Customer Reviews

Apple Mac Mini (Dual-Core i5 2.5GHz Processor, 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, 500GB, HD Graphics)

If you already own a good screen, the compact Mac Mini could be for you, and will get you -- as it did me -- into the world of Mac and OS X a lot more cheaply, but less prettily, than buying an iMac. I got set up very quickly, using a Logitech wireless keyboard and an Apple Magic Mouse, plus an ordinary Dell screen and my speakers. The included video adapter makes the connection to the screen work, or you can attach to an HDMI-equipped screen or TV. If you want to use DVDs or CDs, you will need to buy an external drive and plug it into a USB port. (�25-30). My cheap Samsung DVD drive was fine.

The Mac Mini box looks great, is completely silent, but is inconvenient to use. Everything is around the back - on/off switch, four USB3 ports, line in and sound out ports, camera memory card port, etc., and I found that a USB extension hub made life easier. That line in port will not work with a normal microphone.

Performance with 4GB memory is not good enough. Using OS X Mountain Lion generally leads you to have multiple windows open and multiple applications running, so with 4GB the Mac Mini is disappointingly slow. Luckily, it is very easy to follow the supplied instructions, unclip the 4GB and put in two new memory modules. I installed 16GB (about �100) and performance was transformed for the better. Having checked memory usage, I would expect 8GB also to give good performance.

If, like me, you need to use PC software that has no equivalent on Mac, then I would recommend the Parallels software that lets you run Windows on the Mac Mini.

Beautifully designed entry level Mac. Absolutely Love it!

If you're like me, you'll have spent ages comparing features and specs before splashing the cash on a new Mac. In my case I already have a MacBook Pro and wanted an additional machine for my daughter, and this fits the bill beautifully.

Here's why...

Quick word of warning first - if you already own a MBP or MBA and want a techie comparison with the iMac best skip this review. I've come from a Windows background, and I'm not an expert on the Apple mac line-up, and this is meant for similar non-experts.

Firstly, the hardware - which is all held in a small aluminium box at about 8 x 8 inches and about 1.5 inches tall.

In terms of hardware you get:-

* * 2.5 GHz dual-core Intel processor with 4Gb of Memory (Not fastest but not bad!)
* * 500GB hard drive (Huge amount of space for photos and videos)
* * A Firewire 800 port (to connect a very fast external disk)
* * 4 USB 3.0 ports (to connect a keyboard, external disks or other stuff)
* * HDMI port - to connect to an external screen or TV
* * Thunderbolt connection (Apple's own connection for an external screen or very fast disk)
* * Audio line - for a headphone
* * Gigabyte Ethernet port - for the internet
* * WIFI connectivity plus Bluetooth
* * SDXC card - so you can transfer photos
* * Preinstalled Mac OS X and iLife (free upgrade to the latest operating system Mavericks)
*

* What you don't get:

* External monitor (I recently upgraded to a Dell Ultrasharp U2412M 24 inch IPS Widescreen LED Monitor and Love it)
* Keyboard (You may well already have one). The Apple Wireless Keyboard is brilliant (but expensive)
* Mouse (I'd HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Apple Magic Trackpad - it's wonderful to use).

Apple hardware (when comparing by pure spec) is more expensive than the equivalent running Windows, but you really do get what you pay for, and they come with incredible attention to detail, and beautifully designed inside and out.

In this case of this particular device, it is:-

* Unbelievably quiet. Almost no noise at all
* Wonderfully small and compact - takes up almost no space on the desk
* Looks beautiful
* Incredibly easy to upgrade the memory (just unscrew the base)

The only complaint I have is, all the connections are at the back - including USB ports, and it gets a bit cramped (I have two USB devices where the plug is too wide). I soon solved this by adding a set of external USB ports. Other than that - it's an wonderful.

As a prior Windows laptop user, I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND buying a Apple Magic Trackpad. The multi-touch trackpad is a real revelation, and actually worth the extra money. You can scroll down web pages (two fingers up/down), or scroll through web history (two fingers left/right), and the "System Preferences" window where you can configure the options includes a handy video demonstrating the options available. It's hard to over-state the benefit of this. It's so wonderfully accurate, it makes your laptop a real pleasure to use (again compared to my Windows laptop).

If you really want to complete the "Apple" look - I'd recommend a genuine Apple keyboard as well. Island style black keys - nicely spaced out, and back-lit. There's a set of dedicated keys along the top to control features including screen brightness, play, fast forward and stop, plus sound.

Of course this machine no longer comes with a DVD/CD drive - but even still all software is available online through the Apple Mac Store, and another nice surprise - consistently cheaper than equivalent windows software, and without the annoying collection of boxes, software keys and disks to avoid losing.

Sound quality is not bad, although not as good as I'd have hoped - but I plug in external speakers myself - or better still, stream music to my Hi Fi speakers via an Apple TV. It's worth noting - you can stream anything on screen (videos or Netflix) to an Apple TV - including high quality sound. A great bonus.

Although I don't often play games, I'm told this is not a "serious" gaming machine, for for web use or video streaming it's more than capable. I can't really comment more than that.

In terms of software, these are well provided for straight out of the box including free copies of:-

* iPhoto - to import, edit and manage photos - including from the "cloud" (any photos taken on an iPhone or iPad)
* Garage Band - a drum machine on your laptop
* Movie Maker - to edit and publish home-made videos
* Calendar, Mail and text editor etc
* Reminders - to remind you

Since I bought mine some time ago, Apple announced anyone buying a new machine will also get a free copy of Pages, Numbers and Keynote (their presentation program) - but I'm not 100% sure if this includes this model. Even if you don't these are only around �10-�15 each - not the �100-�150 we're used to paying for Word. Excel and PowerPoint.

During the past 18 months I've also noticed how the OS is becoming even more integrated with the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. For example, you can now write a Pages or Numbers or Keynote (Word, Excel or PowerPoint for the rest of us) on a Mac and then view and edit them on an iPad (and the software is also free on a new iPad). You can also set a reminder on your iPhone and see it pop up on your Mac, or take a photo on your iPhone and see it appear (no wires, in fact completely automatic) on your Mac in the iPhoto application. This may not be a compelling reason to buy THIS particular model, but it is a great advantage if you already have (or plan to buy) and iPhone or iPad.

Finally, you can of course also upgrade this little machine. The two most popular upgrades are:-

* Memory - it comes with 4Gb - but can be increased to 8 or even 16Gb pretty easily
* Disk - I'd eventually replace the existing "Hard Disk" with a "Solid State Disk" - which will make this machine much faster, and add a few more years usage.

On balance - I'd have to say I love Apple Macs - and indeed all Apple hardware (iPhone, iPad included) so it's hard to give a purely objective view. But this is a beautifully designed, well built machine. Highly recommended

Hope you found this review useful - Many Thanks !

I wanted to own this for a while before i wrote a review. Computers are deep with larger OS's than tablets and things alike. So why did i jump to mac? Is it because of the new windows 8 OS or my hate of windows in general? No. Much simpler than that. Hardware! I seemed to be of the few who like windows 8 and i have no beef with windows in general. I am no devotee of everything apple either. I didn't know how to use OSX lion/Mavericks so i didn't jump from windows mainly for that. I simply wanted a small simple machine that did everything i needed but i wanted silence. I use my mac mini as a hub for almost everything. I don't need a tablet. Every PC running windows, at a middle of the road price point, has either noisy fans or clicky hard drives. My last HP laptop had both. I saw the Mac Mini (now MM) at pc world and loved its simpleness. It has all the ports i need. i can plug in any peripherals i've currently been using without hitch. But most important of all it makes no sound. Almost none at all. It also emits no heat. It can be on all day and the metal body isn't even warm to the touch. Occasionally if you stick your ear next to it you can hear the HDD turn over but compared to other laptops/desktops i've owned it's almost inaudible. If the MM came with SSD and 8/16 gigs built in i think this would be simply the ultimate computer. These upgrades can be done at cost and probably worth it for more speed all round. For me as it is out of the box is fine. Everybody has they're own needs with these things as they provide a different tool to everyone. Do i prefer mac to windows now i've had time to play. Yes. It's simpleness belongs here. Plenty of screen customisation without the need to delve beyond that. Not sure if you can with mac but i simply haven't needed to even look. As apple always say it just works well and does what i want. I also love using the mac app store which is steadily building. No IOS store yet. The apps either payed or free are well crafted and to the point of their function and also gives a newbie like me plenty to play with.

To sum up my feelings on this as you have gathered i am a happy bunny. Apple packaging is top as usual and the MM aluminium outer shell is lovely to behold. It doesn't come with anything else in the box so take that added cost in mind if you want apple accessories. I prefer this as you can tailor things at a later date with what you actually need to use. I enjoy using mac OS as it really is easy to grasp and very simple with enough customisation to get the layout you prefer. I could go on but i'll just say if your on the fence about changing to mac don't be afraid. Jump in.

Works as well as you would expect EXCEPT, boot up time is much much slower than my Macbook Pro and even loading of desktop windows seems a bit slow. Been a Mac user for 10 years and a bit puzzled about this. But a veyr neat package and good to be able to use existing accessories to keep the price down.

WARNING If bought form the Apple store it comes bundeled with more APple software than this Amazon version. Not expected! SO the �40 saving goes if you want iLife full package.

I bought the i5 MacMini to replace an acer ultrabook which broke after 12 days and came with Windows 8 which is an appalling OS for non touch-screen computers. This is my first computer with OSX and my impressions have been really great so far. The only app I needed to download was BetterSnapTool because the only Windows OS feature I missed was Aerosnap (cost about �1.99 from the Apple App Store). Other than that OSX works like a dream!

The MacMini is a great computer. It runs near silent, has an impressively good speaker and has great Apple aesthetics as you'd expect. The boot time is fast and all the apps I have used so far (Word,Photoshop, Mail, Excel, Final Cut) have all been working perfectly.

Really happy with the Mac Mini!

Postage.
I received my Mac two days before the estimated arrival date. Wonderful. However, I found it lying in my porch, not signed for and unprotected. For me this wasn't a major concern. I didn't have much time to dwell upon that fact anyway because as soon as I opened my door I fetched some scissors to allow me to attack the box ferociously. If you don't have a porch then this may be a worry, however I feel as though this may have been the postman's own fault.

Price
This Mac, already the cheapest of all Macs, has been made cheaper. Cheaper even than Apple's education discount. Not only this but it also has a much shorter shipping date than the Apple website as well (5 days).

Product
Within 10 minutes of opening the box, I had the Mac mini connected to my HDTV via an HDMI cable, my disc drive (something to consider seeing as the mini is lacking in that area) via a USB cable and my wireless mouse and keyboard via Bluetooth. This just illustrates the flexibility of this product. Set-up was just as easy. It comes up with the necessary steps to ensure that you can make the most of your computer immediately. You shall need an Apple ID but if you don't possess one then you can easily create one for free.
The baseline Mac mini has all the necessary specification for home computer and casual gaming. A 3rd Gen dual core i5 processor, 500GB hard drive and 4GB RAM (easily upgradable to 8 and beyond) is more than capable of handling all of you tasks.

Overall this is a great product well worth the �467 price tag. I'm looking forward to carrying out all of my computing needs on this machine for the next few years.

Been using windows my whole life, decided to try a Mac. It's fast just like my old windows, but it opens apps VERY fast compared to my windows, but actually using the apps doesn't seem any different.

The Mac is very limited in terms of customising the user interface (Ive only had it for a few weeks and I'm already bored of the GREY! everywhere).

The native browser (Safari) has an issue which (from looking through online tech forums) hasn't been solved for a long time now. It plays online videos (Youtube etc) sometimes and other times just doesn't play it, it will freeze or do some kind of frame and sound stutter. When I pause the video and press play about 5 mins later it works fine again. I have�read that it might have something to do with flash.

I edit a lot of videos and music and this Mac has handled my editing pretty well.

It's nice and small and looks smart but I won't buy a Mac again until I'm really, really, reaaaaaaally well off (Then I'd buy a Mac Pro purely for the power). It's a sleek device but I feel much more "free" with the windows platform.

Ditched the PC finally, dont know why I waited so long.... Ho yeah the cost thats it. Once you get over the hard part, paying for the apple , any apple really then things start to get easier. If you already have apple tech eg: iphone,Pad and Apple tv then it just a natural progession.
Setting up was done within fifteen minutes, that included the usual wifi search, itunes log in and ios update along with setting up the time machine (back up) with a old 1T external usb hard drive I had from my pc.
The main purpose for the mac was to act as a media server for the Apple Tv, which it does well in standard form (Apple Mac Mini (Dual-Core i5 2.5GHz Processor, 4GB DDR3 SDRAM, 500GB).
Tested it out with a movie running on the 3D Tv while browsing and didnt have any issues with performance of either job. The downside to this machine would be the hard drive size and the ram, but i am being very picky. Future plans to increase the ram and the hard drive can wait for now simply because it is doing the jobs in hand....
So to recap, you need to bin the pc along with all the problems of windows and simplify your life and get a apple. It really is that simple... 5 STARS PLUS !!!!!

WOW! Small, sleek and effortless. I am now wondering why it has taken me so long to switch from mac to windows? Connected this to my tv via hdmi - amazing! I think I will upgrade it to 16gb - just because I can! Still got lots to explore on this machine. Loving the parental controls. Found navigating my way through menus easier than I thought it would be - don't know if that was because I already own an ipad so was familiar with icons?
Will definitely recommend to anyone who wants to switch from windows but can't quite afford an imac. I bought this for my daughter's xmas and I am certain it will last her a good few years.

If you want a powerful Mac at a fraction of the price this is definitely the right desk top for you.
The full price for a new 21” iMac is just over �1,100.00 pounds. I bought this Mac Mini for �450.00 plus the Apple Magic Mouse (�60.00), Apple keyboard (�60.00) and a magnificent 24” full HD Acer monitor (�130.00) for a grand total of �700.00 and saving �450.00 pounds for my summer holidays!

The Mac works like a dream, yes I don’t have 1TB but 500GB is good enough for me and I gain 3 extra inches on the monitor and have the extra advantage of been able to take the Mini with me and plug it to any TV.