Hi All, does anyone know if the Mac mini 1.8 with extended momory is powerful enough to run zbrush as the mini comes with a built in graphics processor and cannot be changed.
Rachel
The graphics processor will probably not matter. You’ll need around 2GB of memory as a good starting point or better yet get OWC’s 4GB kit. I’m pretty sure your CPU is Core2 Duo 1.8, so it should be powerful enough.
-K
Yes, it’s got the 2gig mem in, but now you’ve given me some new questions. what on earth is a OWC’s 4GB Kit when it’s at home. I’ve never owned a mac until today, and yes you are also correct that the mini is core2 duo.
Rachel
OWC is short for Other World Computing (OWC) (www.macsales.com)
They are a pretty reliable dealer for parts (disks, memory, etc.) for Macs. (At least IMHO, YMMV.)
The memory kit I mentioned is available here: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/mac_mini/intel.
I should give a fair warning that though they have videos to walk you through installing it, it is for the brave (the Mac Mini was really designed with ease of service in mind.) You may want to stay with 2GB for now. (You may be able to find someone local or shop that takes mail-ins that can do the upgrade for you if you fine you absolutely need the additional memory.)
-K
Thanks for the info, it will be a good place to go check things out, but the 2G of memory is the upgraded memory and will not take any more in the 1.8 version of the machine. Like i said, thanks again for the info.
Rachel