Is there a big difference between 2.4GHz and 2.66GHz?

[DoctorRamen]

I plan on purchasing the new Mac mini, I'm wondering if it's worth my money to get a 2.66GHz processor?

Also, in checkout I'm able to upgrade to 4GB of RAM for only $90, is there anywhere cheaper? Or that's about as low as it goes?
I appreciate any help.
Thanks,
Alex

 

[celticpride678]

You won't notice a speed difference between 2.4 GHz and 2.66 GHz.

As for RAM, I think you can find cheaper RAM at OWC or Crucial

 

[OzExige]

You won't notice a speed difference between 2.4 GHz and 2.66 GHz.

As for RAM, I think you can find cheaper RAM at OWC or Crucial

+1, waited for my 8.0g from OWC before I plugged in my Mini Server

 

[DoctorRamen]

So I shouldn't bother with the 2.66GHz?
Seems that Apple is the cheapest right now, I'll just go with them! :]

 

[celticpride678]

So I shouldn't bother with the 2.66GHz?
Seems that Apple is the cheapest right now, I'll just go with them! :]

In my opinion, no.

 

[OldMike]

I can't see the value in adding anything to the base Mini. Once you add an upgraded processor, you might as well just purchase the Mini Server.

For memory, getting the Apple 4GB upgrade is an especially bad deal since you will get 2X2GB. With this configuration you will have to replace the memory again in order to go any higher. You would be much better served buying the base Mini and adding a 4GB stick. This way if you ever want to go to 8GB, all you need to do is add a second stick.

I say go base Mini or Mini Server, I just cannot see the value of anything in between. I personally was going to go Mini Server, until I decided that I could benefit more from running the memory maxed. Having to replace the memory that came standard on the server defeated the extra value in coming with more memory. My next machine is going to be a Mini Server, primarily for the server license, and not because of any performance concerns.

As for the difference between 2.4 or 2.66, IMO, only a benchmark could tell the difference.

 

[i7QuadCoreMania]

I say go base Mini or Mini Server, I just cannot see the value of anything in between. I personally was going to go Mini Server, until I decided that I could benefit more from running the memory maxed.

I personally own the server, although I don't believe there is a huge difference from 2.4 to 2.66, but even if you max out the ram on the base mini, it still suffers from a slow hard drive.

To the OP you will probably notice a bigger improvement with hard drive and ram upgrades than the processor in this case.

 

[DoctorRamen]

I can't see the value in adding anything to the base Mini. Once you add an upgraded processor, you might as well just purchase the Mini Server.

For memory, getting the Apple 4GB upgrade is an especially bad deal since you will get 2X2GB. With this configuration you will have to replace the memory again in order to go any higher. You would be much better served buying the base Mini and adding a 4GB stick. This way if you ever want to go to 8GB, all you need to do is add a second stick.

I say go base Mini or Mini Server, I just cannot see the value of anything in between. I personally was going to go Mini Server, until I decided that I could benefit more from running the memory maxed. Having to replace the memory that came standard on the server defeated the extra value in coming with more memory. My next machine is going to be a Mini Server, primarily for the server license, and not because of any performance concerns.

As for the difference between 2.4 or 2.66, IMO, only a benchmark could tell the difference.

I would do that, but a 4GB stick of DDR3 is extremely expensive. 4GB of RAM suits me well, though, I never see myself using much more.

 

[peakchua]

c2d processors usually only vary in clocks and intel technology (not that phonemenoal) so not really

 

[MacHamster68]

should you bother about a speed gain of 0.26 ghz ..not realy in everyday tasks you wont notice any difference even side by side , but if you want to show off your geekbench results , then yes you have to bother as this speed gain will bring a couple more points ,
but is that worth the extra money ....NO !!
better spend the money you saved by not ordering these 0.26ghz on the ram upgrade to 8gb

 

[mrfoof82]

10% performance gain for CPU intensive tasks. That's it. You could also in theory pop in the 2.66GHz Socket P Core2Duo with 6MB of L2 cache (late 2009 MacBook Pros) but that chip retails for somewhere in the $330 - $400 range, is an annoying DIY install, and has a 10W higher TDP than the 2.4 or 2.66GHz CPUs the Mini ships with.

For the $150 the BTO upgrade costs, you'd be better off sinking $125 - $135 of that into a 500GB 7200rpm Hybrid Seagate Momentus XT -- since that's the slowest part of the system (stock drive is a 5400rpm Toshiba). That'll cut most app launches from 2-4 bounces to 1/2 to 1 bounce because of how the adaptive SLC flash cache works. After that, go to 4GB or 8GB of memory -- playing Civ IV with Safari and a few other apps open gets me to under 4GB free.

 

[indg]

only buy the regular mini if you plan to use it AS IS. the minute you start upgrading anything (this includes ram), you're better off just getting the mini server. so either be willing to pay $700 for the base or $1000 for a considerably better mini (if you setup raid-0). apple made this an easy choice in my opinion.

for the record, i have the $700 model ($670 on amazon actually) and used the other $300 for an iPad since i didn't need the speed/ram/storage offered by the mini server. and so far it has handled everything i've thrown at it superbly (and the iPad's not too shabby either).