I'm looking to purchase a Mac Mini to use as a XBMC box and audiophile server. Would it be smarter to purchase the older unibody style (2010 I believe) since it has the Nvidia video card and DVD drive? Or would it make more sense to get the 2011 model? Let me know your thoughts as well as experiences with either model. Thank in advance.
I was wondering this as well...
I'd go with 2010 for an HTPC.
Search the forums (best to do it via google by using "site:forum.xbmc.org" since the native forum search kinda sucks) about mac minis. We've had a bunch of these threads, including ones about the recent mac minis.
Any of them will do fine. 2010 ones had 320M nVidia chip so they work fine with 1080p. 2011 has either HD3000 or ATI graphics. Both work fine for 1080p. So it's a matter of choice. I went for 2011 basic model, upped RAM to 4GB and we live happily ever after
DVD I just don't need. And like the looks of a new one better since it ain't got an optical slot on the front which looked pretty damn ugly, IMO.
The new Ivy Bridge Mini, with possible HD4000, should be awailable this summer. I would probably wait for one of those...
Do you really need the Ivy Bridge performance gains for XBMC?
Probably not for video decoding alone, but it runs much cooler as the TDP is around 40% lower than the current setup. And the Intel Quick Sync transcoding, if it will be supported by osX, is a big improvement over Sandy Bridge "Using Cyberlink Media Espresso the new chip turned a DRM-stripped Blu-ray of Harry Potter (130 minutes of 1080p video) into an iPad friendly format in just seven minutes without taxing the CPU.".
Also, in the the review at Hot Hardware, where playback of a 1080p YouTube video utilize 0% CPU usage is "kind of" impressive. Might be an overkill, but I would still wait and see. Even the buyers guide at MacRumors tells: Don't Buy - Updates soon
It might even be worth waiting for a new Mac Mini simply because that will make older models become cheaper, then get an older model :D
I suppose, thanks for enlightening me