I'm very inclined to go for the mac mini over the iMac

kgian said:

I would also go for the mini if it had dedicated GPU. Without it it is a no go though...

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That, unfortunately is the deal-breaker....One of my buddies wants to play th odd FPS....The Mini just isn't designed for that. On all other fronts it fits the bill though. Back to the (seemingly endless) wait.

teohyc said:

Oh, I wrote that.

If you're not into gaming, Mac Mini is a a good choice. It's a powerful enough machine today.

The other advantage is you can choose not to go for a glossy screen.

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That's if you're going for a refurb though.

WrrN said:

You wrote the review? Nicely done and very useful.
My only concern is the lack of dedicated GPU. I do need to handle small FCP edits and sure don't want to regret a Mini purchase over the invisible iMac.

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I hear you Tears. When you say you couldn't edit HD video, do you mean it was sluggish, or it was impossible? I would think the former. Were you using FCP or iMovie or Premier or ??

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FCp and Motion

Yes you can use it, and it is doable. Problem is though when using filters within FCP and video playback it's just not smooth...... Also using Motion you have to turn off so many graphic options it just was not worth it.

CPu is a beast but I do a lot of Hd video editing and Photography work. When using filters you need a graphics card. The Graphics card in my 2011 iMac is 3x faster than the HD4000 and the Graphics card in the base 2011 imac is nothing spectacular.....

Personally imo I consider the Mac Mini unusable for any advanced HD video and Motion graphics work. I bought it and had to return it.

tears2040 said:

FCp and Motion
Personally imo I consider the Mac Mini unusable for any advanced HD video and Motion graphics work. I bought it and had to return it.

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Hmm, now I'm in a quandary. I have to get something soon, but if I'm honest about my FCP usage, I've only handled 2 video clients in the last year. Most of my work is still graphics. I think I can live with HD4000. It'll likely be as fast as my current 256MB ATI Radeon X1600 in my '06 MBP.

WrrN said:

Hmm, now I'm in a quandary. I have to get something soon, but if I'm honest about my FCP usage, I've only handled 2 video clients in the last year. Most of my work is still graphics. I think I can live with HD4000. It'll likely be as fast as my current 256MB ATI Radeon X1600 in my '06 MBP.

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Apple has 14 day return period. Yes the Hd4000 will be as fast or faster than your 2006 but that's really not the point.

Personally I need a dedicated graphics card due to the work I do, for you it might be fine. Not everyone is the same. In the event though that you NEED it, just remember your F%@ked.

tears2040 said:

Apple has 14 day return period. Yes the Hd4000 will be as fast or faster than your 2006 but that's really not the point.

Personally I need a dedicated graphics card due to the work I do, for you it might be fine. Not everyone is the same. In the event though that you NEED it, just remember your F%@ked.

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Between my comments last night and now, I have come to the conclusion that a dedicated GPU is a must. I could "get by" with integrated GPU, but why put myself through that. Especially as I'd likely keep my purchase for a good 5 years. Thanks.

I've never owned a Mac Mini and don't know much about them.

I do have a question though. Is the Mac Mini compatible with ANY monitor or just Apples?

Any info would be appreciated!

JayJayAbels said:

I do have a question though. Is the Mac Mini compatible with ANY monitor or just Apples?

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My understanding is that you can use any monitor that has the appropriate connector, which is most modern monitors.

WrrN said:

My understanding is that you can use any monitor that has the appropriate connector, which is most modern monitors.

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Yeah, hdmi connection works with pretty much any monitor. Problem is though most monitors are not really Apple quality. You will easily spend $500+ on any decent monitor and more for a good one.

Those $200-$300 monitors will work fine, but compared to an iMac screen there is a big difference in quality.

tears2040 said:

Yeah, hdmi connection works with pretty much any monitor. Problem is though most monitors are not really Apple quality. You will easily spend $500+ on any decent monitor and more for a good one.

Those $200-$300 monitors will work fine, but compared to an iMac screen there is a big difference in quality.

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A monitor with a similiar, somehow even higher quality level than the Thunderbolt Display would be Dell's U2711 at a cost of approx. 550 Euros.
Doesn't look as nice as Apples screen, but at least it's non-glossy.

ASUS VS239H-P 23-Inch Full-HD LED IPS Monitor - $174.99

All the reviews that I read said it has a flimsy stand, but no dead pixels. Price is good.