# What does the Mac Mini mean for Sonnet?



## slo (Jan 13, 2005)

Prior to the release of the Mac Mini, I had priced out my options for upgrading my G4 450 Power Mac... Sonnet Processor, new graphics card, and more RAM, roughly totalling $1000+. (I've already upgraded the HD and added a 2nd HD, and installed a superdrive)

(I wish I could get a new G5, but that's my reality!)

Now with the release of the Mac Mini, I'm trying to decide whether I would be better off to just use it as as network storage and get a Mac Mini with all the bells and whistles, new OS, new iApps for slightly more money.

Will Sonnet have to drop prices now? Any thought?

BTW - I just want to send a thank you to all the members who have given timely and respectful support to some of the questions I have asked in the forums over the years! Cheers!

slo


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Jan 13, 2005)

I don't see any reason that the release of the Mac mini would impact Sonnet's prices on upgrades for computers other than the Mac mini.


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## Captain Code (Jan 13, 2005)

ElDiabloConCaca said:
			
		

> I don't see any reason that the release of the Mac mini would impact Sonnet's prices on upgrades for computers other than the Mac mini.



Because you get a whole new computer for the price they charge for a CPU upgrade.  I know I bought a 1.4GHz upgrade from Gigadesigns for about $600 Canadian back when the dollar vs US dollar was worse.


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Jan 13, 2005)

It seems that time, rather than Apple's hardware, dictates price drops on upgrade chips... as the chips become easier/less expensive to fabricate, the price usually drops.

If they did drop their prices, I would call it coincidence... I don't recall there being a time when Sonnet dropped their prices because of new hardware introduced by Apple.


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## Pengu (Jan 13, 2005)

Don't forget. you can upgrade your video card, but the mini is locked into the 9200


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## slo (Jan 13, 2005)

ElDiabloConCaca said:
			
		

> I don't recall there being a time when Sonnet dropped their prices because of new hardware introduced by Apple.



I don't recall Apple ever releasing a affordable hardware that would compete with an upgrade...


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Jan 13, 2005)

I don't quite understand what you're getting at... Apple's hardware is affordable for what you get -- you don't only get a faster processor vs. upgrading an old machine, you also get increased bus speed, better hard drive bus speed, etc.

I'd much rather spend $1500 on a new 1.8GHz G5 machine than upgrade an older G4 AGP machine with a dual 1.3GHz G4 for $700.  It all depends on one's notion of "affordable."

Sonnet's tech support is phenomenal -- you'll usually get a personal reply within 24 hours to any email, and they'll gladly tell you what products they have coming up.  I doubt they'd reveal any planned price drops (hardly any company I know would tell people to wait until prices are lower), but I'm sure they'd tell you what the future of upgrades looks like for your particular machine.  I'm sure they'd also discuss how the release of the Mac mini impacts their current offerings.

I re-read your first post, and one of the benefits of the Mac mini you listed was "new OS."  Do you mean Tiger?  Tiger doesn't come with the Mac mini, and I don't think you're gonna get any discount on Tiger when it's released by purchasing a Mac mini now...


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## soulseek (Jan 13, 2005)

id buy a mac mini anyday instead of upgrading a g4 tower... 

then u can set up both macs and try xgrid on them


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## slo (Jan 13, 2005)

I guess we are arguing two different points:

1. You are arguing upgrade paths... Q- why invest $700 in an older machine, when can buy a new one for $1500? A- A good point if you have $1500, but not everybody does, or thinks that its worth slapping on a credit card.

2. I am arguing that I can't afford $1500... therefore $700 is my lott in life. Given that fact, if you compare upgrading vs. the new Mac Mini, there are definite advantages to getting the new Mac Mini vs. the trouble of upgrading and you get a brand new computer.

Other points you raised:

I have Jaguar.... so Panther is even a benefit to me. I'm not stupid enough to think I will get a discount on Tiger...

Sonnet.... whether they have good customer service or is irrelevant. I'm not stupid enough to think they would tell me of planned price drops...

(I'm beginning to think that you think I'm stupid ;>... or that your really smart)

And I most definitely think that the Mac Mini will absolutely affect their pricing strategy. If older Mac users start to buy Mac Minis as a stop gap solution rather than upgrade they will lose money. They will have to price accordingly to make somebody think long and hard about this decision.

I also propose there will also be a ripple effect on the price used Macs. They could hold their value relatively well in the past. I believe most users will opt to pay for the Mac Mini rather than buy an older G4 Power Mac.


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## ElDiabloConCaca (Jan 13, 2005)

I apologize for my tone if you took it that way.  No harm or condecension was meant -- I'm sorry!

I was just trying to provide my opinions on the questions you asked and points you made.  I suppose we don't agree on a few things and have differing reasons for what we believe.

At any rate, if you saved $700, is it an option to put that money away, use the 450 a little longer, and save another $700?

I didn't know you were using Jaguar.  I didn't mean to come across as trying to make you feel stupid, it was just an afterthought about something you said.

Anyway, I stand by my beliefs of thinking Sonnet won't drop their prices drastically (they regularly drop prices $50 or $100 or so) because of the Mac mini.


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## blue&whiteman (Jan 13, 2005)

upgrading a powermac would make more sense than the mac mini if you already had a lot of $ invested in ram, storage, pci cards etc.  other than that I would go with the mac mini.


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## mdnky (Jan 14, 2005)

The Mac Mini isn't going to be a great machine for heavier use (not it's purpose).  You're limited on a lot of things...graphics card, only 1GB of RAM, no expansion slots, etc..

It's a toss up.  I just brought my cousin over from the dark side with an old G4 400 (AGP) tower...now we have to figure out if it's wise to upgrade that machine, or let it sit as-is for the time being until he can afford something better.  If I upgrade him, we're talking $300 to $500 for a DP card, $160 for RAM, $130 for 2 HD's, and $110 for a 8x superdrive...so somewhere around $700 to $900.  To spec a new DP machine with the same RAM/HD combo, it would run $2200 or so.  The Mini isn't capable of doing what he needs (or will in 6 months), so it's not an option right now.


What are you going to use your computer for?


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## HateEternal (Jan 15, 2005)

The Mac mini and the upgrades are for different people. If you have already invested money in keeping your rig in good shape it might be worth it to you to upgrade your CPU to help the thing last a little longer. Going with the Mac mini you would lose any of you upgrades, as well as the fast 7200+ RPM harddrive that you have in your PowerMac (I am assuming the Mac mini has a slow laptop hard drive), while the Mac Mini is really geared as a consumer machine that intended for use in simple tasks (although it can definitely be used for more heavy use as it looks like an iBook with out a screen and keyboard, I know I use my iBook heavily).


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## Frida (Jan 16, 2005)

I upgraded my G4 400 with a Sonnet 1.4GHz processor, a 2nd 120G HD, RAM up to 650Mb and an ATI 9000 Pro. I haven't looked back. Ohand a USB2 PCI card. That's the idea with the designto facilitate upgrades. Most things I got off eBay at a more than reasonable price. OK so the RAM isn't as fast as the new machines and the front bus speed is "only" 100MHz but the machine still flies, even on modern processor-loading games. The major limiting factor as far as the new machines are concerned is still the person operating the keyboard. Your machine may run at Mach2 but that doesn't mean you can type any faster. Professional graphics/moviemaking warrant going for the high end machines but for most people it's more that part of a man's brain -completely disassociated from the logic part- which says "I want one!" which influences our choice. Still, a dual 2GHz G5 with a 20" cinema display, well"I want one!!"


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## Arden (Jan 17, 2005)

Excellent post; excellent observations.  Computers get faster, but many aspects do not  such as load time, boot time, the time it takes to write this post... etc.


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## fryke (Jan 17, 2005)

Without taking this thread too near to the one about the Mac mini, I think Sonnet _will_ see an impact by the Mac mini. If upgrading your old G4 to a 'decent' speed takes more money than buying a Mac mini... Sure depends on whether the mini's performance is enough - but you won't get your PM G4 to perform better without a _serious_ investment (i.e. dual processor, graphics card etc.). Like someone else said: The PM G4 will _still_ be in your house and can a) act as a replacement should your main computer ever fail and b) act as a fileserver or render-job computer etc. These values should not be neglected.

If you're used to hangin' on to your Macs for two years or more, I think the Mac mini is going to be a great solution, actually. You can invest in FW drives, a good display, keyboard etc. (if you haven't got decent ones already, that is) and keep updating to newer Mac minis as they become available (every year, every 18 months? doesn't really matter...) at a lesser price than upgrading an old G4 or an early G5. (Because everytime you get a new Mac mini for, say, 599 USD, you can still get rid of the old one for, say, 200 USD...) If you're a desktop Mac-head without the money to buy _highend_ Macs, I suggest the mini path. Look at the money you'd spend over three years and look at the hardware you'd be using...


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## slo (Jan 20, 2005)

Sorry for the delay in my reply, and no offence taken to any prior comments towards me - I was just being snappy myself! ;>

Anyways... after researching the issue a little further, I have drawn the following conclusion for myself: I will upgrade my G4 with a Sonnet Duet (Dual G4 @ 1.3), and will try to max out the RAM, which apparently can go to 2GB while running in OSX according to Apple's documentation.

I didn't think that my G4 was capable of this level of upgrade, and was just comparing the Mac Mini with a similar Sonnet processor @ 1.7. I also have the advantage of picking at this upgrade over time, so it won't be such a strain on my bank account.

So, if I can sum up my opinion... assuming I couldn't put a dual into my G4...

In a comparison of a maxed out a non-dual G4 Power Mac vs. a maxed out Mac Mini, I would choose the Mini as you get the intangibles of iLife software, OS (for me), your old computer for file server, plus a 1 year warranty.

I still believe that due to the Mac Mini, Sonnet and others will have to lower prices in all but their high end upgrade processors.

As well, I believe that the Mac Mini will undercut the value of the used G4 market.

slo


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## danfan521 (Mar 1, 2005)

This has really help me out in a G4 *AGP* I just got. Based on all I heard it better for me to upgrade than to go get another system. I was also of just thinking of upgrading my Powerbook G3 to a Mac Mini. Then this G4 fell into my lap for free. Thanks everyone for the advice.


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## MDLarson (Mar 1, 2005)

danfan521 said:
			
		

> This has really help me out in a G4 *AGP* I just got. Based on all I heard it better for me to upgrade than to go get another system. I was also of just thinking of upgrading my Powerbook G3 to a Mac Mini. Then this G4 fell into my lap for free. Thanks everyone for the advice.


I have an AGP G4 that I'm getting ready to sell on eBay.  The best upgrade I've given it was a Radeon 8500 Mac Edition.  I read somewhere (probably xlr8yourmac.com) that the 8500 was the best graphic card for the AGP Power Mac; the benefits of the other more powerful cards don't shine as much or something.

Other than that, a 2nd hard drive, a 4 port USB 2.0 PCI card, and RAM.  Oh, and I almost forgot the processor upgrade (450 MHz to 1.2 GHz).


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## padishahemperor (Apr 11, 2005)

slo said:
			
		

> I guess we are arguing two different points:
> 
> 1. You are arguing upgrade paths... Q- why invest $700 in an older machine, when can buy a new one for $1500? A- A good point if you have $1500, but not everybody does, or thinks that its worth slapping on a credit card.
> 
> 2. I am arguing that I can't afford $1500... therefore $700 is my lott in life. Given that fact, if you compare upgrading vs. the new Mac Mini, there are definite advantages to getting the new Mac Mini vs. the trouble of upgrading and you get a brand new computer....




I sympathise with your dillema, we were in a similar bind with £750 to spend, not a penny more, with a need for TWO machines. It's a point I raised on another thread, sure with would be great to shell out thousands on the latest G5, but we can't all do that. Some of us also have a problem in spending so much on something that will depreciate quicker than we can pay the bill off.  The Mac mini gets a bum deal off a lot of people here, eMac too.  It's like you're not normal unless you have the latest and greatest - a nasty trait imported from the PC world. The mini was a lifeline for us with the budget we had, although my partner had problems and we ended up sending one back the mini is a great peice of kit, you NEED 512MB though. I'm doing video editing, music, photo editing and everything I ever wanted and it runs great, I think it's fair to say the mini has a slower HDD though, it may or may not be a problem.  I think you'd really like it as a step up from your current Mac. I don't know about your machine, but this baby is silent, odd. All I can hear is the birds outside and I don't think I could ever go back to something that makes noise, I can hear a pin drop. It's the most tranquil computer I've ever owned ;-)

My advice is unless you are aching for one now - how could you resist?  Wait until Tiger is shipped with it and get all the latest software then.  Use your current machine as server or sell the tower and buy a hard disk and USB or Firewire enclosure and extend your storage instead.


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## fryke (Apr 11, 2005)

If you think longer-term, the Mac mini can make a lot of sense. Think external, though.

- A good display holds much longer than a computer stays powerful. So get a good one.
- Fast harddrives? Think FireWire. You can get very big and very fast harddrives externally. And if you upgrade to a newer Mac mini, that harddrive isn't lost - you just use it with the new one.


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