1.83 cd iMac to new Mac mini

[RollTide]

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Hey guys I'm looking at updating to new Mac mini with 4 GB of ram. I want to run two monitors and the Mac mini will handle everything I plan to do just fine.

My question is I play IL-2 sturmovik 1946 flight sim quite often and do you guys think the 320m with 4 gigs will give me equal (or better!) performance as my mid 2006 128 mb dedicated card. The game is pretty old. Thanks

 

[mrfoof82]

Assuming your iMac had an ATi Radeon X1600 or X1800 -- handily. You should see a 100 - 200% frame rate improvement across the board for identical settings, more so for shader-heavy games. Though overall I don't recommend going nuts with shader detail on the Mac Mini, since that will be it's weakest point and will affect your frame rate the most.

On my Mid-2010 Mac Mini I can note the following...

* Starcraft II, 1280x800, default settings = 25-30 fps (OS X), 35-40 fps (Windows 7)
* Left 4 Dead 2, 1440x900, default settings = 30-60 fps (OS X)
* Team Fortress 2, 1440x900, default settings = 45-60 fps (OS X)

 

[RollTide]

WOW That is much more than I expected. Thanks for the reply. I plan on getting one once I get out of Uni. Hopefully there will be an upgrade by then

 

[dolphin842]

I had the exact same upgrade path (X1600 core duo imac --> 2010 mini) and the increase in framerate is quite noticeable (all I play though are quake-engine games). I opted to get 8GB of ram... it's certainly nice to have some breathing room coming from 2GB in the iMac.

 

[RollTide]

Ya when the time comes around (January) I am trying to decide whether I can get win 7, two monitors (one really good one) and keep my keyboard and mouse with the mini and the price justify the purchase. If it is close to the low iMac, I might as well just get it. But for some reason I am drawn to the mini.

 

[dolphin842]

Ya when the time comes around (January) I am trying to decide whether I can get win 7, two monitors (one really good one) and keep my keyboard and mouse with the mini and the price justify the purchase. If it is close to the low iMac, I might as well just get it. But for some reason I am drawn to the mini.

The ability to use 2 matte monitors of my choosing was the primary attraction of the Mini for me. If you like the iMac's glossy panels, it may be worth it as you'll get a significant CPU/GPU performance increase over the current Minis (along with a desktop HD and 16GB RAM capacity).