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admin
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 Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 11:39 am Post subject: NewerTech Announces miniStack v2.5 |
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NewerTech Announces miniStack v2.5
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Posted by: Glenn
NewerTech today announced the miniStack v2.5, a new addition to its miniStack line of external hard drives. The miniStack v2.5 also functions as a centralized desktop hub for connecting multiple digital devices. It features a unique ergonomic rear and side port configuration of three FireWire 400 and four USB 2.0 ports. The miniStack v2.5 was built for performance as well. It employs the latest generation Oxford 934 bridge chipset and a 7200RPM Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive with up to 32MB of cache. Here is a complete rundown of the features and pricing:
Read more...
http://www.123macmini.com/news/story/1013.html
Last edited by admin on Wed Aug 06, 2008 9:11 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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artman
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| Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:21 pm Post subject: |
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What's the difference between this and the old model? I thought they already came out with a v3 MiniStack.  |
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hackersmovie
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scooper
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| Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:06 pm Post subject: |
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| I could be wrong here, but I'm pretty sure the main difference is SATA. The old MiniStack v2 was for IDE drives. The MiniStack v3 has FW 800 and eSATA, so that's obviously the difference between the v2.5 and v3 now. It also costs a good deal more. |
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Yvan256
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| Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:40 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, the only difference seems to be the chipset model number and the SATA support.
I have a v2 right here and it uses a parallel IDE hard drive.
Also, why would they update the miniStack? Do they know something about the Mac mini that we don't? (i.e. it wouldn't make much sense to update a peripheral after 1 year of no Mac mini updates... would it?)
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scooper
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| Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Yvan256 wrote: | | Do they know something about the Mac mini that we don't? (i.e. it wouldn't make much sense to update a peripheral after 1 year of no Mac mini updates... would it?) |
Maybe, but they also seem to promote it with other Macs and stuff. I just hope that Apple actually updates the Mac mini soon. I'm about ready to buy another one soon. I mean WTF are they waiting for?  |
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geeji
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| Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 12:40 am Post subject: |
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Actually, the MiniStack v3 was ill fitted to the current Mini, since it had only FW800 connectors at the back, so you either had to use an adapter or use the side FW400 connector.
But anyway, I would recommend the direct buying of Macpower M9-DX2 which is the OEM for the Ministack.
At least on that one, the fan speed can be manually controled, when on my MiniStack v3 it was so noisy I had to discard it; Newertech should be prosecuted about their "whisper quiet operation" advertisement which is true... the first five minutes, before the drive warms up and the fan starts rotating  . |
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statik13
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Joined: 04 Sep 2007
Posts: 27
Location: Edmonton,AB
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| Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 5:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Are any of these drives actually aluminum or are they all "aluminum coloured plastic". yuck. |
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spoll
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Joined: 08 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 7:42 pm Post subject: |
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How do I purchase the Macpower HD? I agree, the Ministack is a joke when the fan kicks in, which is pretty frequently.
I have mine for 2 years and 2 mths and I'm out of the warranty period. Guess what, the fan won't shut off now and the warranty just expired! |
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devo
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| Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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| statik13 wrote: | | Are any of these drives actually aluminum or are they all "aluminum coloured plastic". yuck. |
I don't think the plastic is all that bad. It matches the Mac mini and looks decent. It was the fan noise that bothered me with the Ministack. I basically ended up ripping mine out. I think the open space and vents in the back offer more that enough airflow anyways. And the fan was never pushing out a ton of hot air. |
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Village Idiot
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 6:21 am Post subject: |
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| I hope they improved the quality of the unit. I bought one a couple of years ago and had the thing break 3 times. NewerTech was very good to work with, repairing the unit every time under warranty. But after the 3rd time, I'd had enough and bought something else. |
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barnz
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Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 423
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 12:36 pm Post subject: |
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| geeji wrote: | Actually, the MiniStack v3 was ill fitted to the current Mini, since it had only FW800 connectors at the back, so you either had to use an adapter or use the side FW400 connector.
But anyway, I would recommend the direct buying of Macpower M9-DX2 which is the OEM for the Ministack.
At least on that one, the fan speed can be manually controled, when on my MiniStack v3 it was so noisy I had to discard it; Newertech should be prosecuted about their "whisper quiet operation" advertisement which is true... the first five minutes, before the drive warms up and the fan starts rotating . |
Geeji have you experience buying direct from this company? They don't seem to be encouraging retail sales. . .
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MacMini 2GHz C2D 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD| Panasonic TH-37PX60U | iPhone 3G 16GB
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devo
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| Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 12:18 am Post subject: |
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| barnz wrote: | | Geeji have you experience buying direct from this company? They don't seem to be encouraging retail sales. . . |
I don't think that company sells direct. They just sell to manufacturers like Newertech, Iomega and G-Tech. Those companies then rebadge them as the MiniStack, MiniMax or whatever. |
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barnz
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Joined: 19 Oct 2007
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Location: Oakland, CA
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| Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 9:53 am Post subject: |
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| statik13 wrote: | | Are any of these drives actually aluminum or are they all "aluminum coloured plastic". yuck. |
Statik -
I couldn't agree more. I've been looking, and I haven't been able to find ANY aluminum cases so far. (Except maybe the Apple Time Capsule, but I'm looking for a drive to stack with the mini.)
1) Has anybody got any leads for Statik and I?
2) Would anyone else (at least theoretically) be interested in a better matched stacking enclosure for their mac mini, were one to be developed? Bear in mind this would cost more than the plastic cases, which are already selling for $75 and up.
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MacMini 2GHz C2D 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD| Panasonic TH-37PX60U | iPhone 3G 16GB
in cold storage:
Winegard Square Shooter HD Antenna | Elgato 250+ | Linn AV5103 | Thule IA60 | Linn Sondek LP12 |
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Yvan256
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Joined: 18 Aug 2005
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Location: Quebec, Canada
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| Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 2:20 pm Post subject: |
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I think it would be less trouble to buy a miniStack and an empty Mac mini shell and hack the two together.
I see Mac mini casings on eBay from time to time.
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Mac mini 2010 (Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz/8 GiB)
12" PowerBook (G4 1.5 GHz/512 MiB)
1st gen. iPod touch (16 GiB)
2nd gen. iPod shuffle (1 GiB) |
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