Apple Mac mini MB463LL/A Desktop comes with Elegant, energy-efficient, compact desktop Mac measures 6.5 inches square, 2 inches tall–just add keyboard, mouse, and monitor. 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 120 GB hard drive, 1 GB RAM (4 GB max), 8x SuperDrive with dual-layer support. Draft-N Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n); Gigabit Ethernet; Bluetooth 2.1; NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics with 128 MB of shared memory (256 MB recognized if 2GB+ of RAM is installed). Five USB 2.0 ports; one FireWire 800 port; Mini-DVI and Mini DisplayPort video output (included Mini-DVI to DVI adapter). Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard, iLife ‘09, and Front Row software included.
Experience improved energy efficiency and improved multitasking with the 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, which also offers an ultra-fast 1066 MHz front-side bus (FSB) and a large 3 MB L2 cache. (An L2, or secondary, cache temporarily stores data; and a larger L2 cache can help speed up your system’s performance. The FSB carries data between the CPU and RAM, and a faster front-side bus will deliver better overall performance.)
The 120 GB Serial-ATA (SATA) hard drive (5400 RPM) quickens the pace with a higher speed transfer of data–akin to FireWire and USB 2.0. The 1 GB of DDR3 RAM (two SO-DIMMs of 512 MB) have an industry leading 1066 MHz speed, and the RAM capacity can be increased to 4 GB.
The built-in 802.11n wireless networking provides up to five times the performance and twice the range of 802.11g, but it’s also backward-compatible with 802.11a/b/g routers, enabling you to communicate with the a wide variety of Wi-Fi resources. It works seamlessly with the new AirPort Extreme with 802.11n. Use the built-in Bluetooth wireless technology to connect to your PDA or cell phone, synchronize addresses, or download pictures from your cell phone. You can also use a wireless headset for iChat audio chats and VoIP calls as well as quickly share files with a colleague.
The Mac mini now features the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor for up to five times better graphics performance than its predecessor, and its dual display support can drive two Apple or third-party displays with Mini DisplayPort or DVI connections. The NVIDIA GeForce 9400M shares 128 MB of DDR3 SDRAM with main memory. You’ll notice the difference when you work with high-resolution photos and high-definition video, where graphics-intensive features in iPhoto and iMovie are smoother. And 3D game play–from Spore to Call of Duty–is faster and more responsive.
Included Software Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard (includes Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Photo Booth, Front Row, Xcode Developer Tools); iLife ‘09 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand)
Helpful consumer’s review
This Mac mini builds on the success of the last one. The biggest upgrade to the machine is the new graphics. With this change, movies and games perform much better.
Items of clarification: Currently the description on Amazon lists 4 USB ports, but there are actually five.
Also, the Mac mini no longer comes with an Apple Remote so if you’re looking to use it as a media server, you may want to pick one of those up.
Our favorite upgrade in this new machine is the ability to handle more RAM. It can now address 4GB of RAM, and it is also DDR3 RAM so it performs much better.
Also, the upgrade to Firewire 800 allows for some very fast external drives if you’re looking for increased storage.
We have a few hundred Mac minis performing as servers at macminicolo. According to our early benchmarks, this machine will be even better at for a server. No doubt this is due mainly to the faster, increased RAM.
