I had purchased one of the new imac 20 inch models about two weeks ago, and just recently replaced it with one of the new mac mini's. I have the 2.0 upgraded to 4 gb of ram with the 120 hd. This machine is actually snappier than the imac. This is probably attributed to the 4gb of ram. It is absolutely whisper quiet, and admits no smell like I read in a previous post. What a wonderful little computer. I have this hooked up to a dell 2209wa monitor which has an e-ips panel. This is and infinately better setup than the 20 inch imac. Picture quality rivals the 24 inch without screen gradient problems and the blinding brightness of the 24. This is just a little blip to advise that the new mini is a great computer. I'm still debating whether to switch the screen to the dell 2408wfp for the larger size, but this one is very good.
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My new Mac Mini
- Thread starter celi8071
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You've lost the faster 2.66 processor, the 7200rpm drive (although you can change that yourself) and your ram ceiling is 4mb. You can plug in a larger and better display than the 20". So there are some pluses and minuses
The RAM ceiling is a bit of a big deal (though whether we'll really need more than 4gb is debatable), but as you wrote, the 7200 hdd is an option, which leaves us with the processor. Would the difference between 2.26 ghz and 2.66ghz be very noticeable?
And thus is my dilemma, as well. I like the Mini being a "separate" computer, but I don't know if the step down in hardware is worth it. I don't need the best quality display (I don't do color work or anything), but I would like to be able to change it as I like, when I like. But 2.26ghz w/4GB RAM seems way less than 2.66GHz w/8GB RAM to me (since these are the max's on both).
These are exact reasons for me. The Glossy/Matte issue was primary. Those Glossy screens, while BEAUTIFUL (especially the 24" which is far nicer) I can't handle looking at for more than a few minutes. The Glare for me is next to unbearable. Plus, if I get 2-3 years of useability w/ 4 gigs of ram, and sell it for half of what I paid, I'll be happy. I swear these have been going for nearly as much as the closeout price w/ edu. discount on ebay.
Question: you find the mini with a stock 5400 hdd is faster than the Imac with a 7200 hdd? I'm almost wondering if I should drop my plans to order a 7200 and swap drives and instead just get a mini with a stock 320gb 5400.
What to choose, know imac is faster, but mini with ACD
Hi,
I bought an 24" iMac 2,93 a few days ago for photo editing and just pure speed and maybe some gaming (if even that). Mainly I use it for photo editing and downloading etc.
I find the iMac to be good (display a bit yellow(y) iMac thing), but I think the 24ACD would be even better for photo editing, not? Realizing that, I would then need to go with a mini as a Mac Pro is way to expensive.
What would you guys suggest? Keep the iMac or get an 24ACD and a mini 2,26 with 4gb and 7200RPM 500GB HDD?
Does the mini keep up with an iMac 2,93 in LightRoom? My current MBP 2,33 doesn't, but that's almost three years old.
Thanks.
Hi,
I bought an 24" iMac 2,93 a few days ago for photo editing and just pure speed and maybe some gaming (if even that). Mainly I use it for photo editing and downloading etc.
I find the iMac to be good (display a bit yellow(y) iMac thing), but I think the 24ACD would be even better for photo editing, not? Realizing that, I would then need to go with a mini as a Mac Pro is way to expensive.
What would you guys suggest? Keep the iMac or get an 24ACD and a mini 2,26 with 4gb and 7200RPM 500GB HDD?
Does the mini keep up with an iMac 2,93 in LightRoom? My current MBP 2,33 doesn't, but that's almost three years old.
Thanks.
I'm planning on getting this exact same setup next week. So great to hear you're enjoying it.
Just curious - did you need to buy any additional cables/adapters to hook up the mini to the 2209WA via DVI?
For my needs the mini is great. I use a computer for internet, email, word processing, photo editing, etc. Nothing too intensive. I don't game on a computer thats what my ps3 is for. For these actions the mini is more than up to the task and then some. Its the full mac experience. The Dell display is in a different league then the 20' imac display. I like to think of the mini as the Toyota Prius of computers.
Everyone probably feels different about this, but in my opinion I don't think there is much of a difference. I base this on the fact that the latest generation of newly released desktop processors are 3-4x faster than a 2.26 ghz, according to benchmarks. In comparison, to say the new Core i7 processors, there is a very minor difference between 2.26 and 2.66ghz.
At least that is the way I look at it. I remember when the Power Mac G5s broke the 1ghz barrier - and everyone was going bonkers. But how much faster is the 1ghz G5 compared to the 867ghz G5 - and does it really matter anymore?
I think the Mac Mini, at either 2.0 or 2.26ghz, is a great way to go right now. Eventually Apple will switch to more powerful processors and it will be financially easier to set a $599 mini to the side (perhaps assigning it to HTPC duties which its form factor lends itself to) and upgrade again when the bump in technology makes it worthwhile.
I concur. That was also a big factor in my choosing of the mini. It's only 599.00. I paid 684.00, and had apple do the ram upgrade with the educ. discount. When new tech comes out macs have great resale value, and will probably be able to get 75% of its value back.
Pretty much why I went for the 2.0 with 120Gb hd & 4Gb Ram..I'll change the HD myself when SSD prices have dropped enough, that'll give me a really nice boost down the rd