Mac mini 2011 vs Mac pro (2008/09)

[theste]

hi all,

i am thinking about getting a new a mac after the new OSX comes out but i am not should which one to get e.g. go mac mini or mac pro.

i would like it to last for awhile be for another OSX cut it off its list and I also need it to do 3D modelling, PS, unity 3D, hand brake(but i can use by mac pro 1.1 to that and also rendering), etc..

thank

 

[paulrbeers]

By the time Mountain Lion releases, we should have new Mac Mini's so maybe the question should be re-asked then?

 

[rovitotv]

You could buy alot of Mac Minis for a single Mac Pro. In other words you could afford to be on the cutting edge for a few years.....I think the Mac Pros are over priced so I recommend a Mac Mini with lots of RAM which should help your 3D modeling. When you render you can always use the Amazon Cloud Computer if you have many frames to render.

 

[theste]

By the time Mountain Lion releases, we should have new Mac Mini's so maybe the question should be re-asked then?

yer thanks I well do, i just wanted to get a ruf idea of what people think is the better choices

You could buy alot of Mac Minis for a single Mac Pro. In other words you could afford to be on the cutting edge for a few years.....I think the Mac Pros are over priced so I recommend a Mac Mini with lots of RAM which should help your 3D modeling. When you render you can always use the Amazon Cloud Computer if you have many frames to render.

thanks

 

[Vantage Point]

Of course you'll be in a better position to decide in a few months when the latest and greatest come out - which hopefully with have USB 3.0. But, I think that these days withMini's being able to use quad core CPU's, upgrade to up to 16GB of RAM, and the ability to replace the stock drive with either an SSD or a large HDD, that the Mini has become a formidable machine and a great value. I'm a fan of base models in Macs and then upgrading the drive and ram myself since apple gets unnecessarily greedy in this area. However, you might want to opt for the model with a dedicated graphics chip.

The thing about the mini is you can upgrade it every two years or so and keep up without spending a fortune. Sadly, it is also possible that apple may abandon the MacPro, hopefully not.

 

[Moonjumper]

Most of my time is spent using Unity. I have an iMac that is over 5 years old and Unity runs very smoothly, so an new Mac Mini should be plenty powerful enough for that.

My next computer would be another iMac if it wasn't for the glossy screen, so I'll likely be buying a Mac Mini and a non-Apple screen. I would definitely go for the version with the dedicated graphics card. I would like the SSD/HDD combo option, but it gets expensive with that.

 

[theste]

Of course you'll be in a better position to decide in a few months when the latest and greatest come out - which hopefully with have USB 3.0. But, I think that these days withMini's being able to use quad core CPU's, upgrade to up to 16GB of RAM, and the ability to replace the stock drive with either an SSD or a large HDD, that the Mini has become a formidable machine and a great value. I'm a fan of base models in Macs and then upgrading the drive and ram myself since apple gets unnecessarily greedy in this area. However, you might want to opt for the model with a dedicated graphics chip.

The thing about the mini is you can upgrade it every two years or so and keep up without spending a fortune. Sadly, it is also possible that apple may abandon the MacPro, hopefully not.

Most of my time is spent using Unity. I have an iMac that is over 5 years old and Unity runs very smoothly, so an new Mac Mini should be plenty powerful enough for that.

My next computer would be another iMac if it wasn't for the glossy screen, so I'll likely be buying a Mac Mini and a non-Apple screen. I would definitely go for the version with the dedicated graphics card. I would like the SSD/HDD combo option, but it gets expensive with that.

thank you that has helped so far the mini is winning for me

does any body what is the average life span of a mac mini before it gets the apple boot

shame that apple doesn't make a in between of the mac mini and the pro :/

 

[Moonjumper]

does any body what is the average life span of a mac mini before it gets the apple boot

Mountain Lion would suggest about 5 years, but Macs are usable long after they are able to accept the latest OS.

shame that apple doesn't make a in between of the mac mini and the pro :/

I agree.

 

[The-Pro]

well the mac pro is a lot lot lot more powerful then the mini.
Whats awesome about it is just how much expandability it offers. If you buy one now you can upgrade the GPU's, CPU's, add 4 HDD's etc. Its great. The Mac Pro isn't "outdated" as fast as the mini aswell and it holds its resell value a lot better. The 2009 model is definitely the bette one to go for. Get a cheap base model or something and if you need more power you can look at popping in a 6 core CPU and add a better GPU.