12 year PC user now converted to Mac Mini

[THENIZZZEIL]

Hello all,

I just want to say that I am pleased to say that I have officially converted myself to a MAC user!

With all the crazy questions and benchmarks I read and re read and after analyzing every option from the i7 imac to the base model mac mini. I have settled on the 2.53ghz mac mini in hopes to upgrade the HD.

Let me just give a background of what I was looking for, and I value you all your opinions on if my decision is rational and a wise one. I probably glued myself to this forum for about 2 weeks before pulling the trigger.

I was coming from an OLD pc which hyperthreading was the 'hot' thing in i believe 2002. It was a custom build and I had gotten away with doing photoshop on it over the past few years.

I'm by no means a professional photographer, but a deep enthusiast that would like to have what I can afford. While the i7 seemed to be the best deal since it was the top of the line model I began to question if i really needed all that power. I wanted the beauty of a 27" screen, but then after reviews of the glossy screen, made me stray away if i was going to be doing any type of photo editing for print. THen i was thinking about getting a MBP and just buying a monitor keyboard etc...but then i realized that it was just about the same price was having an imac...but the perforamnce i was getting was slower. So then i thought maybe the base model mac mini would be the way to go, then i got stuck on what monitor to get etc? and calculated it was all about the same price was a 21.5" imac..so i kept saying WTF DO I WANT!

With all the sales going on and tax free/free shipping i went with the 2.53ghz mac mini. I didnt go with the base model since the 2.53 has the 4gb ram already and a slightly faster clock speed.

I figured while i may be sacrificing clock speed/performance, the real world experience would be reasonable to me for the savings. since i do only edit personal photos, family vacations.

THe next reason i didnt go with an imac is due to the monitor. However i havent settled on a monitor yet, i wanted to come close to a 27" size so i came across the Samsung t260hd, but have read mixed reviews about photoshoping on it. I didnt really want to go glossy due to the reflections i would have in my room, but i also wanted something big. (i will be using a spyder3 to calibrate, my monitor would have a giant window with curtains behind it and 6 can lights in my room.)

I figure if i spend $700 on a macmini and buy a good monitor, if in a year or 2 a newer mac mini comes out, then i would make the justification to upgrade again. I would feel somewhat sad to know that i would have to repalce m whole 27" imac vs the desktop itself. It made more sense to me, since i wasnt in the market of the glossy screen anyway and wanted to make the most of my investment.

The last few things i havent bought yet, are a monitor and keyboard and the possibility of a new HD.

What are your recommendations/upgrades for a daily user...somewhat photoshop/lightroom user? (i dont really do video, but have FC..as an option)

What are your thoughts on these
-monitor - samsung t260hd
-keyboard - dinovo edge mac edition, or just the regular dinovo (im not a fan of the apple keybaords)
-internal HD - scorpio black, mid-level SSD, seagate momentus

I have already purchased the OWC elite al pro external hd case with fw800 to incase my 1tb caviar black.

thanks for all those who read...sorry for the long post, im just excited and hope my first experience

 

[yayitsezekiel]

congratulations!

i'm a convert myself as of earlier this year, glad to see others doing the right thing! you'll seriously never want to go back haha.

welcome!

 

[Cabbit]

What are your thoughts on these
-monitor - samsung t260hd
-keyboard - dinovo edge mac edition, or just the regular dinovo (im not a fan of the apple keybaords)
-internal HD - scorpio black, mid-level SSD, seagate momentus

Monitors pretty good though i recommend a second hand Apple cinema display or a higher resolution samsung/dell, mind get your display port to dvi if you want to run two monitors at the same time.
Get the dinovo edge mac edition.
A seagate 500GB 2.5" is very cheep and reliable, any SSD would also do the trick if you don't need a lot of internal storage just make sure it's SATA and 2.5 inch <= 9.5mm high

 

[THENIZZZEIL]

Monitors pretty good though i recommend a second hand Apple cinema display or a higher resolution samsung/dell, mind get your display port to dvi if you want to run two monitors at the same time.
Get the dinovo edge mac edition.
A seagate 500GB 2.5" is very cheep and reliable, any SSD would also do the trick if you don't need a lot of internal storage just make sure it's SATA and 2.5 inch <= 9.5mm high

thanks for the reply.
ive seen the acd but its also glossy...Ive read about Dell/HP/Eizo - all great, but they are 24"..unless i get that 30" monster..im trying to find my happy median between price/size/quality.

im trying to improve my experience without breaking the bank..is the seagate better than the scorpio blue/black

thanks again!

 

[mdjasrie]

Congrats! I also became a mac convert 3 months ago! I bought my Mac Mini and i have been loving it ever since. I had a pretty good LCD monitor and i really didnt want it to go to waste, as well as a mac keyboard that i just love using it, so i decided to buy a mac mini as a my first mac, since its cheap.

You know what? After using Mac, i feel like i have reached technological enlightenment. Seriously. I will never go back to Windows again.

Mac has given a platform where i do not have to worry about system crashes and stuff and i can concentrate on doing my work more than ever.

 

[thiagos]

Hello all,

I just want to say that I am pleased to say that I have officially converted myself to a MAC user!

With all the crazy questions and benchmarks I read and re read and after analyzing every option from the i7 imac to the base model mac mini. I have settled on the 2.53ghz mac mini in hopes to upgrade the HD.

Let me just give a background of what I was looking for, and I value you all your opinions on if my decision is rational and a wise one. I probably glued myself to this forum for about 2 weeks before pulling the trigger.

I was coming from an OLD pc which hyperthreading was the 'hot' thing in i believe 2002. It was a custom build and I had gotten away with doing photoshop on it over the past few years.

I'm by no means a professional photographer, but a deep enthusiast that would like to have what I can afford. While the i7 seemed to be the best deal since it was the top of the line model I began to question if i really needed all that power. I wanted the beauty of a 27" screen, but then after reviews of the glossy screen, made me stray away if i was going to be doing any type of photo editing for print. THen i was thinking about getting a MBP and just buying a monitor keyboard etc...but then i realized that it was just about the same price was having an imac...but the perforamnce i was getting was slower. So then i thought maybe the base model mac mini would be the way to go, then i got stuck on what monitor to get etc? and calculated it was all about the same price was a 21.5" imac..so i kept saying WTF DO I WANT!

With all the sales going on and tax free/free shipping i went with the 2.53ghz mac mini. I didnt go with the base model since the 2.53 has the 4gb ram already and a slightly faster clock speed.

I figured while i may be sacrificing clock speed/performance, the real world experience would be reasonable to me for the savings. since i do only edit personal photos, family vacations.

THe next reason i didnt go with an imac is due to the monitor. However i havent settled on a monitor yet, i wanted to come close to a 27" size so i came across the Samsung t260hd, but have read mixed reviews about photoshoping on it. I didnt really want to go glossy due to the reflections i would have in my room, but i also wanted something big. (i will be using a spyder3 to calibrate, my monitor would have a giant window with curtains behind it and 6 can lights in my room.)

I figure if i spend $700 on a macmini and buy a good monitor, if in a year or 2 a newer mac mini comes out, then i would make the justification to upgrade again. I would feel somewhat sad to know that i would have to repalce m whole 27" imac vs the desktop itself. It made more sense to me, since i wasnt in the market of the glossy screen anyway and wanted to make the most of my investment.

The last few things i havent bought yet, are a monitor and keyboard and the possibility of a new HD.

What are your recommendations/upgrades for a daily user...somewhat photoshop/lightroom user? (i dont really do video, but have FC..as an option)

What are your thoughts on these
-monitor - samsung t260hd
-keyboard - dinovo edge mac edition, or just the regular dinovo (im not a fan of the apple keybaords)
-internal HD - scorpio black, mid-level SSD, seagate momentus

I have already purchased the OWC elite al pro external hd case with fw800 to incase my 1tb caviar black.

thanks for all those who read...sorry for the long post, im just excited and hope my first experience

This is a great monitor (link below). I am selling it because I just got the 27" iMac. There are some pictures as well. You can buy this monitor on Amazon or Newegg it is the Samsung F2380.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/sys/1524606251.html

 

[RiverFox]

Hello all,

I just want to say that I am pleased to say that I have officially converted myself to a MAC user!

Welcome!! I too "converted" a few years ago. I also have a MacMini and love every second I use it. I use it for quite a few applications. So much in fact, I've got it to run 2 monitors.

It's quite awesome to show it off when my die-hard WinTel friends come over and are puzzled at the MacMini running 2 monitors.

I just bought this kit and it has worked flawless now for the past week. If you need 2 monitors, I HIGHLY recommend it.

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/VIDU2DVIA/

 

[powerbook911]

The Mac Mini is a really competent machine. I have one on my TV that is only 2 GHZ, and it's still nice.

I just gave my mother a MBP, with your same 2.53 GHZ processor, and it really screams! Faster than any Mac I have personally.

That processor, 4GB ram, is a great experience with OS X.

Also, I have opened Mini before, not too bad. However, the mini has the Firewire 800 right there for you, so you can always just connect an external Firewire 800 drive, for more space, to keep gigabyte eating stuff like videos and whatnot.

I think getting a nice monitor is smart as it can last you a good amount of time. While I have a bit older iMac, I actually use a 20-inch Apple Cinema Display as my main display. I've had it five years, knock on wood, and it's great.

So I think your idea is smart, you can always upgrade the mini, sell yours, and buy a new one, if there is ever some super duper new one you want to replace it with down the line, but still have a display. Plus, if you ever want to sell the mini, it's affordable to ship it.

the 23-inch Cinema Display they used to make was Matte and really nice, if you could find a good one, otherwise, just find what's best for you.

Enjoy! The mini will serve you nicely I'm certain. It's magic in such a tiny box too. Other PC makers advertise small PCs, but it's a netbook processor inside. The Mac Mini is a full powerful computer.