imac G4 or Intel Mini + Display

[admwright]

We are looking to get a small computer for my wife's art studio. This is to access our photos for reference while she is working. I have seen several 20" G4 iMacs for about £450. This is much cheaper than buying a new mini (£399) and a 20" ACD (£399). Is this a reasonable option or should we be looking for "modern" kit?

An additional consideration: we have a white 24" iMac 2.16Ghz with 1Gb. This can be slow with our iPhoto library of 30,000+ images. Would a G4 1.2Ghz, or mini be very much slower?

Regards
Andrew W.

 

[Tallest Skil]

Get the Mac Mini. It has actual power*.

*In comparison to the iMac in question.

 

[Schtumple]

The mini wouldn't perform too much slower, depending on how much RAM you have in it might perform better to be honest
The iMac on the other hand would be much slower at loading the library.

The mac mini will be far faster and is atleast future proof for a while, where as the iMac is already several years out of date.

 

[ADent]

I don't think the Apple monitors are worth the extra money over the higher end Dells (and other good glass), in the US.

How much does a used white intel 20" iMac go for?

 

[ChamFan]

I'd definitely go for the future-proof Mac Mini over the outdated and less powerful iMac. Also you don't need an overpriced ACD - Samsung makes some very good displays around that size for less than a third of the price if you shop around. Alternatively (and for only a little bit more £££) buy a Samsung LCD TV instead of a straight display - then you've got more options and won't have a redundant display if you decide to upgrade to a larger one at some point in the future.

(If it helps I'm currently running a 1.6GHz mini with a 37" Phillips full-HD LCD TV in my living room - it works great!)

 

[arjen92]

mac mini

I would go for the mac mini, it's much more powerfull. And if photoshop is too slow, maybe you should try aperture. But I wouldn't go for the expensive apple screen. Their are other brands with same qualities but much cheaper. good luck

 

[admwright]

Thanks for the input. Definatly going to look at a mini, or a white imac. Paramount for my wife is the screen, she loves our 24" imac but is happy with a 20" for the studio. Are the Samsung, Dell, etc screens comarable with what we have in the 24" imac? A TV is out of the question as we do not have a licence, the 24" is our "home cinema" and great.

Thanks again for all the help.
Andrew W.