Apple Mac Mini 2011

Style over substance?

Benchmark results

To be fair, though, the Mac Mini managed a very respectable 82fps when running Far Cry 2, which is about 90 per cent faster than last year’s model (45fps). Just remember that the entry-level £529 version of the Mac Mini has the same underwhelming Intel HD 3000 graphics as the new MacBook Air, so gamers will need to cough up the extra cash for the AMD graphics in the £699 model to get these numbers.

Tight fit

Mind you, Apple’s removed optical drive from this year’s Mac Mini, so you won’t be installing many games onto it, or playing many DVDs, or ripping your music off CD – unless, of course, you fork out an extra £66 for the optional external SuperDrive. I can understand the lack of an optical drive in the ultraportable MacBook Air, but removing it from a desktop home computer that’s clearly designed with entertainment in mind is rather limiting.

Benchmark Tests

PCMark Vantage Results

Longer bars are better