I've decided that I'm going to buy a Mini when the Meadowhall
Applestore opens. However I've got one or two questions/reservations,
and I'd welcome comments from those on the list who have Minis - I
gather that there are a few.
Background: I'm currently got a version 1 12" Powerbook - 867 Mhz, 640
Mbyte RAM, 40 Gbyte HD, nVidia GForce4 graphics card with 32 Mbyte RAM.
Main use will be general stuff, plus photo-processing - I'm a keen
amateur photographer who has finally moved almost entirely to digital
this year, plus something I don't do at the moment but want to do with
the Mini, which is to run the Tomcat Java server + MySQL. This is
connected with work, and therefore I have to use specific versions of
these components. IN the 2 and a half years I've had the Powerbook I've
used it reomotely about twice, so I don't need a laptop.
OK, questions. My main reservation about the Mini is the disk speed;
officially the HD's supplied are all 4200 rpm. Have other Mini owners
found this to be performance issue? Presumably it's possible to replace
the built-in HD with a faster 2.5 inch disk - is this worth it, either
technically or financially? Also I keep reading stories that some Minis
have been supplied with the faster disks - has anyone with a Mini
actually found that they have a 5400 rpm HD?
Next issue. I know that the maximum ram possible on the Mini is 1
Gbyte. Has anyone found that that simply isn't enough? (Obviously I
won't be trying to do real-time video editing).
Final point: I hadn't realised the extent to which graphics memory had
moved on in the rest of the Mac range - I think 128 Mbyte is pretty
standard now. Initially I intend to use an Iiyama 19" CRT monitor with
the Mini. If/when the Iiyama fails (it's about 5 years old) I want to
replace it with an Apple 20" display. Again, has anyone found that the
built-in 32 Mbyte graphics ram is just insufficient for those types of
monitors?
Finally - any 'I wish someone had told me that earlier...'
stories/experiences that anyone has got would be gratefully received.
Many thanks in advance.
Tom Burke
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