Apple's revamped, speedier Mac Mini starts at $599

Apple's Mac Mini becomes faster and more capable. The tiny desktop computer, last updated over a year ago, will have three USB 3 ports while retaining HDMI and Thunderbolt connections.

by Declan McCullagh

October 23, 2012 10:35 AM PDT Follow @declanm

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Apple's tiny Mac Mini computer has become a bit more capable.

At an event today in San Jose, Calif., Apple said the revamped Mac Mini will have three USB 3 ports, dual or quad-intel Core i5 or i7 Ivy Bridge, with Intel HD Graphics 4000, and up to 16GB of RAM. It starts at $599 for a 2.5GHz computer with 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive.

There's also a server edition for $999 that has a pair of 1TB hard drives. It ships today.

The revised Mac Mini will also have a Gigabit Ethernet port, HDMI, Thunderbolt (as before), and an SD card slot.

Apple last updated the Mac Mini in July 2011, when it received second-generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 CPU updates and a Thunderbolt port. It lost its SuperDrive DVD burner -- which has not returned -- but did retain the HDMI port.

In July 2011, CNET awarded the previous version of the Mac Mini three out of five stars -- a "good" rating. It had previously sold for prices starting at $599, meaning Apple is keeping the same price.