly Apple intends to hold the line at the $499 price point. However, this may give Apple room to offer promotions involving the mini, something we’re used to seeing in their other product lines.
The $599 offering, on the other hand, is much improved. In addition to a faster CPU and the standard 512 MB RAM, we get built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth. The 56k modem becomes a $29 BTO option, but we welcome the trade. The resulting configuration is by far the best bang for the buck.
A new $699 offering picks up the SuperDrive. While this configuration offers no cost savings over the BTO path, it does permit for instant mini/SuperDrive gratification, which we were denied when we first rushed off to the Apple store for our first mini purchase.
| Original | July 2005 |
|---|---|
|
M9686LL/A
$499
1.25 GHz PowerPC G4
256MB DDR333 SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory
40GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo drive (DVD/CD-RW)
DVI or VGA video output
Optional AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth
Built-in 56k Internal Modem
|
M9686LL/B
$499
1.25 GHz PowerPC G4
512MB DDR333 SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory
40GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo drive (DVD/CD-RW)
DVI or VGA video output
Optional AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth
Built-in 56k Internal Modem
|
|
M9687LL/A
$599
1.42 GHz PowerPC G4
256MB DDR333 SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory
80GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo drive (DVD/CD-RW)
DVI or VGA video output
Optional AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth
Built-in 56k Internal Modem
|
M9687LL/B
$599
1.42 GHz PowerPC G4
512MB DDR333 SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory
80GB Ultra ATA hard drive
Combo drive (DVD/CD-RW)
DVI or VGA video output
Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth
Optional 56k Internal Modem
|
|
M9971LL/B
$699
1.42 GHz PowerPC G4
512MB DDR333 SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9200
32MB DDR video memory
80GB Ultra ATA hard drive
SuperDrive (DVD±RW/CD-RW)
DVI or VGA video output
Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth
Optional 56k Internal Modem
| |
|
BTO Options
AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth: $100
SuperDrive upgrade: $100
512 MB DDR333 RAM: $75
1 GB DDR333 RAM: $325
|
BTO Options
AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth: $100
SuperDrive upgrade: $100
1 GB DDR333 RAM: $175
56k Internal Modem: $29
|
Conclusion
The increase to 512 MB RAM standard, while expected, is very signficant. For first-time Mac buyers, running 10.4 with 256 MB RAM takes something away from the experience. Considering that every mini owner we know has upgraded RAM to at least 512 MB, the necessity of having to upgrade was rather irritating. Though CPU speeds didn’t increase, heavy computation is hardly the reason to buy a mini. A GPU boost to the same ATI Radeon 9550 introduced in the iBook would have been welcome, but it appears that Apple was avoiding a logic board redesign with this release.
We hope that the next revision might not be a G4, but instead something from Intel’s stable, perhaps at the 2006 Macworld Expo in San Francisco. Optimistic, yes, but Jobs mentioned that he hoped Intel-powered machines would be in consumers hands before WWDC 2006.
We won’t know until we get our hands on one if Apple rolled a logic board revision into this release. This is a common move by Apple, and given the original release’s issues related to VGA and DVI video, we hope a slightly refined logic board lies under the hood.