Customer Reviews

Apple Mac mini MA607LL/A (1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive, Combo Drive)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I had trouble figuring out how many stars to give this item. I bought it (with 1 GB of RAM) less than 2 months ago. At first it seemed like the best computer I've ever owned (and it's my 5th Mac). The setup was effortless. The transfer of everything from my previous computer via Firewire was amazing. The speed was unprecedented. The four USB ports were great. The size (not much bigger than a large paperback book) was remarkable. But during my fourth week with it, it developed what turned out to be a hardware problem (after 3 calls to customer support) and spent nine days at the authorized service dealer having the logic board replaced (a major inconvenience). The repair was covered by the 1-year hardware warranty and everything seems okay again now, but I'm keeping my three-year-old iBook handy to fall back on just in case.

I read somewhere that Apple sells this item with a very short profit margin, so perhaps they cut a few corners? I'm still a loyal Mac user and just hope this experience isn't typical of how things are with Apple these days.

The Mac mini is an amazing little computer. Our family has had the Mini for about 4 months now and we love it. If all you need is to check email, surf the web, and do a little bit of word processing, than this computer is for you!

Definitely upgrade the memory up to 1gb because after awhile, OS X becomes sluggish with just 512mb of ram. The hard drive is a bit small, but at this price point, I can't complain.

If you compare the mac mini to a comparable PC, you will realize that you can get a better PC (maybe even a package including a monitor) for the same price. Don't look at it that way. You pay a premium for a better operating system years ahead of Windows and great technical support.

I almost forgot to mention the design of the Mac mini. Apple put a lot of thought into cramming an entire desktop computer into a little box and it is unbelievable. It is so cool looking sitting on your desk.

The Mac Mini is a great little computer. Lots of power to do many things, and do them well.

Apple's hardware and software and especially OSX are all superbly crafted together to justify the longstanding phrase "it just works". The machine is simple to set up, connections are easy, networking is easy, and the software is there ready to use.

The only complaint that I have about this machine is that it only comes with 512MB of Ram. Given what most people will want to do with this machine, it just is not enough, especially if one loads on any PPC programs. The emulation that this machine has to use, Rosetta, just does not get along well with 512MB. I used a PPC model and it was a pleasure to use. Microsoft Office worked well, one could multitask without much trouble, but the Intel version is not the same animal. I would recommend adding Ram...I upgraded to 2GB of Ram and it runs great! I think that they should offer this unit with a minimum of 1 GB of Ram. I am sure that this would be sufficient for most people.

I got this unit to run parallels and it does a great job with that program, as long as one has enough RAM. The reason I am giving this product 4 instead of 5 starts is that it should come with 1 GB.

Great product!

Perhaps I have the wrong tool for the job - I occasionally design posters and edit photographs and I wanted the mac mini to 1) investigate a possible switch to mac and 2)try out a dual core processor.

The machine does fine for web browsing and document editing, but open up photoshop, illustrator, and a 24 x 36" poster at 300 dpi, and this machine grinds to a halt. I literally spend hours waiting on the machine to open, save, resize, etc. files - If I get too much going at once I'll just have to sit with a beach ball for several minutes...

I sometimes get error messages about not having enough memory to perform certain tasks.

About the dual core - perhaps it's because of other bottlenecks, but I can tell absolutely no difference versus single core. The machine is still as sluggish and non-responsive as a single core when an intensive task is running in the background.

Obviously this machine wasn't designed for such a task - I plan to upgrade to a macbook pro soon. Just take it from someone who's tried that this machine won't handle graphic art.

What it has been is an excellent introduction to Mac OSX and its differences from windows. I suppose that's exactly what this machine was designed for - basic tasks and introduction to mac, in hopes of converting the user to pricier apple machines. If that's its purpose, it's been very successful!

I've been using this mac for almost two months and I don't have any complaint, it works excellent and the Mac OS X is very easy to use. I connected this to a LCD 32" and looks beautiful. Until now I have not needed more RAM (more than 512MB) but I'm planning to add 2 GB (1.5 GB more). If you want to use heavy software for work (like photoshop or similar software) you should better have to get a mac with better CPU and RAM. Next gen videogames doesn't run smoothly in a mac mini, probably the old (-good) ones does (like starcraft) or those before 2005 but the actual ones I think they don't.

For web surfing, word processor, email, some simple videogames and light applications it's a good choice.

This is a fabulous product.
The mac mini experience is even better if you have a large, big LCD screen or TV.
The OS/X interface is great. I've been a PC user for ever, but the MAC is the way to go for the home entertainment environment.
This model is not the top of the line one, but I really don't feel it slow under normal use (only if I open many applications at once).
For web navigation, listen to music, etc, it's perfect.
I wish it had a bigger HD, so I could shut down my PC for good.
An external HD is mandatory for the MAC mini if you hava a large MP3 library.
Beware if you plan to use it as your main DVD player. I wil not play a LOT of discs, including region free discs.
Other than that, the computer is just perfect for what I want: WEB nevigation, listen and download music, all from the bedroom.

Buy a Logitech Harmony remote, and Logitech S530 keyboard/lase mouse and that's it.

The Mac Mini is a great addition to the living room! The Frontrow software translates perfectly to my TV via the optional S-Video connection from Apple. If you want a home computer, invest in a monitor along with a keyboard and mouse (I recommend the wireless Mighty Mouse and Keyboard), but if if you want a great home media center with a really fast computer (thanks, Intel Core Duo).

This little thing hums and if you add a TV tuner it is a fantastic device that takes much less space than your VCR and DVD player!

you can get a new one with specs that blow away this computer for only 100-200 more. This is great for everyday computing. Internet, docs. But if you run editing software, record and edit music, or are a download junkie. Spend the extra 100 or take the time to shop around. Has tiger OSX which was great for PRO TOOLS , but half gig memory won't cut it.

PS///you risk breaking computer changing the memory, very delicate, made in mac mini' early stages.

Bought this since my 5 year old will need to use MACs at school... I am a Windows person and build my own systems...

Good:
-Very easy to setup and compatible with most hardware out there.
-I like it since it is so small and quiet and the kids haven't found the power button yet....
-Stylish and sleek GUI.

Bad:
- My kids got the a CD stuck in the unit already. I had to fix this manually.
- The kids crashed Apple OS within 5 minutes.... 3 Minutes longer then XP.
- Once you plug it in, you need to download 200Mb of patches...
- A lot of MAC/PC games we bought in the past are not compatible with the unit... I am looking at Parallels or the bootcamp to resolve this.
-Remember to buy a keyboard/mouse/ and monitor since this is only the computer and nothing else.

For the price, I cannot complain....

I purchased the mini so that I could dedicate the 1 ghz eMac I was using to use by my students. I connected it to an existing Sony Trinitron (CRT) monitor that I had stored away and bought a Mathias keyboard. I transferred my files from the eMac without any problem. I did have to update the firmware, which was very well explained. The speed of the machine is effected by the age of the software and the amount of built in RAM. I went to the Other World Computing site and watched their video showing how to upgrade the memory and I am contemplating switching out one of the 256mb simms with a 1gb. The apps running on rosetta, particularly MS Office are sluggish. I am a long time Mac teacher and user and overall I am happy with this machine. I wish it was snappier.