Testseek.co.uk have collected 92 expert reviews of the Apple Mac Mini - Mid 2010 MC438 and the average rating is 76%. Scroll down and see all reviews for Apple Mac Mini - Mid 2010 MC438.
June 2010
(76%)
92 Reviews
Average score from experts who have reviewed this product.
Users
-
0 Reviews
Average score from owners of the product.
76010092
The editors liked
It's great that the new Mac mini offers a HDMI output. The new unibody casing and slimmer form factor is very welcome too
As is the in-built transformer.
Attractive
Tiny
And rock-solid aluminium
Unibody enclosure
Easy RAM upgrades
Improved graphics performance
HDMI output
Built-in SD-card reader.
Fantastic new unibody casing
Thinner form factor
Excellent integrated graphics processor
Built-in power brick
Can handle everything you’d use a slim desktop for
HDMI
Beautiful silver body
Compact design
HDMI socket
Much-improved graphics performance
Good software included
Muchimproved graphics performance
Small
Quiet
And doesn’t use a lot of power
CPU and RAM are enough to handle a solid load
Can boot from SD card
Can use the MacBook Air’s Optical Drive and USB Ethernet Adaptor.
Quality design and finish
Runs very quietly
Sufficient performance for office doc type work
Low energy consumption
The peerless Mac experience is what the Mac Mini is all about. OS X Snow Leopard is stunning and now comes with the killer Mac App Store for downloading add-ons without having to trawl the web. Firewire and four USB ports mean that connectivity is more than ample
While the 19.7.x19.7x3.6cm means you can hide this machine away easily
Saving stacks of space compared to some less than clever PC ri
Easy to deploy and manage
Quiet and energy efficient
Unlimited client licence
Unibody shell
Option to add RAM
Near silent. Attractive unibody design. Low profile
Sleek aluminium unibody chassis
HDMI video output makes it easy to connect an HDTV
SD card slot
Useraccessible RAM
Handles webbased HD video with no trouble
Bestinclass case design
Half-decent graphics capability
Design
Small footprint
Removable bottom
Tiny and very stylish
1TB of storage
Wired and wireless network interfaces
Integrated web
Email
Address book and calendaring servers
Wiki and blogging applications
Simple management
Unlimited user licence
The editors didn't like
We wish it was cheaper. It could use better media centre software too
And will Apple ever climb on the Blu-ray wagon?
SD-card slot inconveniently located
Higher price than previous entry-level model
Slow stock hard drive .
Only one standard configuration
Expensive
A little underpowered
Dated media centre software
No Blu-ray option
So can a lot of much cheaper rivals
Price bump not quite worth the benefits
Only 2GB memory
No monitor
Mouse or keyboard
Only one power supply
Only one ethernet port
No optical drive
Replacing drives somewhat tedious.
Connectors inaccessible
Comes with neither mouse nor keyboard
We would have preferred a Core i processor
Still no BluRay player on Macs
Expensive (not taken into account in our rating)
As ever with Apple
It’s the pricing that really sticks in the craw. At £612 for the “cheap” version
It’s hard to justify. There are small-scale PCs that offer similar specs at a much lower price. You really have to want to buy into Apple’s ecosystem too
Because this is a gadget that is much about kudos as it is about the tech inside.
No DVD reader
Dodgy disc loader
Ports are a tad impractical
Pricey. Old CPU. No Blu-ray
Puny storage capacity for the price
No Bluray option
Limited user upgrade options
Pricey
Price
SD card slot on the back
Limited upgrade options
USB port can't be used for backup
No eSATA expansion
More complex tasks can't be accomplished using base management utilities
The peerless Mac experience is what the Mac Mini is all about. OS X Snow Leopard is stunning and now comes with the killer Mac App Store for downloading add-ons without having to trawl the web. Firewire and four USB ports mean that connectivity is more than ample, while the 19.7.x19.7x3.6cm means you can hide this machine away easily, saving stacks of space compared to some less than clever PC ri
As ever with Apple, it’s the pricing that really sticks in the craw. At £612 for the “cheap” version, it’s hard to justify. There are small-scale PCs that offer similar specs at a much lower price. You really have to want to buy into Apple’s ecosystem too, because this is a gadget that is much about kudos as it is about the tech inside.
If you want a desktop Mac, but can’t face spending upwards of a grand, this is where it is. Pair it with your existing keyboard and monitor and you’ll not only save stacks of space, you’ll have the full Mac experience too.Best offers for the Mac MiniAm...
Abstract: With Apple’s Xserve now discontinued, the only two Mac servers available are the Mini and the Mac Pro Server. The Mac Mini is Apple’s lowest-cost computer yet in its more expensive server incarnation it dispenses with the optical drive of its desktop s...
Abstract: By cramming in extra hardware and tweaking the OS, Apple has managed the seemingly impossible, turning its tiny Mac mini into a respectable small business server, complete with file and print sharing, email, web, wiki and blogging tools. It works best...
Tiny and very stylish, 1TB of storage, Wired and wireless network interfaces, Integrated web, email, address book and calendaring servers, Wiki and blogging applications, Simple management, Unlimited user licence
Limited upgrade options, USB port can't be used for backup, No eSATA expansion, More complex tasks can't be accomplished using base management utilities
Apple's latest Mac Mini server is an innovative and functional small business solution with huge appeal to style-conscious companies already sold on the Mac platform. Snow Leopard Server is remarkably affordable, although Windows Small Business Server
The newest Mac Mini is a big improvement over the last version. Although we like the generally elegant design, it isn't perfect. There's still room for improvement, such as easier hard disk access and more conveniently located ports. It's a little over...
Published: 2010-08-11, Author: John , review by: macworld.co.uk
Small, quiet, and doesn’t use a lot of power; CPU and RAM are enough to handle a solid load; can boot from SD card; can use the MacBook Air’s Optical Drive and USB Ethernet Adaptor.
Only one power supply; only one ethernet port; no optical drive; replacing drives somewhat tedious.
The Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server is an outstanding small utility server for the lower end of the SMB market, able to handle a couple hundred users for almost any single service, (Mail, Chat, Open Directory, etc.) with aplomb. It's also a good "do it...
