Mini -vs- iMac

[michael_aos]

In the same vein as the "why is the HD4000 not good enough on the 2012 mini" thread.

There seems to be a sentiment that the iMac is (intentionally) far superior to Mini.

How so? The high-end iMac has a Geekbench of 13989 -vs- 12815 on the high-end mini. That just doesn't seem like a big deal to me. Maybe because I'm coming from a 2006 Mac Pro 1,1 with Geekbench of 5966.

I do wish the Mini supported 32GB. I'd be all over that.

Is the GPU on the iMac really that much better?

I kind of debated between the two, but I don't need another display. I was looking at the $1199 Mini -vs- $3099 (or $3249 w/GTX 680MX) iMac.

I went with the Mini, although I'm definitely curious to see the new Mac Pro.
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[ToomeyND]

Honestly, I can't give you the best of answers, and I'm sure you'll get plenty.

The first reason, I believe, is because Geekbench is a CPU test. The GPU doesn't come into play. Therefore you are comparing just the i7 in the mini to the i7 in the iMac, and are unlikely to see a huge difference.

 

[brendu]

Depending on what you use your computer for you may notice a big benefit from the iMac with dedicated graphics, or you won't ever notice a difference at all... I would just be happy with what you have if it works for you.

 

[SoCalReviews]

It will be very interesting to see what Apple does with the next version of the Mac Pro. This will be especially interesting since Intel is no longer going to be making full sized OEM desktop system boards for their chip sets in the future and many companies will be relying on third party developers for their board designs.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/22/3905552/intel-will-stop-producing-its-own-desktop-motherboards

 

[leman]

Mini uses mobile CPUs while iMac uses desktop CPUs. Micro-benchmarks like Geekbench will only tell you so much. In real-world applications the desktop CPUs will be able to maintain higher clock speeds for longer times resulting in higher performance. And yes, the GPU is much faster on the iMac.

 

[michael_aos]

Based on all the "issues" (now resolved) I had been having with my Late 2012 Mini, I was strongly toying with the idea of just buying an iMac and calling it done.

The Buyer's Guide shows the iMac at Neutral (mid product cycle) now though.

I guess I'll just wait and see what the Mac Pro looks like.

I am kind of wondering if I had it to do over again, if I would have been better-off with the iMac.
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[visim91]

The Mini will support 32GB, that is as soon as they release 16GB chips, which is not far off.

 

[Titanium81]

The Mini will support 32GB, that is as soon as they release 16GB chips, which is not far off.

I'm waiting for these 16GB sticks also!