Minimac spec advice

[Stark]

I'm going to buy a minimac for media in my loungeroom: however, I know jack shit about Mac processors, so I'd kinda like to know what's recommended for mp3/avi decoding. I'm never going to play any games, or edit dvds or anything: just play music, movies, etc. Is 256Mb enough memory for that sort of thing?

I also hear that AirPort is 802.11 - is this true? How does one go about using OSX to access samba shares? Wireless + TV-out + small is what I'm going for here

[phongn]

OS X can access NFS and SMB natively, IIRC (the latter using Samba). There is an option for an 802.11g card. Leave encoding for a beefier machine, frankly.

[Vendetta]

OSX will chug a little with 256MB, but it will work. (Hell, one of the test boxes we've got at work is a 233MHz G3 with 160MB, and we've got OSX on it. Now there's chugging).

You can play movies with it, but you'll want to kill off other user processes first to ensure smoothness.

512MB should really be the minimum for OSX.

[Praxis]

So you know- it's Mac Mini, not MiniMac...

I'm going to buy a minimac for media in my loungeroom: however, I know jack shit about Mac processors, so I'd kinda like to know what's recommended for mp3/avi decoding. I'm never going to play any games, or edit dvds or anything: just play music, movies, etc. Is 256Mb enough memory for that sort of thing?

To quote Anandtech.com:

The performance of the Mac mini in its standard form is unacceptable, even for a $499 machine. At first, I was afraid that the poor performance was due to the 1.25GHz G4. However, upon further investigation, the root of the cause revealed itself - 256MB of memory is simply not enough for OS X. When running one application, such as Safari or Mail, the 256MB of memory is enough, but as soon as you open more than one application, the memory quickly disappears. The problem with disk swapping on the mini is that it is using a 2.5" hard drive, which is significantly slower than a desktop hard drive. So, overall performance is reduced significantly. There's a ton of stuttering when multitasking (not even heavy multitasking) and it's completely caused by disk swapping.

Upgrading the system to 512MB of memory fixes all of the problems. You'd be hard pressed to get close to 100% CPU utilization on even the low end 1.25GHz G4 without resorting to video encoding, and most importantly, the system is as smooth as can be with 512MB. As I mentioned in the first Mac article, OS X's caching algorithms work wonders for perceived system performance, since there's very little disk swapping, but in order for the OS to do its thing, you need a certain minimum level of memory and that seems to be 512MB. Apple offers a 512MB upgrade for the mini for $70, which is slightly cheaper than what a DDR333/400 stick would cost you aftermarket, and it is an absolute must-have for this system. Working on a simple file, ftp or web server with no end user interaction in the OS, you can get by with a 256MB configuration, and the same goes for a single user, single application usage environment, but as soon as there's any element of multitasking at play, you need 512MB - any less doesn't do the system justice.

Honestly, the first time that I used the mini, I was quite frustrated with it, simply because there was just too much disk swapping going on. But after the 512MB upgrade, I was more than happy from a performance perspective. The 5400RPM drive in the system is actually fairly snappy (when not being swapped to) and application start times are pretty reasonable as well. There's a clear difference between the mini and Apple's PowerMac G5s, but despite the difference, the mini offers a pretty good level of performance, if it is configured with 512MB of memory.

Apple should not be allowed to sell any system with OS X with less than 512MB of memory; and you shouldn't buy the mini with less than 512MB of memory. It's as simple as that.

The performance of the 1.25GHz G4 is surprisingly good. I was expecting to notice a big difference between it and the 1.5GHz G4 in the 15" PowerBook reviewed yesterday, but the difference isn't that big in most applications.

I also hear that AirPort is 802.11 - is this true?

Yes, Airport is 802.11b, Airport Extreme (the option on the Mac Mini) is 802.11g.

You'll need to get the Airport Extreme card BTO though, because you can't pop it in later.

How does one go about using OSX to access samba shares?

Have finder connect to server and put in the address of the samba share.

Wireless + TV-out + small is what I'm going for here

Shouldn't be a problem

[Stark]

Thanks guys! I kinda figured it'd be worth the upgrade to 512. Is there much difference between the 1.25 and 1.4GHz models? All I'll be doing is really low-end stuff... is it worth getting the faster processor for just playing movies?

[General Zod]

Thanks guys! I kinda figured it'd be worth the upgrade to 512. Is there much difference between the 1.25 and 1.4GHz models? All I'll be doing is really low-end stuff... is it worth getting the faster processor for just playing movies?

if the most graphics intensive task you plan on doing is playing movies, then no. 200 mhz won't make that much of a difference.

[Praxis]

Thanks guys! I kinda figured it'd be worth the upgrade to 512. Is there much difference between the 1.25 and 1.4GHz models? All I'll be doing is really low-end stuff... is it worth getting the faster processor for just playing movies?

My 1 GHz G4 PowerBook works fine for playing movies.

Heck, even my old 500 MHz G3 PowerBook can play DVD's without troubles.

[Stark]

If this was PC hardware it'd be so much easier for me

So a 1.25 with 512 should run OSX fine? I couldn't really see it having problems with media, and I am literally never going to use it for anything else. Kool.

[Praxis]

If this was PC hardware it'd be so much easier for me

So a 1.25 with 512 should run OSX fine? I couldn't really see it having problems with media, and I am literally never going to use it for anything else. Kool.

Absolutely. No problem for media.

I wouldn't be surprised if it can handle fully HD video even. Standard def DVD's? Peice of cake.

[Stark]

What WOULD be its limitations? What sort of regular software would overtax it? I'm trying to get a feel for what I can expect... but most of my friends have 1-1.4Ghz Apple laptops, so I should know :S

[Praxis]

What WOULD be its limitations? What sort of regular software would overtax it? I'm trying to get a feel for what I can expect... but most of my friends have 1-1.4Ghz Apple laptops, so I should know :S

Video encoding and rendering, perhaps- don't try iDVD unless you don't mind a bit of lag (video encoding AND 3d rendered menus at the same time, worst combination ). Although it should be better than my 1 GHz G4, and it wasn't unbearable, just noticeably annoying.

You can do games, too. Jedi Academy and UT2k4 should run. But don't even consider Doom 3, consider that a limitation

Last year they were using single and dual 1.25 GHz PowerMacs with a gig of RAM in the digital imaging lab at my college for everything. That included Strata3D, Photoshop CS, Flash and Dreamweaver and all the Macromedia stuff, etc.

Heck I know one guy on the Macworld forum who do professional video editting on an old 800 MHz G4 PowerMac, running the latest version of OS X and all the latest apps.

It should work fine. I recommend getting Airport Extreme BTO (do you qualify for education discount btw? just be a college student or know someone who works at a school). As for memory, you can either get the $70 512 MB upgrade, or buy an $85 512 MB stick and sell the 256 MB stick that comes built in.

Either way, GET 512 MB, and if you want it, Airport Extreme. Consider the HD if you need more space (say, for ripping DVD's?).

I don't know if you like to get down and dirty with your computers, but it's actually possible to overclock the 1.25 GHz Mac Mini to 1.42 GHz...

[Stark]

Whats the difference between Airport and Airport Extreme? My current plan calls for 1.25/512/802.11g, so I'd need it (I think).

[Praxis]

Whats the difference between Airport and Airport Extreme? My current plan calls for 1.25/512/802.11g, so I'd need it (I think).

Airport = 802.11b, Airport Extreme = 802.11g.

If you don't know the difference, 802.11g is 5 times faster than 802.11b.

I don't believe Apple even gives the option of Airport cards on their systems anymore, it's only for older ones with the older connector. The Mac Mini gives you Airport Extreme or bust

So yeah, just get Airport Extreme and 512 MB of RAM, and you're set unless there is anything else you want (Superdrive = DVD+/-RW, maybe Bluetooth (you can get Bluetooth+Airport Extreme combo for $99) if you want a wireless keyboard, or perhaps a bigger hard drive).