Apple Mac Mini (2009)

Photo gallery: Apple Mac Mini (2009)

Design
You'd be forgiven for thinking you're looking at the last generation Mac Mini. Not to mention the last one before that. It's still the same 165.1x165.1x50.8mm dimensions, with the thick aluminium sides, and the pearl white top with grey Apple logo in the middle. A small white light in the bottom right tells you it's turned on, while the slot of the DVD+-RW is the only defining feature in this minimalist PC.

Where things have changed a bit is on the rear panel. The Mini is now loaded with five USB ports, a Mini DisplayPort, a Mini DVI port, FireWire 800 and gigabit Ethernet jack.

The dual display ports enable the Mac Mini to use two monitors, while the Mini DisplayPort should allow it to power 30-inch monitors at a resolution of 2560x1600 — something the Mini DVI jack can't, limited to 1920x1200. It also plays nicely into Apple's attempt to create a walled garden around its products, however, enough adapters are offered to sate most needs, with Apple offering DVI (AU$45), Dual Link DVI (AU$149) and VGA (AU$45) at its store. It seems HDMI is not part of Apple's plans for the Mini, keeping it firmly attached to Apple TV.

The rear is the biggest hint the Mac Mini has been updated. (Credit: Apple)

Features
A look inside the box reveals the real changes. The motherboard and GPU have been upgraded to bring the Mini in line with the rest of Apple's computing products, basing it on Nvidia's GeForce 9400M chipset. This gives it a lot more 3D grunt than the previous Intel option, not to mention less CPU heavy video acceleration capability.

With the 9400M and DisplayPort, the Mac Mini is perfectly aligned for HD video playback — and so it's a little disappointing that a Blu-ray option hasn't been sorted out yet. We can only assume it's still considered a "bag of hurt", but with any luck the recently loosened licence requirements will eventually get the high-definition format into Apple's machines.

Our review sample otherwise featured an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz, 2GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM, a Hitachi 320GB hard drive, Bluetooth, and 802.11n wireless modules.

The "overpriced" concerns voiced online puzzle us — the US price on the higher-end Mini is US$799 without tax. Taking into account exchange rate (at time of writing, AU$1 = US$0.65) and adding GST, this comes to AU$1,352, a whole AU$47 lower than Apple Australia's list price. Given the fluctuations in currency, this isn't too bad at all. Next to its competitors (the Dell Studio Hybrid for example), it also comes out rather well.

The Nvidia chipset and GPU would also drive the price up, as would the additional ports offered — which to our mind justifies the increase. As far as we can see the only overpriced aspect is the leap between the entry-level Mini and the step up, the extra capacity on the hard drive and RAM meaning an AU$350 differential, when a user could pick it up for around AU$200 from stores (and have a spare 1GB stick and 120GB drive as a result). For Apple, overcharging on upgrades is nothing new, and wherever it doesn't void the warranty, we recommend the user do it themselves.

Performance

Conclusion
The updated Mac Mini gives the aging platform a much needed shot in the arm, although it seems Apple's still holding out on merging the Apple TV and Mac Mini lines. Admittedly they currently serve two different markets, not to mention entirely different business models. Still, we're disappointed Apple hasn't leveraged the Mini's potential to go further as a media centre, closed eco-systems aside.

This is not to say it's not great — it now runs faster than before, especially in the graphics department, and yet still remains amazingly quiet even when heavily taxed. If you prioritise space and aesthetics, and want a machine that will cover most day-to-day needs, it's still the tiny platform of choice.