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2.0 ghz vs 2.26 ghz

I

illibball087

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 27, 2009
213
0
im considering buying a new mac mini and am wondering which cpu speed i need. i plan on using this mini as just a basic use machine.

internet
MS office/CAD
itunes/online poker
some other small things
 
rgarjr said:
The 2.0 will do you just fine. Just be sure to dump 4 Gigs of RAM in it when get it.
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That's funny, I was just about to post that I just bought a mini on the Apple refurb store.

The 2.26ghz is DEFINITELY WORTH IT.

I just came off a Quad Powermac G5.

Get the stripped down model and buy your own ram and hard drive upgrade.

With a 7200rpm 320 drive and four gigs of ram the 2.26ghz is just exactly what I needed to replace the G5. You won't regret it.
 
illibball087 said:
is that configuration better than lets say a quad core hp slimline?
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Uh... I have never owned a PC, so I have no idea. They have "cooties" to me. Been on Macs for 20 years.

The Powermac Quad Core G5 is the last and best of the PowerPC machines that were used by Apple until they switched to Intel.

Comparing PPC machines to Intel, whether Mac or Windows is still like comparing apples and oranges (no pun intended) but for a four year old machine, the Quad still beats most Apple machines in geekbench scores. Even the new Mac Mini that i have. That's why I was posting, this mini is pretty snappy. Get the refurb and save a couple of hundred bucks.
 
If you go refurb, its $649 for 2.26GHz and $499 for 2.0GHz base models. If you have the money, sure get the 2.26GHz model, but if your on a tight budget or don't want to spend so much, the 2.0GHz model is more than enough.
 
Despite the recommendations above, and to answer your original question, you only need the 2.0 GHz model. The money would be better spent on upgrading the memory to 4GB (which costs the same).
 
In my opinion the 2.26 is a huge waste of money and you as a average user would never tell any difference. If you are just doing basic things like internet, emails, watching some video then the base model will work just fine. Everyone will want to oversell you stuff and then you never use the power. I would recommend at least 2gb of ram but that's about it.
 
Get the 2.26. It's 13% faster processor, bigger than the difference between the 2.66 and 2.93 iMac. Buy 4 gigs of memory from Crucial for $70.
 
thanks for the recommendations everyone ill have to see what i feel is right but no matter what i will be getting 4 gigs of ram. does anyone know if mac minis can use ssd's?
 
Get the 2.26 CPU. Its impossible to upgrade, so you're stuck with whatever you pick.
 
I've got the 2.0Ghz and it is plenty. I couldn't justify $150 for .26Ghz ... That's 13% more cpu for 25% of the price of the Mini ... Not a good deal really.
 
Also have 2.26 and glad I did. I don't look at it that $150 is 25% of the price for 13% additional CPU. I had to get a keyboard and mouse and also upgraded to the 3.26 HDD version with 4GB RAM. With that configuration, that's only a 16% difference of the price of the Mini for the faster processor. Well worth it to keep current and possibly not having to upgrade as soon in the future.
 
hitekalex said:
When did you actually buy it? I don't see any Mini's on Apple Refurb Store right now..
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Bought it a week ago in the refurb store -- keep on looking for one to pop up there again so you can buy it.

I am guesstimating that the 2.26ghz Mac Mini is worth it to me because I just came off a Powermac g5 Quad and my approximation for the 2.26ghz Mini comes in just under the Powermac Quad's score (I think it's 3275 or something) at about 3000 points on geekbench.

The last and best and greatest Powermac G5 Quad from late 2005 still beats out this 2009 Mini but it feels snappy enough for me; NO WAY would I have settled for the 2.0.

(I'm adjusting because they only tested the 2.0 mini 2009 which was about 2700 some odd points.)
 
My girlfriend has the 2.0 model, and its perfect for surfing etc like you are looking to do. If you had real work to do (video, 3d modeling, games, etc), then I would suggest the 2.26 or even the 2.66 iMac.
 
Having compared the 2.0 and 2.26 GHz minis in real-world use, I can confidently state that the extra money for the 2.26 GHz buys you... nothing that you'll actually notice.

Seriously, it's such a small speed bump that it's just not noticeable to a human being. Forget benchmark scores and all that stuff, they're irrelevant, what actually matters is perceived speed in the real world, and you as a user won't notice any difference between the speed of the 2.0 and the 2.26.
 
AVR2 i appreciate that tidbit of information and was thinking that a lot of people just buy more than they need i would rather use the 150 to get 4 gigs of ram instead of .26ghz more of processor speed
 
Purchased a 2.0ghz about 6-weeks ago, upgraded the HD and RAM and couldn't be happier. Yes, I could afford the 2.26, but it was hard to justify the price difference (since that was the total cost of the upgraded HD and RAM).

My Mini runs everything from Slingbox to iMovie to CS3 to iTunes without a hiccup - all while powering two monitors.

I have a MBP 2.53ghz and honestly not a huge difference in speed between it and my Mini.

$150 is a $150, my vote would be to save it or even better take your wife/girlfriend out for a nice dinner and a movie. You will have a VERY happy mate, plus a new Mini to boot. :D
 
rkdiddy said:
Purchased a 2.0ghz about 6-weeks ago, upgraded the HD and RAM and couldn't be happier. Yes, I could afford the 2.26, but it was hard to justify the price difference (since that was the total cost of the upgraded HD and RAM).

My Mini runs everything from Slingbox to iMovie to CS3 to iTunes without a hiccup - all while powering two monitors.

I have a MBP 2.53ghz and honestly not a huge difference in speed between it and my Mini.

$150 is a $150, my vote would be to save it or even better take your wife/girlfriend out for a nice dinner and a movie. You will have a VERY happy mate, plus a new Mini to boot. :D
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Hmmm... $150 for the latest and fastest Mini, or a one time meal along with a silly Hollywood flick. I'll take the upgrade investment in the Mini. I think I'd enjoy that long after I finished digesting. My wife/girlfriend will still love me.
 
Jackintosh said:
Hmmm... $150 for the latest and fastest Mini, or a one time meal along with a silly Hollywood flick. I'll take the upgrade investment in the Mini. I think I'd enjoy that long after I finished digesting. My wife/girlfriend will still love me.
Click to expand...

Clearly you're single. :D

Just kidding.

The fact my Wife has never said no to my latest technology loving, fast car driving, sorry butt - is worth any amount of money and definately worth .26ghz. But I digress. :p

To the OP, not a huge difference and for your application you should save the $150 and put it the bank. By the time the next version of the Mini comes out, you will have at least $150.99 (with interest) to put towards it.
 
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