Will the Mac Mini satisfy my needs?

[snarestud940]

Good Evening All,

I usually post in the iPad section a lot but today I have another issue.

As you can see in my signature, I have a 2008 Aluminum Macbook, an iPad 3, and a Dell Inspiron desktop. My mother has a cheap ($400) eMachines Desktop at her store which is only about 3 years old and just crashed. Brought it to a computer specialist, and there is nothing they can do except do a wipe and a rebuild. I always wanted to get a Mac desktop but not sure if the Mac Mini will suffice. My plan is to give her the Dell tower and get a Mac Mini to replace my Dell. I would love to someday buy an iMac but not sure when that day will come. All I do on the computer is type of papers and labs for school, websurfing and emailing, youtube, videos, iTunes music, and for those of you who are familiar with musical composing, I use a program called Sibelius which takes up a lot of space. I checked my hard drive on my Dell and I am only usign 83 GB out of my 283 GB. Like my macbook, it has 2 GB of RAM.

My question is, would the Mac Mini suffice my needs? Or should I wait until my macbook dies and then buy an iMac? I don't think I would need a laptop again since the tablet world is evolving? Is this true?

Thanks everyone! Sorry for the long post!

 

[miles01110]

Yes, it will be fine for your needs.

 

[mentaluproar]

Yes, and with those needs, the base model should do just fine. If you can hold out until the new models come out, even better. The only issue with the mini is the current generation has a louder fan that the previous one. Otherwise, great unit.

 

[Litany]

The only issue with the mini is the current generation has a louder fan that the previous one.

Are you serious? When I use smcfancontrol to spin it up to 5500rpm I have to be within 2 feet of the mini to hear it.
Since the mini no longer has any optical drive, USB can use hubs and an SD slot is pointless, there is no reason for it to be sitting so close to you.

 

[OneMike]

Are you serious? When I use smcfancontrol to spin it up to 5500rpm I have to be within 2 feet of the mini to hear it.
Since the mini no longer has any optical drive, USB can use hubs and an SD slot is pointless, there is no reason for it to be sitting so close to you.

Maybe for you, but I'd bet more people have their computers within 2 feet then not. Also, as the mini has built in speakers. For those that don't use externals, they'd keep it closer as well. That said, unless I'm doing encoding in handbrake, I never hear the fans.

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To the OP.

I'd say keep your current laptop and give your mom the Dell. I had that macbook before and it's plenty for your uses. Unless you need two computers for some reason I don't see an advantage to getting the mini now.

 

[silverjam]

Mini's are great. They are not noisy, although relatively speaking when you compare them to a MBA they are "noisier".

My hard drive enclosure is a lot noisier than my MM Server.

 

[blevins321]

I think the Mini would be terrific for your needs. It's a lot more powerful than it looks like it would be from the outside. Plus, the new models are coming supposedly coming out near the end of the month to coincide with the launch of Mountain Lion (if you believe the rumors, that is ).

One change that I would make is to upgrade the RAM from 2GB to at least 4GB. Although if you wait for the new models, they might do this with the base model anyway. You can get 8GB for around $40 on Amazon or NewEgg these days.

 

[marzer]

"Will the Mac Mini satisfy my needs?"

If you are willing to respect it for the individual that it is and not try and change it for your own selfish needs, then most definitely.

 

[mentaluproar]

"Will the Mac Mini satisfy my needs?"

If you are willing to respect it for the individual that it is and not try and change it for your own selfish needs, then most definitely.

love it.