Apple announced its new iMac and Mac mini systems today, but the smaller of these two Macs is bringing the biggest improvement in capability for small businesses. The iMacs with their 20- and 24-inch screens got modest bumps in speed, and each model got faster graphics, the latest implementation of Apple’s shift to NVIDIA. (Apple does a compelling sell of the new graphics in a pop-up screen, comparing the four new graphics sets to the prior graphics. Be aware that faster screen speed comes at a price above the entry-level, though.) All models also received more base RAM — so that will tell you how important it is to increase memory on anything that Apple ships you.
Ah, but the Mini. It continues its ascent as the best Mac for the dollar. For the same prices, the system now has solved its old-dog-slow graphics speed with an NVIDIA chipset; doubled the limit for RAM (see above); and increased the top speed of the processor to 2.26 GHz. Mind you, you’ve got to buy the faster of the two Mini models to get all that, but at just a $200 increase, it’s well worth it.
Apple makes much of its new Mini DisplayPort on the mini to connect monitors. It’s a genuine value for the mini if you’re got DisplayPort monitors, but not much of a bump for the mini customer already using a DVI screen. Like Firewire, DVI is getting pushed to the door by Apple, which is shifting its display focus to DisplayPort. The system includes a mini DVI to DVI adapter, but you can see the trend here. Smaller is better, but it demands peripheral replacements, too.
These improvements are welcome for the first-time buyer, since Apple is maintaining its prices on these systems with the extra features. You’d think there was a recession on, and analysts reported that Mac sales dropped during the last 90 days. Up to now, the mini was pretty useless for graphics-based work, even something as simple as page layout using InDesign. Now there’s 256MB of memory on a NVIDIA 9400 graphics chip. For $800, plus a low-ball $32 Kensington wireless keyboard from Wal-Mart, it’s hard to go wrong going small on the Mac line.
To the regret of some, the Firewire 400 has no port on the new mini. Video users will have to upgrade their devices to use a new mini. You will need a 400-to-800 adapter ($15 plus shipping from Sonnet) to hook up that elderly camcorder. There’s also supposed to be 800 to 400 cables with 4-pin ends on the 400 side. Apple is in love with USB 2.0, although users say the Firewire standard truly is faster. There’s a great article on this on the MacWorld mag site; some of the best information is in comments under the article. Alas, with the improved Mini, some things gained, others lost. At least there’s still some kind of Firewire port on both iMac and mini model. Macworld magazine has a good article on the demise of Firewire 400.
Today’s announcements mean more for the same price, so if you’ve been waiting to upgrade from that old G5 tower, this is the month. These values might last for another year, until Apple does its next refresh.
Bruce Hobbs
on Mar 4th, 2009
@ 12:18 pm:
“To the regret of some, the Firewire 400 has no port on the new mini. Video users will have to upgrade their devices to use a new mini.”
Won’t a Firewire 400 to 800 adapter handle that?
rseybold
on Mar 7th, 2009
@ 9:52 am:
Yes, Bruce, thanks for pointing that out. I’d read the David Pogue NY Times column after Apple dropped Firewire altogether from the newest MacBooks; he railed at the dying light of Firewire, since now his older video cameras had no way to communicate directly with the newest Macs. Thank goodness Apple is preserving some sort of Firewire on the desktop models.