Buying a Mac Mini a wise decision?

[KillaMac]

Looking at Best Buy, they have a base mac mini for $499 or even the $699 model. Is this a wise decision to replace an HP Pavillion machine 500 series? My autistic brothers machine is so slow, even after a fresh install and SSD upgrade. I think it's just the processor can't handle it well.

I want to move him to Apple so he stops having all these issues.

I thought about an IMAC which is my limit $1000. But you really can't upgrade that easy. So I would think the Mac Mini and upgrade to SSD would work?

Thoughts, concerns?

 

[robotica]

Sounds like a great idea to me.

There may be an update coming but it's anybodys guess when that will actually be.

If your looking for speed get one with an ssd.

 

[ignatius345]

I've got a 2011 Mini which is still going strong, running Sierra very cleanly. I did put an SSD in it a few years back, and that was key. Just used it for a bunch of Photoshop (big files) and it did quite well. I've also run Final Cut Pro X on it, and a bunch of other stuff. I really only replaced it because I wanted to have a retina display and it wasn't up to the task.

I'd suggest probably picking one up from Apple's refurbished site, or maybe just get a used one, and then if you're comfortable with a little detail work, checking out iFixit for instructions on putting in an SSD to replace the hard drive. Stuff is closely packed together but if you're careful, I'm sure you'll do fine. I think you could do all this and even upgrade the RAM (if you get one of the ones from before they soldered in the RAM) and still come in under your budget.

 

[KillaMac]

I actually canceled my order as I found a refurb and decided to get a better one.

Refurbished 21.5-inch iMac 3.1GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5 with Retina 4K, 256gb Flash Drive with Apple Care.