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PC Equivalent (i5 2.9GHz + Blu Ray + TV tuner) to Mac Mini 2011

srf4real

srf4real

macrumors 68040
Jul 25, 2006
3,001
26
paradise beach FL
Well you are asking this in a forum dedicated to all things Apple; what kind of response do you expect? That is a huge pc tower and it's probably built as cheaply as it looks and will not run any Mac OS ever.. other than cost I do not see any similarities between this and the mini.

But it is a matter of your preference.:)
 
T

Tulpa

macrumors regular
May 11, 2011
145
0
The price difference with the $799 mini is negligible when you add in shipping.

The HP gives you a somewhat faster CPU (passmark 5800 to 3600), a little more RAM, and a lot more HDD in addition to bluray. Of course HP has an awful reputation for build quality and the thing is huge -- might want to check around to see how loud it is too.

And of course you get W7 which I'm becoming more and more convinced is garbage from my experiences on my new laptop.
 
obsidian1200

obsidian1200

macrumors 6502
Jun 19, 2010
359
0
Albuquerque, NM
At the risk of getting shot on this forum, for the purposes you described, that PC would be just fine. Aside from the extra work you'd need to do to get that PC to last (cleaning it of dust, maybe changing the thermal paste for good stuff that won't solidify like the stock thermal paste, and anything else to keep it cool), the noise, because I imagine this thing is much louder than the Mac Mini, and anti-virus scans (which aren't terrible if you keep yourself to a schedule), there aren't really many notable downsides to the HP, assuming you don't mind working with W7.

In losing OSX and gaining some extra tasks, you gain expandability, more RAM, a better GPU, the TV tuner, and a blu-ray drive. Yes, you can buy all but the GPU for the Mac Mini, but that'll only make it more expensive than it already is. If I were in your boots, I'd be asking for help deciding too. Luckily for me, I like OSX too much, so that limits my choices :)
 
ezekielrage_99

ezekielrage_99

macrumors 68040
Oct 12, 2005
3,336
19
The trade off will always be the the OS and HP's build quality. Though it is a very nicely speced machine.
 
J

japtor

macrumors regular
Jun 29, 2010
159
6
The Slimlines are pretty huge relative to a mini. If size isn't a concern and you're fine with Windows it should be fine*. If anything MCE is supposed to be pretty nice for a HTPC setup, although I'm guessing it might not be too useful if you wanted to integrate with a bunch of Apple stuff.

*...barring my mom's old Slimline which mysteriously died one day and had some confusing sleep issue for as long as we had it.
 
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