Save $151 on Mac Mini at Harvey Norman

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drdrake

27 posts

Geek

#68934 29-Sep-2010 23:50

If you're looking to buy a new Mac Mini, then this might be worth a punt...

The Harvey Norman NZ website is advertising a few different versions of the Mac Mini in what are (I guess) some of the most popular configurations. One of these is a 2.66 GHz machine with 4GB RAM, 500GB hard disk and optical drive - if you spec this machine in the Apple online store it will cost you $1999, BUT it's on the Harvey Norman website for $1848.

They have confused the specifications with the Snow Leopard Server running two 500GB hard drives (and no optical).

As these are a "special order" product, I suspect that once you order and pay for the device at the advertised price of $1848 and at the advertised specification from the website, Harvey Norman will be legally bound to honour the sale and provided the advertised goods at the agreed price.

Saving you $151.

Food for thought...

freitasm

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#386206 30-Sep-2010 09:41

Even at $1848 a 4GB RAM and 500HDD machine is very expensive.

JMatt94

225 posts

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#386476 30-Sep-2010 19:57

The Mac mini is just far too expensive for what it is - you may as well spend a couple hundred more and get an iMac which includes the screen, keyboard and mouse.

Mac Mini:

2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB memory
Dual 500GB 7200-rpm hard drives
NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics

NZ$ 1,848.00

iMac:

3.06GHz Intel Core i3
1920-by-1080 resolution
500GB hard drive
8x double-layer SuperDrive
ATI Radeon HD 4670 with 256MB

NZ$ 1,999.00

For some reason, the entry level iMac has actually reduced in price from the previous generation, while the Mac Mini which is trying to target people with a lower budget has increased a lot.

drdrake

27 posts

Geek

#386638 1-Oct-2010 09:58

It's true, you can get a higher spec machine for the money, but the Mini's strength (and the price tag) is about form over function. I haven't found a mATX case that comes close, and when combined with the Bluetooth keyboard and touchpad, I'm happy to pay a few extra dollars for the aesthetic value in my lounge.

freitasm

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#386641 1-Oct-2010 10:01

I used to have one of the first Mac Mini, which I bough for about $1000, so I am surprised the new ones cost that much even after a couple of years.

I used it as my Media Center machine in the lounge, because of the size. It was running Windows 7 64 bit under Bootcamp. Never really used it for Mac OS X, only bought it for the size/form factor.

But reality is, the Mac Mini was underpowered for Freeview|HD H.264 decoding. So last year I jumped when Dell brought the Dell Zino HD to the market. Similar size and form factor, on a much more powerful configuration - and I still bought it at launch for about $1000, a year after the Mac Mini.

That's why I say this is an over priced box. Paying almost 100% more for something you can easily get if you shop around is too much.

freitasm

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#386644 1-Oct-2010 10:04

Also note I am not saying the Mac Mini is not a good machine and not starting a OS war.

I am just saying this offer is too expensive for what it is.

DeroyBoy

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#386660 1-Oct-2010 10:42

The one on Harvey Normans website is not the server version it is the standard version with upgraded processor, memory and hard drive.

Starplay

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#386666 1-Oct-2010 10:53

freitasm:

I am just saying this offer is too expensive for what it is.

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jfanning

438 posts

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#387122 2-Oct-2010 14:02

freitasm: I used to have one of the first Mac Mini, which I bough for about $1000, so I am surprised the new ones cost that much even after a couple of years.

I used it as my Media Center machine in the lounge, because of the size. It was running Windows 7 64 bit under Bootcamp. Never really used it for Mac OS X, only bought it for the size/form factor.

Are you sure you have one of the first Mac Minis? As I got one of the first Mac Minis from MagnumMac back in 2005 when they were first released, it was a 1.42Ghz PPC with 1GB RAM, and a 80GB HDD. And being a PPC based machine it certainly couldn't run Windows (unless it was in MS Virtual PC), and it cost over $2000 brand new.

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#387134 2-Oct-2010 14:34

jfanning:
freitasm: I used to have one of the first Mac Mini, which I bough for about $1000, so I am surprised the new ones cost that much even after a couple of years.

I used it as my Media Center machine in the lounge, because of the size. It was running Windows 7 64 bit under Bootcamp. Never really used it for Mac OS X, only bought it for the size/form factor.

Are you sure you have one of the first Mac Minis? As I got one of the first Mac Minis from MagnumMac back in 2005 when they were first released, it was a 1.42Ghz PPC with 1GB RAM, and a 80GB HDD. ? And being a PPC based machine it certainly couldn't run Windows (unless it was in MS Virtual PC), and it cost over $2000 brand new.

Or the next generation. It didn't have enough grunt for H264 decondig seeing that model used an Intel on board video, so no hardware decoding.

TwoSeven

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#387140 2-Oct-2010 14:49

I was looking at a Mac Mini and the Dell Zino as options. Not sure if the NZ price point is ideal for me tho.

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wellyg33k

71 posts

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#388199 5-Oct-2010 13:06

freitasm:
jfanning:
freitasm: I used to have one of the first Mac Mini, which I bough for about $1000, so I am surprised the new ones cost that much even after a couple of years.

I used it as my Media Center machine in the lounge, because of the size. It was running Windows 7 64 bit under Bootcamp. Never really used it for Mac OS X, only bought it for the size/form factor.

Are you sure you have one of the first Mac Minis? As I got one of the first Mac Minis from MagnumMac back in 2005 when they were first released, it was a 1.42Ghz PPC with 1GB RAM, and a 80GB HDD. ? And being a PPC based machine it certainly couldn't run Windows (unless it was in MS Virtual PC), and it cost over $2000 brand new.

Or the next generation. It didn't have enough grunt for H264 decondig seeing that model used an Intel on board video, so no hardware decoding.

Yeah I had those built in graphics on my old macbook, it couldn't run 1080 youtube a lot of the time :|