That's not a big surprise given that the ODD is gone now so there is space for a second 2.5” HDD. That alone isn’t a big deal but the high-end Mini has an option for a 750GB HDD + 256GB SSD. The base model gets the option for a 750GB 7200rpm HDD but the high-end and server model can sport a 256GB SSD. There is always the option of an external ODD if you really, really need one. This move is logical and I wouldn’t be surprised to see MBPs following Mac mini.
#2011 mac mini server software#
Third, there is no more SuperDrive (ODD)! Apple is distributing nearly all of their software through Mac App Store now (including new OS versions), reducing the need for an optical drive. It will again be interesting to see how Apple has handled the extra heat as i7-2630QM has TDP of 45W compared to P8800‘s 25W.
#2011 mac mini server upgrade#
The previous generation server model came with a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo so this will be a huge upgrade in CPU performance. This appears to be the same i7-2635QM as found in $1799 15” MacBook Pro. The second intriguing aspect of new Mac minis is the server model: It now comes with a quad core CPU. Thus the graphics performance won’t be as good as in iMac and MBP but 6630M will still be a huge step up from nVidia 320M and Intel HD 3000. While Intel HD 3000 was great improvement from Arrandale graphics, it’s still not all that great for gamers.ĪMD 6630M is actually based on the same Whistler core as 6750M and 6770M found in MacBook Pros and iMacs. It will be interesting to see how Apple has managed to find space for the dGPU and its cooling, especially because the Thunderbolt controller is a discrete chip as well.
The old PPC Mac minis used discrete GPUs but since the transition to Intel CPUs in 2006, the Mac mini has been stuck with IGPs - first Intel GMAs and then NVIDIA since early 2009. This is the first Intel Mac mini to adopt a discrete GPU. First, the high-end Mini now comes with a discrete AMD Radeon HD 6630M GPU. The consumer models also come with 500GB HDDs instead of 320GB while the server model’s storage remains unchanged (2x500GB 7200rpm).
#2011 mac mini server update#
A smaller update is that all models now come with 1333MHz DDR3, similar to the rest of the Mac lineup. Every Mini now comes with one Thunderbolt port as well, which replaces the Mini DisplayPort, just like in the 2011 MBPs. This is definitely good news.Īs for the hardware updates, the two most obvious ones are Core i5 and Core i7 Sandy Bridge CPUs and Thunderbolt. The server model retains its $999 price tag. The 2011 Mac Mini in fact adopts the old pricing model as before the 2010 update, the Minis were priced $599 and $799 respectively. The most obvious change is a drop in price: the entry-level Mini is now $599 and the high-end is $799, instead of $699 and $849 like the previous generation. Thunderbolt, HDMI, FireWire 800, 4x USB 2.0, SDXC card slot, Gigabit Ethernet, audio in/out The Mac mini lineup has been like this since late 2009 when the server model was first introduced. Like the previous generation, there are three models: two consumer and one server. There are no major chassis changes to the new Mac mini (sans the missing CD/DVD slot). The Mini saw its last update on June 15 th 2010 so a refresh was widely expected and also a bit overdue. The Mac mini is yet another Mac to be updated with Intel’s Sandy Bridge CPUs and Thunderbolt.
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