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Should I Get a Mac Mini or iMac27"?

iMac 27" or Mac Mini

  • Total voters
    23
  • Poll closed .
iMacBookPro

iMacBookPro

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 8, 2011
58
0
Los Angeles, California
I was just wondering if I should get a Mac Mini or a iMac 27"? This is a short thread, but I just need some feed back. I I get the Mac Mini, I'm going to connect it to a flat screen Samsung TV. Is it worth getting a Mac Mini over a iMac 27"? Need Help! Thanks. :apple:
 
iMacBookPro said:
I was just wondering if I should get a Mac Mini or a iMac 27"? This is a short thread, but I just need some feed back. I I get the Mac Mini, I'm going to connect it to a flat screen Samsung TV. Is it worth getting a Mac Mini over a iMac 27"? Need Help! Thanks. :apple:
Click to expand...

Well what are you planning to do with it?
 
in addition to chrf097's question, do you already have the samsung tv?

my personal preference is for the iMac but if you have any tv/pvr hopes then I'd go for the mini.
 
Definitely iMac.

Mac Mini, though a beautiful machine, is a poor man's Mac. Get iMac unless you can't afford one.
 
If you get the iMac you can still hook that Samsung TV and be running two screens. Another thing to consider is the mini won't come with a keyboard or mouse, the iMac will ship a keyboard and mouse. chrf097 is asking the correct question, though.... what are you doing with your Mac? What software will you be running?
 
DON'T upgrade the RAM when you customize it! IT's $200 just for the 8GB, when you could get 16GB from OWC for $100 here.
 
srxtr said:
Definitely iMac.

Mac Mini, though a beautiful machine, is a poor man's Mac. Get iMac unless you can't afford one.
Click to expand...

poor man's mac? really?
i just bought a mac mini because it serves my needs. if i want to do heavy editing i have my mac pro or macbook pro. the main reason why i bought the mac mini over the iMac was the glossy screen the iMacs come with.
 
I'd vote for the iMac 27"... unless you plan on doing something with the Mac Mini that you won't be needing a screen for.

Generally, I find the Mini a perfect companion for a minimal studio setup, and it also doubles as a personal server perfectly fine. You wouldn't want to run an iMac 27" 24/7 as a server even if the screen is off.
 
I'm certainly in the *poor man's Mac* camp. The top end iMac is a great machine and the Mac Pro is the machine used in my industry (sound design), but the Mini will just have to do. I'm not complaining. As an audio engineering student, the specs on the Mini Server will do quite nicely for now. My financial aid only goes so far. But hey, if you can shell out for the top-of-the-line iMac.... you won't be disappointed. Just check out OWC for that RAM upgrade! Cheers!
 
sunnyj said:
poor man's mac? really?
i just bought a mac mini because it serves my needs. if i want to do heavy editing i have my mac pro or macbook pro. the main reason why i bought the mac mini over the iMac was the glossy screen the iMacs come with.
Click to expand...

Poor choice of words. I have nothing against Mac Minis, but, correct me if I'm wrong, the majority of the time people choose Mac Mini over everything else because they want to save $$$.

The Mac Mini is great for doing everyday things, but honestly, the iMac can do them better and more.
 
srxtr said:
Poor choice of words. I have nothing against Mac Minis, but, correct me if I'm wrong, the majority of the time people choose Mac Mini over everything else because they want to save $$$.

The Mac Mini is great for doing everyday things, but honestly, the iMac can do them better and more.
Click to expand...

Exactly... The Mini is all about the bang-for-the-buck. Even if Apple offered the fabled xMac (somewhere between a Mini and a Pro tower), I would still be purchasing a Mini. Fifteen years ago I spent about 3 grand on a reissue Mac 9600 350 mHz Power PC with an Atto Ultra 2 SCSI Wide card and a pair of 260 gig Segate Barracudas. I was a student then and that was a crazy amount of $$$. I ran it on OS 9 for 6+ years. I'm a student again and I'm really glad I can spend just $950 at B&H for the i7 Server and trick it out at OWC with 8 gigs of ram and a 240 gig SSD at OWC for about $400. I've run a number of G3 and G4 towers and now I'm running a 2006 Core Duo Mini (all hand-me-downs) but I'm really looking forward to a modern machine. I don't need to purchase a monitor, keyboard or mouse. A new Mini will just plug into my current setup. That being said, the top-of-the-line iMac is more powerful with a faster clocked quad i7, 4 slots for 16 gigs of ram and superior GPU. I just can't afford it. The Mac Mini hits the sweet spot for those on a budget. If money isn't an issue, get the iMac!
 
srxtr said:
Poor choice of words. I have nothing against Mac Minis, but, correct me if I'm wrong, the majority of the time people choose Mac Mini over everything else because they want to save $$$.

The Mac Mini is great for doing everyday things, but honestly, the iMac can do them better and more.
Click to expand...

i honestly can't say because i don't spend that much time on this section until recently. i can see people buying it because its cheap no doubt...

i agree iMac can do some things better but again it depends on the user. if all I'm going to be doing is surfing the net, email, movies, minor photo processing the mac mini is more then enough. like i said before having a glossy screen with no option of matte finish is a major deal breaker for me. :)
 
I just sold my iMac and got a mac mini because I couldn't stand the glossy screen.

However, I do miss the all in one nature - between my wired keyboard, wired mouse, webcam, speakers, monitor cables (power, DVI, USB), etc.. its nowhere near as 'clean' ;)

Another advantage is that I can share my display with my 15" laptop. I purchased a KVM and switch between the mini and my laptop.
 
srxtr said:
Definitely iMac.

Mac Mini, though a beautiful machine, is a poor man's Mac. Get iMac unless you can't afford one.
Click to expand...

That must have been the dumbest thing I've read for a while. Why the heck is it the "poor man's Mac"? I don't need more power than the Mini has to offer for my job. Just because it does not fit your needs doesn't make it a "poor man's Mac". :rolleyes: Another reason why I chose the Mini is because I hate glossy displays and I already have a non-glare 24" Samsung Syncmaster. I write hundreds of texts every month and just don't want my monitor to be a mirror.

On topic: Because you want to edit movies, go with the iMac.
 
The Mini Is Tempting

iMacBookPro said:
I was just wondering if I should get a Mac Mini or a iMac 27"? This is a short thread, but I just need some feed back. I I get the Mac Mini, I'm going to connect it to a flat screen Samsung TV. Is it worth getting a Mac Mini over a iMac 27"? Need Help! Thanks. :apple:
Click to expand...

But when you add up what you have to add to it (unless you have stuff like monitors etc. lying around) The cost is less attractive.

I went for the top end iMac 27" over the mini for that reason.
 
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I feel the same. my Mac mini suits all my needs for music production , film editing, and GAMING YES. Some people get caught up in specs vs actual user interface and needs. I got a 2010 with 8 gb of ram
 
Skoopman said:
That must have been the dumbest thing I've read for a while. Why the heck is it the "poor man's Mac"? I don't need more power than the Mini has to offer for my job. Just because it does not fit your needs doesn't make it a "poor man's Mac". :rolleyes: Another reason why I chose the Mini is because I hate glossy displays and I already have a non-glare 24" Samsung Syncmaster. I write hundreds of texts every month and just don't want my monitor to be a mirror.

On topic: Because you want to edit movies, go with the iMac.
Click to expand...

is it the SA300 or SA350?
i bought this monitor to go along with the mac mini and I'm having a hard time setting the colours on the monitor...
 
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