Newbie Question about Mac Mini

[rsync]

I am seriously in need of a new computer, as my beloved laptop died (may her soul rest in peace) two days ago. Repairing it will be a pain and so I am in the midst of searching for my next computer, and thinking of making the ultimate upgrade.

Last year I was planning to buy an iMac, but decided to wait for the next hardware refresh. Now that the new iMac is out, I changed my mind and thinking of buying the Mac Mini instead. What can I say, it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind anytime.

Anyway, so I did all the math of comparing the two and considering that I have to buy a separate display, the wireless keyboard and mouse (Apple, of course), a memory upgrade and the remote control (I just have to have this!), I came down to the conclusion that I will save Php5k if I buy the Mac Mini instead. Not much, but at least I have a Samsung 23" LED monitor, slightly bigger than the 21" display of iMac.

My question is this: does Mac Mini's performance equal to that of an iMac? It's tiny, it's sweet, but I also want muscle and performance as it will be heavily used as my digital darkroom.

TIA!

[mark_17]

afaik no because of the harddrive, the imac uses 7200RPM desktop-type while the mini uses 5400RPM laptop-type... if you could upgrade the mini's harddrive to a 7200RPM one then I think its performance would be at par of the imac's.

[tynn]

mam, get the imac instead.... its more powerful compare to outdated mac mini. and the imac lcd is more vibrant compare to samsung. and you'll have more cleaner set up. hehehe

[rsync]

mam, get the imac instead.... its more powerful compare to outdated mac mini. and the imac lcd is more vibrant compare to samsung. and you'll have more cleaner set up. hehehe

I think the Mac Mini is due for the hardware refresh already, and once it's out, do you think its specs will be closer to that of iMac's?

[motoflux]

in my opinion, no.

why?

iMac specs are here, while the Mac Mini specs is here.

Just compare the L2 Cache of iMac and Mac Mini.

[Salaryman Ryan]

Also, take note that the iMac display is far superior then the Samsung 23 inch. In technical terms, the iMac has an IPS panel which means brighter more vibrant colors, and better viewing angles then the TN screen of the Samsung. One good way to test it is to look at a demo unit of the Samsung at odd angles - you will notice that the colors will shift to either white or black. The iMac has no such problem.

Also the Mac Mini is Core2Duo which is already considered a low end CPU compared to the Core i5 of the iMac which is much much faster.

Scrap what I said about the Mac Mini, it has been recently updated to include an i5 CPU as well.

[abielbad]

rsync... choosing between models also boils down to what you intend to use that machine for. actually that's what should matter.

[rsync]

Also, take note that the iMac display is far superior then the Samsung 23 inch. In technical terms, the iMac has an IPS panel which means brighter more vibrant colors, and better viewing angles then the TN screen of the Samsung. One good way to test it is to look at a demo unit of the Samsung at odd angles - you will notice that the colors will shift to either white or black. The iMac has no such problem.

Also the Mac Mini is Core2Duo which is already considered a low end CPU compared to the Core i5 of the iMac which is much much faster.

Scrap what I said about the Mac Mini, it has been recently updated to include an i5 CPU as well.

Yeah, the new Mac Mini is out. I'm kinda excited because I can do a better comparison now.

BTW, thanks for pointing out the difference between the two displays.

rsync... choosing between models also boils down to what you intend to use that machine for. actually that's what should matter.

Well, I mentioned that I'm gonna use it for photo and video editing.

Do you think I should go for the iMac because it has a better display?

[macdrive007]

For photo & video editing, iMac it is. Besides the better screen, you'll still have an optical drive to burn your media outputs, an option besides USB flash drives.

[Devilgodspeed]

mac mini has portability. u can bring it w/ u anywhere for as long as there's a monitor around for u to connect.