Apple® - Mac Mini 2.0GHz

I have had this for two months, I can not say enough good things about it. I am in the IT field and use Windows based laptops and desktops all day, but I love the Mac for it's ease of use, software is smooth and performs well, I matched it up against Windows based Mini computers and specs blow away Dell, HP and others for $799. I recommend upgrading ram to 4 GB and HDD to a 7200 RPM it makes a difference. I love the fact I can use any monitor, Keyboard and Mouse (KBD and Mouse must be USB). It is a good Desktop for space, especially for college kid and it is much faster then a Windows based desktop. You can run Windows on it too by using Boot Camp which is included with every New Mac, it is part of the operating system....Get one you will love it too!

My first computer was a Mac but I had switched to PCs for compatibility with my office PC. That's not a problem any more so I knew my next computer was going to be a Mac. Last summer, my PC died. No matter how many times I measured, even the smaller iMac was an inch too tall for my workstation. I was going to have to have to lose the top shelf. That's when I decided to get a Mac Mini. I paired it with a 22" Samsung monitor which fits perfectly. My computer sits in a corner of the top shelf on top of my external drive. You do lose some things with a Mac Mini. There's no built in camera. And it is slower than other Macs. The later has been addressed by Mac and the new Minis are faster. If you buy a Mac Mini directly from Apple as I did, you can upgrade to a larger hard drive. Don't do it. A larger hard drive requires a special order and your computer will be shipped from China. You'll get it a couple of weeks later. Buy a second external hard drive instead. A faster processor can be done in-house. (I vote for the upgrade there.) The reason I say a second hard drive is because you'll want to use one for Time Machine. That's part of the operating system. It backs up your computer every hour for a day, every day for a week and every week for a year. There's myth that Macs are more expensive. Nope. If you use specialized programs, you'll have to buy it for either a Mac or a PC. But for a PC you have to buy every other program (including virus software.) So far I've spent $80 on MS Office. I do plan to buy a drawing program and spend the $30 to upgrade to Quicktime Pro. Everything else you could possibly want comes with the computer. Apple's website has tutorials for all their applications and, if you live near an Apple store there are free seminars every day you can sign up for.

i have just bought this computer and it is amazing it gives you everything a macbook would have but smaller. It can be used as a home theather station or a movie designers platform. you dont need a ethernet cable either WIRELESS! i am writing this review on a mac mini

It's a great little machine for general use, internet, music, etc. But the achilles heel of the Mac Mini is the slow hard drive. Average speed of a hard drive runs 7200 RPM, higher end 14000 RPM, the mini runs at 5400 RPM. What that means is that it pulls information off the hard drive slower than a majority of laptops and definitely slower than any tower. First thing I realized after I purchased, my mini kept crashing when I ran multiply programs with photoshop open. I replaced the hard drive with a 320GB "7200 RPM" hard drive and added a 1GB of extra ram, runs great now. I would suggest If you purchase and plan to run CS3 buy the mini with the smaller hard drive, and replace with a hard drive that runs 7200 RPM or faster, you will see a big jump in performance.