Mac Mini vs. iMac Desktop Systems

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Apple, feature a unique design, compact and high performance. Most popular in the world series of computers Apple iMac, which in one case combined and the system unit and monitor. The design of these computers is so unusual and attractive that they are traditionally used as decorations in their films and television programs. In our store you can buy an iMac 20 and iMac 24 - the most popular model to date in this series. Among the Apple Mac desktop computers, there are individual system components. Thanks to the original design in the Apple Mac mini with an extremely small size could accommodate everything needed for comfortable work. It only remains to connect it to a mouse, keyboard and monitor. As in the case of the "big brothers", complete with the Apple Mac mini is a remote control Apple Remote, that allows you to control playback on your computer, music, videos and photo collections through Front Row.

The range of desktop Apple includes three models: the Mac mini, iMac and Mac Pro. These models are the third generation of Macs using Intel multi-core. It is also the third generation of machines not only compatible with Mac OS X, but also with Windows operating systems from Microsoft. Despite these shortcomings, there are still areas where Apple excels. The most important is certainly the operating system. Since the question is subjective, it will not institute against Windows Mac OS debate, both systems have their advantages and disadvantages. The real question is which one suit you best. OS X is excellent in its field. Based on the UNIX platform, which ensures stability legendary, OS X's Aqua interface shines as intuitive and attractive, especially since the recent release of Leopard.

Take risks, that is also an area where Apple has largely unmarked. Few PC makers have risked launching their range of iMac-colored fruit or flower power. This kind of risk has led to a degree of aesthetics that you will not find in any other competitor. While some manufacturers have attempted to leave their PC all-in-one, none of them has been able to match the superb design of the iMac. But Apple has already had his way, and the models made in monoblock design, constantly present in the product line. With varying degrees of success they lived until 1998, when it was introduced the first iMac. What is interesting, his features preserved in the current model - a single body monitor + PC, a fixed set of input / output ports, lack of installation by the user of any expansion cards, a small number of hardware modifications.

Mac Mini

Surprisingly small and economical computer with a fast Intel processor and powerful graphics NVIDIA. Can be used as a home or office computer, or serve as a center for home entertainment systems. Full metal casing thickness 3.6 cm, an internal power supply, a new video processor NVIDIA GeForce 320M and an even larger hard disk capacity. Here is an incomplete list of improvements. Apple has unveiled the third iteration of its desktop Mac Mini. In short: more expensive, more stylish and more energy for better performance.

Level Design First: the white plastic shell gives way to a stylish aluminum cladding for the new computer smaller (19.7 x 19.7 x 3.6 cm), with a weight of 1.37 kg. Configuration, for its part, is enriched with an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz with 2 GB of RAM format SO-DIMM and a 320 GB hard drive, and a SuperDrive optical drive slot-in type. The graphics, for its part, should be ensured by a chip GeForce 320M using 256 MB of shared memory.

The connectivity of the computer is also improved: the key, new uses ... The integration of HDMI, in addition to 4 USB ports, enabling you to connect to an HDTV. And the new SD card slot is handy for unloading photos and videos that are on a digital camera. Network side, there is a controller 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet. Another addition, the new Mac Mini is very greedy: power consumption is reduced by 25%, less than 10 watts in standby. If your computer use is limited to office tasks and Internet, the Mac mini is certainly an entry-level computer adapted. If your needs are limited to sending emails, browsing the Internet, word processing, watching the video or the basic editing of photos of low or medium resolution, then you will be well satisfied with a Mac mini .

Memory is now directly accessible. A small rotation of the bottom plate, and get the user to sparsely populated DIMM slots filled with new memory modules. It is highly recommended. 2 GB is not much memory for a computer, which also share the memory with Geforce 320M needs. Compared with the previous Mac mini models, the removable bottom plate, and a huge gain in comfort. Previously had the Mini with spatulas and sensitivity levered and then partially disassembled to get at the RAM slots.

Some Drawbacks

A USB port is needed to make way for the SDXC card reader can get in the fast SD cards with capacities of up to 2 terabytes. As reported X Mac OS now dominates the file system exFAT also, but only with a special build. With exFAT formatted media of the new Mac mini is not compatible with other Macs. Hopefully this will change with Mac OS X 10.6.5. The fact that Apple does not use i-Core processor, at least understandable. Technically, it is not easy to accommodate a faster graphics core with in such a compact enclosure. Intel's high-definition graphics as part of the CPU package is simply too slow for serious graphics core pass as. The next opportunity would be a chipset with a fast graphics core, but that does not want Apple's suppliers Intel and Nvidia denied the license.

The third and last option uses the Apple Macbook Pro 15 and 17 to: a three-chip solution consisting of CPU, 1-chip chipset and a dedicated GPU. The Apple would not or could not do as early as Macbook Pro 13 was seen. Long overdue, it was for Apple to address the power supply. The old external 110-watt block was removed. Instead, we find the 85-watt universal power supply (100 to 240 volts) directly in the case of the Mac Mini. Also is the not so common cloverleaf connector (C5) off the power supply. Only the widespread small plug (C7) does the Mac.

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Graphic & Monitor Support:

The game runs with some stuttering already on the previous generation of Macs quite well, except the Mac Mini with the identifier 3.1 or Macbook Pro 13 with ID 5.5. We have used the old Mac Mini for benchmarks against the new Mac mini models. The Mac Mini has a Core 2 Duo with 2 GHz and Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics chipset. Mac Mini users can very well play at a resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels. In addition, it will be difficult. At 1,680 x 1,050 pixels there are large number of dropout’s cards that make Team Fortress 2 unplayable. The time demo reached even with the recommended settings for the new Mac Mini only 16.49 FPS 22.58 FPS instead of the previously measured. Here, the user must turn back the settings to achieve even high frame rates. This is when you play the Source engine available and heavily dependent on card design.

In our case, the monitor performs the last of its own line of Apple - LED Cinema Display. Just below I tell you more about his impressions of working with this monitor, but is now better examine the issue, which certainly interests many: Is it possible to connect any monitor to a Mac mini? Yes you can, but we must take into account the number of features. The whole point is that the Mac mini case there are only ports Mini Display Port and Mini DVI. Accordingly, to connect any monitor, you need to buy an adapter.

Design & Connectivity:

Enclosure Mac Mini is a square with round corners. Side of the square - 16.51 cm, and body height - 5.08 cm, weighs 1.3 kg. That is, the dimensions allow the computer to remove the bag and bring it with you on any trip (subject to availability of the monitor in the place of destination). Power button, opening the output from the body of warm air beneath them - the port to connect the power adapter, then - Ethernet, FireWire 800, Mini-versions of interfaces for connecting devices, mapping - Display Port and DVI; as well as five USB-ports, lock Kensington, audio input and headphone out, combined with optical (SPDIF) output. Separately want to note the presence of built-in speaker. Its sound is not particularly good, he is carried from inside the device. It is clear that this decision is intended primarily for the public address system warning to the rest of the plan to use speakers or headphones that are likely to exist in every home.

Power

Good work, Apple has delivered with the power consumption. In fact, the new Mac Mini remains well below 10 watts. Sometimes it drops to about 7 watts. The old Mac mini still needed minimum 14 watts. The Apple TV needs more than 30 watts in the same situation. Under load the power consumption is also very low. With two cores is 28 watts. Team Fortress during a match there are a maximum of 32 watts. A 1080p movie, the user can look at just 14W.

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iMac

Housing the new model MacBook was still white and plastic, but the shape and "filling" evolved. With rounded corners, the MacBook began to look just like the unibody-laptop. In addition, from his older brothers in a line of MacBook Pro, the computer has inherited a bright LED display and glass trackpad. As aluminum laptops, plastic MacBook now comes with built-in (non-removable) battery, the duration of the increase to 7 hours (from last model to 5 hours).

Apple puts in a gigabyte of memory. This is sufficiently large for the operating system and most programs. Those who want to upgrade in view of low memory prices to memory itself, but should be careful to choose the right design. Unlike a normal desktop PC, a special memory is used, which is commonly used in notebook computers. Apple's PC is the image directly on the integrated ATI graphics card on the 20-inch screen. Space is not sufficient, using Mini-DVI to connect a second monitor. The connector also has not budged. We find the SD slot introduced with the 2009 version, and just as misplaced: just below the optical drive. Distracted users should be careful not to make mistakes if they want to avoid split extraction SD card lost.

Display & Connectivity:

A lot of controversy is the location of all connectors solely on the back of the candy bar. "Blind" to use them categorically uncomfortable (although long-term training can somewhat alleviate the problem). On the other hand, many users do not need to connect anything, and USB-hubs or docking stations for cameras has not been canceled. For the Mini Display Port, it is recalled that in addition to the possibility of connecting a secondary display, the 27-inch model can be used as an external monitor to plug in another Mac equipped with a DisplayPort output. Yes, it sounds completely absurd: why connect a MacBook or a Mac Mini on the screen of an iMac? Not working directly on the iMac! One can imagine for example the need to use a MacBook on precisely which applications are installed that are needed.

While the scenarios are very marginal, but the possibility exists. An HDMI input would have been much more useful, however, to connect a console or a Blu-ray. In terms of connectivity, we regret the lack of USB and eSATA 3. Obviously, this omission is not detrimental: the latest news, FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 connections were still widely used. Nevertheless, the nervousness of Apple in this area can be contrasted with the spirit that animated the first iMac: at the time, he was one of the first mainstream computers to widespread adoption of USB.

Overall, the iMac line is sold at a relatively consistent with the quality of its finish and design, the presence of a keyboard and a Bluetooth wireless mouse and components supplied. Of course, Apple could make an extra effort, but their policy has always been to pay a high price for their design. Free to the buyer to decide how the quality of integration weighs in the balance. Here, the gap seems at least acceptable.

Configuration

Installation of the new processors and chipsets in the new generation of iMac is hardly a significant change. In the last line, too, were available devices with Intel Core i5/i7. However, this time on the new processors have moved all four modifications. The youngest was i3-540, medium - i3-550, the eldest - i5-760. The audit showed that despite the modern technology of dynamic CPU frequency, the iMac (at least in the tested model) is always running at full capacity, which is somewhat strange. It is possible that OS upgrade will fix this shortcoming.

Supplier of GPUs at this time was selected as AMD with its decisions ATI Radeon HD. In the low-end chip set ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256 MB of memory GDDR3, the pair averages - ATI Radeon HD 5670 with 512 MB GDDR3, and the elder can brag ATI Radeon HD 5750 with 1 GB of GDDR5. Chip 4670 just recently turned two years old. At one time it was quite interesting in the midrange, but today it is not necessary to wait for high-speed in today's 3D-games, more so in Full HD. However, it is we try to check out their own tests. Because the chip uses the technology of 55 nm and not as economical as current models, the frequency of his work are reduced in comparison with the reference model for the PC.

Processors 5670 and 5750 are already the last generation has "age" less than a year, considerably more productive and more economical in terms of heat than the 4670. However, they are, judging by the PC-analogues, are today a massive level of game cards. It may well be that for them the frequency of operation were reduced. We tested was a modification of the youngest iMac, so it is difficult to determine about the other options we do not tackle. In addition, the use of the GPU to accelerate non-gaming applications iMac requires a separate study.

Note that all versions of video cards allow you to connect a second external monitor port miniDisplayPort. For HDMI / DVI / VGA adapters provide relevant specialties. It is worth paying attention to the fact that the current rulers do not have any models with integrated graphics subsystem. It seems that the possibility of integrated solutions did not satisfy Apple. Memory is represented by two modules of PC3-10700 (DDR3-1333) format SO-DIMM to 2 GB. Despite the one-piece design, the user is a loophole for a small upgrade - increase in the amount of RAM. Two slots are already occupied by the modules and the second pair free. With the result that the user can get 8 or 16 GB of memory.

Conclusion

Apple Mini remains despite the changed body form a very quiet machine. This is noteworthy because even now after all the heat from the power supply must be removed. In general, the computer cannot be heard. Even under load, such as when playing Team Fortress 2, the unit remains quiet pleasing. The aluminum housing is for very warm. It can even be touched in the summer yet. Sweets should the user but cannot be on the new Mac Mini, a brown coating of chocolate would result.

As a result, there is now the come in the years Core 2 Duo, combined with a new Nvidia chipset, which has as a Geforce 320M graphics core. The Core 2 may still play Nvidia directly. For the customer who is small war between Intel and Nvidia together with Apple's unwillingness to find itself a solution, not good. The Core 2 Duo, although not obsolete, and for most tasks fast enough, but it may well be regarded as obsolete hardware.

The Mac Mini comes in two flavors configured for Intel Core 2 Duo (3MB shared L2 cache): 2.4 GHz and 2.66 GHz Its basic configuration includes a $ 699 320GB hard drive (Serial ATA 7200-rpm) 2GB SDRAM 1066 MHz DDR3 (expandable to 8GB) and Mac OS X Snow Leopard, while its high-end model - with a price of USD $ 999 - has two 500GB hard drives, 4GB of RAM and includes Mac OS X Snow Leopard Server.

The Apple iMac is a space-saving complete computer in the chic look. The large 20-inch monitor offers a high contrast and colorful image, but reflects in stronger light. The PC contains all the important functions that support programs in addition to Windows XP or Vista installed. This allows you to play on the iMac even the latest computer games. Disadvantages are the restricted expansion and the short warranty period of one year. In my views Mac Mini is affordable. But on the same hand what you cannot do in Mac Mini the same is possible in Apple iMac.

However, Apple does not really seem to suffer from its configurations of machines that may seem winded experts, but very attractive to the general public. The financial results last quarter show, Mac sales are up. First, laptops are taking over the market for office machines in lost growth. On the other hand, the public is not routinely requesting a configuration technically outstanding. Finally, professionals can configure the card to their Mac Pro to use only the essentials.