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Noticable difference between 2.26 and 2.53 mini?

G

germ79

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 1, 2005
24
0
Hi there! I am in the market for a new mac, as our G5 iMac is having trouble keeping up these days! I mainly need a computer for normal surfing, word processing, etc... but I also do RAW photo editing and would like to do some very low-key HD video editing as well (home movie type stuff). Would there be a noticeable difference between the two processors offered on the new minis? We're on somewhat of a tight budget, as we just brought home our third child. What would you suggest? With the new mini coming with 2GB of ram, I feel like I can use it as-is for awhile and then throw 4GB in later.

Also, I would like to pick up a display, but cannot justify the ACD at this time. Any suggestions for nice quality monitors that won't break the bank? Maybe something around 20-24"?

Thanks so much for all the great information on here!
 
Good question to which I don't know the answer but on a related topic I'm debating whether to go with the Server model with the 2.53 vs going with the non-Server model and upgrading to the 2.66 CPU. Any comment on the difference between these 2? I don't know why Apple didn't allow us to upgrade the Server model as well. My educated guess is that there won't be much difference between these.
 
I'm assuming the lack of responses indicates perhaps that there is not much difference? If anyone has any insight on this, please do share.

Thank you!
 
I just realized from the previous post that there is an optional 2.66GHz processor that can be upgraded on the higher-end model. Man, 2.26 - 2.66GHz. I'm just not sure it is worth the extra $$!
 
As far as just comparative processor speeds go, you really won't notice that much of a difference. People are right when they say that more RAM and a faster hard drive can make a bigger perceivable difference.
 
On Mac benchmarks I've seen in the past, benchmarks typically directly relate to processor speed bumps.

The 2.53 GHZ Mini should be about 12% faster than the 2.26 GHZ mini. Will you notice it? That depends. Encoding time and processor-intensive tasks will be shorter, but will you notice that a program that takes 2 seconds to start up takes 1/4 second less? Probably not.
 
BoulderBum said:
...but will you notice that a program that takes 2 seconds to start up takes 1/4 second less? Probably not.
Click to expand...

Processor speed has essentially no bearing on this. It's all about disk access (specifically, random reads and writes).

If you want a speedier mini, take the $150 you would've put towards the processor bump and put it towards an Intel G2 SSD.
 
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