for those that have compared mini to an imac that is almost same total price

[whichimac]

these sites compare mini to imac

it doesnt seem that these sites are adding in the cost of the display keyboard mouse for mini when comparing

https://www.macworld.com/article/2018990/macs/mac-buying-guide.html?page=2#toc-4
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2018-mac-mini-vs-imac-with-retina-5k-display.2150913/page-2
https://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/mac/best-desktop-mac-3464816/
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/apple-imac-vs-mac-mini/
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8624393

so it seems these sites have bad inaccurate info (do you know of any better sites on the web to recommend?)

since you've compared the two, what's the helpful answer to which is better? and why is it better?

total price of mini or almost same total price imac?

 

[Maccotto]

Voted mini because I love iMacs and I my dream is buy and iMac but I bought mini (i7/512/16gb ram) + Egpu case (350€)+rx580 (250€)+Dac (130-170€)+webcam (130€) and I think to be more happy.
The difference with iMac (i7/512ssd/16gbram/rx580) is 477€ or 0€ if I need buy keyboard+mouse+any monitor 4-5k.
I am into a situation if change the mini with this top iMac configuration but I ask me : What I need do if video card or monitor crash?
Solution is that with mini I replace the video card or monitor and I restart to work, with iMac I need go into apple store (2hours) and I will leave for some days or weeks the iMac .
Mac mini is more easy to sell or change into apple store while iMac is more expensive and you can fin less people with money for it.
Crash Mac mini? it is little and I think it need less time to repair into apple store because you have 3-4 hardware into mini (Ram/motherboard+cpu and fan) .

 

[sunapple]

The all-in-one solution is not for everyone, that's where the Mini comes in. Cost is not always as important.

I already own keyboard, mouse and a great monitor; a Mini would make sense for a desktop replacement to my MacBook Pro.

 

[Maccotto]

The all in one is more cheap than mini solution and take less space (only monitor) but for repair is an inferno and take a lot of time

 

[Ploki]

I don't own a keyboard, monitor or a mouse. (i used an old 1080p monitor to get it running)

I just don't want fans blowing in my face when I work, so it's no-brainer. iMac is a no-no.
[doublepost=1547646398][/doublepost]

The all in one is more cheap than mini solution and take less space (only monitor) but for repair is an inferno and take a lot of time

It is?
Swapping RAM on mini is a 30-minute job. Swapping RAM on iMac is heatgun.
...

 

[Maccotto]

I don't own a keyboard, monitor or a mouse. (i used an old 1080p monitor to get it running)

I just don't want fans blowing in my face when I work, so it's no-brainer. iMac is a no-no.
[doublepost=1547646398][/doublepost]
It is?
Swapping RAM on mini is a 30-minute job. Swapping RAM on iMac is heatgun.
...

Imac 27 you can only change ram. Egpu, webcam and monitor need Apple service if you have Imac.

 

[harriska2]

Since our iMac built in screen died at 3 years and 1 month we no longer purchase iMacs for home or work. We now have a 2018 Mac mini and a 2018 Mac mini on order for the work computer at a local institution. Yes, Mac minis are more expensive. Yes, to get the 5k monitor you need to spend a million dollars. Yes, you don't get built in isight camera and microphone. Yes, the mini doesn't have discrete graphics. And yes, the mini has issues with bluetooth and USB. Even with all the negatives, the mini still serves us better. We don't need 5k and hate LG (see first sentence). We have wired keyboards and I keep my trackpad 2 plugged in. It will be interesting to see what hubby does with Magic Mouse. That said, he doesn't have usb items (hard drives) hanging off his current iMacs. He is getting a 4k Dell 27" monitor and I just kept my 40" Samsung 4k monitor (with 2 other computers attached to it). I have 2 USB3 drives and a USB hub on mine and it works fine. That said, my Apple Watch didn't want to connect properly to unlock the desktop and I also had to shut off sleep.

 

[Maccotto]

You can have iSight with a Logitech webcam .
I bought Logitech streamer and I am very happy (high quality cam and better microphone then ISight camera)

 

[Hessel89]

Well.. Long story short.. Last year I impulsively decided to give the iMac 5K a try. Bought it in June, started having hardware problems in august so I brought it in for repair, and I only got it back ELEVEN WEEKS later! Thankfully I still had my trustworthy old 2012 Mini but as soon I got my iMac back I sold the damn thing!
Don't get me wrong, the iMac is a great value proposition.. if it actually works.. but if you run into problems you are royally screwed and personally I vouched never to get myself through that misery again.

Thankfully Apple just released the new Mac mini by then and I got a really good deal on a new LG Ultrafine 5K display so I went for that.

 

[harriska2]

You can have iSight with a Logitech webcam .
I bought Logitech streamer and I am very happy (high quality cam and better microphone then ISight camera)

Hmm, there doesn't appear to be a "Logitech Streamer." I see the Logitech c922 Stream Webcam and the Logitech c922x Stream Webcam. I have the Logitech c920 and it is not useable with horrible echo for the person on the other end. To use it, I have to use earbuds.
[doublepost=1548282321][/doublepost]

Well.. Long story short.. Last year I impulsively decided to give the iMac 5K a try. Bought it in June, started having hardware problems in august so I brought it in for repair, and I only got it back ELEVEN WEEKS later! Thankfully I still had my trustworthy old 2012 Mini but as soon I got my iMac back I sold the damn thing!
Don't get me wrong, the iMac is a great value proposition.. if it actually works.. but if you run into problems you are royally screwed and personally I vouched never to get myself through that misery again.

Thankfully Apple just released the new Mac mini by then and I got a really good deal on a new LG Ultrafine 5K display so I went for that.

Is the 11 week turn around with or without Apple Care? Yikes.

 

[Hessel89]

I don't own a keyboard, monitor or a mouse. (i used an old 1080p monitor to get it running)
Swapping RAM on iMac is heatgun.
...

Swapping RAM is actually quite easy on the iMac since you only have to pop open a little hatch on the backside.

[doublepost=1548282539][/doublepost]

Hmm, there doesn't appear to be a "Logitech Streamer." I see the Logitech c922 Stream Webcam and the Logitech c922x Stream Webcam. I have the Logitech c920 and it is not useable with horrible echo for the person on the other end. To use it, I have to use earbuds.
[doublepost=1548282321][/doublepost]
Is the 11 week turn around with or without Apple Care? Yikes.

I bought it secondhand but it had a 4 year ''Mediamarkt Plusschutz'' lol. They did actually fix it for free but 11 weeks is just ridiculous. Lesson number 2: buy your Apple gear at Apple. And get Apple care with it.

 

[Ploki]

Swapping RAM is actually quite easy on the iMac since you only have to pop open a little hatch on the backside.

Yeah on the 27", the 21.5" is a different story.

 

[harriska2]

I bought it secondhand but it had a 4 year ''Mediamarkt Plusschutz'' lol. They did actually fix it for free but 11 weeks is just ridiculous. Lesson number 2: buy your Apple gear at Apple. And get Apple care with it.

Yep. I did indeed get Apple Care for the little guy. Of the 15 or 20 Apple products we've purchased over the past decades, this is the first time.

 

[pl1984]

Well.. Long story short.. Last year I impulsively decided to give the iMac 5K a try. Bought it in June, started having hardware problems in august so I brought it in for repair, and I only got it back ELEVEN WEEKS later! Thankfully I still had my trustworthy old 2012 Mini but as soon I got my iMac back I sold the damn thing!
Don't get me wrong, the iMac is a great value proposition.. if it actually works.. but if you run into problems you are royally screwed and personally I vouched never to get myself through that misery again.

This line of reasoning doesn't make a lot of sense. The same could be said about the Mini. If the ability to quickly / easily repair a system is important then the Macintosh is weak in this area.

 

[Maccotto]

Hmm, there doesn't appear to be a "Logitech Streamer." I see the Logitech c922 Stream Webcam and the Logitech c922x Stream Webcam. I have the Logitech c920 and it is not useable with horrible echo for the person on the other end. To use it, I have to use earbuds.
[doublepost=1548282321][/doublepost]
Is the 11 week turn around with or without Apple Care? Yikes.

My webcam is the Logitech brio stream:
https://www.logitech.com/it-it/product/brio-stream-4k-hd-webcam?crid=34

 

[Hessel89]

This line of reasoning doesn't make a lot of sense. The same could be said about the Mini. If the ability to quickly / easily repair a system is important then the Macintosh is weak in this area.

I can understand that it doesn't make sense for you, but an iMac, due to being an AIO has a higher chance of parts failing. So for me it's simply a matter of spreading my risks. That may not be important to you, but for me, replacing just one part of my setup (either the Mac mini, the screen, or any other external gear) is more convenient and caries less risk financially. That's just my opinion

 

[roman.stapunov]

Hmm, there doesn't appear to be a "Logitech Streamer." I see the Logitech c922 Stream Webcam and the Logitech c922x Stream Webcam. I have the Logitech c920 and it is not useable with horrible echo for the person on the other end. To use it, I have to use earbuds.

I use the following with my 2018 mini https://www.logitech.com/it-it/product/c922-pro-stream-webcam?crid=34 It works perfectly fine both video and mic. I use it for communication via skype, skype for business, webex, gotomeeting.

 

[Amazing Ox Space Monkey]

I also had some bad experience with my iMac (2010) - it had the notorious yellow tinting. Brought it in for repairs. 2 weeks later I was told repairs had been done and went to get my computer. The new monitor had exactly the same yellow tint and I was explained that the 21.5” iMac was not a professional machine, therefore, the requirements for its display were lower.

The iMac saw 2 further screen replacements until I was advised to get it back, although the colours were not uniform across the screen (the hint here was it wouldn’t get any better than that). Later on the monitor developed gray spots in the upper left corner caused by the dust coming from the ventilation being baked.

Fortunately, I am not a graphics designer. Otherwise the iMac would have ended up not-to-mention-where!

With all that sort of issues I do wonder why I should consider a new iMac at all. It’s true that the contemporary iMacs have a better ventilation system and I have not read about the mentioned issues for quite a while, but...

Costwise, a contemporary 21.5” with i5/16/256 can be got for €2050
A Mac mini i5/16/256 is €1500 (i have a keyboard+mouse) which leaves me with €550 for a 4k monitor.

Not having a dedicated GPU is not crucial. At the end, what matters is that I can upgrade the different parts of the computer without having to throw away the entire machine.

 

[CPTmom2wp]

Something else that has not been considered. Approximately 2 years ago, the hinge on my 27" iMac stopped working. Given that the nearest Apple authorized service center was over an hour away, I tried a variety of solutions to keep it vertical, instead of angled down toward the desk. After 2 months of looking at ugly home brew solutions and the frustration of them working only intermittently, I finally took it in. The technicians said it required taking the entire unit apart and it took 3 weeks to get it back. It was also a pain to wrap it up for transport and then to get it down/up multiple stairs to the car and back. I think a mini with peripherals might be a better option, all else being equal.

 

[pl1984]

I can understand that it doesn't make sense for you, but an iMac, due to being an AIO has a higher chance of parts failing. So for me it's simply a matter of spreading my risks. That may not be important to you, but for me, replacing just one part of my setup (either the Mac mini, the screen, or any other external gear) is more convenient and caries less risk financially. That's just my opinion

Then the Macintosh line is not for you. If you want to spread your risk then you need something where parts are easily obtained and replaced. That rules out just about every Mac.

 

[harriska2]

Something else that has not been considered. Approximately 2 years ago, the hinge on my 27" iMac stopped working. Given that the nearest Apple authorized service center was over an hour away, I tried a variety of solutions to keep it vertical, instead of angled down toward the desk. After 2 months of looking at ugly home brew solutions and the frustration of them working only intermittently, I finally took it in. The technicians said it required taking the entire unit apart and it took 3 weeks to get it back. It was also a pain to wrap it up for transport and then to get it down/up multiple stairs to the car and back. I think a mini with peripherals might be a better option, all else being equal.

Yep, our 2013 27” imac at work broke. It has a piece of foam holding it in place. The one at home was replaced when we went to replace the broken lcd (which didn’t happen due to cost of part). Hubby had to take it completely apart to get to the hinge to replace it (when in Rome) as it would likely break like his work one. He found the hinge was made mostly of plastic so he macined a metal replacement part. I’m glad Apple used a 5 cent plastic part instead of a 50 cent metal part to save manufacturing costs. This knowledge has caused us to stay AWAY from all-in-ones.