Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best-selling in Apple Desktops & All-in-Ones
Got this for a song. It had OS X Yosemite and worked as advertised, but it was painfully slow. I made a couple of fairly cheap upgrades, replacing the HDD with a solid-state drive and replacing the 2GB of memory with 8GB, and that fixed the problems. It's still an older processor, but for most tasks, it's great. I even edited some video on the machine. It didn't render the video as quickly as a quad-core machine would, but it was fine; it took a few minutes but didn't crash or anything, and the video turned out great. I mostly use Windows but needed a cheap Mac for certain projects, and, despite its age, this machine is certainly adequate for that. I would definitely recommend this as a spare or a machine for kids or parents.
I purchased the Mac Mini (2009) to replace a Mac Mini (2006), for a faster CPU, more RAM and a larger Hard Drive. I use this computer as a workstation with a 17 inch LG LCD monitor, and B & W laser printer. The feature I like best, the Airport system for the Internet (Wireless). My main computer is a 24 inch iMac tied to several printers and scanner.
I bought this used 2009 Mac mini to replace my daughter's old Apple computer, and provide a work station for my intern. I purchased a large monitor for around $100 to hook up to this computer, so the fact that it had a great graphics card and the proper VGA adapter was key. This 2009 mac mini is a powerful little machine that can run the latest Apple system, because it has the Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It's small, but has everything you need, 5 USB ports, a Firewire 800 port, Ethernet and a couple of monitor ports (this mini comes with adapters so you can hook it up to any relatively modern VGA monitor. It also has a headphone and microphone jack. The 2009 2 GHz also comes with the fast NIVIDIA graphics card, an internal airport card (so it's ready to hook up to a wireless network). Full retail versions should come with iLife 09. This mac was originally sold with System 10 Leopard. You'll probably want to upgrade it, by purchasing Snow Leopard for $30. For less than $500, including wireless keyboard and mouse; this used Mac mini was a powerful, but economical, solution to my computing needs.Read full review
Bought mainly to run OSX and get my long awaited divorce from Microsoft Windless. Hardware-wise it comes in a small footprint that can easily fit anywhere on the desk. One the negative side Apple hardware is ridiculously expensive for what you get but it's worth a little extra for the ability to run a reliabel and feature-rich platform like OSX. It would also be nice if they made something with a PCI slot or two in it so an extra video card and maybe a tuner can be added without a bunch of cable clutter.
For many years I've run a server at home, for personal education and entertainment purposes. When I would build myself a new PC, I would re-purpose the guts of the old in the server box. Being an Apple fanboy since 1985, the sound of the PC fans constantly running in the server was annoying. So I decided I'd get a used Mini Mac to return silence to my home office. This one has an Intel Core 2 Duo, and came with 2GB of RAM and a 120 GB. With a ROM update, I could upgrade the RAM to 8GB, and if I was going to crack the case, why not upgrade the 5400RPM, 3-year-old drive with a 7500RPM drive with triple the GB or so? So I did. BTW, the additional RAM upgraded the built in NVIDIA GeForce 9400M from 128 to 256 MB of video RAM. The cost of the RAM and new hard drive was about $110. I upgraded the OS to Lion, and then to Lion Server ($45). So for a total outlay of $465, I now have a modern, responsive, quiet server with a small footprint. Along with the many advanced features of Lion Server, I'm also running a Gopher server (Google "Gopher protocol" for more info). Was it worth it? For about $180 more I could have bought the least expensive but more powerful new Mac Mini (with upgraded RAM). The new has an HDMI and Thunderbolt ports that could be nice, but I don't need now. I'm not going to kick with a 30% savings. In another 3 to 5 years, maybe I'll buy the current model of Mac Mini to replace this one.Read full review