Adaptors are also available for VGA, S-Video, and composite video. External displays are supported via a DVI port.
Networking is supported with 10/100 Ethernet and 56k V.92 modem, while 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and Bluetooth were additional build-to-order options. The Mac mini includes two USB 2.0 ports and one FireWire 400 port. Second row: DC in, Fast Ethernet, blanked 56k Modem, DVI-I, 2 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400, audio out. From left to right, first row: power button, 15 ventilation holes, Kensington lock slot. A Combo drive was included as standard, while a SuperDrive able to write to DVDs was also an option.īack panel of a late 2005 PowerMac10,2 model Mac mini. The Mac mini G4 also contains a second ATA cable that connects to the optical drive.
Because of its sealed enclosure, it is not possible to upgrade the hard drive without opening the enclosure and possibly voiding the warranty of the system. The Mac mini G4 uses a single 2.5-inch Ultra ATA/100 hard drive, which offers a maximum transfer rate of 100 MB/s. (Intel models of Mac mini had using two notebook DIMM slots.) This relatively small amount often forced the system to page to the hard disk, slowing operation considerably. It has just one desktop-sized DIMM slot for random-access memory, allowing a maximum of 1 GB of memory (1 GB = 1024 MB).
An ATI Radeon 9200 graphics processor with 32 MB of DDR SDRAM (1 MB = 1024 KB) came standard in 2005's final Mac mini G4, Apple added a high-end option for 64 MB VRAM. The processor - running at 1.25, 1.33, 1.42, or 1.5 GHz, depending on the model - accesses memory through a front-side bus clocked at 167 MHz. The Mac mini G4 has single-core 32-bit PowerPC processors with 512 KB (1 KB = 1024 B) of on-chip L2 cache. Apple describes this procedure in detail, including an official Apple part number for a "modified putty knife".
Some Mac mini owners used a putty knife or a pizza cutter to open the case to install third-party memory, which could be obtained far more cheaply than Apple's offering. The 1st generation has no visible screws, reflecting Apple's intention that the computer not be upgraded by the user. The aluminum case, capped with polycarbonate plastic on the top and bottom, has an optical drive slot on the front and the I/O ports and vents for the cooling system on the back. Unlike regular desktops, which use standard-sized components such as 3.5-inch hard drives and full-size DIMMs, the Mac mini uses low-power laptop components to fit into a small case and run without overheating. The Mac mini was intended as an entry-level computer intended for budget-minded customers. On January 10, 2005, the Mac mini was announced alongside the iPod shuffle at the Macworld Conference & Expo and was described by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the time as "the cheapest, most affordable Mac ever". Ī small form factor computer had been widely speculated and requested long before the release of the Mac mini. The fourth-generation Mac mini, in October 2018, added a darker "space gray" finish, comes with solid-state storage standard, and replaced most data ports with USB-C.Ī server version of the Mac mini, bundled with the Server edition of the OS X operating system, was offered from 2009 to 2014. Later revisions added Thunderbolt and Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. The third-generation Mac mini, introduced in June 2010, brought a thinner unibody aluminum case and an HDMI port, more readily positioning it as a home theater device alternative to the Apple TV. The second generation Mac mini, introduced in February 2006, carried over the design of the PowerPC version, but used Intel Core processors and other upgraded components, and made wireless connections such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi standard. The Mac mini was introduced in January 2005, using PowerPC G4 processors. It uses many laptop components to achieve its compact size.
Apple initially marketed it as BYODKM (Bring Your Own Display, Keyboard, and Mouse), pitching it to users switching from a traditional PC running operating systems such as Microsoft Windows. The Mac mini is Apple's only consumer desktop computer since 1998 to ship without a display, keyboard, or mouse.
It is one of four desktop computers in the current Macintosh lineup, serving as an alternative to the all-in-one iMac, and sits below the performance range iMac Pro and Mac Pro. The Mac mini (stylized with a lowercase "mini") is a desktop computer made by Apple Inc. November 7, 2018 3 years ago ( ) (current release)