Can't decide...

[tippman]

So I'm sitting on the fence for what Mac Mini to purchase (my first Mac!). Here's what I plan to use it for:

- Surfing (watch a lot of You Tube video gaming clips)
- Light Gaming (do most of it on the Xbox)
- Small bit of video editing
- Convert DVDs into files so I can watch them on ATV2 (not sure how to do this - use Handbrake?)

I plan to get the base mini and add 8GB of RAM. My question is the should I go for the $799 version since it has a better graphics card?

Thanks for all replies.

 

[1369281]

Yes.

 

[indg]

the discrete gpu will mostly come in handy for gaming and motion graphics (e.g. after effects). you'll need an external dvd player if you want to rip dvd's however. can find usb dvd writers for less than $40 on amazon.

but you should be fine with the base mini and 8gb of ram. if you want to see how well gaming performs with a dual core i5 and intel hd 3000 graphics, here are some macbook air demos (note i5 cpus in the macbook air are far slower than the minis):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A03AvooYnio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeAhFetoNWM