Apple Mac mini Intel Ivy Bridge Core i5 2.5GHz Desktop for $549 + FS

Interesting, essentially no interest in this thread that led me to buy this last November for $549 shipped no tax to Ca, plus I was able to get another %5 DCB.

I had the 2011 model and it suffered from very loud fan noise. I used it as a desktop/HTPC and the fan would spin up to vacuum cleaner levels just running plex, which is not cool while watching movies. Reviews said the 2012 version was much quieter so I gave it another go and I am very impressed, it is pretty much silent, and I have yet to hear the fan noise from a distance even at 2100rpms. I added an SSD using a Data Doubler from my older Mac Mini + ram and it is a beast of a machine!

Sold mine before Xmas at close to retail. Was having constant issues with the Intel graphics and display sleep issues and snowy screens.

Quote from chasemyaccord : LOL, funniest thing I've read today. Let me tell you what really happened when you bought your iPhone. Assuming this is the base model, you signed a two year contract, you paid $600 for your phone, the carrier then subsidized $400 of it. The carrier easily made its money back by keeping you locked into your two year contract and bleeding you dry over 24 months. I will agree that the iPhone holds its value better than any other phone out there. When I used to be with AT&T, I bought my iPhone 3G for $199 and sold it for $200 on CL two years later. Doesn't mean I came out ahead.

You do realize whether you're in contract or not does not change how much you pay for your monthly plan charges? Even if he doesn't "upgrade" and stays with same carrier and plans, he'd be paying the same every month no matter he has the iPhone 4 or 5.

People make a big deal out of the two year contracts, but they gotta realize if they still gonna be paying for the monthly charges here or there. Difference is only going to be different carriers charge slightly differently. And since these wireless plans' costs are rising across the board, I'll gladly keep my grandfathered plan of 450 minutes, unlimited data and 1000 text with AT&T for $74 every month tax included.

Quote from Sj480 : I've never owned a Mac. Would this be good to run Photoshop CS5 or Lightroom5, etc? Obviously an upgrade to RAM & possibly SSD would be wise. Not sure how easy it is to upgrade Macs... as I've stated, I'm a PC/Intel guy, throught & through.

A link to the specs. http://www.apple.com/mac-mini/specs.html

I have both macs and pc's. Macs just work. Pcs need maintaince. Both have the strengths. Macs have fewer weaknesses. And OSX is not Win 8, thank the gods. If I were doing only network admin I'd say go windows.
I run Photoshop CS 6 on an older iMac (all in one, aluminum case, dual core intel) with only 4 gigs of ram. Runs fast and reliable. I do dedicate an outboard 500GB FireWire 400 drive for scratch.

so this is a desktop with a notebook cpu? right.....

Great find, but the price is a little expensive for me. Thanks anyway.

Quote from BuckeyeRideR : so this is a desktop with a notebook cpu? right.....

yup. still a very capable chip.

Quote from QuickKill : For Apple stuff? Yes.

Wait until Intel goes BGA. In hindsight the OP will be a steal in comparision.

Quote from booyaaa : You do realize whether you're in contract or not does not change how much you pay for your monthly plan charges? Even if he doesn't "upgrade" and stays with same carrier and plans, he'd be paying the same every month no matter he has the iPhone 4 or 5. People make a big deal out of the two year contracts, but they gotta realize if they still gonna be paying for the monthly charges here or there. Difference is only going to be different carriers charge slightly differently. And since these wireless plans' costs are rising across the board, I'll gladly keep my grandfathered plan of 450 minutes, unlimited data and 1000 text with AT&T for $74 every month tax included.

I guess it depends on your carrier. You're right, generally all the plans cost the same whether you're in a contract or not; but some carriers do offer more cost effective plans if you supply your own phone (i.e. T-Mobile). It's obviously a big incentive for carriers to keep you locked in for two years, otherwise why would they provide subsidies for your phone at all?

I'm also grandfathered into an unlimited plan and don't plan on giving that up even if I have to pay full price for phones in the future. Fortunately there are some good, relatively inexpensive options for contract-free phones nowadays (i.e. Nexus 4).

Quote from LoveRock : A link to the specs. http://www.apple.com/mac-mini/specs.html I have both macs and pc's. Macs just work. Pcs need maintaince. Both have the strengths. Macs have fewer weaknesses. And OSX is not Win 8, thank the gods. If I were doing only network admin I'd say go windows. I run Photoshop CS 6 on an older iMac (all in one, aluminum case, dual core intel) with only 4 gigs of ram. Runs fast and reliable. I do dedicate an outboard 500GB FireWire 400 drive for scratch.

I have both Mac's and PC's and sorry to say but the Mac's I've owned required more babysitting than my Linux or Windows PC's. Constant display issues with the Mac Mini I had, my wifes MBP has had the logic board replaced 3x.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx...OD2wBKG7Rg
http://forums.macrumors.com/showt...?t=1206632
http://forums.macresource.com/read.php?1,1285122

Brother inlaw works for Intel in the graphics division and they are aware of the issue and are working to fix the issue. Interestingly enough though, I do not have the issue when running Windows 7 in bootcamp for weeks.

To each their own with Mac's but for me I will wait another 6 years to try them again like last time. I do love the iPhone and iPad's that I own and they work great.

I have a few macs, and a few PCs (running Windows 7 and Linux), have been building and (with laptops) buying computers since the 80s. I only started buying Apple computers in 2011 & I'll never buy another Windows based machine again. I bought a Mac Mini for my sister last year and it's great. I'm looking at buying one for my kids next. Awesome little machines. Look at the benchmarks from this year's lineup and you'll see comparable performance to the iMacs for a lot less $$

For those CA guys, you may consider to buy from B&H:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/c...sku=897209

It is tax-free, comes with free Parallel 8 & half price applecare, ordered one for my parents

Think about having a try.

Quote from aleki : With the "in" trend shifting to android and ultrabooks; Apple stock, and demand, is diminishing. Unless Apple evolves their iOS, they're going to be in deep trouble in the coming years.. That said, while resale value is generally very good for Apple products, I definitely see them introducing more sales, as they try to remain competetive. Just my $.02

Ummm, by Android I think you mean tablets. Guess who was first with a successful tablet and Ultrabook? The MacBook Air is still a very competitive Ultrabook for the price.