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is the new cheap iMac a better value than the mac mini?

A

adh

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 18, 2014
18
0
At bestbuy, with my .edu address, the base iMac can be had for $829....which I believe is close to what the system is worth.

The Mac Mini is $589 @ bestbuy, however

HD 5000 > HD 4000
monitor > no monitor
kb, mouse, webcam, speakers > not
haswell > ivy
8gb > 4gb
one week old > almost two years old

if you put stock by benchmarks, geekbench iMac single 2820/ multiple 5435. Mac Mini dual core is 2780/5719, though I believe those are too close to call.

Considering these, is the cheap iMac a better buy than the Mac Mini right now?
 
Assuming this level of performance is enough for you and this price range is where you need to stay, the Mac mini is the better choice if your work or entertainment needs demand a larger than 21.5" screen.
 
Yes definitely, the experience would be a lot better than a Mac mini. I don't think Apple will update their Mac mini lineup considering it has been a while now and that might be another reason why they came up with this lower cost iMac.

Hope this help :)
 
CPU wise, tha Mac mini is far ahead. Even the slowest, Dual Core 2.5 GHz version ... not to mention the Core i7 2.3 or even the 2.66 Ghz.
 
Why do you say that? What metric are you basing it off of? (Comparing dual core mini only).
 
The 2.3 GHz quad core i7 Mac Mini has better CPU total throughput than even the current Mac Pro base model and the 2.6 GHz quad core i7 version costs only $100 more. For less than US$200 extra, third party RAM will bring the Mini memory up to 16 GB, twice that of the Clunker iMac.

The resale value of the Clunker iMac will surely be poor once most people find out what a bad value it is and when all the education owners dump theirs.
 
But what about the GPU on the mini? Resale isn't an issue, I keep em until they die.

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Thermonuclear said:
The 2.3 GHz quad core i7 Mac Mini has better CPU total throughput than even the current Mac Pro base model and the 2.6 GHz quad core i7 version costs only $100 more. For less than US$200 extra, third party RAM will bring the Mini memory up to 16 GB, twice that of the Clunker iMac.

The resale value of the Clunker iMac will surely be poor once most people find out what a bad value it is and when all the education owners dump theirs.
Click to expand...
also, with the mini, the peripherals are extra.
 
Sooner or later, you or anyone else who buys a Clunker iMac will regret it. If you want to convince yourself otherwise, go right ahead. I won't waste any time trying to stop you and I don't think anyone else should waste their time either.
 
Thermonuclear said:
Sooner or later, you or anyone else who buys a Clunker iMac will regret it. If you want to convince yourself otherwise, go right ahead. I won't waste any time trying to stop you and I don't think anyone else should waste their time either.
Click to expand...

calling it a "clunker" is not only ridiculous, but not even fair. is the air a "clunker"? there are many people I know who would be more than satisfied with this machine, so "anyone else" won't "regret it". if you can't think of any reasons or offer any constructive opinions on the actual topic of the thread, which is " is the new cheap iMac a better value than the mac mini?", then there is no reason for you to be here.

please don't continue to clutter this thread.
 
Thermonuclear said:
Sooner or later, you or anyone else who buys a Clunker iMac will regret it. If you want to convince yourself otherwise, go right ahead. I won't waste any time trying to stop you and I don't think anyone else should waste their time either.
Click to expand...

Shhhh kid, the adults are talking.
 
I have a friend at work who has been using a mini (standard model no upgrades) for several years for some pretty intensive work (photoshop, Photomechanic and publishing a newsletter) and loves it. My sister just bought one and is enjoying it for everything she is doing with it. She especially loves the smaller footprint.
 
thank you for your input! nice to see the HD 4000 can pull its weight.
 
Your comparison is an interesting one but I think it's very difficult to convincingly say that one is "better" than the other without knowing the buyer's unique circumstances.

Suppose someone needs 16GB of memory. Advantage mini.
Suppose someone wants to swap the spinner for an SSD. Advantage mini.
Suppose someone already has monitors, keyboards, and mice available, perhaps nicer than the stock peripherals from Apple, so the included peripherals are irrelevant. Advantage mini.

On the other hand, the low-cost iMac seems to be a decent machine and should serve the education and budget market well. Personally, I don't like it but, then again, I don't like all-in-one machines even if they're powerful and user-upgradeable.

So, to argue that one is a "better value" than the other is truly subjective but can lead to some entertaining comments.

You may now resume bickering. :)
 
true.... :)

people have always considered the iMac to be overpriced and the Mini to be fairly priced, so I just wanted opinions on if the iMac @ 829 was fairly priced (or even more fairly priced than the mini) due to all the goodies it comes with
 
If you're considering the Mini, why not spend just a little more for the 2.3ghz i7 quad core?

Very reasonable price, particularly if you can grab an Apple refurbished...
 
Fishrrman said:
If you're considering the Mini, why not spend just a little more for the 2.3ghz i7 quad core?

Very reasonable price, particularly if you can grab an Apple refurbished...
Click to expand...

true, there's just none currently. i'm keeping an eye on it. i'm just a little weary plopping down money on a machine that's probably closer to its end of life than its beginning. Comparing apples to apples, the dual core mini + keyboard + mouse + 8gb ram = 807 on the higher education store, vs 829 for an iMac from best buy that also includes haswell, screen, better gpu, webcam, speakers, kb, mouse, etc etc etc
 
I think you can also decide thinking if you will ever need to carry it somewhere. Mini could be better for mobility if you have multiple monitors and such. Other than that one should see real life reviews of imac and try it somewhere for a better decision.
 
If you have a monitor then it might be worth going for the mini. However, if you don't then the iMac would be your best bet. While they may not be upgradeable they are still fantastic machines that last a damn long time. I haven't had a mini so I couldn't vouch, but I'm sure they are just as good quality wise.
 
i've decided to go for the mini - more bang for the buck. thanks
 
Just saying the iMac has "a monitor" built in vs the Mac Mini having "no monitor" doesn't tell the whole story. The iMac's display is an IPS, LED backlit high quality display...not just "a monitor". So if you want to replicate that quality you'll need to pony up more than just $100-$200 for a cheapo 22" monitor from ASUS down at Best Buy. Won't be the same quality.
 
PatriotInvasion said:
Just saying the iMac has "a monitor" built in vs the Mac Mini having "no monitor" doesn't tell the whole story. The iMac's display is an IPS, LED backlit high quality display...not just "a monitor". So if you want to replicate that quality you'll need to pony up more than just $100-$200 for a cheapo 22" monitor from ASUS down at Best Buy. Won't be the same quality.
Click to expand...

That's actually not true anymore; while iMacs have used good displays in the past, everybody else has caught up while Apple didn't bulge.

Find yourself a 20-21 inch LED screen on sale anytime from Dell, Asus or whoever else for about $150 and you will have something that's as good, if not better, than an iMac display.

Bare in mind also that Apple doesn't manufacture its own LED displays, they buy them from Samsung, LG or some other OEM maker. The one and only thing this non-Apple display won't have is a visually-pleasing aluminum design that matches your Apple product.

Apple no longer uses premium, exclusive hardware, those days are long gone.
 
Last edited:
For the price of the entry iMac you have:
- A mini that is twice as fast (core i7)
- A much better screen (dell U2412M)
- A much better mouse (5$ Logitech mouse)
- A much better keyboard (20$ microsoft keyboard)
- Firewire 800
- 2x SATA 600 for maximum 1GB/s read write SSD
- Serious user upgradability (RAM and 2 drive bays)
- iFixit score of 8 instead of a 2
- A much better value holding. The iMac will drop value like a brick from a bridge, the Mini will drop only 100-150 in 2 years.

And even though Apple uses the same "in-theory" good panel as Dell, the reality is the display by Apple is much worse. It is Apple's most unreliable product: the iMac screen.

Synopsis:
The new iMac is ONE COMPLETE LAUGH. Only suitable as cash register* (*what a stupid word when you think about it in 2014, our word Kassa is much more universal).
 
Last edited:
crsh1976 said:
That's actually not true anymore; while iMacs have used good displays in the past, everybody else has caught up while Apple didn't bulge.

Find yourself a 20-21 inch LED screen on sale anytime from Dell, Asus or whoever else for about $150 and you will have something that's as good, if not better, than an iMac display.

Bare in mind also that Apple doesn't manufacture its own LED displays, they buy them from Samsung, LG or some other OEM maker. The one and only thing this non-Apple display won't have is a visually-pleasing aluminum design that matches your Apple product.

Apple no longer uses premium, exclusive hardware, those days are long gone.
Click to expand...

That $150 LED panel you're talking about is unlikely to be IPS and will probably be a TN panel with terrible viewing angles. They're not the same. And there is a cost worthy benefit to some people to have an all-in-one design encased in aluminum and not black plastic. I'm not saying the Mac Mini is a bad choice for the OP, but just wanted to not dismiss "a monitor" as just a monitor. It's really the visual lifeblood of your computing experience.

----------
blanka said:
For the price of the entry iMac you have:
- A mini that is twice as fast (core i7)
- A much better screen (dell U2412M)
- A much better mouse (5$ Logitech mouse)
- A much better keyboard (20$ microsoft keyboard)
- Firewire 800
- 2x SATA 600 for maximum 1GB/s read write SSD
- Serious user upgradability (RAM and 2 drive bays)
- iFixit score of 8 instead of a 2
- A much better value holding. The iMac will drop value like a brick from a bridge, the Mini will drop only 100-150 in 2 years.
Click to expand...

- And a much uglier, convoluted, messy, black plasticy pile of clutter on a desk. Nothing screams Apple like pairing it with Dell and Microsoft accessories.

Oh and FireWire 800 would have been a sweet selling point like 7 years ago.
 
blanka said:
For the price of the entry iMac you have:
- A mini that is twice as fast (core i7)
- A much better screen (dell U2412M)
- A much better mouse (5$ Logitech mouse)
- A much better keyboard (20$ microsoft keyboard)
- Firewire 800
- 2x SATA 600 for maximum 1GB/s read write SSD
- Serious user upgradability (RAM and 2 drive bays)
- iFixit score of 8 instead of a 2
- A much better value holding. The iMac will drop value like a brick from a bridge, the Mini will drop only 100-150 in 2 years.

And even though Apple uses the same "in-theory" good panel as Dell, the reality is the display by Apple is much worse. It is Apple's most unreliable product: the iMac screen.

Synopsis:
The new iMac is ONE COMPLETE LAUGH. Only suitable as cash register* (*what a stupid word when you think about it in 2014, our word Kassa is much more universal).
Click to expand...

I do agree on some parts of your comment, however, like many things - there is no guarantee that your model will be faulty or even have problems. You have to remember that buying a cheap screen from where ever is not going to guarantee a long lasting screen - they can break down just as easily.

For many people, the new iMac is all they will need. What is the point in buying the top spec iMac if you barely need any power? For people who need a simple desktop for word processing, Safari, mail and etc, the new iMac is perfect and very affordable. For many of these people they will not need to resell it as they will not have new for new power.
 
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