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Mac Pro (used) or Mac Mini (2013)?

K

kensic

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 11, 2013
362
28
Hi guys, im trying to make this decision of replacing my windows desktop

currently i have a mid 2012 cMBP 15", and i love it so trying to replace my 6 years old windows desktop.

2013 Mac Mini with Haswell or 2010 Mac Pro (probably 6 cores version)

Mini would win in cost, space saving, latest cpu technology.

Pro would win in expansion, coolness


For my needs i think the Pro would be over kill. But if im patient enough i think i can get a Pro in the $1k range.

what do you guys think?
 
kensic said:
Hi guys, im trying to make this decision of replacing my windows desktop

currently i have a mid 2012 cMBP 15", and i love it so trying to replace my 6 years old windows desktop.

2013 Mac Mini with Haswell or 2010 Mac Pro (probably 6 cores version)

Mini would win in cost, space saving, latest cpu technology.

Pro would win in expansion, coolness


For my needs i think the Pro would be over kill. But if im patient enough i think i can get a Pro in the $1k range.

what do you guys think?
Click to expand...
I think that if the 2012 MacBook Pro isn't powerful enough to handle your needs, a Mini will also fall short. Is an iMac out of the question?
 
kensic said:
Hi guys, im trying to make this decision of replacing my windows desktop

currently i have a mid 2012 cMBP 15", and i love it so trying to replace my 6 years old windows desktop.

2013 Mac Mini with Haswell or 2010 Mac Pro (probably 6 cores version)

Mini would win in cost, space saving, latest cpu technology.

Pro would win in expansion, coolness


For my needs i think the Pro would be over kill. But if im patient enough i think i can get a Pro in the $1k range.

what do you guys think?
Click to expand...

The 6-core Mid 2010 Mac Pro will still be faster than the supposed 2013 Haswell-based Mac mini. Really, it boils down to this:

Do you need 6-cores, or the expansion offered by the Mac Pro? Hell, even a quad-core Mid 2010 Mac Pro (which Apple sells refurbished for $1819) is still way more powerful than what a Haswell mini will likely have. If that's something you want or need, then that's your answer. If it buys you nothing of practical use, then you might as well go with the Haswell mini. Though bear in mind, you might not see the Haswell mini until the tail end of the calendar year, given that the Mac mini tends to be the last one to get the newer Intel tech (the first one being the MacBook Pro).
 
get the mini, though i doubt it will have haswell until 2014, and when it does, it wll still be a lower end haswell chips (similar to how all but 2-3 macs have the weaker versions of intels processors in the interest of heat and power

mini is better unless you need raw speed, at which point i wouldnt recommend a MP over a pc or imac
 
GPUFreak said:
get the mini, though i doubt it will have haswell until 2014, and when it does, it wll still be a lower end haswell chips (similar to how all but 2-3 macs have the weaker versions of intels processors in the interest of heat and power

mini is better unless you need raw speed, at which point i wouldnt recommend a MP over a pc or imac
Click to expand...

Mini will be released with Haswell simply to bump the "GPU".
 
The mini has integrated (Intel) graphics so still aren't very good. Mac Pro can have great graphics.
 
Cubemmal said:
The mini has integrated (Intel) graphics so still aren't very good. Mac Pro can have great graphics.
Click to expand...

Right, but the Haswell's graphics are quite a bit better than what the Mini currently has. I think for most, the Mini is just fine. Haswell graphics are just about on par with nVidia 650M.
 
cgc said:
Right, but the Haswell's graphics are quite a bit better than what the Mini currently has. I think for most, the Mini is just fine. Haswell graphics are just about on par with nVidia 650M.
Click to expand...

That's the story, but the anandtech article I read on the matter was of the opinion that Intel graphics still aren't nearly there.

For most people I agree however that its probably good enough.
 
kensic said:
For my needs

what do you guys think?
Click to expand...

What are your needs?

A Mac Mini is probably all the computer the average Joe or Jill needs. You can get more than a TB of storage and add extra externally if you need it. You can add a fair bit of RAM if your needs dictate that. You can choose a monitor and other peripherals to suit your needs, and upgrade the components as they reach the end of their usefulness, or your needs or desires dictate.

If you are a pro, doing video processing or other heavy duty stuff you probably need the Pro.
 
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