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mac mini decision

M

majkom

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 3, 2011
1,854
1,150
Hi, I am quite dissapointed by new iMacs - i was hoping for SSD but as apple chose its way (base 21 5400 rpm not upgradable) I have to find different solution. So here I am finding, which mini would probably be the best fit for me.
I do own iMac 2011 base, so please keep in mind my actual mac experience.

What do I plan to do:
- buy mac mini 2011 i5 with ATI GPU
- buy Samsung 830 SSD 256 gigs
- probably apple TB display (not sure about this one, it is too expensive)
- 8 or 16 gigs RAM

What do I usually do with computer is not demanding for resources (internet, word processing, music, some very light photo processing - this may change in the future), except few games, and that may be the problem. I do play Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft and L4D 1 and 2. Is there any chance that this mini will be able to run this games with decent setting and at least full hd (i know that TBD natural resolution is scifi for this machine).

If you have any hints (different mini? different display? something else?), pros and cons, other possible solutions, give it to me, I will be glad for any advice.
Thx.
 
M

mwhities

macrumors 6502a
Jul 13, 2011
899
0
Mississippi
majkom said:
What do I plan to do:
- buy mac mini 2011 i5 with ATI GPU
- buy Samsung 830 SSD 256 gigs
- probably apple TB display (not sure about this one, it is too expensive)
- 8 or 16 gigs RAM
Click to expand...

1. Perfect for what you need.
2. I want one too.
3. Unless you are a professional graphic/video person - Waste of money.
4. 8G is plenty for you, 16G might be a waste.
 
MrXiro

MrXiro

macrumors 68040
Nov 2, 2007
3,850
599
Los Angeles
majkom said:
Hi, I am quite dissapointed by new iMacs - i was hoping for SSD but as apple chose its way (base 21 5400 rpm not upgradable) I have to find different solution. So here I am finding, which mini would probably be the best fit for me.
I do own iMac 2011 base, so please keep in mind my actual mac experience.

What do I plan to do:
- buy mac mini 2011 i5 with ATI GPU
- buy Samsung 830 SSD 256 gigs
- probably apple TB display (not sure about this one, it is too expensive)
- 8 or 16 gigs RAM

What do I usually do with computer is not demanding for resources (internet, word processing, music, some very light photo processing - this may change in the future), except few games, and that may be the problem. I do play Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft and L4D 1 and 2. Is there any chance that this mini will be able to run this games with decent setting and at least full hd (i know that TBD natural resolution is scifi for this machine).

If you have any hints (different mini? different display? something else?), pros and cons, other possible solutions, give it to me, I will be glad for any advice.
Thx.
Click to expand...

I ran L4D2 at 720p just fine... it was choking slightly at 1080p but I had some of the effects set to high. On a 23 inch screen 720p and 1080p don't really look much different to me anyway. I have the i7 model though, but there shouldn't be much of a difference regarding playability on the i5.
 
M

majkom

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 3, 2011
1,854
1,150
OK, i will see.. i will be buying it in may probably... so hopefully new cinema display will be out.. as i rarely play games on mi imac, i will probably survive using less gpu strong mini...
 
forza69

forza69

macrumors 6502a
Jan 30, 2010
777
126
Like you, I was also disappointed in the new iMacs and horrible choice of HD. I decided I'm going to buy a Mac Mini except I'm going to get the higher end and newer quad core i7 2.6GHz processor. As someone stated, memory is pretty cheap now so not going for a 16GB upgrade is dumb. Crucial has it for $80. Might as well upgrade the HD to a 128 or 256 GB SSD as well since its also cheaper to buy third party instead of getting it directly from Apple. Will be using it on my 1080p HDTV :)
 
M

Malte.

macrumors member
Nov 4, 2012
38
6
Sweden
forza69 said:
Like you, I was also disappointed in the new iMacs and horrible choice of HD. I decided I'm going to buy a Mac Mini except I'm going to get the higher end and newer quad core i7 2.6GHz processor. As someone stated, memory is pretty cheap now so not going for a 16GB upgrade is dumb. Crucial has it for $80. Might as well upgrade the HD to a 128 or 256 GB SSD as well since its also cheaper to buy third party instead of getting it directly from Apple. Will be using it on my 1080p HDTV :)
Click to expand...

You first complain that apple uses 5400rpm drives in the imac, then you buy a mini with a 5400rpm disk :) And if you install a SSD by yourself in the mini, why not get a imac and install one?
Seems like a better solution to the OP since is looking to buy a new screen anyway and also he would benefit from the imac's dedicated graphics.
 
M

majkom

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 3, 2011
1,854
1,150
Malte. said:
You first complain that apple uses 5400rpm drives in the imac, then you buy a mini with a 5400rpm disk :) And if you install a SSD by yourself in the mini, why not get a imac and install one?
Seems like a better solution to the OP since is looking to buy a new screen anyway and also he would benefit from the imac's dedicated graphics.
Click to expand...

Please, do you have any idea how difficult is to put your SSD into 2011/2012 iMac? Probably not otherwise you would not write your post:D
 
M

Malte.

macrumors member
Nov 4, 2012
38
6
Sweden
majkom said:
Please, do you have any idea how difficult is to put your SSD into 2011/2012 iMac? Probably not otherwise you would not write your post:D
Click to expand...

Im very well aware that the iMac is more complex. Maybe not extremely more difficult, but more timeconsuming. Would not be a dealbreaker for me if, the warranty is gone on both machines anyway afterwards.

Edit: I saw the ifixit teardown for the 2012 imac.. Wouldnt open that!!
 
Last edited:
M

majkom

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 3, 2011
1,854
1,150
Malte. said:
Im very well aware that the iMac is more complex. Maybe not extremely more difficult, but more timeconsuming. Would not be a dealbreaker for me if, the warranty is gone on both machines anyway afterwards.

Edit: I saw the ifixit teardown for the 2012 imac.. Wouldnt open that!!
Click to expand...

But Waranty is not gone, unless you brake something... my situation is that I really hoped for new imac with SSD, as default... but apple went completely different way, not even allowing any form of ssd in base imac... so, i choose mac mini with ATD - i got ssd based system, 27 inch display for much less then I would get same with imac (other pros: ATD is better display than iMac, I will get bigger SSD disk within mini that I would get with fussion made by apple in iMac, cons: much worse gpu)
 
forza69

forza69

macrumors 6502a
Jan 30, 2010
777
126
Malte. said:
Im very well aware that the iMac is more complex. Maybe not extremely more difficult, but more timeconsuming. Would not be a dealbreaker for me if, the warranty is gone on both machines anyway afterwards.

Edit: I saw the ifixit teardown for the 2012 imac.. Wouldnt open that!!
Click to expand...

Yeah... I watched the OWC teardown and I would not do it. Way too many little things that could go wrong. Not to mention the display being stuck to the frame with adhesive. No thanks!
 
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