Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 08:00 pm

Unibody 2010 Mac mini gets iFixit teardown

By Prince McLean

Apple's new 2010 Mac mini is wider (7.7 inches square, just like the existing Apple TV) but significantly thinner (just 1.4 inches thick) and easier to take apart than previous models.

A teardown report by iFixit shows how Apple fit the slim system's power supply inside the unibody aluminum case and reveals a variety of new innovations.

Rather than needing an external power supply, the new unit ships with simply an AC power cable (similar to Apple TV and Time Capsule), and Mini DisplayPort to DVI adapter. The new model also includes a built in HDMI port for delivering audio and digital video to an HDTV display over one cable.

The new Mac Mini includes an SD Card slot just like recent MacBook Pros, and includes four USB 2.0 ports, along with the standard Gigabit Ethernet and a FireWire 800 port. After taking a new unit apart, iFixit discovered a variety of new changes:

• The Mac mini's unibody top enclosure is machined from a single block of aluminum, with a twist off rubber base that exposes RAM components for easy access. "Removing the RAM is very simple this time around, requiring only the simple prying of two clips." The bottom cover also provides a radio window in the metal case for WiFi and Bluetooth.
  
• "There are two blind holes in the case of the Mini that are meant for the ends of Apple's custom U-shaped logic board removal tool. We just used two Torx screwdrivers. We call them the 'Mac mini logic board removal tool.'"
  
• The new Mac mini's power supply provides "a minuscule 7 Amps at 12V. Compare that to the 25.8 Amps at 12V cranked out by the 27 inch iMac, and you can understand how they fit the power supply inside the Mini."
  
• "The fan doesn't have too much work to do, since the new Mac Mini is the most energy-efficient desktop, running on less than 10 watts at idle! In keeping with its space saving design, the fins directing air toward the vent hole are slanted to allow for better fan placement."
  
• The fan cools the CPU and CPU via a wraparound heat sink tube that wicks heat toward the fins and blows it out the wide slot on the back panel.

iFixit notes that the Mac mini's 3/8 inch woofer dome "won't be popping ear drums anytime soon."