Mac Mini Server QuadCore - Use as a Desktop?

[Frank Petronio]

I've been thinking about getting a 27" iMac but poking around I see that Apple makes a Server version of their Mac Mini, with a faster QuadCore processor, 8 gb RAM, twin hard drives (including a SSD option), and a Thunderbolt connection.

With the new 27" Thunderbolt monitor/hub it could offer most of the speed of a recent iMac (the processors are slower on the Mini) but also allow the monitor to be swappable, unlike the all-in-one iMac. You could also throw a Mac Mini into your carry-on as easily as a laptop....

It prices out pretty close to a similarly configured iMac.

The store doesn't offer keyboard or monitor options with the Mac Mini Server edition but I am sure you can simply purchase them....

Anyone using it this way? Did you just not use the Server apps? Or did you reformat and install straight consumer OS Loin?

Or - besides wasting the value of the Server software going unused - is this a bad idea?

[Ben Syverson]

Frank, it's a great idea. You can just not use the Server apps—otherwise it's the same as regular Mac OS X.

It may be a wash cost-wise if you factor in the price of the monitor, but a few years down the line when you decide to upgrade, it'll be cheaper and less wasteful to buy a new Mini vs a whole new iMac.

Plus, these new Minis are plenty fast. I say go for it!

[Barry Kirsten]

I considered the server version recently for much the same reasons, but decided instead on the dual 2.7 GHz Core i7 version with 8 GB RAM (purchased from OWC at a fraction of the price that Apple charge). Instead of the standard 500GB 5400 rpm HDD I also got the 750GB 7200 rpm option.

So far I'm completely satisfied. Everything transferred easily from my old G4 Powermac (which was much updated hardware-wise and running OS X 10.5), and although the difference is hard to quantify, the new Mimi runs rings around the old machine in terms of speed.

Almost any monitor and USB keyboard will work with the Mini - I use my old Apple keyboard and a 24" Samsung LCD monitor I purchased a few months ago. I feel I've got a very respectable outfit here. I use Pixelmator instead of PS, and although I don't have any really huge scans yet (my largest ones are around 150 MB), it easily handles anything I want to do in terms of B&W work.

No doubt the quad core server would be a bit faster, but whether a significant gain in practical terms, I wouldn't be sure. I feel that no matter which way you go, you'd probably find either version very satisfactory - and they don't cost an arm and a leg.

Kind regards,

Barry.

[Frank Petronio]

If you're as infrequent a Mac buyer as I now am, this Buyer's Guide tells you where in the product life cycle each model is: http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/. For example, the iMacs are due for an update soon where the Mac Mini is mid-way through its cycle. I imagine the next iMacs should be smoking fast....

The Mini Server seems more attractive the more I think about it. While it isn't a laptop, it is compact enough to travel with and with the right HDMI-DVI adapters you could plug it into whatever monitors are on site. And while the new 27" Apple Cinema Thunderbolt Displays are pricey, they offer a hub and you could even run two displays off the Mini (the server model). See: https://discussions.apple.com/thread...art=0&tstart=0.

There is a part of me that makes me want to get one sooner than later because they may well downgrade the next model once they realize what a good deal this little guy can be! But if they do a speed update in the Spring and leave the ports alone then it is a pretty good bargain.

[Ben Syverson]

They may do a small spec bump in the spring, but if you need something now, it's probably not worth waiting for. In the end, HD speed and RAM matter more than speed anyway!

[photobymike]

I am thinking of the new Mac Mini quad. I dont know if i would use the the thunderbolt monitor. I really need to have a really accurate color tune on my monitor. I have not tried the thunderbolt monitor, but i have tried many others on my quad G5. I have found out of the 4 LCDs that i tested, The Apple Cinema display worked best for me. Either the 20" or 23". I would like to try the 30" but have not the bones to trade for one.

Anybody have experience color tuning the Thunderbolt? How does it track with an Epson printer? When i see magenta it prints magenta... not perfect but close

[Paul H]

The one thing you may want to look a little more closely at is the video card spec on the Mac Mini server. I seem to recall it is a lower end card than the "desktop" Minis.

[Frank Petronio]

Yeah the server has the lessor (?) Intel 3000 video as used in the base model but with more memory, 384mb... which doesn't mean much to me? Which... is why I asked if anyone has been using it?

[Barry Kirsten]

For example, the iMacs are due for an update soon where the Mac Mini is mid-way through its cycle.

Perhaps Macrumors info is out of date: the Mini I bought just a few weeks ago was a new model - processor and video card updates, internal DVD dispensed with to name a few changes.

[J. Fada]

You can stuff 16gb of memory in the current MacMinis although Apple doesn't tell you that and it isn't cheap.