Mac Mini i7 with upgraded GFX card

[SpiderMonkey]

Does anyone in SA do the Mac Mini i7 version with the better GFX card?

[vinodh]

Zastore.co.za have the i5 version with Radeon graphics for R8499 including delivery:
http://www.zastore.co.za/macmini.php

Myistore.co.za also have it for the same price. The i7 versions have hd3000 graphics. The version you want might only be available via official Apple stores online.

[SpiderMonkey]

Zastore.co.za have the i5 version with Radeon graphics for R8499 including delivery:
http://www.zastore.co.za/macmini.php

Myistore.co.za also have it for the same price. The i7 versions have hd3000 graphics. The version you want might only be available via official Apple stores online.

It drives me nuts, you can upgrade the i5 one to an i7 one for $100 in the US but we can't get it here. Are there any official Apple stores in SA?

[Rishalin]

Zastore.co.za have the i5 version with Radeon graphics for R8499 including delivery:
http://www.zastore.co.za/macmini.php

Myistore.co.za also have it for the same price. The i7 versions have hd3000 graphics. The version you want might only be available via official Apple stores online.

It drives me nuts, you can upgrade the i5 one to an i7 one for $100 in the US but we can't get it here. Are there any official Apple stores in SA?

Nope unfortunately there are no official stores - all Apple products are brought in by Core(criminals) - who rips us off!

[B.K]

You can custom order macs from Digicape, I got a Macbook pro 15" customized for one of my staff members, only thing is it takes 4-6 weeks for delivery

[vinodh]

You can custom order macs from Digicape, I got a Macbook pro 15" customized for one of my staff members, only thing is it takes 4-6 weeks for delivery

Thanks for the info. Never knew that. Might need to order a custom MacBook Air from them soon.

[ponder]

Thanks for the info. Never knew that. Might need to order a custom MacBook Air from them soon.

A few people here have done that, just takes a bit longer as it's built to order.

[clasqm]

What are you planning to use the mini for that you need so much more horsepower? The CPU is not the main bottleneck in computing any more and hasn't been for a while. Loading up on RAM and SSDs will give you a lot more real-world speed. Unless you're into video rendering in a big way, of course.

And if it's just about bragging rights, hey, we understand. Really.

[SpiderMonkey]

What are you planning to use the mini for that you need so much more horsepower? The CPU is not the main bottleneck in computing any more and hasn't been for a while. Loading up on RAM and SSDs will give you a lot more real-world speed. Unless you're into video rendering in a big way, of course.

And if it's just about bragging rights, hey, we understand. Really.

I need it for my foray into Mac development. I don't like laptops and prefer to use a PC where possible. A mac mini seems to be convenient enough because I can move it around if I need to. I am nervous of the iMac because it's an all or nothing thing. No upgrade path, etc. The Mac Pro is way out of whack price wise. I did consider getting a Mac Book Pro and using it like a PC but that just seems like a big waste of money. I use a lot of VM's so the processing power will be used. I probably don't really need the better GFX card but I prefer to be prepared for the unexpected.

Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone.

Another thing that seems to be a bit crazy to me is the second hand pricing. Why would anyone want to save 10% off a new model to get a 1 or 2 year old product?

[B.K]

I have the Mac Mini Core i5 2.5GHz (ATI gfx card) machine at home, all I did when I got it was upgrade to 8Gb memory and I replaced the 500Gb 5400rpm HDD with a 750Gb 7200rpm HDD, and just swapping the harddrives made a huge difference. I run linux and windows VM machines in parallels and the run quite smoothly.

I also have the same mac mini at work, all I have done to that is upgrade the memory to 8Gb and it struggles a little with VMs, so a faster drive is a must

[SpiderMonkey]

I have the Mac Mini Core i5 2.5GHz (ATI gfx card) machine at home, all I did when I got it was upgrade to 8Gb memory and I replaced the 500Gb 5400rpm HDD with a 750Gb 7200rpm HDD, and just swapping the harddrives made a huge difference. I run linux and windows VM machines in parallels and the run quite smoothly.

I also have the same mac mini at work, all I have done to that is upgrade the memory to 8Gb and it struggles a little with VMs, so a faster drive is a must

Thanks for the info. I contacted Digicape but 3 days later and not a peep out of them so I decided to get a MBP through FNB as I already have an account with them. Will just plug in an external monitor and keyboard for now. If it goes well then I will probably get a Mac Mini (upgrade it like you said) and give the MBP to my wife. I seem to remember hearing that they were going to be releasing new Mini's in the next 6 months or so so I may just be able to time it right for a new model.

[bwana]

Thanks for the info. I contacted Digicape but 3 days later and not a peep out of them so I decided to get a MBP through FNB as I already have an account with them. Will just plug in an external monitor and keyboard for now. If it goes well then I will probably get a Mac Mini (upgrade it like you said) and give the MBP to my wife. I seem to remember hearing that they were going to be releasing new Mini's in the next 6 months or so so I may just be able to time it right for a new model.

I don't know how quickly you're going to want to part with that new MBP.

[SpiderMonkey]

I don't know how quickly you're going to want to part with that new MBP.

I am not a laptop person. I have one but always prefer to work on my PC. PC with 2 x 24" screens > Laptop any day of the week.

[bwana]

I am not a laptop person. I have one but always prefer to work on my PC. PC with 2 x 24" screens > Laptop any day of the week.

Connecting two displays via thunderbolt might appeal to you then?

[Synaesthesia]

The Mac Mini is such bad value, the problem with it is the 2.5" 5400RPM drive is dog slow. I'd rather get the new Macbook Air and connect it to an external, because it's got a super fast SSD, with like 500mbps transfer rates.