Thinking of getting making the switch to a Mini...Compare to my current PC system!

[Shockwave78]

Hi, I think i have been bitten by the OSX Lion bug

Never really wanted or really gave OSX a try over the years but i think i may be ready to. I am trying to compare current system to the 2012 i7 Mac Mini model i am interested in.

CURRENT SYSTEM:

Q6600 @ 3.40ghz Thermaltake V1 Cooler
Gigabyte EP-45-UD3P
WD SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB / WD 1TB Exterior
OCZ Agiilty 60GB SSD
Intel 520Series 180GB SSD
8GB Kingston HyperX PC8000
MSI GTX460OC
SAMSUNG DVD/LIGHTSCRIBE
Antec 900
Corsair 550 PSU
WINDOWS 8 Professional 64Bit


MAC MINI:

Processor Brand: Intel®
Processor: Intel® 3rd Generation Core™ i7
Processor Speed: 2.3GHz
System Memory (RAM): 4GB
Hard Drive Type: SATA (5400 rpm)
OS X Mountain Lion
Intel HD Graphics 4000

Also, keep in mind i would most definetely swap out the hard drive that came with the mini for my current Intel 520 Series 180gb SSD i just purchased a couple weeks ago..

The system will be used for 90% web/email...The rest would be the occasional audio converting, maybe some video converting..But stuff like that i only do once every few months. Basically its a web/email machine, with the ability to play all types of video would be nice(BD, ect for future use)

One of my main concerns obviously is going from a GTX460 OC to a Intel HD4000 that is in the Mini. First, i barely game any more on the PC...And if i do its always Half Life 1 or Half Life 2 and all its mods on the Source engine. WIll the Intel HD4000 hold its own against the GTX460 on the source engine games?


I figure if i pic up the mini from best buy i could try it out for a few weeks to see if i really like it and then just return it if not. If i keep it i could probably part out the two systems i have available here for about $400-$500...Leaving the mini only ending up with a cost of $250.

Thanks for any help!

[jack2wai2]

Upgrade the stock RAM to at least 8gb. It will boost the VRAM to 512MB which is useful. Get it, with SSD you are a happy user

[ee13lbp]

The hd4000 performs pretty well with source games. I've been playing light games on it for a while and haven't been disappointed yet

[Shockwave78]

Went to the ale store and played with one for about 20 minutes. Started to grow on my I must admit.

Questions.

1. The App Store..so any apps I would download on my iphone would also be installed on the mini? Either automatically or manually (without having to pay for it again ??)

2. How well does mirroring work to the Apple TV? Sometimes I can't see a ny giants game and I stream and watch them on my pc. A quick mirror to a Apple TV would be a great solution.

3. Do I need an adapter kit or anything to install a ssd drive?

4. Do they come with a install cd? Or flash drive with OSX on it??

[Mojo1]

I recommend getting David Pogue's excellent book for Windows "switchers" moving to Macs: http://www.amazon.com/Switching-Mac-...+Mountain+Lion.

I've suggested this to a lot of folks and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. It will save you a lot of time trying to get answers via online forums and learning by trial-ans-error.

[Shockwave78]

Thanks, i got a feel for the OS and would rather just click around to figure stuff out. I am not big on reading through stuff

Anyway...I also read something about this program called "Bootcamp" that you can install that allows you to run windows beside it for dual booting? Does this come pre-installed with OSX?? Pretty cool feature if it does.

[biggd]

Originally Posted by Shockwave78

Thanks, i got a feel for the OS and would rather just click around to figure stuff out. I am not big on reading through stuff

Anyway...I also read something about this program called "Bootcamp" that you can install that allows you to run windows beside it for dual booting? Does this come pre-installed with OSX?? Pretty cool feature if it does.

It does come pre-installed, it is very cool. It allows you to install windows on a partition drive

2 things:
You can't compare pc vs Mac, because the real difference is the software. My friends old windows dual core does not come close to performing the way my old Mac dual core does.
I would suggest you try different macs out at a store to "feel" the os

[Shockwave78]

The other thing I am wondering about installing a ssd ..

Do I need an adapter kit? Or can I just unplug the one that is currently inside it and work that way. I do see very popular double data kit for ssd's in the Mac mini where you can keep the original 1tb drive and add a ssd to it also at the same time. For now though I just want to make sure I I can disconnect thr jnternal drive without buying any extra stuff. This way I can try out the ssd with the mini and finally decide whether I am sticking with it.

[TWO2SEVEN]

Originally Posted by Shockwave78

Went to the ale store and played with one for about 20 minutes. Started to grow on my I must admit.

Questions.

1. The App Store..so any apps I would download on my iphone would also be installed on the mini? Either automatically or manually (without having to pay for it again ??)

2. How well does mirroring work to the Apple TV? Sometimes I can't see a ny giants game and I stream and watch them on my pc. A quick mirror to a Apple TV would be a great solution.

3. Do I need an adapter kit or anything to install a ssd drive?

4. Do they come with a install cd? Or flash drive with OSX on it??

1. The Mac App Store is the same concept as the iOS App Store but the apps aren't interchangeable. There may be some apps that have versions on both systems though, like Dropbox and Evernote for example.

3. The OS will be preloaded. Any updates are handled through the App Store.

[Shockwave78]

Originally Posted by TWO2SEVEN

1. The Mac App Store is the same concept as the iOS App Store but the apps aren't interchangeable. There may be some apps that have versions on both systems though, like Dropbox and Evernote for example.

3. The OS will be preloaded. Any updates are handled through the App Store.

How do I get the OS on the new ssd drive then?

[TWO2SEVEN]

Originally Posted by Shockwave78

How do I get the OS on the new ssd drive then?

That is a great question haha.

Sorry, I haven't done that process yet.

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Originally Posted by Shockwave78

How do I get the OS on the new ssd drive then?

This should help.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1487846

[Shockwave78]

Originally Posted by TWO2SEVEN

That is a great question haha.

Sorry, I haven't done that process yet.

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This should help.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1487846

Just found that! Very helpful...

THe only thing holding me back is the dam gpu in it. I do t even play any games anymore on the PC really, but to have such a crappy card just seems pathetic

[apunkrockmonk]

Originally Posted by Shockwave78

Just found that! Very helpful...

THe only thing holding me back is the dam gpu in it. I do t even play any games anymore on the PC really, but to have such a crappy card just seems pathetic

Try to find and compare some benchmarks between the two. I have a feeling they're going to be fairly even but I'm not 100% sure on that.

[Mojo1]

Originally Posted by Shockwave78

Just found that! Very helpful...

THe only thing holding me back is the dam gpu in it. I do t even play any games anymore on the PC really, but to have such a crappy card just seems pathetic

The GPU is very good and may be perfectly fine depending on what you do with your Mini. I have read game reviews online that indicate it is fine with many popular games; do a Google search to find first-hand reports on using a 2012 Mac Mini for gaming.

[Shockwave78]

Originally Posted by Mojo1

The GPU is very good and may be perfectly fine depending on what you do with your Mini. I have read game reviews online that indicate it is fine with many popular games; do a Google search to find first-hand reports on using a 2012 Mac Mini for gaming.

I have no doubt, i always used to frequent the hardware sites as i have built many pc's.

The results are horrible for HD4000 though.. All apple needs to do is through in a decent Nvidia GPU into this thing and it would be a great desktop.

I still have no decided..It basically comes down to do i see myself gaming? The answer to is no, but there are a few times a year that i do fire up a couple games just for the hell of it.

The more i read about the OSX though the more i like the features. Why is there such a gap between the Mac Mini and apples only other Desktops that are like $2500-$3000??? They could not make a desktop PC in the $1000 range that is the same as the mini but with a better GPU

[cheezeit]

Originally Posted by Shockwave78

I have no doubt, i always used to frequent the hardware sites as i have built many pc's.

The results are horrible for HD4000 though.. All apple needs to do is through in a decent Nvidia GPU into this thing and it would be a great desktop.

I still have no decided..It basically comes down to do i see myself gaming? The answer to is no, but there are a few times a year that i do fire up a couple games just for the hell of it.

The more i read about the OSX though the more i like the features. Why is there such a gap between the Mac Mini and apples only other Desktops that are like $2500-$3000??? They could not make a desktop PC in the $1000 range that is the same as the mini but with a better GPU

yeah I was under the same dilemma. I just decided to build a hackintosh to get both the mac world with a better gpu. I'm satisfied for now and will probably get a mbp later on to accompany the system.

plus my rig didn't cost much more than the base mini ($599).... i5-3570k, gtx 670, ssd raid etc...

[Mojo1]

Originally Posted by Shockwave78

The results are horrible for HD4000 though..

The Intel HD4000 is not horrible; it's a perfectly capable integrated GPU depending on your needs. (Kindly note the emphasis...) There is plenty of information available to assist potential buyers in ascertaining whether the HD4000 will be sufficient for their computing requirements.

You appear to be one of those people who have made up their minds without making any effort to actually research the capabilities of the Intel GPU. It's not surprising... it is a lot easier to whine about the lack of a discrete GPU option than take the time to find out what the HD4000 is capable of doing and if it will meet your specific needs.

I haven't run into any GPU-related problems and I use a variety of demanding programs. If I had more demanding image editing requirements using Photoshop CS6 filters that benefit from GPU acceleration then I might find the HD4000 to be too slow. But I know what I need and I know what the HD4000 is capable of handling, so I purchased a Mini confident that it would be capable of running everything I will throw at it.

[tejota1911]

The HD 4000 is working great for me. Usage consists of internet browsing, email, 1080p video playback, Minecraft(kids), photo editing, a little video editing, etc. Everything works smoothly and quietly. I'm very happy with this setup. I'm using a 1920x1200 IPS Monitor via a Tripp-Lite Mini DisplayPort to Displayport cable. One of the reasons I decided to go with the 1920x1200 24" monitor vs the 2560x1440 27" was smoother graphics. There are 1,382,400 less pixels for the HD 4000 to drive. I think peoples opinion of the HD 4000 varies depending on how hard they are trying to drive it. What resolution is your monitor? Obviously, you'll have better results at 1920x1080 than 2560x1440.

[philipma1957]

Originally Posted by Shockwave78

....

The more i read about the OSX though the more i like the features. Why is there such a gap between the Mac Mini and apples only other Desktops that are like $2500-$3000??? They could not make a desktop PC in the $1000 range that is the same as the mini but with a better GPU

the most annoying thing about apple. due to this I have both apple mac mini with windows on it and mountain lion.


I also have a few pc's. don't want them but I want a 46 or 50 inch tv and a computer. so if I want a good gpu it is buy a mac pro (i sold mine in 2011) or use a pc. I won't build a hackintosh.

[Ddyracer]

Originally Posted by Shockwave78

I have no doubt, i always used to frequent the hardware sites as i have built many pc's.

The results are horrible for HD4000 though.. All apple needs to do is through in a decent Nvidia GPU into this thing and it would be a great desktop.

I still have no decided..It basically comes down to do i see myself gaming? The answer to is no, but there are a few times a year that i do fire up a couple games just for the hell of it.

The more i read about the OSX though the more i like the features. Why is there such a gap between the Mac Mini and apples only other Desktops that are like $2500-$3000??? They could not make a desktop PC in the $1000 range that is the same as the mini but with a better GPU

Heh, they wont do that it will eat into their imac sales. Main reason the imac is better than the mini.