Mac Mini good choice?

[crabbydaddy2]

I'm looking for a new computer....today i run a

Powermac G4 500mhz 512mb RAM 40 gb. HD

it actually runs pretty fast! I do lots of typing and I sometimes make small movies in final cut pro 4 (and yes i DO OWN the program not steal it like other people) and some small photoshop 7 things. The first choice I had in mind was a iMac intel core duo...(i'm not paying 4 it my parents are) but it's a little more then I wanted 2 spend. Then my next choice was the Mac Mini....I've heard really goood things about it! It fits my budget...I was wondering if it's a good choice Will I see a big speed improvement?

is the intel imac worth the price compared to the mac mini?

(ps. is there anything i could do w/ the old powermac....i DON"T want 2 sell it!)

 

[poopyhead]

(ps. is there anything i could do w/ the old powermac....i DON"T want 2 sell it!)

the imac is actually a better buy but it costs a good deal more

my $579 macmini (CoreDuo 1.66ghz) runs circles around my 1.67ghz $2799 powerbook g4. If you buy the mini just realize you will need more ram and probably an external hard drive which is where your powermac will come in handy, use it for a file server and save all your itunes and movies to it instead of the small macmini internal drive

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Don't get a mini, it's woefully underpowered and overprices. Having said that, I have one of the original G4's, and it's fantastic. However, for just a little more than the cost of the mini, you can get an entry level iMac that's so much easier to upgrade, and also had a real graphics card, built in screen, and a faster, next-gen, CPU.

 

[poopyhead]

I think the low end imac has the same crappy built in gma950 integrated graphics as the mini and costs $400 more

 

[pianoman]

why are you looking for a new computer if your G4 runs so well?

in any case, i'd suggest an iMac over the mini. and not the lowest-end one, the second from the end. the lowest-end iMac is like a mini with a screen. you might as well spend another the extra 200 to get dedicated graphics, more RAM (1GB versus 512MB), and a SuperDrive.

 

[SkyBell]

Mini. I really don't understand why people talk about the Mini being underpowered. Seems good to me, because even running Google Earth, Safari, iTunes, iMovie, iWeb, iChat, VLC, Limewire, iPhoto, ABiWord and Firefox all at the same time, All the programs run responseivly, with a 1.83 GHz Mini, STOCK (Thats right; 512 RAM)

The Mini is more bang for your buck then it's givin credit for.

 

[shu82]

Unless your trying to do wicked HD work, it will be great. For standard web, itunes and movies; you will be pleased. Just make sure to up the ram so you can run leopard properly. Actually, I would wait for leopard and save yourself the upgrade.

 

[madog]

Of all the models of Macs out there I would say that the current Mini Mac is approaching the end of its product cycle. After all, it is the only Mac still manufactured with an Intel Core Duo processor. If you have a good computer and have waited this long then I suggest you wait another few months.

 

[QCassidy352]

Mini. I really don't understand why people talk about the Mini being underpowered. Seems good to me, because even running Google Earth, Safari, iTunes, iMovie, iWeb, iChat, VLC, Limewire, iPhoto, ABiWord and Firefox all at the same time, All the programs run responseivly, with a 1.83 GHz Mini, STOCK (Thats right; 512 RAM)

If that's true, then either you have a super-mini or our definitions of "responsively" are very different. I've used a 1.83 Ghz MBP, 2.0 Ghz core duo macbook, and 1.83 Ghz core duo imac, all with 512 RAM, and found each of them to be quite frustrating when running a LOT fewer programs than you're running. Once you use an intel mac with 1 to 2 GB of RAM, you'll wonder how on earth you ever tolerated the constant lag and beachballing of 512 RAM.

Anyway, back on topic. Since you're coming from a 500 mhz G4, even the mini will be an absolute godsend. That said, if you can find a way to get up to the 2 GHz core 2 duo 17" imac, I'd do it. You get SO much more for your money. C2D instead of CD, faster clockspeed, a mid-range graphics card instead of the utter-crap GMA 950 (and I say that as someone who really loves his macbook), and of course a mouse, a keyboard, and a very nice 17" LCD. Plus the RAM is already 1 GB so you won't need to upgrade, which, Cassie's experience notwithstanding, I highly recommend on an intel mac that comes with 512.

So in short, the mini will be very nice. The imac will blow you away.

 

[shikimo]

My two cents:

I love the mini but think it's too close to an upgrade to buy at this time, especially if you have a functional machine to get by a few weeks or months (here's hoping it's weeks!).

Having said that, the folks who tell you the 2nd-from-the-bottom iMac is a better value are correct...if you don't need a larger screen, the higher-up 17" is STILL a great value, close to 5 months after release. Even if it was updated the day after you bought it, you still got a sweet deal.

If I bought the mini today and it was updated tomorrow, I'd go to the zoo and jump in the lion cage in despair.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

The Buyers Guide here at MacRumors puts the mini in the "Buy only if you have to" category at the moment. You can read it up above - on the tabs at the top.

I'd probably buy a Mini TODAY if it had been upgraded to the Core2Duo. So i wait..... and hopefully have enough $$ for my MBP soon!

I'd either wait - or go for the iMac, like someone said - not the bottom line one, the next up.

 

[roland.g]

I have a Mini 1.66 Core Duo Superdrive (early 2006 pre speed bump) that I got as a refurb in late October. I upped the RAM myself to 2GB and added a miniStack v2 from newertech with a Seagate 500GB Drive. All told that setup cost me $1,177 prior to keyboard and mouse. I had a nice 19" LaCie CRT from my G4 tower. And I knew this would be a holdover machine till Leopard.

The Mini is fine, graphics, speed, drive. Actually from what I hear the Superdrive on it burns faster than the iMacs (for reasons unknown). I would definitely recommend this machine. And yes you can just firewire your old Mac in Target Disk Mode for another drive.

However, as pointed out, the $1,199 17" iMac is a better deal if you can deal with the 17" screen in terms of performance per $$. You get 1GB RAM, etc, etc. Also as pointed out, the Mini is due for a revision. But if you decide on it, there's nothing that says that you shouldn't get it now. No revision is ever so substantial as to make the prior model that inferior. Even when the notebooks went from Core Duo to Core 2 Duo, it wasn't that big a deal. The extra power is only something you would notice a fraction of the time. That said it will shave a bit off all your rendering in FCP, but just a bit.

 

[shikimo]

Yeah, in the end roland.g is right...while I might still jump in the lion's cage in despair, it is good of him to point out that in the long run a revision as small as the one that is likely upcoming for the mini will not prove to be a major disappointment.

Maybe the lemur cage? we just got these cool lemurs at the Lyon zoo...