IMac or Mac Mini

[Bergman]

I owned the original Mac and then the Fat Mac. After too many years on Windows, I'm ready to return to the Mac. Typical light business and home use. My heaviest demand I'll make will be photo editing...maybe some very light video editing. I love the style of the iMac, but I'm concerned about difficulty of user repairs after warranty. So my question is 21 inch iMac or Mac Mini?
Is one more user friendly for upgrades than the other?
Can I upgrade RAM on either model or do I need to get it right to start?
Relative value of the various processors?
My intention is to buy the current 2014 model.
Thanks

 

[rkaufmann87]

I owned the original Mac and then the Fat Mac. After too many years on Windows, I'm ready to return to the Mac. Typical light business and home use. My heaviest demand I'll make will be photo editing...maybe some very light video editing. I love the style of the iMac, but I'm concerned about difficulty of user repairs after warranty. So my question is 21 inch iMac or Mac Mini?
Is one more user friendly for upgrades than the other?
Can I upgrade RAM on either model or do I need to get it right to start?
Relative value of the various processors?
My intention is to buy the current 2014 model.
Thanks

Neither is really considered user upgradable at this point. The most upgradeable MM were the last generation (2012) which are occasionally available on Apple's Refurbished Store. 21.5" iMacs are not upgradeable at all really for the average user, the 27" models can still have the RAM upgraded but that's about it. IMHO, stretch your budget and buy a machine that has the specifications you will need for the foreseeable future.

 

[fathergll]

Neither is really considered user upgradable at this point. The most upgradeable MM were the last generation (2012) which are occasionally available on Apple's Refurbished Store. 21.5" iMacs are not upgradeable at all really for the average user, the 27" models can still have the RAM upgraded but that's about it. IMHO, stretch your budget and buy a machine that has the specifications you will need for the foreseeable future.

Agreed. Current generation of 21" iMacs and Mac Minis are not good values.

I would have two major requirements buying a desktop computer approaching 2015.

• The computer must have some kind of SSD in it(fusion or all ssd)
• The computer must have at least 16 GB of memory

It's going to cost you a lot of money to get both of those requirements met with the 2014 iMacs or Mini's since you can't upgrade them. Your computer is going to age quick without either of them and really silly not to have them since it doesn't cost much money from a manufacturing standpoint. It's just that Apple will kill you for the upgrade.

Your case is best met with a 2012 Mac Mini since you could theoretically add in add in both a SSD and 16GB of ram for around $300 extra on top of the Mini. if you bought a used Mini it could be $500+300 = $800 for the setup. You're going to drop $1300-$1700 for a similar spec 2014 Mac mini/21.5" iMac.