Mac mini (Mid 2010): External ports and connectors

Summary

Learn about the external ports and connectors on your Mac mini (Mid 2010) computer.

Products Affected

Mac mini (Mid 2010)

Illustration of ports and connectors

Note: All ports and connectors discussed in this article are located on the Input/Output (I/O) panel on the back of the computer.

Power port	This port is for connecting the Mac mini (Mid 2010) built-in power supply. This connector has different design than that of previous Mac mini models.
Gigabit Ethernet port (10/100/1000 Gigabit Base-T)	The Mac mini (Mid 2010) has a built-in 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet port. Connect to an Ethernet cable from a cable or DSL modem, hub, switch, or router, or to another Macintosh computer; the Ethernet port also supports jumbo frames. The connected device can be either a 10Base-T, 100Base-TX or a 1000Base-T device; the port automatically detects which type of device is connected. You don't have to use an Ethernet crossover cable to connect to other Ethernet devices.
One FireWire 800 port	The Mac mini (Mid 2010) features one 800 Mbit/s FireWire (IEEE 1394b) port; 8 watts. 800 Mbit/s is a theoretical maximum load, and actual rates will vary. This port is used by older iPods and other devices such as video cameras or external hard drives or optical drives.
HDMI port	Use the HDMI port to connect a compatible HDMI display, or to a DVI display using the included HDMI to DVI Adapter. Use extended desktop or video mirroring mode up to 1920 by 1200 pixels through this port.
Mini DisplayPort	Connect a Mini DisplayPort display such as the Apple LED Cinema Display or a Mini DisplayPort to VGA, DVI, or Dual-Link adapter, sold separately. The Mac mini (Mid 2010) supports up to 2560 x 1600 pixels resolution and extended desktop and video mirroring across both ports.
Four USB (Universal Serial Bus) 2.0 ports	The Mac mini (Mid 2010) has a total of four USB 2.0 compliant ports. You can connect both USB 2.0- and USB 1.1-compliant devices to these ports. The USB ports use USB Type A connectors, which have four pins each. The USB 2.0 ports support low-speed, full-speed, and high-speed data transfers at up to 1.5 megabits per second (Mbit/s), 12 Mbit/s, and 480 Mbit/s, respectively.
SD card slot	The built-in SD card slot allows the Mac mini (Mid 2010) to read and write data to SD media. The slot accepts cards that are Standard SD (Secure Digital) 4 MB to 4 GB, SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) 4GB to 32 GB, and SDXC (Secure Digital Extended Capacity) 32 GB and larger.
Audio in/optical audio in port	The Audio In port accommodates both digital optical input and analog audio input. Analog audio line input is accepted through a 3.5mm mini phone jack. The sound input jack accepts line-level stereo signals up to 24-bit stereo 44.1-192kHz sampling rate. It also accepts a stereo miniplug-to-RCA cable adapter for connecting stereo equipment to the computer. Optical audio input is SPDIF format and uses a standard TOSLINK cable with a TOSLINK mini-plug adapter, accepting up to 24-bit stereo and 44.1-96kHz sampling rate.
Headphone out/optical audio out port	The headphone / line output jack accommodates digital optical audio output, analog audio output with a 24-bit, 44.1-192 kHz D/A converter, digital audio output up to 24-bit stereo and 44.1-192 kHz sampling rate and supporting encoded digital audio output (AC3 and DTS). For analog headphone / line output, use a standard audio cable with 3.5mm metal plug. For digital audio, you can use Apple iPhone headset with microphone or a standard TOSLINK cable with a TOSLINK mini-plug adapter.