What Mac Mini is right for me?

[sakau2007]

I'm in the market for a desktop computer that runs an up to date version of Apple's OS and enables me to all their goodies such as GarageBand, iPhoto, easy syncing to my iPhone, receiving iMessages on my monitor, etc.

I've always kind of considered Apple's computer products to be a ripoff pricewise given the hardware they generally use. I still have and will use a PC for a lot of tasks, but would like to have a second Apple device that can talk to my phone with ease and sync stuff back and forth.

I want to spend as little money on this as possible; All I will ever do on it is occasionally check email, surf the internet, do syncing, maybe play mp3s or podcasts, do some photo editing, etc.

I see there is a big market on eBay for used Mac Minis (and other Mac computers like Macbooks, Macbook Airs, iMacs, etc.) but it just seems to me that the Mini will give me the best solution for the price.

So... what kind of specs should I be looking at? I was thinking some sort of dual core/2 GB RAM/~64/128 GB SSD. Also, once I get a Mac Mini, will I be able to upgrade if I desire (say, add RAM or switch to an SSD if I get one with a traditional HDD?) Do Mac Minis take the same kind of RAM that I'd stick on a PC motherboard? I know I can hop on new egg and buy 8 gigs of ram for a lot cheaper than Apple will let me upgrade from 2GB to 8GB through their store if I were to buy a new Mac Mini.

Thanks for the advice,
Steve

 

[alust2013]

you'll want a Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM (or upgrade it, it uses standard laptop RAM, exact specs vary by model) and SSD if you want it. If you want to install that yourself, it could be a bit of an adventure

 

[twiggy0]

Get the new Mac Mini Model, at $599 and buy an 8gb ram kit set.

I say this because that Mac Mini model is very powerful with the new i5 Core Processor, and an 8GB ram set priced at $48 was unheard of just a few months ago. Definitely a steal. If you want, you could buy the RAM later down the road, it might even be a bit cheaper.


Mac Mini $568

8GB Corsair RAM $48

 

[sakau2007]

Get the new Mac Mini Model, at $599 and buy an 8gb ram kit set.

I say this because that Mac Mini model is very powerful with the new i5 Core Processor, and an 8GB ram set priced at $48 was unheard of just a few months ago. Definitely a steal. If you want, you could buy the RAM later down the road, it might even be a bit cheaper.


Mac Mini $568

8GB Corsair RAM $48

This was a bit more than I wanted to spend total, but it might be worth it. I could probably keep this thing up to date by selling/rebuying a new one every 2-3 years for just a few hundred dollars.

Thanks.