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admin
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Joined: 21 Jan 2005
Posts: 2047
Location: U.S.A
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 Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 10:07 am Post subject: First Look: Micronet miniMate |
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First Look: Micronet miniMate
Initial Impressions:
- Build quality is excellent.
- Color match is perfect.
- I/O panel nice quality/solid.
- Slight drive vibration.
- Very fast drive.
- Bottom of miniMate same design as Mac mini.
http://www.123macmini.com/accessories/reviews/101.html
Last edited by admin on Sat May 07, 2005 5:48 pm; edited 5 times in total |
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andp
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Joined: 28 Jan 2005
Posts: 358
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| Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 10:30 am Post subject: |
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SWEEET!!!  |
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blazer
Veteran Member
Joined: 23 Mar 2005
Posts: 1061
Location: San Ramon, California
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| Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 11:48 am Post subject: |
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Oh I hate you guys! JK I'm still waiting for mine to be shipped! I'm really stoked now after seeing the pictures.
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1.42GHz Mac mini
2.0GHz Core 2 Duo Mac mini
2.0GHz Core 2 Duo Mac mini (2009)
2.5GHz Core i5 Mac mini (2011)
24" Dell LCD & 42" Sharp TV
EyeTV 250 Plus
1G, 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G iPod nanos
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pvidler
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Joined: 03 May 2005
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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Could you run XBench and post the disk scores, please? I can't decide on this or a Lacie D2 with triple interface.
This has USB and Firewire hubs, but the Lacie has Firewire 800 support (which will make it more useful if I ever upgrade to a machine with FW800). It all depends on speed and noise, I guess. |
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Charles
News Moderator
Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 302
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
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| Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 3:45 pm Post subject: edit |
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Were in the process of writing a full review with more information. This was just a first look to share some pictures and early impressions. We'll do our best! 
Charles
123Macmini.com
Edit: Here are some scores..
Standard 80GB drive with 1.42GHz Mac mini
MiniMate MM250 with 1.42GHz Mac mini
123Macmini reader Al D. sent us his MM80's score
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pvidler
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Joined: 03 May 2005
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Wed May 04, 2005 3:05 am Post subject: |
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Superb, thanks!
I don't suppose anyone else can post XBench ratings for any other Firewire drives on the mini? This seems very fast, but I thought the minimate drives only had 2MB of cache -- I'm wondering how much difference that might make in real usage. |
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xforce11
Junior Member
Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 44
Location: Bur-Vegas, NC
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| Posted: Wed May 04, 2005 9:34 am Post subject: |
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An aesthetic question, can you remove the logo to give it a cleaner look or is it in the paint?
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Sincerely,
XForce11
Mac Mini, Ministack (160 gig), LG Flatron 17" |
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Brian
News Moderator
Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 543
Location: Charlotte, NC
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| Posted: Fri May 06, 2005 4:42 pm Post subject: |
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| xforce11 wrote: | | An aesthetic question, can you remove the logo to give it a cleaner look or is it in the paint? |
No it's on there pretty good!  |
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puttyknife
New Member
Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Sat May 07, 2005 5:24 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry to say my own review is mostly negative. Using the minimate the way it's intended, under the Mac mini, causes both units to overheat to the point where the mini's fan runs constantly even when not being used. The drive in the minimate spins continually, even when the Mac is asleep. The included (160GB in mine) drive has a 2MB buffer, when 8MB is pretty much standard these days. Head access noise is much louder than comparable 3.5 inch drives.
While the fit and finish is very nice, I'd give this product a low score for functionality. It's already in my closet, relegated to backup drive status. I will not use it as a boot drive as I had originally intended. |
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blazer
Veteran Member
Joined: 23 Mar 2005
Posts: 1061
Location: San Ramon, California
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| Posted: Sat May 07, 2005 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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I received my 160GB on Thursday and would like to echo your thoughts. The minimate looks and works great but is loud and noisy. The drive NEVER spins down or shuts up is more like it! Mine sounds like a hairdryer and because the mini is so dam quiet it just ruins the atmosphere. I haven't noticed any overheating or the fan coming on any more often while having both powered up. If you take your Mac mini back off the minimate and run it for a while you'll notice it gets just a warm on the bottom as it would with the minimate beneath it. The product is ok if you can get past the noise. Thank god the ports work without the drive powered on!
_________________
1.42GHz Mac mini
2.0GHz Core 2 Duo Mac mini
2.0GHz Core 2 Duo Mac mini (2009)
2.5GHz Core i5 Mac mini (2011)
24" Dell LCD & 42" Sharp TV
EyeTV 250 Plus
1G, 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G iPod nanos
16GB 3G iPhone |
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devilmonkey
New Member
Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Sat May 07, 2005 11:08 pm Post subject: |
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| Anyone who has gotten theirs popped it open to see what the make and model of HDD is? |
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blazer
Veteran Member
Joined: 23 Mar 2005
Posts: 1061
Location: San Ramon, California
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 2:52 am Post subject: |
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| devilmonkey wrote: | | Anyone who has gotten theirs popped it open to see what the make and model of HDD is? |
Nope... I think you will need a putty knife to open the case! 
At this time it's not worth me opening it because they will void your warranty if the case is open.
_________________
1.42GHz Mac mini
2.0GHz Core 2 Duo Mac mini
2.0GHz Core 2 Duo Mac mini (2009)
2.5GHz Core i5 Mac mini (2011)
24" Dell LCD & 42" Sharp TV
EyeTV 250 Plus
1G, 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G iPod nanos
16GB 3G iPhone |
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puttyknife
New Member
Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 3:10 pm Post subject: |
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| devilmonkey wrote: | | Anyone who has gotten theirs popped it open to see what the make and model of HDD is? |
Yes, my 160 contains a Western Digital WD1600BB. Putty knives, inserted halfway between front and back will pop it open, just like the mini. |
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devilmonkey
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Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 2
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 5:13 pm Post subject: |
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| puttyknife wrote: | | devilmonkey wrote: | | Anyone who has gotten theirs popped it open to see what the make and model of HDD is? |
Yes, my 160 contains a Western Digital WD1600BB. Putty knives, inserted halfway between front and back will pop it open, just like the mini. |
Cool, thanks for the info. I'm just trying to figure out if the drive is the noise culprit or the case itself but in my experience WD drives are usually on the quiet side... |
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puttyknife
New Member
Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Sun May 08, 2005 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="devilmonkey"] | puttyknife wrote: | | Cool, thanks for the info. I'm just trying to figure out if the drive is the noise culprit or the case itself but in my experience WD drives are usually on the quiet side... |
There's no fan in the case, so any noise is the drive itself. I have no problem with the minor access noise the drive makes. It spins quietly. I believe it actually needs a fan if it's going to be used beneath the mini and it need to be made so that it spins down when the Mac is asleep. Those are two MAJOR problems, IMO. |
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