base MM, 19" monitor and photoshop

[Travis Bickle]

Been thinking of getting an imac but have decided to wait it out until next year now. So in the interim i'm thinking of getting a mac mini, hooking it up to my 19" samsung monitor that i used to use on my pc and use that, occasionally connecting it up to my 46" philips TV.

Eventually i'll move it over to the TV as a 2nd pc/media centre and use the imac i intend to purchase next year as my permanent computer.

What i'd like to know is, can i use the latest photoshop on the base model of mac mini? I'm aware it hasn't got a dedicated gfx card but rather utilises the Intel HD Graphics 3000. Will this also be good enough for imovie and playing full 1080 films on the 46" TV.

Another question while i'm here. The TV is 1080 so i assume the resolution will be set to that when connected, what about the monitor? Ideally the 19" monitors use 1280x1024 so will the MM work ok at this resolution?

hopefully some techie will understand my questions and help me out here

 

[Travis Bickle]

wow!!

159 views and not one answer?

Someone must have an idea, i've tried searching but i guess i'm using the wrong parameters or summat!

 

[Lokheed]

Base model mini with SSD (OCZ Vertex2) and 8 GB of RAM. Video card bumped up to 512 MB. Outputting to 23" Samsung SyncMaster running native resolution of 2048x1152 using the included Thunderbolt to DVI adapter (just slightly higher than your TV).

Ps CS5 launches in two bounces, fully loaded in ~6 secs. 1080p movies fly and use about 15-20% CPU. It's no slouch that's for sure, getting better scores on GeekBench than early 2010 MBPs and even 2008 Mac Pros.

 

[Travis Bickle]

ok, how about base model with vanilla hdd, ram etc. I know i can upgrade the ram myself so don't really want to pay apple silly money for that and i'm not paying out huge wads of cash for a ssd when again i could upgrade that myself sometime down the line.

I'm intrigued how you get 512Mb of memory for the gfx, is that something you can allocate yourself or is that just the standard for the intel gfx................or perhaps just a wind up?

 

[pepperdanky]

when you go up to 8gb of ram it automatically bumps up how much is allocated to graphics

 

[Travis Bickle]

cheers pepper, didn't know that!

 

[Adamantoise]

cheers pepper, didn't know that!

512MB doesn't make the IGP anymore powerful though. Lol

If you need a discrete video card then get one. Upping your RAM won't do much but give you more buffer.

 

[Travis Bickle]

I think i'll invest a little more and go for the MM with the gfx card, i'll be using it for some time, probably well into next year so may as well get my moneys worth.

 

[Travis Bickle]

Been giving this more thought today.

I'm planning on getting an imac next year as it's now mid-cycle and can't see the point of getting one now.

So to ease me into the mac way of life (always used pc's) i've decided to go with a Mac mini. Initially i was thinking of getting the higher model with the discrete gfx but on reflection and once i've included the cost of a touch pad; keyboard and dvd player i'm nearly up to the price of the base imac.

So, i'm now thinking of getting the base Mac mini, connect it to my 19" samsung syncmaster monitor and use that until i'm ready to get an imac. I'm currently using an asus laptop running a intel core 2 duo T5500, with 2Gb ram and a nvidia geforce go7300 gfx card running XP. I'm able to use photoshop CS5 on that albeit that i don't do anything too intensive.

Once i've got the Mac mini i intend at some point to upgrade the ram upping it from 2Gb to maybe 8Gb. What i'd like to know now is:

1. Will the Mac mini run on the monitor ok? the resolution is 1280x1024. Is there problems with non-apple monitors being used?
2. how will the performance of the base Mm compare to my current laptop?
3. How well will Ps run on the base model? Also what about progs like garageband, imovies etc??

I know i've covered some of these points already but i just need clarification that a base Mm will provide me with the full OS experience until such time as i'm ready to invest some real cash into an imac.

Cheers from this noob