Imac 27" and tv tuner or Mac mini and HDTV

[Weerez935]

I'm considering the following mainly for iLife, media center to Apple TV, possibly logic/ protools.

I could either get
A decked out 27" imac

Or

A decked out mini with a 27" 1080 HDTV and a decent monitor.

If I do the former anyone have advice on a tuner?

I was originally planning on the mini but after a monitor/ tv / keyboard/ mouse / decked out mini they end up both being relatively similiar in price.

Also does the mini serve better as a media server or is it just the marketing?

 

[GaiusBaltar]

I would never use a 27 inch iMac a s main display for a mediacenter. That's simply where tv's are for. That is, if you're really going to watch it for movies and series and whatnot.

Other possibility, if you really need the power of the 27.. (including dedicated graphics card and ability to max out ram to 32 gig - which made the Mac Mini NOT a viable option for me, I use it for Logic mainly and 16 gb max ram is a bottleneck I can't live without with the samples I use)

....you could hook up the iMac to a dedicated tv for that through (thunderbolt to)HDMI with a long cable. Or mirror everything to a Apple TV.


if the moviething is not really important, then you could just stick to the iMac.

Or if you think you could live with 16 gb ram max with Logic and Protools then you could buy the Mini.


first you have to decide where your computer will be MAINLY used for and start from that be able to make the best decision.

 

[Weerez935]

Originally I was going to buy the mini and use it as a media server but after you buy a decent display, keyboard, and trackpad its the same price as a decked out iMac.