14 DAY TRIAL // A new Apple product emerges, a new teardown session is carried out over at iFixit. In what the repair shop calls a “historic moment,” Apple’s new Mac mini saw its guts ripped out of the 1.4 x 7.7 x 7.7 aluminum housing, complete with useful explanations every step of the way.
Although it looks fairly easy to open up the mini and remove its inner workings, iFixit notes that, “Teardowns provide a look inside a device and should not be used as disassembly instructions.” The repair shop then invites visitors to join them as they “take a peek inside at Apple's newest revision of the Mac Mini, now with an HDMI port!”
The teardown begins with a few notable tech specs, which include a 2.4 or 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor; 2 GB of RAM (expandable up to 8 GB); an NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor with 256MB of shared DDR3 SDRAM (with iFixit noting it is the same as in the most recent MacBook); an HDMI port with support for up to 1920-by-1200 resolution; AirPort Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking; and an SD card slot. In the box, Apple’s new mini comes with the HDMI to DVI adapter and a power cord, since this model has a built-in AC adapter.
Notable design elements, as listed by the team at iFixit, include the Mini's unibody enclosure, which has been machined from a single block of aluminum, and the dimentions. “Measuring 1.4 x 7.7 x 7.7 inches and weighing only 3 lbs, this is truly one for the books.” Touting the new mini's port layout as “indeed surprising,” the repair shop notes the following: AC power in; Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T Ethernet; Firewire 800; HDMI; Mini DisplayPort; Four USB 2.0 ports (whereas the previous Mac Mini had 5); SD card slot.
“Much like many other new Apple products, removing the RAM is quite feasible this time around,” iFixit continues to note. “After removing two screws, the fan can be lifted out to access its power connector,” the savvy technicians explain, and provide the relevant imagery. One interesting find is that all three fan screws are isolated with rubber dampers. According to the teardown guys, this is not a feature present on older Apple computers. “Low noise and vibration are big selling points for Apple these days, and the new Mini's idle emission of 14 dB is a testament to those design goals,” the report reads. Other key findings include:
· The new Mini is cooled by a single brushless fan. · The extremely high blade density of the blower keeps noise at a minimum while pushing out a good amount of air. · The top Wi-Fi antenna connector is hidden underneath the antenna plate near the hard drive connector. · Because of the unibody construction of the mini’s housing, two auxiliary antennas are the square steel components seen at both ends of the I/O frame, according to iFixit. · Two screws secure the speaker assembly to the logic board. · The brains of the Mac mini: Intel P8600 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo processor; NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor with 256MB of shared DDR3 SDRAM. · Other notable chips: Broadcom BCM57765 integrated gigabit ethernet and memory card reader controller; Cirrus 4206ACNZ audio controller; Delta LFE9249-R discrete LAN filter. · The mini’s built-in speaker doesn’t seem to have undergone any enhancements. · Next to the speaker, Apple installed the computer’s AirPort Extreme card. · 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking; Bluetooth 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate technology. · A new optical drive: Hitachi-LG Data Storage (HLDS) Super Multi DVD Rewriter model GA32N.