Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

OneSon

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 6, 2013
113
89
I'm looking for a home-office computer with ms office, audio signal processing and some fairly intense number crunching (spss) in mind.

I thought an Imac was the way to go but a friend mentioned the mac mini. Just comparing the specs it seems the mini offers exceptional value and is user upgradable.

Is there something I'm missing?
 

FFabian

macrumors regular
Aug 26, 2010
155
168
Bochum, Germany
If the integrated GPU is no concern (no/light gaming, not using graphic design software) and you already have a nice screen go for the mini.
 

ybz90

macrumors 6502a
Jul 10, 2009
609
2
I'm looking for a home-office computer with ms office, audio signal processing and some fairly intense number crunching (spss) in mind.

I thought an Imac was the way to go but a friend mentioned the mac mini. Just comparing the specs it seems the mini offers exceptional value and is user upgradable.

Is there something I'm missing?

I am strongly in the Mini camp myself, but the big differentiators between the two are the convenience of an all-in-one and the dedicated GPU. I think in comparison, the iMac is a poor value in this current generation, as the CPU in the lower end models are generally worse than the quad-core Mac Mini, but your decision to purchase should be need dependent as the serve two different market niches.
 

OneSon

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 6, 2013
113
89
I've just priced out the following:

Macmini

2.3ghz i7
Fusion drive
4gb ram (would upgrade myself to 16gb)
trackpad
keyboard

£995 + £150 monitor

Imac

2.7ghz i5
Fusion drive
8gb ram (nonupgradable)
trackpad
keboard

1299

Which of these would be a faster more efficient machine?
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.