Has anyone had success or problems with Mac Mini?

1
I am planning to use a Mac Mini (OSX 10.8) to run compiled Matlab+Psychtoolbox code.

I am wondering if anyone on this list can share their experience using Psychtoolbox on a Mac Mini. I would be interested to hear about any issues or limitations you might have encountered.

The current Mac Mini specs include: 2.5 GHZ CPU, 4 GB RAM, "Intel HD Graphics 4000"
http://www.apple.com/mac-mini/specs.html

The thing I am most uncertain about is the integrated graphics.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

thanks,
David Jones
dxjones@...
2
The most recent Mac Minis work fine, but the previous version does not.  Check the archives here for details.

Keith

On Jan 9, 2013, at 5:52 PM, "dxjonespix" <dxjones@...> wrote:

 

I am planning to use a Mac Mini (OSX 10.8) to run compiled Matlab+Psychtoolbox code.

I am wondering if anyone on this list can share their experience using Psychtoolbox on a Mac Mini. I would be interested to hear about any issues or limitations you might have encountered.

The current Mac Mini specs include: 2.5 GHZ CPU, 4 GB RAM, "Intel HD Graphics 4000"
http://www.apple.com/mac-mini/specs.html

The thing I am most uncertain about is the integrated graphics.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

thanks,
David Jones
dxjones@...

3
Hi,

I'm thinking of purchasing a Mac Mini with the Mountain Lion OS. Since the video is HDMI only, I'm also thinking of puchasing a converter to VGA so that the Mac Mini can drive the CRT monitors. Since Mac Minis have Native Mini DisplayPort output, it seems like a Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter, which costs ~$30, might work well.

Does anyone see any problems with this approach?


Also, I've heard that the older Mac Minis were problematic in a few ways. First, I've heard the audio card was sub-par and led to problems when experiments combined visual and auditory stimuli. Second, I've heard that the newer Mac Minis might have an issue with the graphics card, although I'm not sure about this. For these reasons, a colleague advised me to go with a Mac Pro or a Mac book pro rather than with the Mac Mini. Does anyone know if these problems have been resolved for the newest Mac Mini?


Finally, if you think even the newest Mac Minis are still problematic, what Mac (or Windows) system do you think works best with Psychtoolbox (especially in the context of driving a CRT screen)?
Our studies typically involve presenting simple visual and/or auditory stimuli (e.g., letters, faces, occasionally videos) while subjects respond via button presses on a keyboard.


Best and thanks for any advice you may have!
Daniel






--- In psychtoolbox@yahoogroups.com, Keith Schneider wrote:
>
> The most recent Mac Minis work fine, but the previous version does not. Check the archives here for details.
>
> Keith
>
> On Jan 9, 2013, at 5:52 PM, "dxjonespix" wrote:
>
> > I am planning to use a Mac Mini (OSX 10.8) to run compiled Matlab+Psychtoolbox code.
> >
> > I am wondering if anyone on this list can share their experience using Psychtoolbox on a Mac Mini. I would be interested to hear about any issues or limitations you might have encountered.
> >
> > The current Mac Mini specs include: 2.5 GHZ CPU, 4 GB RAM, "Intel HD Graphics 4000"
> > http://www.apple.com/mac-mini/specs.html
> >
> > The thing I am most uncertain about is the integrated graphics.
> >
> > Any feedback would be appreciated.
> >
> > thanks,
> > David Jones
> > dxjones@...
> >
> >
>
4
Hi Mario,

I asked my colleague about what problems he had with the older Mac Mini sound card and here's what he said:

"it was the audio "card" on the computer itself. we could do tones, but anything more sophisticated was difficult. the same is true for stock windows machine cards too. we usually have to by a nice card. the audio on the apple workstations and higher end MacBooks is often better. now, perhaps the cards on the new minis are better, ours are pretty old."

Does this help?

Best and thanks,
Daniel

--- In psychtoolbox@yahoogroups.com, "daniel_weissman_michigan" wrote:
>
> Hi Mario,
>
> Thanks for your response!
>
> As for the exact problems my colleagues had, I'm not sure. One colleague mentioned in passing that a 2-year old Mac Mini in their lab was fine for presenting visual stimuli but problematic for presenting auditory stimuli. Another colleague at a different University mentioned that they couldn't get auditory stimuli to work on an older Mac Mini until a different audio driver was installed.
> Have you noticed any problems with presenting auditory stimuli on a newer Mac Mini?
>
> As you might have guessed, I am about to purchase new computers for behavioral testing and am trying to decide which operating system (Mac, PC, or Linux) is best for Psychtoolbox. Based on the Wiki and on your recent posts, it sounds like you prefer Linux but still test and develop for Mac and PC. What would you recommend for someone who is most familiar with PCs, has some experience with Macs, and is least familiar with Linux?
>
> Best and thanks!
> Daniel
>
>
> --- In psychtoolbox@yahoogroups.com, "Mario" wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > What kind of audio problems? I don't remember such posts? Afaik, the Mac Mini has the same Intel HDA audio hardware like all other Apple products and the OSX audio system was so far one of the trouble free bits. Or is it some kind of noise in the stimuli, e.g., not caused by software or audio hardware problems, but by bad routing / bad shielding inside the hardware?
> >
> > -mario
> >
> > --- In psychtoolbox@yahoogroups.com, "daniel_weissman_michigan" wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi Keith,
> > >
> > > Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, as I'm new to PTB, I don't yet have code for studies that employ auditory stimuli. I just wanted to know if the new Mac Mini would experience problems with auditory stimuli since I am trying to decide which computer type to purchase.
> > >
> > > Best and thanks,
> > > Daniel
> > >
> > > --- In psychtoolbox@yahoogroups.com, Keith Schneider wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Hi Daniel, no I haven't, sorry. Is there a test you would like me to run? I can cut and paste some code you send me.
> > > >
> > > > keith
> > > >
> > > > On Feb 7, 2013, at 10:21 AM, daniel_weissman_michigan wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Hi Keith,
> > > > >
> > > > > Thanks for the input. It sounds like presenting visual stimuli is no problem on the new Mac Mini. Have you ever tried presenting auditory stimuli? If so, were there any problems?
> > > > >
> > > > > Best and thanks again!
> > > > > Daniel
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
>