Pros: Cute size, low noise, great design, relatively inexpensive, OS X, a stable OS.
Cons: Limited internal expansion, shared video RAM, costs more than comparable Windows PC.
The bottom line: Be sure to price compare with upgrades in mind. The $1199 iMac is a better value if you aren't intending to use it with your TV or a larger monitor.
Don't get me wrong. The Mac mini is a great little computer, but in its base configuration, it's not the idea computer. But we'll get to that later. I bought the Mac mini because I attempted to upgrade my Windows PC to run Vista. $600 later, Vista was installed, but half my peripherals and software wouldn't work. I already owned a MacBook so I decided to switch again. After 16 years since my last Mac, I only wonder why I haven't done this earlier.

Here's what I liked, what I disliked, and what really needs improvement on the Mac mini.


The GOOD

Size - The mini is tiny and will fit just about anywhere. It's amazing how much can be crammed into such a small space. If you have a newer TV with HDMI inputs, you could use the mini as the hub of your entertainment center. It comes with a remote so it's as if it was made for this purpose.

Low Noise - It does have a fan but rarely can you hear it. When doing something very processor intensive, the fan speed increases, as does the noise, but it is still very quiet and wouldn't be obtrusive in a living room.

Great design - As with all Apple products, the design is clean, simple and well-thought out...for the most part. It's no wonder Apple products really appeal to the artistic crowd. There is nothing included that doesn't add to its function.

Inexpensive - At $800, it's still more expensive than many low-end PC's. But since you reuse your monitor, mouse and keyboard, the mini is the cheapest way to enter the Mac world and still be able to afford software. Not that you'll need much since iLife does most everything you need.

The OS - Here's the biggest reason to switch to a Mac--OS X. This BSD-based UNIX operating system is rock solid stable and when combined with Apple's Tiger GUI, it becomes the most intuitive system I've ever used. Everything just runs better on a Mac because I don't need to be running 5 different security and anti-virus programs in the background. And best of all, I don't have to deal with Microsoft and Windows.


The BAD

Limited Internal Expansion - I bought my Mac mini and within 48 hours I had already maximized it's capabilities. I bought the base model 1.83GHz mini with 512K of RAM and an 80Gb HD and replaced the RAM with 2Gb and the HD with a 200Gb 7200rpm disk. Since the mini is so small, it only makes sense that it uses a 2.5" laptop hard drive. But because of this, you'll be limited in its capacity. As of this writing, 250Gb was the largest capacity 2.5" SATA HD available. You'll find that the stock 80Gb HD is just way too small for most uses. Start adding photos from your digital camera and downloading songs for your iPod and you'll have that 80Gb drive filled up in no time. Oh, and 512K of RAM will make your mini too slow to use if you open more than a couple of apps. Speaking of expansion...

Difficult Internal Upgrades - The mini wasn't designed to be user upgradable. This is obvious when you attempt to open the case. No other Mac requires a flexible putty knife to open the case. Once inside, it's small form-factor makes disassembly a challenge. So if you're even a bit squeamish about doing the work yourself, I wouldn't recommend the mini.

Cost (after upgrades) - The original G4 mini used lower cost RAM and was $200 cheaper, but then it also was much less capable than this 3rd generation mini. However, after you add up the cost of making the mini truly useful by upgrading, you've almost spent enough to buy the 17" iMac and get a screen, keyboard and mouse included. Only you will know if the mini is right for you, but I would suggest doing your price comparison based on a mini ($799) with upgrades ($79 $260 for me) versus an iMac 17" ($1199) with RAM upgrades($39). You should also consider that for just $100 more (based on my costs) the iMac uses the faster Intel Core 2 Duo processor versus the mini's Core Duo. If I wasn't using a 21" monitor and were to do it again, I think I'd just buy the iMac instead.


The UGLY (needed improvements)

Expansion Ports - Since Firewire can be daisy-chained, one is adequate, but only 4 USB ports is just barely enough. I think if the designers used a denser array of ports, they could have fit 6 ports in the same space. An eSATA port would also be nice to have so that external SATA drives could be used at 1.5Gbps speeds versus USB 2.0 at 480Mbps and Firewire at 400Mbps. Even a Firewire 800 port would be a nice upgrade. Placing one or two of the USB ports on the side would be nice but would disrupt the otherwise clean appearance of the case.

Shared Video RAM - If you're doing anything graphics intensive, you may be disappointed with the video speed since it uses shared system memory for the video. I don't expect gamers to buy this system, but even casual iPhoto users may experience slowness. In addition, there is no upgrade path for this deficiency. BTW, the $1199 iMac has 128Mb of dedicated video memory.

Power switch - I must have accidentally switched the mini into sleep mode more a dozen times while I attempted to plug peripherals into the USB ports. Its location on the right rear corner makes it too easy to push when trying to move the unit. If it were slightly recessed or needed to be pushed for a couple of seconds, it would be a better design.

Power Brick - The power adapter is a brick. For such a small unit the power supply is huge--nearly one-third the size of the computer. Why does a computer that doesn't even have a screen built-in need a 110 watt power supply? It's basically a laptop, but my laptop's power adapter is half that size. Apple either got lazy after designing the rest of the mini, or these are way over-engineered.

Any Color as long as it's White - Okay, this is a minor point, but it is such a simple thing to be able to offer the mini in other colors, if only just the top panel, that I don't understand why we are only offered white. Even my MacBook has both a white and black version. The iPod mini, the Shuffle and even the old eMac had different colors. Come on Apple!

Final Word

My suggestion, if you decide to buy a Mac mini, is to buy the better base model (I chose the 1.83GHz version because it comes standard with the Superdrive), and at the very least, upgrade the RAM from someplace like Frys or if you're uncomfortable with popping open the case, get one already customized from someplace like B&H Photo who charges a reasonable amount for the RAM upgrade. You can add external hard drives with USB 2.0 or Firewire for less than $30/Gb and have nearly unlimited disk expansion.