Mac mini mid 2010 replacement battery mac os x#
Mac mini mid 2010 replacement battery mac os#
Mac mini mid 2010 replacement battery windows 7#
Mac mini mid 2010 replacement battery windows#

I loaded the AnandTech front page, scrolled to an article, clicked on it, scrolled down to the comments and recorded system power consumption: The next test is some basic web browsing using Chrome. Both OSes experience blips of activity after we reach the desktop as additional services are started.

Mac mini mid 2010 replacement battery windows#

However, OS X drops down to idle sooner (finishes booting quicker) and remains at a lower idle point than Windows 7. Peak power consumption is nearly identical between the two OSes during the boot process. The red line is Windows 7, the blue line is OS X: From power on until you get a cursor at the desktop and the system’s power draw stabilizes for a while. This first chart shows power consumption during the boot process.

Mac mini mid 2010 replacement battery windows 7#

I recorded the mini’s power consumption over time running both OS X 10.6.4 and Windows 7 圆4 to give you an idea of where the power consumption differences come into play.

Mac mini mid 2010 replacement battery mac os#

I believe it’s safe to assume that part of the reason Apple is able to make such a bold claim about the mini’s energy efficiency is because it is the only desktop that can be sold running Mac OS X. However in the past we’ve shown that systems from Lenovo, despite having similar specifications to Apple notebooks deliver worse idle battery life. Granted I don’t have identical hardware by another manufacturer to confirm that this isn’t negligence on Apple’s part to optimize its firmware for Windows 7. While I measured 8W at idle under OS X, running Windows 7 (power saver mode) on the Mac mini resulted in a 12W idle power without any changes to the hardware. The idle battery life advantage comes from lower idle power, presumably through heavy OS and hardware optimization. Under load however, the OS X power advantage disappears - we are after all dealing with the same components regardless of OS.

Reading web pages, typing a document, etc.

Mac mini mid 2010 replacement battery mac os x#

As we’ve shown in the past, Mac OS X tends to offer better battery life than Windows in situations where the system sees a lot of idle time. The third explanation for why Apple is able to make such a bold claim about the Mac mini’s power consumption has nothing to do with hardware at all. I’ve even heard that Apple goes to great lengths to ensure the CPUs/GPUs/chipsets it gets are on the lower power portion of the yield curve for products like the mini or MacBook Air. The mini is built entirely out of notebook parts with a custom motherboard design devoid of anything unnecessary.

Part of it has to do with Apple’s component selection. Unlike the other two systems I mentioned here, the mini uses a custom, integrated 85W PSU specifically designed for the system’s load. Part of this has to do with Apple’s very efficient integrated PSU. I have not seen a modern desktop machine idle at lower power than the 2010 Mac mini. If I run the 2010 Mac mini in a similar configuration (minus the display/battery part since, well, they don’t exist), the entire system consumes 7.5W at idle.Ĭonnect to a WiFi network, plug in an Ethernet cable and you’re looking at 8W. The screen was disabled, battery removed, WiFi disconnected and no ethernet cables plugged in. Now that 8.1W number is unrealistic for a notebook. Even the ASUS UL50V notebook, with a Core 2 Duo SU7300 (1.3GHz) ultra low voltage notebook CPU idles at 8.1W with the screen disabled. Zotac’s HD-ID11, an Atom based next-generation ION nettop, idles at 21.7W. I thought that might be a bit of a stretch but if you look at the numbers, they’re very convincing. Apple calls the new Mac mini the world’s most energy-efficient desktop computer.