Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iMac or Mac Mini?

S

sidgriffey

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 27, 2008
124
17
Los Angeles, CA
I’m deciding between:


iMac (Retina 5k 27-inch late 2015)
Core i5(3.2GHz)
32 GB memory
AMD Radeon R9 M295X 2GB
1T fusion hard drive
$1200
“6 months warranty”

or

Mac Mini 2018
Core i7 (3.2GHz )6-core
16 GB memory
1T flash ssd hard drive
$1420
Applecare+ thru July ‘22

Is one way the clear way to go? If I went Mac mini, I would plug into a 4k monitor I have plugged into another device currently, which is ok but not as great visually obviously.
 
Quick reply, but the main difference I've found between a Mac Mini and iMac is that a Mini is more like a laptop in terms of performance, power, fan noise and heat distribution, whereas an iMac is far quieter, cooler and more suited for power users.

I've never got on with a Mac Mini. Right now I have a 16" MBP connected to a 4K LG monitor and the fans seem to run loud and continuously. Waiting for the so-called new iMac.
 
Will you still need to keep the other device and that 4K monitor regardless of your choice?
 
I'd get the Mac mini.

I'm using a Late 2015 iMac with an upgraded processor and graphics card over the system you mentioned. It's still a very solid performer, and I'd hope to get another 1-5 years out of it. But some upgrade and peripheral options are limited. It only has Thunderbolt 2, so when I consider getting Thunderbolt devices it's a sad prospect of buying outdated hardware (that is still quite pricey) or just waiting until I upgrade to a Thunderbolt 3-bearing system. By comparison, you can get an external GPU with the Mac mini and other Thunderbolt 3 peripherals.

Then there's the issue of having the computer built into the display. My 2015 system has the pink fringing along the edges of the screen. Some people claim this is simply the adhesive tape discoloring, while others claim it's an impending sign of monitor failure. If the monitor dies, I have to replace the entire system. If I were on a Mac mini, I'd just be swapping out monitors. (I also have some very tiny insects that crawled inside of this display and died - which I've never had on any screen I've owned before - so now I also have little specks at certain areas of my display. Again, if it bothered me enough I could just replace an external display, but not with an iMac.)

This system isn't my first Mac, but it is my first iMac. I'm leaning heavily toward making a Mac mini my next upgrade. Probably would have gone for a Mac mini the first time around, but back then Apple had allowed the Mac mini line to languish for a few years...
 
I chose the Mac mini for the silence, but sometimes I wish I would’ve chosen the iMac. I now have to purchase my own 4K monitor, which could cost me another $350.
 
On that mini... if it has applecare+ until July of 2022, will that carry over to me? That is, is it at this point attached to the serial number of the machine?
 
sidgriffey said:
Is one way the clear way to go? If I went Mac mini, I would plug into a 4k monitor I have plugged into another device currently, which is ok but not as great visually obviously.
Click to expand...

iMac 5k 2015 should be avoided without even looking at specs since lot of people had problem with the screen. Moreover you have 1 tb fusion drive thai is just terrible, a GPU that is nothing special and an i5 4-cores/4-threads.

Mac Mini specs are perfect and you won't miss anything. Unfortunately if you want to do heavy graphic work or play games on bootcamp you would need an external gpu.
 
Definitely don’t get the fusion drive. All your data will be on a ****** spinning drive.

Having 100% SSD is the most important factor depending you’re buying.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JoeInMilwaukee
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back