Usual question / worries about a Mac mini before buying....

guitarlord · Jan 22, 2013

Hi,

I am thinking of buying the entry level mac mini in the next few days.

I have a few concerns coming from a desktop tower PC. These are mainly due to the Intel HD 4000 graphics.

My current setup is

AMD 3.2GHz Dual Core Athlon X2 - pretty old but does what I need.
AMD HD 7750 1GB Graphics
4 GB DDR 2 RAM
SSD 128 GB.

The mini beats the performance of my PC in every way apart from the graphics card. How restrictive is the HD 4000 on the Mini?

My plan is to use the Mini for internet, office / word, Audio and Ableton Live, and casual gaming (2D games / indie steam games / Starcraft 2 would be nice).

Am I better sticking with the PC?

On the Mini the plan is to transfer over the SSD and upgrade to 8GB DDR3 RAM.

Thanks in advance

philipma1957 · Jan 22, 2013

it is a drop off in graphics. I have a pc with that card I can see the difference in video quality. Now you may not see much of a difference it is not night and day. the mini from apple has a 2 week return policy and amazon has a 30 day policy for the ram.

I would buy it and decide that way since returns are free.

dasx · Jan 22, 2013

The only thing that worries you is the graphic card? Then it's super simple. Get trial versions or legit copies of those games you intend to play and try them out during the first days you have your Mini with you.

If you're not pleased you have 15 days to send it back for a refund.

I gotta say I don't think you'll be let down though. The HD4000 can handle the majority of the games at regular settings. Of course you can't play Crysis with everything at full… but that's not your intention, is it?

guitarlord · Jan 22, 2013

Thanks,

Yeah, not planning on playing Crysis. I had Crysis 2 on the PC, I didn't think much to it anyway. Good graphics, not that fantastic gameplay.

In terms of video, realistically I will be playing 1080p video and as I said, casual indie games and hopefully the new Starcraft due in 2 months as it is a computer exclusive.

I've always had a view that integrated graphics produce a horrible, stuttering, messy experience. That could be an outdated view now though, and I wanted to get some current opinions.

philipma1957 · Jan 22, 2013

the hd4000 is better then the older 3000. it is close to good.

for some the hd4000 is good enough for some it is not.

take the mini for a try out it is the only way to know for sure.

OS-SEX · Jan 22, 2013

I went from a 2006 Mac Pro with specs not too far off from your PC to a 2011 mid mac Mini which is roughly equivalent to the 2012 base mini. This machine really flies, especially with an SSD. Diablo III actually seems to run better on this machine than my Mac Pro while WoW is slightly slower though very playable. I've yet to test out StarCraft II but I'll give it a shot soon.

dasx · Jan 23, 2013

guitarlord said:
Thanks,

Yeah, not planning on playing Crysis. I had Crysis 2 on the PC, I didn't think much to it anyway. Good graphics, not that fantastic gameplay.

In terms of video, realistically I will be playing 1080p video and as I said, casual indie games and hopefully the new Starcraft due in 2 months as it is a computer exclusive.

I've always had a view that integrated graphics produce a horrible, stuttering, messy experience. That could be an outdated view now though, and I wanted to get some current opinions.

They wouldn't have sticked to a HD4000 if it weren't able to move a simple 1080p video file. Don't worry. For what it seems you need, you'll be more than fine with a 2012 Mini.

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Usual question / worries about a Mac mini before buying....

guitarlord

macrumors member

philipma1957

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dasx

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guitarlord

macrumors member

philipma1957

macrumors 603

OS-SEX

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dasx

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