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Mac Mini 2.26 or Splurge for New MBP 2.66

Wicked1

Wicked1

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 13, 2009
3,283
14
New Jersey
I have a Unibody MB with the 2.4 but only 2 GB or ram, I am thinking of upgrading to a MBP 2.66 version and I just couldn't justify the cost. My Question is what does everyone think about the New Mac Mini, also 2.0 or 2.26 I know 4 GB and I have a Hitachi 320 7200 RPM drive already. I don't mind the smaller internal drive but iTunes always wants to copy the music from my external drive to the internal drive and I have 500 GB of Music, Videos and misc other stuff. Also what is this issue with OSX only recognizing 3 GB of ram???

I am just getting tired of carrying around the heavy laptops so I would prefer to keep the MB and upgrade to 4 GB but I am looking at the Mini for desktop fun and I already have a great Gateway 22 HDMI LCD that has great quality and basically was almost free anyway. I play Halo 1 and 2, also COD all versions to version 5 for Windows, however with my MB it is a little laggy running under XP SP3, does the new mini function the same way the new MB does, essentially they are the same GPU but I am just trying to figure out if the Mini is worth the $.


Thanks
Wicked1
 
PaperMacWriter

PaperMacWriter

macrumors 6502
Apr 5, 2009
260
0
You have a Unibody MacBook - you can't justify a new laptop.
As for a desktop, don't get the mini, its just a underpowered macbook without a screen in your situation. And you can't do serious gaming on the Mini. Get a refurb iMac with the Radeon HD 2600 PRO graphics, it will be far superior to the new models with the 9400M. Oh, and my 2.4GHz iMac is great with its "only" 1GB RAM. Just my two cents.
SG :apple:
 
alphaod

alphaod

macrumors Core
Feb 9, 2008
22,183
1,245
NYC
Have you considered just getting the 2.4GHz MacBook Pro; the 2.66GHz model is not really worth it unless you need it or you need 8GB of RAM later on.
 
PaperMacWriter

PaperMacWriter

macrumors 6502
Apr 5, 2009
260
0
alphaod said:
Have you considered just getting the 2.4GHz MacBook Pro; the 2.66GHz model is not really worth it unless you need it or you need 8GB of RAM later on.
Click to expand...
OR for $2,000 get a 2.53GHz MBP. Almost the same as the 2.66, but $500 cheaper!:D
SG :apple:
 
J

Jackintosh

macrumors 6502a
Mar 21, 2009
573
4
I wouldn't consider anything except a 2.26 Mini. It's plenty powerful for gaming and anything else. I'd avoid iMac at all costs. Why tie yourself down to a permanent monitor that you may hate, can't upgrade, or may simply fail? It's like a system for people who can't deal with or understand separate components.

You get complete versatility with the Mini desktop without the expense of a MB or iMac.
 
Wicked1

Wicked1

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 13, 2009
3,283
14
New Jersey
Mac Mini

I just can't seem to get myself to pump out $2,000 or better yet $2500 for a MBP even considering they are nice, just that I love my MB 2.4 Unibody, I just need to get it to 4 GB ram which I am working on. This MB is lite, easy on the eyes, sometimes there is a glare, packed with everything I need for daily life and at times I can play COD or Halo, just not in High Res mode but that doesn't bother me. I am going with a Mini for home, because like one member I do not want to be tied down to an iMac even though we have them at work, also for $599.99 plus $65.00 for the memory upgrade you can not go wrong, I just wonder if it can handle Video editing for home movies, nothing professional, also is it worth the 2.26 or should I just get the basic 2.0 because I know that as soon as I buy this thing Apple will start coming out with better Mini's then I will be stuck.


Wicked1
 
J

Jackintosh

macrumors 6502a
Mar 21, 2009
573
4
Smart choice. It took them a year and a half for the latest Mini version, so probably that or at least another year for the next version. Since this is the beginning of this Mini product cycle, perfect time to buy.

Personally, $135-150 more for the 2.26 is worth it to future-proof and make the investment as worthwhile as possible. I say the additional processing power may come in handy on a game or app.
 
PaperMacWriter

PaperMacWriter

macrumors 6502
Apr 5, 2009
260
0
Jackintosh said:
Personally, $135-150 more for the 2.26 is worth it to future-proof and make the investment as worthwhile as possible. I say the additional processing power may come in handy on a game or app.
Click to expand...
I have a power mac G4 MDD with a single 1GHz processor... if I had bought the dual 1.25GHz or even 1.42GHz, would it be any more likely to run Snow Leopard? No, as it is almost guarantied to be intel-only. Granted, it would be twice as fast and more decent, but still obsolete. With a bump of only 260MHz, it doesn't seem worth it, although I'm not a gamer. It's worth it if it benefits you in the short term, but if it's just to make it last longer, then its not worth it.
SG :apple:
 
LagunaSol

LagunaSol

macrumors 601
Apr 3, 2003
4,798
0
Despite the naysayer here (Jackintosh), I say the iMac is the best computer Apple makes. My perfect combo is my iMac for home use and my cheap MacBook for portability.

My 20" iMac has served me brilliantly for 3 years. It's been my favorite computer ever. Now I have a new 24" model on the way. iMac > Mac mini. Period.
 
jmpage2

jmpage2

macrumors 68040
Sep 14, 2007
3,224
549
Jackintosh said:
I wouldn't consider anything except a 2.26 Mini. It's plenty powerful for gaming and anything else. I'd avoid iMac at all costs. Why tie yourself down to a permanent monitor that you may hate, can't upgrade, or may simply fail? It's like a system for people who can't deal with or understand separate components.

You get complete versatility with the Mini desktop without the expense of a MB or iMac.
Click to expand...

You have a very different definition of "powerful for gaming" then most here I am guessing.
 
tMac85

tMac85

macrumors 65816
Sep 15, 2007
1,144
0
in a great place
The refurb imac is the best bang for your buck. they really are going cheap. If you want something for gaming and a desktop then get the imac. the mac mini is way overpriced for what you are getting, and from what you have said, you can spend the middle amount and get the imac.
 
BlizzardBomb

BlizzardBomb

macrumors 68030
Jun 15, 2005
2,537
0
England
Jackintosh said:
I wouldn't consider anything except a 2.26 Mini. It's plenty powerful for gaming and anything else. I'd avoid iMac at all costs. Why tie yourself down to a permanent monitor that you may hate, can't upgrade, or may simply fail?
Click to expand...

Powerful for gaming? Don't think so. If the iMac display failed, Apple would replace it (as they did with mine), simple.

Jackintosh said:
It's like a system for people who can't deal with or understand separate components.
Click to expand...

Umm... Because the Mini is very upgradeable? For the price of a 2.26 GHz Mini, a keyboard, a mouse and a display, you could afford a 24" iMac with double the Hard Drive capacity (and a considerably faster Hard Drive as well), double the standard RAM and a significantly faster processor (.4 GHz, +3 MB L2 cache).

Anyway, the 2 GHz model is all you need. $150 dollars for .26 GHz will not get you very far and let's face it, in 2 or 3 years time when you're ready to upgrade next, that $150 you've saved will buy you a lot more. Just remember that the Mini (even with the 2.26 GHz model) will be slower than the 2.4 GHz Unibody MB. Apple may bump the specs of the mini within a few months (possibly to 2.13 GHz but nothing significant). However, as some people have already said, you should seriously consider a refurb iMac.
 
J

Jackintosh

macrumors 6502a
Mar 21, 2009
573
4
BlizzardBomb said:
Powerful for gaming? Don't think so. If the iMac display failed, Apple would replace it (as they did with mine), simple.



Umm... Because the Mini is very upgradeable? For the price of a 2.26 GHz Mini, a keyboard, a mouse and a display, you could afford a 24" iMac with double the Hard Drive capacity (and a considerably faster Hard Drive as well), double the standard RAM and a significantly faster processor (.4 GHz, +3 MB L2 cache).

Anyway, the 2 GHz model is all you need. $150 dollars for .26 GHz will not get you very far and let's face it, in 2 or 3 years time when you're ready to upgrade next, that $150 you've saved will buy you a lot more. Just remember that the Mini (even with the 2.26 GHz model) will be slower than the 2.4 GHz Unibody MB. Apple may bump the specs of the mini within a few months (possibly to 2.13 GHz but nothing significant). However, as some people have already said, you should seriously consider a refurb iMac.
Click to expand...

The few games that I have, run fine on my Mini, although I don't spend a lot of time playing games. As my one and only primary desktop, the Mini is fast, zippy, and runs all my apps perfectly. 2.26 with 320hd is plenty for me. I get to choose my own display (24" or more), and can upgrade it (such as to LED technology or wide screen TV) in the future. I don't see where the myth comes from that because it's not tethered to a monitor as an all-in-one unit, that the Mini is somehow a poor performer or choice.

I don't think it's helpful to get into an iMac vs. Mini debate. Those who see the iMac as meeting their needs will stick with that, and the same for Mini fans.
 
Wicked1

Wicked1

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 13, 2009
3,283
14
New Jersey
Ok I broke down, went to the Apple Store and bought a Mac Mini 2.0 Ghz, 2GB Ram, with the 320 GB HD, also Wireless Mighty Mouse, and USB Apple Keyboard and I have to tell you this thing is great, now I just have to get everything in my house working wireless so my laptop and Mac Mini communicate with my external HD for Movies and Music, what a great little Machine. I have to admit I almost got the Apple Cinema Display the 24" but my wife made me break down and use my 22" Gateway HDMI which is also a great screen.

One Question do the new Mini's have that 3 GB barrier or is that on older units only, also is the 2.0 with 2GB Ram and 320GB enough, or should I really spend $70 for the 4 GB Ram? I was playing around with this model in the Apple stores and it handled everything I threw at it, but I am just curious what everyone is dealing with out there.
 
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