Time to Switch? (2006 Macbook -> 2009 Mini)

[norbiu]

I currently own an early 2006 MacBook 1.83 Core Duo + 2GB RAM that's connected to an external monitor and I was wondering if it was time for a switch.

I work as a web developer, but also use Photoshop for designing. If I make the mistake to have both PS and Aperture open, then the Mac becomes incredibly slow.

I also have Parallels running Windows from time to time for testing purposes, which again slows my productivity down.

So is it worth upgrading? How much of a difference are we talking here?

 

[Hellhammer]

I would upgrade. You use quite heavy apps so extra power is always needed. Make sure to get 4GB of RAM though

 

[norbiu]

I have Snow Leopard on the MacBook and I'm not seeing that much of a difference. Do I need Core 2 Duo to fully take advantage of SL?

 

[OldMike]

I think a big part of your problem is the fact that you are only running 2 GB. You mention that you slow down when you run virtualization, or when you have a couple of apps open. Your memory is probably totally consumed and you are probably swapping to disk at that point, which would lead to the system feeling very sluggish. I don't think Snow Leopard would help much if you are really in need of more RAM.

I'm on an iMac (2.8 GHZ) right now, with specs that are not that different from the Mac Mini 2.53. I have 4 GB, and it seems to run smoothly regardless what I throw at it. If you find you are needing to run a few virtual machines at the same time - you might find that even 4 GB is too little.

I would feel that the Mac Mini would be a decent upgrade for you, if you selected the 4 GB model. The base iMac might be better considering that you could bump it up to 8 GB for less than $100 more than the cost of the machine. Going forward, personally, I would be more concerned with memory expansion than processing speed since extra memory usually allows you to extend the useful life of a machine.