Its a mini Jim, but not as we know it

[tatsujin]

Wannabe Mac mini-ites, with a windows heart click below (I know, Intel Duo in Mac now but still):

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/pcs/nexus-psile-mini-pc-fashion-case-189124.php

[Charles]

So with the Psile, you spend $1199 and get a Intel Pentium M 730 1.6GHz.

With the Mac Mini, you spend $799 and get an Intel Core Duo 1.6Ghz.

What's wrong with this picture?

[tatsujin]

Don't shoot the messenger! Just thought it was an interesting side to the whole Mini vs. windows battle.

I don't think so many people are customing these days on the windows platform anyway, so it may be tough to find a market for it. Have to go down upgrade alley soon myself, upgrade kits have always served me well, I just can't justify buying an expensive machine for web-surfing and the annual release of football manager...

[Charles]

Don't shoot the messenger! Just thought it was an interesting side to the whole Mini vs. windows battle.

I'm not shooting at the messenger, I'm just enjoying the opportunity to shoot back at the Windows people in general, using their own ammunition. For years they've been promoting the myth that Macs are more expensive than PCs. But you'd have to be insane to spend $400 more for the PC than a Mac with higher performance. Hell, if you really want Windows, just buy the Mac Mini and run Boot Camp on it, don't even install MacOS X.

[Big Booger]

Two things would make me want that more expensive device over a mac mini:
1:)

The psile case is based on a mini-itx motherboard formfactor. These motherboards are 17x17cm (6.7x6.7 inch) and are available from a range of manufactures and with a variety of CPU types. The features and functionality of your psile case is for the greater part dependent on your choice of motherboard. So take good care selecting your motherboard.
The motherboard you use in your psile case must be a mini-itx formfactor motherboard. On the suggested motherboards list you will find a list of manufacturers and model numbers of compatible boards.

In essence, I can choose what I want in my PC, I am not stuck with some generic selection made by apple.




2:) and "HDTV" connections in the back

HDTV is the future. Any computer sold today that doesn't have the capability to interact with HDTV content at HDTV resolution, bites ass.







But if money were the only object, I'd be all over the mini like jelly on toast.

[tatsujin]

Was just kidding mate

Have been flirting with the Mac platform now for a while but have always been a windows-o-phile (sounds kind of perverse I know) and am surrounded by the OS everywhere I go.

Maybe its a cultural thing, but a lot of my friends are quite techie and not one of them would touch a Mac, in fact, the advertising over here seems to aim them at novices.

It seems America has a much more open armed approach to Macs in general, as opposed to us "simpler" Irish folk - we like our Murphy's black, our women drunk, and our PC's windows. Take from that what you will

[Charles]

2:) and "HDTV" connections in the back

HDTV is the future. Any computer sold today that doesn't have the capability to interact with HDTV content at HDTV resolution, bites ass.

Well, I guess you don't want the Psile then, because it has Intel GMA 950 video on the motherboard, exactly the same as the Mac Mini. As equipped at $1199, the Psile only comes with an S-Video output, which means standard old SD video.

But I understand how you were mislead to believe the Psile has HDTV output. The Psile spec sheet says it has "holes for HDTV and ViVo Connectors." Unfortunately, holes are all you get, there's nothing IN the holes. If you want HDTV, you will need to buy a HDTV video card and use up the single PCI slot. It's going to cost about $200 to add something like a Radeon X1600.

[mr. sparkle]

It seems America has a much more open armed approach to Macs in general, as opposed to us "simpler" Irish folk - we like our Murphy's black, our women drunk, and our PC's windows. Take from that what you will

Isn't there a huge Apple plant in Cork?
I hope your hardcore friends would at least give OS X a look. It's a great OS and far more elegant than XP. And with Bootcamp, you can have the best of both worlds. I think the folks that don't like Macs never tried them. I also think that a lot of folks of a certain age become set in their ways and are afraid of change. I'm sure they still listen to the same music, and drink the same beer, eat the same food over and over and over and over.....

boooooring.

That being said, I am from Cupertino - land of the pod people.

[Big Booger]

Well, I guess you don't want the Psile then, because it has Intel GMA 950 video on the motherboard, exactly the same as the Mac Mini. As equipped at $1199, the Psile only comes with an S-Video output, which means standard old SD video.

But I understand how you were mislead to believe the Psile has HDTV output. The Psile spec sheet says it has "holes for HDTV and ViVo Connectors." Unfortunately, holes are all you get, there's nothing IN the holes. If you want HDTV, you will need to buy a HDTV video card and use up the single PCI slot. It's going to cost about $200 to add something like a Radeon X1600.

http://www.psile.com/index.php?ID=20

Read through the list. There are several options available. Utlilizing different chipsets.

COMMELL, the worldwide leader of Industrial Mini-ITX motherboards, introduced the Mini-ITX platform LV-677 based on Intel 945GM and ICH7M Chipset, which supports Intel CoreTM Duo processor at 667 MHz FSB, It's Provides up to 25% faster data transfer rate compared to the previous generation bus speed, Dual channel DDR2 533[font=Arial]/667 memory architecture in configurations of up to 3 GB RAM, and PCI-Express x16 slot(1x compatible), The new Intel®]18-bit Dual Channel LVDS and TV-out ( HDTV / SDTV) interface.[font=Arial]Support HDTV 480i/p, 576i/p, 720i/p, 1080i/p display resolution.[/B][/font][/font]

Take note of what is written in bold! (you don't need no stinking graphics card for HDTV output with that motherboard!

And it does have a PCI Express slot available. With $200 investment, you'd have a pretty slick gaming machine, Media Center, as well as HDTV capability. Can you do that with a mini?

BUt looking online I found cards in the sub $150 range that do HDTV:

http://www.saveateagle.com/pc-x1600p2.html?ovchn=OTHER&ovcpn=Froogle&ovcrn=PC-X1600P2&ovtac=CMP

http://www.kingli.com/upgrade_2.asp?p=VGA-Video.EVG.128-P2-N431-LX

http://www.xpcgear.com/bfg3dfr73lee.html

And so on.

THe question is can you add a card to a mac mini or are you stuck with what apple gives you?

And what about selection in terms components? I like being able to select a motherboard based on the features I want. It's like being able to go to a department store and pick out whatever you want compared to waiting in line at a Moscow soup kitchen waiting for your daily ration.


That said, if money was the only object, I'd go for the mini all the way. YOu do get a great value which is a huge change from years ago.

[Charles]

Take note of what is written in bold! (you don't need no stinking graphics card for HDTV output with that motherboard!

And it does have a PCI Express slot available. With $200 investment, you'd have a pretty slick gaming machine, Media Center, as well as HDTV capability. Can you do that with a mini?

Yes. After a little research, I found out that the Mac Mini will directly drive any HDTV set with a DVI port. If your TV only has an HDMI port, an DVI-HDMI adapter only costs $25.

I'm glad I found this out. I've looked around for a way to drive an HDTV from the second DVI port of the Quadro FX4500 card in my Quad G5, I thought it was impossible without expensive components, but now I can do it for $25.

[Kuang_Grade]

Ah, the mac mini is a fine machine...I have one myself, but don't overlook this little underpowered jem, Charles



A little something I saw over at Digital World Tokyo
http://www.digitalworldtokyo.com/2006/07/japans_pervert_pc_enters_sixth_1.php

[tatsujin]

Isn't there a huge Apple plant in Cork?

There certainly is my friend, a large degree of my friends are employed there also (some being the said group below)

Its an impressive facility, but there is a constant loom of lay-offs hanging over the place, doesn't give Apple the best reputation...

I hope your hardcore friends would at least give OS X a look. It's a great OS and far more elegant than XP. And with Bootcamp, you can have the best of both worlds. I think the folks that don't like Macs never tried them. I also think that a lot of folks of a certain age become set in their ways and are afraid of change. I'm sure they still listen to the same music, and drink the same beer, eat the same food over and over and over and over.....

boooooring.

That being said, I am from Cupertino - land of the pod people.

Bootcamp could be the bridge that welcomes a lot of window's people over to the white side. The mindset is not as narrow as perhaps my post suggests, there really is very little Apple presence here in Ireland... indeed, only last night I tried the mew meaty delux pizza from Domino's - long live change!

[Big Booger]

Yes. After a little research, I found out that the Mac Mini will directly drive any HDTV set with a DVI port. If your TV only has an HDMI port, an DVI-HDMI adapter only costs $25.

I'm glad I found this out. I've looked around for a way to drive an HDTV from the second DVI port of the Quadro FX4500 card in my Quad G5, I thought it was impossible without expensive components, but now I can do it for $25.

I wonder if the picture quality is the same? I should think there would be some degredation pixelation, or overscan. Regardless that's a nifty idea using a DVI converter.

[Charles]

I wonder if the picture quality is the same? I should think there would be some degredation pixelation, or overscan. Regardless that's a nifty idea using a DVI converter.

It's digital-to-digital, shouldn't be any change in signal quality.