Mac mini PowerPC 7447a (G4) 2005

The Apple Mac mini G4/1.25 is built around a 1.25 GHz PowerPC 7447a (G4) processor, which includes the AltiVec "Velocity Engine" vector processing unit and a 512k on-chip L2 cache. It came with 256 MB of 333 MHz PC2700 DDR SDRAM (upgraded to 512 MB after July 26, 2005), a 40.0 GB Ultra ATA/100 hard drive, and a slot-loading 8X DVD/CD-RW "Combo" Drive (a 4X DVD±RW/CD-RW "SuperDrive" was optional). Graphics are handled by an ATI Radeon 9200 processor (4X AGP) with 32 MB of DDR SDRAM.

Connectivity options include DVI (with a DVI-to-VGA adapter supplied), USB 2.0, FireWire, and a headphone/line out jack. It also supported optional upgrades for AirPort Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth.

The internal hardware is ingeniously packed into a tiny, elegant 2.9 lb "cuboid" case, measuring 6.5 inches square and two inches tall, powered by an external supply. The Mac mini was sold without a display, keyboard, or mouse, but a wide range of Apple and third-party peripherals were available.

The original Mac mini G4/1.25 was a landmark product, celebrated for successfully lowering the cost of entry into the Mac ecosystem. Its tiny, elegant design was universally praised, making it an attractive addition to any desk. It was evaluated as a capable machine for basic tasks like email, web browsing, and word processing, making it an ideal computer for switchers from Windows who already owned a monitor and peripherals. However, its performance was decidedly entry-level. Critics pointed out that the base 256MB of RAM was insufficient for OS X Panther, leading to sluggishness and constant disk swapping. The 4200-RPM hard drive was slow, and the ATI Radeon 9200 graphics, while better than integrated solutions, were modest. The consensus was that it was a brilliant concept and a great value, but one that desperately needed a RAM upgrade right out of the box to be truly usable.