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help choosing imac or mac mini

O

orcf

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 29, 2016
15
1
portugal
hello all

i can´t afford to buy a new imac.

i can buy a imac used from 2011 PROCESSOR 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 MEMORY 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB HARD DRIVE 1TB Serial ATA Drive GRAPHICS AMD Radeon HD 6970M 1GB GDDR5 MOUSE APPLE MAGIC MOUSE-Z

or a new mac mini Intel Core i5 Dual Core a 2,6 GHz (Turbo Boost até 3,1 GHz); 8 GB ; 1 TB; Intel Iris Graphics; Thunderbolt 2 e USB 3


thanks for helping
 
i am a windows user, but now i want to give a try to mac

i use mostly office, email, some corrections of photos i take from iphone.

i am not a designer neither a movie maker.

do basic thinks mostly
 
Based on your needs, to me, both sound like they'd work. I guess the other question is, are you looking for this unit to be 'long term'? That might also help on which to choose. Meaning which will still get OS updates, etc.
 
orcf said:
hello all

i can´t afford to buy a new imac.

i can buy a imac used from 2011 PROCESSOR 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 MEMORY 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB HARD DRIVE 1TB Serial ATA Drive GRAPHICS AMD Radeon HD 6970M 1GB GDDR5 MOUSE APPLE MAGIC MOUSE-Z

or a new mac mini Intel Core i5 Dual Core a 2,6 GHz (Turbo Boost até 3,1 GHz); 8 GB ; 1 TB; Intel Iris Graphics; Thunderbolt 2 e USB 3


thanks for helping
Click to expand...

How are much are the machines you've mentioned going to cost?
 
The iMac 900€ and this weekend a store makes 15% discount on all apple products so can buy a new Mac mini for 700€
 
OP wrote:
"or a new mac mini Intel Core i5 Dual Core a 2,6 GHz (Turbo Boost até 3,1 GHz); 8 GB ; 1 TB; Intel Iris Graphics; Thunderbolt 2 e USB 3"

If you buy this, you'll [probably] be sorry.
It's not fast enough. (because it has only a 1tb 5400rpm platter-based drive inside).
Prediction: ANY new Mac you with only an HDD inside is not going to be fast enough, from your experience as the user.

If you want a Mini, get at least the "mid-range" model with the 1tb fusion drive option.
Or get the "top level" Mini, which comes with 1tb fusion as standard equipment.

Buy either of the above, and you WILL be happy with the speeds and with the purchase.
 
Fishrrman said:
OP wrote:
"or a new mac mini Intel Core i5 Dual Core a 2,6 GHz (Turbo Boost até 3,1 GHz); 8 GB ; 1 TB; Intel Iris Graphics; Thunderbolt 2 e USB 3"

If you buy this, you'll [probably] be sorry.
It's not fast enough. (because it has only a 1tb 5400rpm platter-based drive inside).
Prediction: ANY new Mac you with only an HDD inside is not going to be fast enough, from your experience as the user.

If you want a Mini, get at least the "mid-range" model with the 1tb fusion drive option.
Or get the "top level" Mini, which comes with 1tb fusion as standard equipment.

Buy either of the above, and you WILL be happy with the speeds and with the purchase.
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1464470599][/doublepost]
orcf said:
hello all

i can´t afford to buy a new imac.

i can buy a imac used from 2011 PROCESSOR 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 MEMORY 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB HARD DRIVE 1TB Serial ATA Drive GRAPHICS AMD Radeon HD 6970M 1GB GDDR5 MOUSE APPLE MAGIC MOUSE-Z

or a new mac mini Intel Core i5 Dual Core a 2,6 GHz (Turbo Boost até 3,1 GHz); 8 GB ; 1 TB; Intel Iris Graphics; Thunderbolt 2 e USB 3


thanks for helping
Click to expand...
You also need to consider that with the Mac mini you dont have a monitor , most monitors you can buy cheaply are only 1920x1080 pixels whereas the Mac is 2560x1440 pixels you wont get a monitor for that resolution for €200. Also the Imac graphics on the 2011 Imac is a 1GB 6970 graphics card with a built in 2560x1440 monitor which will knock spots off the Mac mini integrated graphics processor on the Intel chip , which also uses some of the installed memory for the graphics . Go with the Imac its more versatile and has more bang for the buck.
 
The iMac is a much better machine and will be getting OS updates for at least those 3 to 4 years you are looking for (my 2008 can still get the latest OS X). And as others have said the iMac is the complete system, plug it in and go. With the Mac Mini you need to buy a monitor and one that does the iMacs resolution will cost you another $200 so now you are at the same price but with must less impressive specs.

Go with iMac!
 
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