Manage updates with the Download AppApple Mac Mini (2.5GHz Core i5, Summer 2011)
Manufacturer: Apple Part number: MC816LL/A
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Apple's new $799 Mac Mini demands that you abandon disc-based media, and that you surround it with potentially expensive extra hardware to realize its full benefits. It makes most sense for committed Mac users, those who need it for a specific niche-case, or for those who value design over functionality for the dollar.
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Where to buy
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| Memory4Less.com | Not yet rated | In stock | as of 05/22/2013 Refurbished |
CNET editors' review
Apple Mac Mini (2.5GHz Core i5, Summer 2011) price range: $649.99 - $1,621.12
- Reviewed by: Rich Brown
- Reviewed on: 07/21/2011
- Released on: 07/20/2011
The good: The new Mac Mini boasts Apple's usual design leadership, as well as new internal components that nearly double its performance compared with that of the older model.
The bad: Some users will find the lack of an optical drive too forward-looking, and may struggle to understand the benefits of the Thunderbolt port. The new Mac Mini also offers suspect value compared with Windows PCs in the same price range.
The bottom line: Apple's new $799 Mac Mini demands that you abandon disc-based media, and that you surround it with potentially expensive extra hardware to realize its full benefits. It makes most sense for committed Mac users, those who need it for a specific niche-case, or for those who value design over functionality for the dollar.
User reviews
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A great mid-priced Mac desktop for the average user.
by JDW82 on August 13, 2011
Pros: The Mac Mini is compact in design and includes what I would like to consider, "necessary features." Thunderbolt is leaps ahead of USB 3.0 and of course firewire 800. This system serves as a terrific media hub for all you Apple devices with built-in wirel
Cons: No optical disc drive. To some this is a problem because they still have a lot of software that is in hard-copy form. To others, like me, this is not an issue. I first was upset about it but then realized, "hey, I don't even own any software in hard-co
Summary: A word of advise to the average user. If you are on a budget and purchase the base model Mac Mini you can upgrade with after market hardware for much ...
Summary: A word of advise to the average user. If you are on a budget and purchase the base model Mac Mini you can upgrade with after market hardware for much less than buying it through Apple. For instance, 8GB of DDR3 RAM for $50.00 on Amazon. A 500GB 7200RPM Hybrid Drive at Best Buy for only $129.99. Even if you have to pay a tech to install the hardware you will still save money, have a great pro forming computer and not have to settle for HP-like budget junk.
I would have given it a FIVE STAR rating but I think it is still a bit pricey for the higher end model and consumers still use their optical drives on a regular basis, even if I do not. Apple listens but sometimes they are too far ahead of the consumer wave. -
Blazingly fast
by vajradhatu on July 26, 2011
Pros: Incredible speed boost and number crunching ability.
Cons: 5400 RPM harddrive.
Summary: The radical increase in speed is a huge boost for those doing photo or video editing. 60 minute videos that would have taken 30 some minutes to encode on my ...
Summary: The radical increase in speed is a huge boost for those doing photo or video editing. 60 minute videos that would have taken 30 some minutes to encode on my older Mac Mini dual core, only takes 3-4 minutes of the new entry level Mini. Windows XP, running in Parallels Desktop, launches in a mere 15 seconds.
The new 64-bit Cocoa apps in 10.7 "Lion" (iTunes, Mail, etc.) make them seem like very different apps: snappy and responsive. -
Bought as a media center, results were underwhelming
by mathleter on July 24, 2011
Pros: Great form factor, decent hardware, upgradeable
Cons: Cost, slow (even right out the box), no media center support and 3rd parties don't support apple DRM. Slow playback from shared devices (even though apple TVs handles this very well)
Summary: I bought this as an apple TV replacement. I get all my content on iTunes for personal reasons (I hate ads and like the quick on demand availability) but Apple ...
Summary: I bought this as an apple TV replacement. I get all my content on iTunes for personal reasons (I hate ads and like the quick on demand availability) but Apple discontinued front row so its really difficult to view the content. Plex is nice as is boxee but both don't support Apples DRM TV content. What seems like an ideal media center PC due to its small form factor, decent hardware and elegant design is crippled by Apples insistence on keeping the mac mini out of the living room. If only the Apple TV had better firmware to allow the purchase of content and not just the renting of it. What we need is a network device that can save content to any server and provide a media interface to the iTunes store. What apple does, it does great but its decision to constantly cripple its products its really deplorable.
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Happy with my new Mac Mini
by jeffreymhardy on July 24, 2011
Pros: Form factor, two hard drives, perfect desktop unit
Cons: No optical drive, but who cares. I can use a shared drive on another computer, or use my $39 USB optical drive
Summary: I don't know where all these negative reviews are coming from. I purchased this to free up my Macbook Pro at a desktop setting. Got the $999 version with ...
Summary: I don't know where all these negative reviews are coming from. I purchased this to free up my Macbook Pro at a desktop setting. Got the $999 version with Core i7 and upgraded the RAM to 8GB. I'm perfectly happy with the result.
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I like my mac mini with optical drive
by BackyardZooGames on July 22, 2011
Pros: fast computer and comes with lots of utilities for development and publishing software that you normally would have to pay for on other computer systems.
Cons: I rather keep my current mac until something better come around.
Summary: I like my mac mini with optical drive because it allows me to perform various transfers and creations of applications.
Summary: I like my mac mini with optical drive because it allows me to perform various transfers and creations of applications.
2 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Pay more, get less AND a not ready for prime time OS.
by zenie on July 23, 2011
Pros: Small, fast
Cons: No optical drive makes no sense for most of the US unless Apple will also provide 50-100Mbps broadband so we can download software. Can't backup installers for downloaded Apple software? DVDs aren't obsolete in any way. They're more reliable than SS memor
Summary: I already am disgusted with my 24" iMac that is tedious to open to fix or upgrade or swap out a broken drive, or even change a button battery. This ...
Summary: I already am disgusted with my 24" iMac that is tedious to open to fix or upgrade or swap out a broken drive, or even change a button battery. This Mac Mini will have plenty of buyers who are attracted by shiny objects, but it's a major step backwards.
1 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Apple's Bad Move
by tyito2000 on July 23, 2011
Pros: Slim and updated cpu
Cons: No DVD drive, keyboard, or mouse. $700 eye sore.
1 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Really glad I bought the last generation Mac Mini!
by mmessiha on July 23, 2011
Pros: - Still very small chassis
- Upgraded specs (faster processor)
- HDMI and Thunderbolt ports (though not much to connect to the latter)
- Near silent operationCons: - NO optical disc drive (must buy external)
- No tangible price drop from the last generation
- No major hardware upgrades aside from Thunderbolt (eSATA, USB 3.0, etc)Summary: I had been eying a mac mini for awhile as an HTPC before committing. I had been waiting for an HDMI port and a real graphics card, which I was ...
Summary: I had been eying a mac mini for awhile as an HTPC before committing. I had been waiting for an HDMI port and a real graphics card, which I was glad Apple included in the last iteration. I have a 56" widescreen and the display fills it completely with some minor adjustments (no black bars). But I feel that the lack of a built in optical drive ruins a perfectly good product. As an example, it;s great to be able edit family videos and pictures with everyone sitting on the couch, then burn DVD copies for other family members to take home. Maybe they consider this forward-thinking, but if you didn't want a built in optical drive, you had that option with the last generation in the mac mini server. This strikes me as a blatant attempt to coerce customers into purchasing their movies and music through iTunes so Apple can make more money. Sure you can purchase the external drive, but that is one more added expense and it ruins the clean design of having one built in (something that is important to those considering purchasing an Apple product; otherwise there are much cheaper alternatives). Also, you don't gain anything of significance in place of the missing internal optical drive. Overall, this is a bad move by Apple.
1 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Pay More, Get Less!!!
by Windows7fan527 on December 30, 2011
Pros: i5 processor is fast as hell but that is the only pro.
Cons: No optical drive. A lot of media uses cds and i can't install any of my programs. i don't understand why apple had to get rid the optical drive. Also there are a lot of problems with osx lion. Have to restart it usually 5 times a day.
Summary: This is most likely the last apple product i will ever buy. I have had so many problems with apple products in the past 2 years. I could buy a ...
Summary: This is most likely the last apple product i will ever buy. I have had so many problems with apple products in the past 2 years. I could buy a windows pc with for the same price with 15, a cd drive,usb,sd card, and many other ports. Or if wanted i could pay a hundred dollars more and get an i7.
15 was expose to be i5
Updated on Dec 31, 20110 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Mac Mini - not a media pc.
by ctguy527 on December 26, 2011
Pros: - speedy
- LionCons: - Poor video output when connected to a flat screen tv.
Summary: Ok, so my mom has a Macbook Pro. It is great. When my old media computer died, I thought that I should try out a Mac Mini, so I bought ...
Summary: Ok, so my mom has a Macbook Pro. It is great. When my old media computer died, I thought that I should try out a Mac Mini, so I bought one. It is speedy but the video is terrible when connected to my TV. I was really disappointed with it. for 799, I was expecting better video quality. I think that they are great if you are going to use them as a computer but make a terrible media pc. I am going to buy a Dell optipex small form factor. Happy holidays!
0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Apple
- Part number: MC816LL/A
- Description: Mac mini features a 1.4-inch-thin seamless unibody enclosure carved from a single, solid block of aluminum. It's created using computer numerical control, or CNC, machines - the same kind used by the aerospace industry to build mission-critical spacecraft components. This ensures absolute precision of every component of the Mac mini enclosure. Not to mention a stunning aluminum fit and finish that will make any desk proud. The power supply is built right into Mac mini. So there's no bulky brick, and there are fewer cables to connect. A removable panel on the bottom makes upgrading the memory completely painless. And once you're inside, you'll see how clean and organized Mac mini is. With attention paid to the tiniest details. Like the air intake vent. It's practically invisible. And when the fan is running, you'll barely hear it. Mac mini is full of big ideas. Built-in Thunderbolt technology lets you daisy-chain up to six Thunderbolt peripherals, including the Apple Thunderbolt Display, to a single port. It also supports Mini DisplayPort peripherals you might already have, including the Apple LED Cinema Display. The HDMI port lets you connect Mac mini to your HDTV with a single cable. And a built-in SDXC card slot makes speedy work of transferring photos and videos from your digital cameras. Mac mini is designed without an optical disc drive. Because these days, you don't need one. It's easier than ever to download music and movies from the iTunes Store. And you can download apps from the Mac App Store with a click. So what did Apple do with all the extra space? Apple squeezed in more powerful processors, advanced graphics, and Thunderbolt technology. And removing the optical drive gave Apple room to do one more thing with Mac mini: lower its price. If you still want to burn discs, consider the external MacBook Air SuperDrive, which connects to Mac mini with a USB cable. The Thunderbolt port lets you connect up to six Thunderbolt devices, including the Apple Thunderbolt Display. You can also daisy-chain an Apple LED Cinema Display. Have a third-party display? Use the HDMI port and HDMI to DVI adapter that comes with Mac mini to connect it. You can even connect two displays to see more of your photos, movies, and documents at the same time. A built-in SDXC card slot makes it easy to grab all those photos and videos from your digital cameras. And four USB 2.0 ports and a FireWire 800 port let you plug in your keyboard, mouse, iPod, iPhone, iPad, digital camera, DV camcorder, external hard drive, printer, and just about any other device you use. The latest 802.11n wireless technology is built into every Mac mini. It automatically connects to your Wi-Fi network, so you can get right down to surfing the web, printing, and streaming your music wirelessly. Bluetooth wireless technology is also built in, so you can connect accessories such as a wireless keyboard and mouse. Plug your own display, keyboard, and mouse into Mac mini. Turn it on. And just like that, everything works together. That's one of the great things about Mac mini. You can mix and match it with almost anything. It's easy to connect Mac mini to the biggest screen in the house - your HDTV - courtesy of a built-in HDMI port. All it takes is one HDMI cable to start enjoying movies and TV shows from iTunes, surfing the web, and flipping through your photo library, all in brilliant HD. There's also a handy control that lets you adjust the output on Mac mini to fill even the biggest HDTV screen. And when you just want to listen to music, you can play your entire iTunes collection through your home entertainment center, or stream it to a set of speakers in any room via an AirPort Express Base Station.
General
- Desktop type Media center system
- Packaged Quantity 1
- Type Personal computer
- Product Form Factor Desktop slimline
- Built-in Devices Antenna,
Speaker - Localization English
Processor / Chipset
- Type Intel Core i5 2.5 GHz
- Number of Cores Dual-Core
- 64-bit Computing Yes
- CPU Qty 1
- Max CPU Qty 1
Cache Memory
- Installed Size L3 cache - 3 MB
- Cache Per Processor 3 MB
RAM
- Installed Size 4 GB,
8 GB (max) - Technology DDR3 SDRAM
- Memory Speed 1333 MHz
- Memory Specification Compliance PC3-10600
- Form Factor SO DIMM 204-pin
- Configuration Features 2 x 2 GB
Environmental Parameters
- Min Operating Temperature 50 °F
- Max Operating Temperature 95 °F
- Humidity Range Operating 5 - 95% (non-condensing)
- Sound Emission 16 dBA
Hard Drive
- Type HDD
- Capacity 500 GB,
1 - Interface Type Serial ATA-300 Serial ATA
- Spindle Speed 5400 rpm
Storage Controller
- Type 1 x Serial ATA - Integrated
- Controller Interface Type Serial ATA-300
Storage Controller (2nd)
- Type None
Hard Drive (3rd)
- Type None
Optical Storage
- Type None
Floppy Drive
- Type None
Optical Storage (2nd)
- Type None
Card Reader
- Type Card reader
- Supported Flash Memory Cards SD Memory Card,
SDXC Memory Card,
SDHC Memory Card Storage Removable
- Type None
Monitor
- Monitor Type none.
Graphics Controller
- Graphics Processor / Vendor AMD Radeon HD 6630M
- Video Memory 256 MB GDDR5 SDRAM
- Video Interfaces HDMI
- Max Monitors Supported 2
Audio Output
- Type Integrated
- Sound Output Mode Stereo
- Speaker(s) 1 x Mixed channel
Audio Input
- Type None
Telecom
- Modem None
Networking
- Type Integrated
- Wireless LAN Supported Yes
- Data Link Protocol Bluetooth 4.0,
IEEE 802.11a,
Fast Ethernet,
Ethernet,
Gigabit Ethernet,
IEEE 802.11b,
IEEE 802.11n,
IEEE 802.11g - Compliant Standards IEEE 802.11g,
IEEE 802.11n,
Bluetooth 4.0,
IEEE 802.11a,
IEEE 802.11b Printer
- Type None
Miscellaneous
- Cables Included ( 1 pcs.),
HDMI-DVI adapter - Features Aluminum enclosure
Expansion / Connectivity
- Slots Memory,
2 (total) / 0 (free) x SDXC memory card SO DIMM 204-pin - Interfaces 1 x Thunderbolt,
1 x FireWire 800,
4 x USB 2.0,
1 x Audio - SPDIF output/headphones,
1 x Audio - SPDIF input/line-in,
1 x LAN (Gigabit Ethernet),
1 x HDMI Power
- Device Type Power supply
- Power AC 120/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
- Power Consumption Operational 85 Watt
Operating System / Software
- OS Provided Apple Mac OS X Lion
- Software Apple iCal,
Apple QuickTime,
Apple iTunes,
Apple Dashboard,
Apple iMovie,
Apple Address Book,
Apple Safari,
Apple DVD Player,
Apple Mac App Store,
Apple Launchpad,
Apple Mission Control,
Apple FaceTime,
Apple Automator,
Apple Image Capture,
Apple Dictionary,
Apple Calculator,
Apple Preview,
Apple System Preferences,
Apple TextEdit,
Apple Stickies,
Apple iLife,
Apple Time Machine,
Apple iPhoto,
Photo Booth,
Apple Mac OS X Chess,
Apple Mac OS X Mail,
Apple GarageBand Dimensions & Weight
- Width 7.8 in
- Depth 7.8 in
- Height 1.4 in
- Weight 2.7 lbs
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year,
Technical support - Phone consulting - 90 days Sustainability
- ENERGY STAR Qualified Yes
- EPEAT Compliant EPEAT Gold
- Greenpeace policy rating (Nov 2011) 4.6
- Greenpeace policy rating (Nov 2012) 4.5
Product series
-
Apple Mac Mini (2.5GHz Core i5, Summer 2011)
Manufacturer: Apple
Specs: Intel Core i5 2.5 GHz,
4 GB,
/ 8 GB (max),
Apple Mac OS X Lion,
None,
AMD Radeon HD 6630M,
none.,
L3 cache,
3 MB -
Apple Mac Mini (2.3GHz Core i5, Summer 2011)
Manufacturer: Apple
Specs: Intel Core i5 2.3 GHz,
2 GB,
/ 8 GB (max),
Apple Mac OS X Lion,
None,
Intel HD Graphics 3000 Shared video memory (UMA),
Integrated,
none.,
L3 cache,
3 MB -
Apple Mac Mini (Lion Server, Summer 2011)
Manufacturer: Apple
Specs: Intel Core i7 2 GHz,
4 GB,
/ 8 GB (max),
Intel Core i7 (2 GHz),
DDR3 SDRAM,
500 GB Standard,
Apple Mac OS X Lion,
None,
Intel HD Graphics 3000 Shared video memory (UMA),
Integrated,
none.,
L3 cache,
6 MB
Accessories
- Corsair Mac Memory memory - 4 GB - SO DIMM 204-pin - DDR3 (34740973)24.99 - 37.99
- Kingston memory - 2 GB - SO DIMM 204-pin - DDR3 (34741119)15.63 - 18.99
- Corsair Mac Memory memory - 8 GB : 2 x 4 GB - SO DIMM 204-pin - DDR3 (34741108)44.99 - 62.37
- Kanex iAdapt V2 - video / audio adapter - DisplayPort / HDMI (34941909)19.99
- Premier Mounts ECM-MAC2 - mounting component (35089775)94.95
- Logitech diNovo Mini Keyboard (32784878)115.68 - 168.67
- Intermec keyboard (35058896)478.19 - 517.50
- Kensington Notebook Keypad/Calculator with USB Hub - keypad (34991754)24.00
- Manhattan Numeric - keypad (34564735)10.32
- Unotron SpillSeal Meditech Magic Washable Antimicrobial Keyboard S6000KMT - keyboard (34666150)45.99
- Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 (31485240)33.99 - 63.32
- Logitech Illuminated Keyboard (33264750)60.89 - 117.89
- Razer Lycosa (32640959)69.99 - 94.66
- Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 5500 Revolution - keyboard and mouse set (32822577)124.99 - 224.79
- Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave Pro (33300017)229.99
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Apple products on Shopper.com
-
- Manufacturer:Apple
- Address:
One Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014 - Phone: 1-408-996-1010
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