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Mac Mini, buy now or wait?

R

Raje

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 2, 2010
86
0
Okay so I really want a mac I have only owned PCs and I am tired of windows and really like OSX. I am currently a sophomore in highschool so I only need something to satisfy my mac cravings for 2 years then I will buy an MBP when I go to college. So my questions:

1. Do you think a mac mini update will be released by August?(that's the longest I want to wait.)

2. What do you suspect the new mini's to have? (I would like HDMI but I'm doubtful.)

3. Is the current 2.26ghz C2D and 9400m enough for medium photoshop use and some after effects. I know it will handle web browsing, word processing, keynote and other such school related work.

4. How well does windows run using parallels on the current line of minis.

For those who suggest getting a hackintosh I really don't want the trouble that comes with one.
 
1). Dunno
2). Most likely still Mini Display Port
3). Oh yea. My old MacBook was 2.0 GHz 9400m and did that fine
4). I'd recommend doing a full install of windows using the BootCamp Assistant. What do you need windows for. I wouldn't use Parallel's for gaming.
 
Just buy a refurbished mac mini right now...the base one will do for you...

cheers...and welcome to the awesome world of macs :D
 
:)
the osx is different than windows, so thats probably why youre fond of macs right now :)
 
brucem91 said:
4). I'd recommend doing a full install of windows using the BootCamp Assistant. What do you need windows for. I wouldn't use Parallel's for gaming.
Click to expand...
I intend to use windows for office I have heard the windows version is much better than the mac version. While I don't intend to use office my school is completely windows (except for one teacher) I want to have the ability to make sure my keynotes will transfer well etc. I will use my PC desktop for gaming, that was what I built it for. Before you guys say just use my old PCs to check this my brother is in college and he is going to give me a copy of Windows 7 ultimate for cheap and we still have one install of office left.
 
Raje said:
I intend to use windows for office I have heard the windows version is much better than the mac version. While I don't intend to use office my school is completely windows (except for one teacher) I want to have the ability to make sure my keynotes will transfer well etc. I will use my PC desktop for gaming, that was what I built it for. Before you guys say just use my old PCs to check this my brother is in college and he is going to give me a copy of Windows 7 ultimate for cheap and we still have one install of office left.
Click to expand...

There is Office for Mac which is 100% compatible with Windows version of Office. There is also CrossOver which lets you run Windows apps on OS X, so that would be easier and lighter than Parallels.
 
Get the Mini, it was my first Mac and I'm still going strong on it;you'll love it and it will do what you need from it.
 
Hellhammer said:
There is Office for Mac which is 100% compatible with Windows version of Office. There is also CrossOver which lets you run Windows apps on OS X, so that would be easier and lighter than Parallels.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I probably wasn't going to use parallels it was just the one on the top of my head, I knew there was other software that was lighter but I did not know the names.

Thanks HE15MAN for the info on the adapter and that is a cheap price:eek:

I believe I will buy a refurb as soon as the apple store gets one in, right now they only have a server mini.
 
Okay I signed up and I noticed that the 2.26 model is $499 and the 2.53 is $679 refurbished. the 2.53 has 4gb of ram which I intend to upgrade the 2.26 to 4gb of ram anyway. It looks like it will cost me $100 to do this(ram prices have really went up) So would the extra processor power and hard drive space be worth the extra $80. I know I can upgrade to a 320gb hdd for less than $80 but I will be stuck with the processor.

A question about the display port to HDMI this only transfers visual not audio correct?

How long will a mini I buy now be usable, 3 years? And how good of a server do they make? I will probably use the mini as media storage/backup during/after college.
 
Raje said:
Okay I signed up and I noticed that the 2.26 model is $499 and the 2.53 is $679 refurbished. the 2.53 has 4gb of ram which I intend to upgrade the 2.26 to 4gb of ram anyway. It looks like it will cost me $100 to do this(ram prices have really went up) So would the extra processor power and hard drive space be worth the extra $80. I know I can upgrade to a 320gb hdd for less than $80 but I will be stuck with the processor.

A question about the display port to HDMI this only transfers visual not audio correct?

How long will a mini I buy now be usable, 3 years? And how good of a server do they make? I will probably use the mini as media storage/backup during/after college.
Click to expand...

The processor speed difference is unnoticeable but if it shows up earlier, I would go for it as it saves you the hassle of upgrading.

There is MDP + USB to HDMI which carries audio as well

Minis are great as secondary computer or server. Core 2 Duos are fast enough for years and you can swap the SuperDrive for HD when you make it a server to get more storage. By that time, SSDs are cheap and big so I'm sure you can get +2TB for pretty cheap.
 
^I hadn't looked myself but had heard the RAM increase to from 2gb to 4gb would be $100ish so I also went w/ the 2.53ghz over the 2.26ghz Mac Mini. The price difference was $180. $80 for a slightly faster processor and some more space. Didn't seem too bad. Otherwise, I usually cheap out w/ the cheapest model in my mac purchases
 
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