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Would you still buy a Mac Mini over a similar Intel NUC at this price difference?


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I don't think you got my point.

With a Mac you don't just pay for a bunch of hardware. OS X and iLife / iWork are part of the deal (and I use them all the time). A new Mac can be plugged in and ready to do things within a few minutes, in my experience (of two new Minis). You also have the option of running Windows if you have the need or the desire (I don't).

Does the cheaper alternative come with an OS and apps installed, ready to go, and offer such versatility?

Why bother with a Mac at all if you don't use OS X and associated apps?
Its not difficult to get an NUC that you can plug in and run. There are retails that put packages together with OS and all.
 
Its not difficult to get an NUC that you can plug in and run. There are retails that put packages together with OS and all.
A big problem with that is bloatware. Whenever I buy a machine with a Windows license I need to reload it to get rid of all kinds of odd programs and advertising.
 
A big problem with that is bloatware. Whenever I buy a machine with a Windows license I need to reload it to get rid of all kinds of odd programs and advertising.

Those machines likely wouldn't have bloatware because they're not OEM's and the cost of the license wouldn't be subsidized.
 
Mac, without whinging……

But not a fully loaded top of the range, which would be way over the top for my humble needs.

The Mac comes with OS X, iLife and iWork. It is ready to plug in and be doing stuff, hassle free within a few minutes, and is likely to remain so for many years.

Can the same be said for the alternative, whatever the specs?
First, most PC's these days are plug'n'play, and I'M SURE, that this one is. Second, OS X? OK, so, in my opinion,even though you never said anything about this, and these are just common "reasons" why people like Mac OS X. Sure, OS X is easy to use. Just as easy to use as Windows 10! Also, all this about OS X being stable? Well, OS X is just as stable as Windows! In fact, the reason people think it's stable, is because the OS, doesn't tell you about any problems that are happening. It just shuts down what it needs to. It doesn't give options or even notify you like Windows does. Now, with it having "no viruses." Of course it has viruses! Just less viruses, because most people program viruses for Windows, because most people use Windows. I guess that's still a plus. OK, now with iLife, and iWork. I have nothing against these, in fact, I love them. But, I don't think they're worth the extra money. I mean, you can pay 10 dollars a month for Microsoft Office instead of iWork, or just use Office Online, but you'll get less features. iLife? Um, I don't know any alternatives, but I'm sure there are a lot out there
 
Windows plug-and-play? Just as long as you don't mind entering your credit card info 10 times a day. Buy a Windows PC and it starts asking you for money. If not Microsoft wanting you to subscribe ($69/year) it is other crapware that was installed.
 
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Windows plug-and-play? Just as long as you don't mind entering your credit card info 10 times a day. Buy a Windows PC and it starts asking you for money. If not Microsoft wanting you to subscribe ($69/year) it is other crapware that was installed.

Actually, that $69 per year is one of the best deals in all of computing. Worth it just for Outlook alone :) I already had that, and have not been bugged at all for anything else. I do my own fresh install, not what comes from HP retail or the like.
 
Actually, that $69 per year is one of the best deals in all of computing. Worth it just for Outlook alone :) I already had that, and have not been bugged at all for anything else. I do my own fresh install, not what comes from HP retail or the like.
Your right about Outlook. I have it on my iPhone which is free and really miss it in my Windows partition. I may spring for it.
I also have a licensed copy of Windows 10 and never get bugged on purchasing anything.
 
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Exactly - You need to wipe the disk if you get a Windows machine from a mainstream vendor. That is not plug-and-play.

Well, yes and no. The Optiplex is business class and no bloatware. Mine came with 7 but I upgraded to 10 and wanted a clean start, not an upgrade, so I did that.
 
I picked up a Skull Canyon NUC and it is as stable as my the new MBPtb I got for work, aside from one program on it - iTunes, ironically. It's just as crappy, bloated and a POS on Windows as it is on my Mac with the added bonus of not being stable.
 
I picked up a Skull Canyon NUC and it is as stable as my the new MBPtb I got for work, aside from one program on it - iTunes, ironically. It's just as crappy, bloated and a POS on Windows as it is on my Mac with the added bonus of not being stable.

Are you using ethernet or wifi? If the latter, does the on-board wifi work natively or do you use a USB dongle?
 
richpjr -- I'm new to this discussion (apologies in advance)...have you built an Intel NUC that runs El Capitan? This is in lieu of buying a Mac Mini?
 
I picked up a Skull Canyon NUC and it is as stable as my the new MBPtb I got for work, aside from one program on it - iTunes, ironically. It's just as crappy, bloated and a POS on Windows as it is on my Mac with the added bonus of not being stable.

Itunes is an embarrassment. Even more so on Windows.
 
richpjr -- I'm new to this discussion (apologies in advance)...have you built an Intel NUC that runs El Capitan? This is in lieu of buying a Mac Mini?

Sorry, I wasn't clear on that. I am running Windows 10 on it. I know that some people have managed to use it as a Hackintosh, but I haven't.
 
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Is anyone using macOS in VM on a NUC? (that's a lot of acronyms).

I was thinking of picking up a NUC and using it as a man mini in VMware (seems so much easier than hackintosh).
 
Is anyone using macOS in VM on a NUC? (that's a lot of acronyms).

I was thinking of picking up a NUC and using it as a man mini in VMware (seems so much easier than hackintosh).

I have never heard of anyone ever using MacOS in a VMware type of thing. Is it possible? Seems if it was, I would have heard of at least one person who had done it?
 
Is anyone using macOS in VM on a NUC? (that's a lot of acronyms).

I was thinking of picking up a NUC and using it as a man mini in VMware (seems so much easier than hackintosh).

It works, but it's not overly easy to get OS X to install on a non-Mac hardware based host machine and it's against the EULA to run OS X on non-Apple hardware. Graphics acceleration and audio won't be the best. iMessage and FaceTime will need some work before they'll work properly too.
 
It works, but it's not overly easy to get OS X to install on a non-Mac hardware based host machine and it's against the EULA to run OS X on non-Apple hardware. Graphics acceleration and audio won't be the best. iMessage and FaceTime will need some work before they'll work properly too.
Sounds like way way way too much hassle.
 
I am using ethernet. It does have built in wifi so it doesn't need a dongle.
But the built-in WiFi cards of other NUCs are not compatible with Apple's drivers. This is why I had to get a genuine Apple WiFi/Bluetooth card for mine. The NUC MYHE models have a slot, but all the other NUCs have WiFi/BT integrated into the logic boards.
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richpjr -- I'm new to this discussion (apologies in advance)...have you built an Intel NUC that runs El Capitan? This is in lieu of buying a Mac Mini?
Yes, I have. NUC5i5MYHE, dual core i5 Broadwell chipset with 16 GB RAM, 500 GB mSATA SSD + 2 TB Samsung Spinpoint drive initialized as a 2.5 TB Fusion drive, plus a genuine Apple 802.11AC/Bluetooth 4 card.
 
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