Product reviewsApple Mac mini (500GB,Intel Core i5, 2.3 GHz, 2 GB) Desktop - MC815B/A

Great product but what BLITHERING IDIOT decided to junk the optical drive?

Right now, Mac Minis are the 'most affordable' way to get into Mac ownership (I won't say 'cheapest way', because it isn't cheap). In terms of VFM (in the Apple ecosystem) only the measly 2GB of RAM is a disappointment, but providing you keep away from Apple stores it's not expensive to upgrade it.

I bought it to use as an always-on media server connected to my HiFi and TV, primarily for storing and sharing lossless rips of around 600 CDs from my CD collection across my home network. I can access the library around the house and even control iTunes from an app on my iPhone. It's all very integrated and very user-friendly.

I like the small unobtrusive form factor; works slicker than Windows; isn't bogged down by a plethora of crippleware and trial software; on the whole, 'it just works', just like Apple fanboys say.

But what ABSOLUTE BLITHERING IDIOT decided to remove the optical drive? We haven't even nearly got to the stage where optical drives aren't needed. So guess what, I ended up having to buy a separate DVD drive, which (a) unnecessarily takes up a USB slot, (b) looks like an eyesore, and (c) my so-called sleek one-box solution is no longer sleek and one-box anymore.Read full review...

The Mac Mini - brilliant value, so quiet you can hear your brain tick!!

Sometimes it's just not possible to do something on a PC. And that something was to run Mac's Xcode. I wanted to learn the package and try my hand at some software development for the iPhone and iPad market.

I already had a good monitor with both HDMI and VGA input so linking the PC and a new Mac Mini seemed a good option. The second hand market was pushing Mac Minis second hand at close to £450 and new at £ 550. My eBay supplier offered a brand new unit for £ 438. Apple doesn't supply their product with either a keyboard or a mouse but for less than £ 15 I bought the USB items - they need to be Apple OK - and the computer identified them and installed them easily. The base computer runs at 2.3Mhz and comes with 2mb of Ram. I replaced that even before I switched on the unit with a 8Mb pack that's easily available on-line.

On power-up the computer installed all the packages and after identifying my wifi setup their updates without any trouble.

There is a learning curve for any PC user and some effort in reconfiguring the Microsoft keyboard to problem the hash symbol and various keyboard characters that don't match with the Microsoft layout. Ideally if you have the funds then the Apple bluetooth keyboard and mouse would be good options but I wanted something simple and cheap.

How does it rank against my PC? Well my PC isn't a 4 core processor but it runs a 3.1Mhz AMD processor and both computers have 8Mb. The Mac seems slightly faster at graphics processing but there isn't a great deal in it. But what it is, is a great deal quieter. In fact there is no noise whatsover and no heat. Anybody that uses a PC will be astounded by this. It's utterly weird to sit in a room without the thunder of a massive cooling fan. Totally unexpectedly I find myself able to think and concentrate better than I ever have in the past. So much so that more and more is being done on the Mac. But don't be deluded this small unit isn't geared to run games packages. It was primarily to run a software development package and it does that brilliant.

Dislikes - well, information isn't great. Apple don't provide much writen material either on the Mac Mini nor on the programmes they provide with it. That's not to say they don't exist but an awful lot of time is spent logging into Apple to watch very excellent Apple guides when probably a paper manual might have been more helpful. That said, I've been surprised to find how many well priced software packages are available for the Mac. I had always believed that their packages were massively overpriced but that has changed. I've also be very pleased to find how many of my Open Source packages are also available on the Mac. DropBox in particular provides a very easy way to keep files used on the Mac and PC mutually available.

What would I have preferred - well the internal sound system is pretty weak. That's a nuisance when you're trying to get to grips with a new operating system but £ 10 on a pair of speakers can easily resolve the problem - provided you have the space.

Overall this is a great little product - a toe in the water that has been a real success. It's at its maximum upgradability so it will have a short life probably but for just over £ 400 it has to be great value.Read full review...

A wonderful machine, beautifully designed and powerful to boot.

What can I say about Apple products? Beautifully designed, aesthetically pleasing and powerful performance. And this Mac Mini is no exception. The 8gb version is the one I bought, and as yet, I can honestly say I am absolutely delighted with it. No crashes, no freezes, all my apps in one place, wonderful add-ons from the app store - all in all, superb.

Having said that, there is one thing that I'm not especially happy about, that being the lack of an optical drive. I don't understand why previous Intel versions of this Mac (and possible PowerPC versions too) came with a built-in optical drive, yet this one does not.

Nevertheless, for anyone who wants a powerful Mac, and who already has a monitor, keyboard and other peripherals, this is an excellent machine.Read full review...

Very good dual-core machine

Immediately I received the machine i upgraded the RAM (8gb) I had....looking to possibly get 16gb of RAM.
It certainly flies now in any case!
Well pleased with the clean innards-this machine is mid-2011.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: mgelectricshop-...

Great Apple Adition

Great Product if you already have a good monitor etc, Powerful enough for what I needed, I configured it to run Microsoft Windows 10 as well using Boot Camp. Worked great! Quite up-gradable with more Ram and fitting an SSD drive.Read full review...

Verified purchase: No

Excellent product - marked improvement on previous model.

Really pleased with the purchase - OSX Lion very good - useful features such as launchpad and mission control make it easy to launch and move between applications.

Great product

Neat, quick to fire up, good design, easy to work!!!

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: chameleon_uk

Great things come in small packages

It’s a mac with decent storage. Just plug in and play! Perfect!

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: artintel77

Great product and provider.

This is a great little refurbished mini mac at an amazing price. Was delivered promptly and works perfectly. Very pleased!

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: hoxtonmacsltd

More money than windows system but more stable

Very pleased with mac have it connected to my 42" tv
So mac mini just goes underneath on shelf I use external DVD drive if I need to install a program from disc so far I'm very happy with it