

This gives it greater capability over the entry-level Mac mini with its integrated Intel Graphics HD 3000 offering, but it won’t necessarily have the power to cope with hardcore gaming or heavy video editing, for example. This higher-spec model benefits from the inclusion of AMD Radeon HD 6630M a mid-range graphics card normally found in laptops. OS X Lion does a great job of getting through daily browsing and basic computing tasks easily on any processor speed, so if you are picking up the mini just to use for office work and nothing too graphically intensive, it could be the perfect choice. At £699 you are getting a powerful enough desktop PC, but don’t expect it to handle all your high performance tasks. Just to compare, that is about the same spec as the recently released entry-level MacBook Air. The Mac mini on review here is one of the higher-spec 2.5GHz i5 offerings with 4GB of RAM. We noticed that the plug and back of the unit did tend to heat up a bit after lengthy use, but never to a worryingly high level. It is a silver box, it looks great, it is everything you expect from an Apple product. Not a lot else can be said about the Mac mini’s design. Given the amount of power it can turn out it is staggeringly lightweight. The box itself is tiny at just 3.6 x 19.7 x 19.7cm and weighs only 1.22kg.

#Mac mini 2011 i7 tv
We used an old wireless USB keyboard and mouse and plugged the box straight into our TV via HDMI.

The real joy behind the Mac mini is that you can stick whatever accessories you have into it. This, however, will add another £899 to your bill and you’d probably be better off looking at an iMac instead. The inclusion of the new Thunderbolt port does mean that you not only get access to really fast data transfer speeds (with a compatible device), but you can stick the Mac mini into the brand new Apple Thunderbolt display. We love slick design, but we’d also like to be able to easily access that slot when inserting the card from a camera. Plenty then, even if the SD card slot is in a position impossible to get to if you’ve installed the Mac mini under your TV.
#Mac mini 2011 i7 Bluetooth
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are also included for wireless connections. The black back is crammed with ports: you get 4 USB 2.0 to play with (Apple eschewing the faster USB 3.0), HDMI out, Thunderbolt, Ethernet, SD card reader and finally the FireWire 800 port.
#Mac mini 2011 i7 Pc
It is particularly rewarding when someone who hasn’t seen one before asks: “what is that little box with an Apple logo on?” and you explain it is a PC and they refuse to believe you.

It means that the Mac mini is totally unobtrusive, sitting very happily in a living room and drawing just the right amount of attention to itself. On the front is nothing more than a sleep/wake light and an IR receiver.
