Mini /w 24" LED - iMac 24" ?

[TheBritishBloke]

I'm looking to get a desktop machine in late november time, after I've bought my new TV and Camera body /w some lens'.


I'm just having a hard time choosing between :

Mac Mini Base £499 Model (I will upgrade RAM to 4GB myself) /w 24" LED display.
Or
iMac 2.93Ghz 24" (I'm looking at the one with the graphics card, as if I'm going to spend so much on it, might as well future-proof myself.

The Mini package works out a good few hundred quid cheaper, and I could use the cinema display with my MBP if i do. But I don't know which would be the best route to take?

Anyone got any experience between both machines?

Thanks in advance

 

[rgarjr]

Depends on what you gonna use it for. The iMac will have more CPU power. Also it depends on what you want or like.

 

[zmttoxics]

Though the Mini is cheaper, the iMac will out perform it. So is your call if you want extra bit of speed.

 

[Hellhammer]

iMac has a lot more power than Mini so definitely get iMac if price difference isn't huge

 

[Drag'nGT]

There's a big difference between the Mini you want and the iMac 2.93ghz. How much work on these computers will you be doing compared to your current MBP?

My thought would be to look at the next 24" down, the 2.66ghz. It's not much more money but it's a hell of a lot more computer than the Mini. You have to decide how much future proofing you wanna do on the iMac.

 

[TheBritishBloke]

Sorry about that, my original posting got deleted as my battery died . Forgot to mention, it will just be used for basic things, Word processing, web browsing, photo editing (Photography is a pretty hefty hobby of mine), and all the basic stuff.

 

[Hellhammer]

Sorry about that, my original posting got deleted as my battery died . Forgot to mention, it will just be used for basic things, Word processing, web browsing, photo editing (Photography is a pretty hefty hobby of mine), and all the basic stuff.

I would still get iMac because you get bigger bang for your buck. Mini has a lot less power than 2.93 iMac

 

[TheBritishBloke]

I would still get iMac because you get bigger bang for your buck. Mini has a lot less power than 2.93 iMac

I guess that's true. Especially as It's only like a £300 difference. I'm just wondering as for the iMac I'd like to wait for it to be LED backlit, which won't be until the next major refresh. And I can't use my MBP on the screen which is one downside.

 

[mousouchop]

I would still get iMac because you get bigger bang for your buck. Mini has a lot less power than 2.93 iMac

He has the MBP for power though. I would say if you plan to do heavy lifting on the MBP, get the mini and 24" LED. That way you could always plug your MBP into the 24" LED when you wanted to do your heavier work on your awesome display.

 

[TheBritishBloke]

He has the MBP for power though. I would say if you plan to do heavy lifting on the MBP, get the mini and 24" LED. That way you could always plug your MBP into the 24" LED when you wanted to do your heavier work on your awesome display.

Put it this way. My MBP is more powerful than my PC. My PC sucks ass, only thing I've ever upgraded since december 2006 in it is the graphics card xD

 

[mousouchop]

Put it this way. My MBP is more powerful than my PC. My PC sucks ass, only thing I've ever upgraded since december 2006 in it is the graphics card xD

So you are already used to doing your heavy computing on your MBP and doing light work on your PC... why not keep it that way?

Mac Minis are pretty capable machines. I play WoW on my father's Mac Mini running at 1024x1080. I have all of the graphics settings on low, but I still get consistent 50 fps (I have an fps cap of 50 set, so I could potentially get more).

I am at the other end of the spectrum. I have a MB as my main computer and am looking to get a Mac Pro for heavy lifting. You already have the Pro end covered.

 

[TheBritishBloke]

So you are already used to doing your heavy computing on your MBP and doing light work on your PC... why not keep it that way?

Possibly the case of future-proofing myself, don't want to buy something that's going to be outdated too quick. And my PC already has a 2.13Ghz Core 2 Duo so I don't know what to do.

 

[Hellhammer]

I guess that's true. Especially as It's only like a £300 difference. I'm just wondering as for the iMac I'd like to wait for it to be LED backlit, which won't be until the next major refresh. And I can't use my MBP on the screen which is one downside.

You can use your iMac's display with ScreenRecycler

He has the MBP for power though. I would say if you plan to do heavy lifting on the MBP, get the mini and 24" LED. That way you could always plug your MBP into the 24" LED when you wanted to do your heavier work on your awesome display.

But for 300£ he can get iMac with 32% more CPU power (2.0GHz vs 2.93GHz), possibility of 8GB of DDR3 RAM, dedicated GPU and more HD space

 

[TheBritishBloke]

You can use your iMac's display with ScreenRecycler
But for 300£ he can get iMac with 32% more CPU power (2.0GHz vs 2.93GHz), possibility of 8GB of DDR3 RAM, dedicated GPU and more HD space

I Think you've possibly sucked me in there. Apart from the fact of that software costing $30USD xD.

I'd never stick in 8GB, the asking for that is just ridiculous, whether you get it from Apple, crucial or anyone. However the extra HDD space is practically a must for me, at the moment in my PC I have a 500GB HDD aside just for storing my photos and videos, (Granted.. My iTunes library is in there too) but I have over 30,000 photos, along with all my videos I've recorded from holidays and events. However, I don't know if I require the dedicated GPU just for photo editing, It isn't exactly intensive work doing it, it's sometimes only basic touch-ups and slight photoshopping.

 

[Hellhammer]

I Think you've possibly sucked me in there. Apart from the fact of that software costing $30USD xD.

I'd never stick in 8GB, the asking for that is just ridiculous, whether you get it from Apple, crucial or anyone. However the extra HDD space is practically a must for me, at the moment in my PC I have a 500GB HDD aside just for storing my photos and videos, (Granted.. My iTunes library is in there too) but I have over 30,000 photos, along with all my videos I've recorded from holidays and events. However, I don't know if I require the dedicated GPU just for photo editing, It isn't exactly intensive work doing it, it's sometimes only basic touch-ups and slight photoshopping.

Yea, you don't need the power of iMac really, but if you think about future and resale value, iMac beats Mini easily. Also, I would consider 2.66GHz 24" iMac because you don't need dedicated GPU. If you choose Mini, think about buying Dell monitor or other instead of Apple because the display costs more than average gaming PC. Mini + dual 24" Dells or 24" 2.66 iMac would be my choice.

 

[TheBritishBloke]

Yea, you don't need the power of iMac really, but if you think about future and resale value, iMac beats Mini easily. Also, I would consider 2.66GHz 24" iMac because you don't need dedicated GPU. If you choose Mini, think about buying Dell monitor or other instead of Apple because the display costs more than average gaming PC. Mini + dual 24" Dells or 24" 2.66 iMac would be my choice.

So without the GPU thats another £300 saved, which works out cheaper than the Mini + LED Display. I know what you mean about getting a cheap display instead of the LED, I just always found Apple displays so crisp and clear compared to cheap ones, however there are some really good cheap displays being sold by Samsung and other companies now.

I may just go for that 2.66Ghz. As I'm waiting till End of november anyway, hopefully they may tag along a bump in 9/9/09.

Thanks again!

 

[simplellama]

Count me in for the iMac crowd. I considered the same two setups - iMac 24" or Mac Mini + 24" LCD. Having everything in one unit is a plus to me. Less stuff on / around my desk, less wires, less mess, more elegance. Whenever it's time to upgrade the iMac , you can always sell it. There's always a market for working used Macs.... ebay and craigslist will help you find it a home.

So even though the Mini is tiny... it's nice having it all in one. Very clean, simple looking setup.

 

[hitekalex]

Here's a radical thought.. Just buy a 24" LED Cinema, and bluetooth KB/mouth. Don't get any new computers - you already have MBP, which has plenty of power. And 24" LED is a wonderful addition to Macbooks - it acts like a perfect extension to my MBA.

Having multiple computers isn't always a good thing - it just adds headaches - backup, syncing of files, bookmarks, etc.

 

[MacLadybug]

Here's a radical thought.. Just buy a 24" LED Cinema, and bluetooth KB/mouth. Don't get any new computers - you already have MBP, which has plenty of power. And 24" LED is a wonderful addition to Macbooks - it acts like a perfect extension to my MBA.

Having multiple computers isn't always a good thing - it just adds headaches - backup, syncing of files, bookmarks, etc.

We sync 3 computers with 2 iphones and 2 mobileme accounts flawlessly. That said, I agree, and when I bought our iMac had the Cinema Displays been available, I would have gotten it instead.