2012 mini "passable" for 3-D games? Should I go with the 2011 model w/6630M?

Hello,

First post here.. I'm considering upgrading from a 2010 base model iMac to a Mac mini (more flexible). The only question in my mind is whether to get the 2012 base model or the 2011 model with the 6630M dedicated GPU.

I'm not a "gamer" and it's been more than a month since I last played a game on the iMac, but I don't have any other computers/consoles to play games on, and I would like to play the upcoming Simcity - preferably Diablo 3, Starcraft 2 and Trine 2 too. Would these games run passably well at 1280*720 on the 2012 Mac mini? Or should I go with the 2011 model with a dedicated GPU (6630M)?

I'm also interested in photography, and use Aperture for my RAW photos.

The two models score similar in Geekbench AFAIK. I would lose USB 3 if I chose the 2011 model, anything else? Can I go for 16 GB RAM with the 2011 model? Are its SATA ports of the 6 Gb/s kind?

Here in Turkey, after all taxes, the 2012 base model costs around 800 $. Second-hand 2011 minis with GPU's go for around 850 - 875 $. I could try to find a new 2011 mini with GPU as stock clearance, but it wouldn't be cheaper than 950 $.

If I knew the 2012 mini would handle the new Simcity reasonably well, I'd not bother with the 2011 model at all. It's also quieter from what I've read.

Thanks in advance for your comments!

Hello again,

Thanks for the replies, and sorry I couldn't write back sooner.

I'm definitely not a gamer, the last game I played was Portal 2 1,5 months ago. I'd just rather be able to play a modest 3-D game if I have some extra time.

If the 2012 model can run Diablo 3 or Starcraft 2 passably at 1280*720 or so, I'd be happy enough. But the truth is, they didn't run so well on the 2010 iMac with the 4670M GPU.

Games are nowhere near my primary concern. If WoW and L4D2 run well enough, that would be OK for me. I can't get the quad, though - if I get the 2012 mini it will be the base model.

I cannot get refurbs here in Turkey. I saw some 2011 models with GPU for sale as second hand, and they're about 70 $ more expensive than 2012 base models.

Yebubbleman, thanks for the detailed reply. I see that the only (important) differences are USB 3.0 vs 2.0 and the GPU. The CPU scores seem to be comparable. USB 3.0 is not so important for me. As for the stronger GPU, I'm not sure if it will be worth paying more, getting a second hand computer instead of new, shorter warranty and more noise, for gaming a few hours in a month, if at all.

philipma1957, I have a 2010 iMac ATM, and it's been in service for 2 weeks due to 2 problems with the display (I'm writing this message from an EeePC). I'm not getting another computer with an integrated display. And we don't have a "mid-tower Mac", so I'm down to the mini..

I'm leaning towards the 2012 base model at the moment, to be upgraded with an SSD and 16 GB RAM.

I forgot to reply the last week, sorry. Thanks for all the replies.

thekev, I have 12 MP RAW files from a 5D and I will soon get a 18 MP NEX-6. At the moment the 2010 iMac is doing fine with the RAW's; not terribly fast, but fast enough. I don't have a huge collection either - I plan to keep only the last year's photos in the "working" Aperture library and that has around 3k images. A single folder usually doesn't have more than 200 in my case.

I liked Lightroom's workflow as well, but at the moment I'd rather not spend an additional 150 $ (more than that in Turkey) as I'm just an amateur and I already purchased Aperture.

blanka, USB 3.0 and Snow Leopard are not important in my case (at least for now). I see there's now a patch for the HDMI issues but it seems it's not solved all the problems (especially color issues). The Radeon is better in graphics performance, by about that margin you mentioned. However, I read that it also runs hotter and louder.

Quash, it's good to see real-life results. It seems the 2012 base model is not so bad.

calvol, I definitely wish they kept the discrete GPU on the mid-level model. Maybe your screen issues would have been solved with the recent patch?

The Cinebench scores don't seem so much different, right? But maybe the Quad i7 is helping the HD4000 there. 3DMark11 does show a big difference, though.

I agree the HD4000 does not really reach a discrete GPU. Still, I don't game often, and in the end, I think I'll be better off buying a new 2012 model. By the way, do Mac mini's use ULV processors? I thought they had "regular" laptop versions?

Thanks for all the input. To sum it up; it won't be as good for gaming, but keeping things in perspective (general use, silence/heat issues, warranty, getting a new model instead of second hand), it seems like a new 2012 base model will be a better choice. I just have to decide "when" and "what SSD to install"..