Mac Mini Impressions

This is one of those situations where this has already been done to death, so I may not take it much past this article. However, I figured I’d throw out a few quick impressions of what you could expect if you were looking at a Mac Mini as a possible solution for an every day computer or for the heart of your home theater system (at least as far as HTPC (HTMac?) is concerned).

The newest generation of Mac Mini more or less comes in the same configuration, albeit one with slightly more memory (1gb vs 2gb) and a slightly larger hard drive (120gb vs 320gb). The processor is the same, the DVD drive is the same, the Airport card is the same, etc. So, unless you’re worried about popping this little guy open, there’s no reason to spend the money on the “upgraded” version when you could easily buy the parts and install them yourself. This is almost always the case with Apple products and it’s no different here.

However, because I’m generally more interested in relaying “out of the box” experiences, here’s what I’ve experienced, and feedback I’ve received, in regards to using the Mac Mini.

Firstly, it’s quite usable as a day-to-day machine. Sure, it’s not good for Final Cut Pro or anything really heavy CPU/disk intense programs, but if you want something that’s small, quiet, and just plains, it’s a good choice for your mail/web browsing/casual gaming. However, the 1gb of RAM is a killer here. (An aside: OS X loves RAM. The more you can throw at it the better, and frankly, 1 gb should be the absolute minimum you use, but it’s worth upgrading as quickly as possible.)

As a home theater machine, this, to me, is where it shines. Aside from the excellent OS, the Mini has a variety of really well done programs available that makes it a good choice for using with your tv. Boxee is just plain stupidly cool, Hulu Desktop is also quite awesome (but a bit laggy with 1 gb of RAM), and then of course DVD player (for use with your remote), VLC the list goes on and on.

Also, because of the wireless N built in, the wireless speed is more than capable of streaming just about anything you can throw it so long as you have a decent connection to you router. If I had a Blu-Ray rip, I’d try that, but I only have DVDs handy, but that still is fine.

If you’re willing to spend a little more money for a machine that needs to be babied less, the Mac Mini is a good way to go. I’ve thought of using one of my many netbooks, but the Atom, combined with its terrible video card, just isn’t powerful enough.

However, with Ion on the horizon, there should be some less expensive alternatives coming out soon, but for now? I’d go with a Mini. There’s something really gratifying about sitting back with the Apple remote and using Hulu Desktop or anything else that integrates well with the remote. It’s almost like using a DVR — it’s just seamless.