Is there a noticeable difference between these two Minis?

[MotionMan]

Mini 1:
2GHz Core 2 Duo/4GB 1067 DDR3

Mini 2:
1.83GHz Core 2 Duo/4GB 677 DDR2

Is there a noticeable speed difference between these two Minis? Would any speed differenced be noticeably "enhanced" upgrading from SL to Lion?

Thanks.

MotionMan

 

[rugby]

#1 would be faster due to the faster bus speed more than the CPU speed. First thing I would do is bump it to 8GB for cheap.

Speed is a relative term, it really depends on what you want to do. I would upgrade the ram before throwing Lion on it.

 

[MotionMan]

#1 would be faster due to the faster bus speed more than the CPU speed. First thing I would do is bump it to 8GB for cheap.

Speed is a relative term, it really depends on what you want to do. I would upgrade the ram before throwing Lion on it.

If I have to crack open No. 1 and pay for RAM, my question will become moot.

MotionMan

 

[rugby]

If I have to crack open No. 1 and pay for RAM, my question will become moot.

MotionMan

You don't *have* to pay for ram, they both have 4GB. That's enough to do stuff with. If you want a better experience and faster response, then go with 8GB.

 

[Kadarin]

It has to be said... If you want even better speed and response, get a new one

 

[MotionMan]

It has to be said... If you want even better speed and response, get a new one

Obviously, that is true, but it does not answer my question.

Nor does suggesting I add more RAM.



MotionMan

 

[manly]

Obviously, that is true, but it does not answer my question.

Nor does suggesting I add more RAM.



MotionMan

to also not answer your question, I've personally decided not to upgrade to Lion on my (ancient) Core 2 Duo MacBook w/ DDR2 RAM. It's unfortunately limited to just 3GB and I don't think I'll benefit much from Lion.

I haven't seen any benchmarks of Lion on 3-4 year old Macs, so it's hard to answer your question directly. At this stage, I wouldn't buy any computer that uses DDR2 memory.

 

[MotionMan]

Seriously, as they are currently configured, would there be a noticeable difference?

MotionMan

 

[TheStu]

Seriously, as they are currently configured, would there be a noticeable difference?

MotionMan

Almost certainly not outside of synthetics. What are the GPUs in each? That might make a difference for Flash and HD video playback that will be noticeable.

Unless you are comparing Core 2 to Sandy Bridge, or platter to SSD, you aren't going to notice a whole lot of difference in a few hundred MHz. Comparing the 1.4GHz Core 2 in my Air to the 2.4 in my friend's Pro (both with SSDs) you can definitely see a speed difference, his is more powerful than mine, but between what you listed? Fuhgedaboutit

 

[rugby]

Obviously, that is true, but it does not answer my question.

Nor does suggesting I add more RAM.



MotionMan

I did answer your question in the first sentence of my original post.

 

[MotionMan]

I did answer your question in the first sentence of my original post.

Sort of.

It obviously would be technically faster, but would it be noticeable?

MotionMan

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

Probably not. I don't think the differences between DDR2 and DDR3 are that noticeable at those speeds. And the CPUs are close enough in speed that they probably won't make a difference either.

 

[Eug]

to also not answer your question, I've personally decided not to upgrade to Lion on my (ancient) Core 2 Duo MacBook w/ DDR2 RAM. It's unfortunately limited to just 3GB and I don't think I'll benefit much from Lion.

I haven't seen any benchmarks of Lion on 3-4 year old Macs, so it's hard to answer your question directly. At this stage, I wouldn't buy any computer that uses DDR2 memory.

I upgraded my 2.26 GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro which had 2 GB DDR3 1067 MHz RAM. With 2 GB RAM it felt about the same in Lion as it did in Snow Leopard. Both felt somewhat lethargic, and bringing it to 4 GB RAM didn't help much (since I wasn't a heavy multitasker). What really sped it up was putting in an SSD. With the SSD, it felt like a brand new machine, even with just 2 GB RAM.

I really don't think the RAM is the main limiting factor here, even with DDR2.

 

[KeithP]

There is a chart of benchmarks in this article:
http://www.macworld.co.uk/mac/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=3105

I believe the 2GHz model has the Geforce 9400M for video while the 1.83 has the Intel GMA950 chipset. So there might be a noticeable difference in performance when dealing with Flash or other hardware accelerated video.

-KeithP

 

[mmntech]

I'd go with #1. It has a Geforce 9400M GPU versus the second one which uses the seriously outdated Intel GMA950.