Looking for clarification on Dual Core?

[wallysb01]

That is a horrible deal. Refurbished 2011 2.5 GHz i5 Mac Minis run for 699. And 2010 mini can be had for 500 on ebay for example.

Well, I'm not doing price shopping. Apple refurb store doesn't have any of the appropriate models I was looking for. That vintage Mac Mini would seem to fit the needs for the cheapest cost and without sacrificing much/any performance for what its going to be used for. If you can find it on e-bay for $100+ less, great.

 

[jshbckr]

Plain and simple, stay away from Power Macs and Mac Pros. These do not suit your needs. First, the Power Mac is non-intel and slower than any of the Apple computers you can buy today (yes, a 2010 Mac Mini benchmarks faster than a quad-core Power Mac G5).

You can buy a used or refurbished Mac Mini ($599 brand new) and that would work great. Don't underestimate it because it's small. No sense in buying a giant computer from 2005 when they are making computers faster, smaller, and cheaper today.