Alright so I have been looking into all three of these and all of them SEEM to be powerful enough to handle my needs...I have been running on a Macbook Pro 15" for about 2 years with 2.53 GHz processor speed and 4GB mem and have been mostly surfing the web, emails, occasional picture/video editing, some games like Starcraft 2, and lots of school work. I'm sure the Mac Pro will be powerful enough to do any of this and upgradeable (oh yea i would hook an extra monitor to the Imac and dual monitors for the other two) but it is crazy expensive. The iMac could also handle anything but the extra monitor seems like it would be awkward next to it. The Mac mini would have two of the same monitors yet have far less power. Anyone know from experience what the Mac Mini can handle? and if it is a better deal with only 8GB max RAM?
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iMac vs Mac Mini vs Mac Pro
- Thread starter skybluez09
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I have several older Intel Mac Minis. They are an excellent value but are definitely at the low end of Apple hardware. My daughter ran out of space on Macintosh HD rather quickly so I gave her a usb drive for her video editing files and she is doing fine with a mini.
I don't see a problem with a second monitor sitting next to an iMac. The question is how it works for you not how it looks.
As for the Mac Pro, if you feel inclined to make a donation to a company that is nipping at Exxon's heels for the richest company in the world, go for it. Otherwise I would say that in your situation my MacPro advice starts with "O" and rhymes with Overkill.
OTOH, if you do go for a Pro, you will likely get twice the life out of it. Most machines start to show their age at around 3 years but the MacPro might go quite a bit longer. Still, 3 years is when AppleCare runs out (if you buy it). I'd rather have a less expensive machine I can replace in 3 years than a Mac Pro but that's just the way I like to do things. Also I don't like the form factor of the MacPro. It islarge huge by today's computer standards. Are you really going to cram a new 3d card into the thing or several big hard drives?
hope this helps...
I don't see a problem with a second monitor sitting next to an iMac. The question is how it works for you not how it looks.
As for the Mac Pro, if you feel inclined to make a donation to a company that is nipping at Exxon's heels for the richest company in the world, go for it. Otherwise I would say that in your situation my MacPro advice starts with "O" and rhymes with Overkill.
OTOH, if you do go for a Pro, you will likely get twice the life out of it. Most machines start to show their age at around 3 years but the MacPro might go quite a bit longer. Still, 3 years is when AppleCare runs out (if you buy it). I'd rather have a less expensive machine I can replace in 3 years than a Mac Pro but that's just the way I like to do things. Also I don't like the form factor of the MacPro. It is
hope this helps...
Thanks
YEa that did help and you addressed my concerns about the Mac Pro eg Big, crazy expensive...Thanks!!
YEa that did help and you addressed my concerns about the Mac Pro eg Big, crazy expensive...Thanks!!
I ran a mac mini 2.0 ghz with 4GB of ram, this was the one with 9400m. It ran dual displays for me no problem, I was able to edit dnxhd36 files on Avid Media composer no problem at all, I could play world of warcraft at average settings with perfect frames rates. And from what you describe you do, seems like the perfect machine. I personally like the mini over the imac because I'm not a huge fan of their glossy displays and like to choose my own.
But no matter what you will be fine with either a mini or an imac, best of luck.
But no matter what you will be fine with either a mini or an imac, best of luck.
Honestly, I would recommend the iMac. If you game at all, the better GPUs in the iMac will deliver far better gaming performance. Really, for gaming, the Mini is only good for more casual games and older games. For the other stuff you mentioned, it won't matter too much, but an iMac will of course be faster for photo/video editing.
Also, yes the Mac Pro is huge overkill for you (and most people).
Also, yes the Mac Pro is huge overkill for you (and most people).