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Tom80112

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 14, 2010
70
37
I was ready to buy a Mini but the 630 GPU in the Mini has me concerned.
I have a MacBook Pro now with discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M so I
fear the 630 might be a let down.

Considering:
2018 3.2 6-Core, 16GB, 512GB SSD $1699
Latest 27" Imac 3.4, 16GB, 512GB SSD $2299

Basically for $600 you get the 5K display and much faster GPU.
I prefer Space Gray but I'm not willing to spend $5,000 to get it in the Imac.

I can justify $600 for faster graphics and 5k display but I am not a fan of the
silver case while the Mini is a good value and comes in Space Gray. But there
is that 630 GPU to consider.

What do you think?
 
I was ready to buy a Mini but the 630 GPU in the Mini has me concerned.
I have a MacBook Pro now with discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M so I
fear the 630 might be a let down.

Considering:
2018 3.2 6-Core, 16GB, 512GB SSD $1699
Latest 27" Imac 3.4, 16GB, 512GB SSD $2299

Basically for $600 you get the 5K display and much faster GPU.
I prefer Space Gray but I'm not willing to spend $5,000 to get it in the Imac.

I can justify $600 for faster graphics and 5k display but I am not a fan of the
silver case while the Mini is a good value and comes in Space Gray. But there
is that 630 GPU to consider.

What do you think?
For most things, the performance of the macmini will blow away the 4 year quad core i5 Imac. Unless you are into gaming or 4k video editing, the GPU won't buy you much.
 
Get the mini. I've had an iMac die(video card) so the entire thing is useless, computer and monitor. If the mini dies I still have a monitor. And the mini's cheaper to lose. If the monitor dies I still have a computer. If an iMac dies you lost both.
 
Good advice guys, the other aspect that I forgot to mention is that the 5K retina screen on the IMac is best looking screen I've ever seen and currently there are no external monitors that come close.

I spent 30 mins or so playing with one at BestBuy then moved to the 22" Imac and noticed immediately the picture wasn't as good. Then I checked out all the top PC monitors and they were all worse than then the 22" Imac. The 5K screen on the Imac is quite special. The text is so sharp on it.

Apple needs to make a 27" 5K standalone monitor. The LGs at the Apple store are not in the same league. So that is the other wrinkle to my decision. Originally I thought 27" was too big but after playing with the 27" Imac I started to get sucked in by the 5K retina's screen quality. If I was rich I'd spend $5000 and get the Space Gray Imac but that isn't the case so spending more than 2X just to have Space Gray is insane when a $2300 Imac is all I would need speed wise.

For some this would be an easy decision but for me I can't make up my mind. That 5k Retina display is too nice and the GPU is better too.
 
Good advice guys, the other aspect that I forgot to mention is that the 5K retina screen on the IMac is best looking screen I've ever seen and currently there are no external monitors that come close.

I spent 30 mins or so playing with one at BestBuy then moved to the 22" Imac and noticed immediately the picture wasn't as good. Then I checked out all the top PC monitors and they were all worse than then the 22" Imac. The 5K screen on the Imac is quite special. The text is so sharp on it.

Apple needs to make a 27" 5K standalone monitor. The LGs at the Apple store are not in the same league. So that is the other wrinkle to my decision. Originally I thought 27" was too big but after playing with the 27" Imac I started to get sucked in by the 5K retina's screen quality. If I was rich I'd spend $5000 and get the Space Gray Imac but that isn't the case so spending more than 2X just to have Space Gray is insane when a $2300 Imac is all I would need speed wise.

For some this would be an easy decision but for me I can't make up my mind. That 5k Retina display is too nice and the GPU is better too.
I haven't spent any time with a 5K imac (30 seconds won't do), but don't forget that the "PC monitors" were not connected to a mac. That makes a difference.
 
If you decide on the iMac, get the midrange 3.5ghz iMac which has a 7600 CPU (entry level 3.4ghz has 7500 CPU) and slightly better graphics.

This will add $200 to the buy-in cost.
 
Good advice guys, the other aspect that I forgot to mention is that the 5K retina screen on the IMac is best looking screen I've ever seen and currently there are no external monitors that come close.

I spent 30 mins or so playing with one at BestBuy then moved to the 22" Imac and noticed immediately the picture wasn't as good. Then I checked out all the top PC monitors and they were all worse than then the 22" Imac. The 5K screen on the Imac is quite special. The text is so sharp on it.

Apple needs to make a 27" 5K standalone monitor. The LGs at the Apple store are not in the same league. So that is the other wrinkle to my decision. Originally I thought 27" was too big but after playing with the 27" Imac I started to get sucked in by the 5K retina's screen quality. If I was rich I'd spend $5000 and get the Space Gray Imac but that isn't the case so spending more than 2X just to have Space Gray is insane when a $2300 Imac is all I would need speed wise.

For some this would be an easy decision but for me I can't make up my mind. That 5k Retina display is too nice and the GPU is better too.
If you can, wait to see what Apple does with the iMac in 2019.
 
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