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Mac Mini - thinking on buying one

L

Liquinn

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Original poster
Apr 10, 2011
3,016
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I'm seriously thinking on buying a Mac Mini next week.

But... is the price worth it compared to a Windows machine? (I'm a Windows user).

Atleast then I'll have a Mac Mini to play around with while waiting for the refreshed Macbook Pros.

Is the base line Mac Mini good in terms of video/editing?

Would I need to buy a cable to plug the Mac Mini into? (HDMI/VGA) or something or is this supplied?

Thanks for your time.
 
I picked up a Mac mini last week as my first ever Mac. You can definitely get a cheaper PC, but I've slowly been getting tired of a lot of the junk different OEMs put out. Whether the price is worth it is all subjective on your needs and what you're looking for. For myself, I really wanted to have a cleaner desk as well and get rid of the tower PC I had around. Using OSX on the mini and will probably install Windows as well so I can go back and forth as I need.

For video outputs you can use mini-displayPort cable for the thunderbolt port, or use the hdmi port with an hdmi cable or the hdmi-dvi adapter that is included. If you need VGA there are mini-displayport to vga adapters.
 
profets said:
I picked up a Mac mini last week as my first ever Mac. You can definitely get a cheaper PC, but I've slowly been getting tired of a lot of the junk different OEMs put out. Whether the price is worth it is all subjective on your needs and what you're looking for. For myself, I really wanted to have a cleaner desk as well and get rid of the tower PC I had around. Using OSX on the mini and will probably install Windows as well so I can go back and forth as I need.

For video outputs you can use mini-displayPort cable for the thunderbolt port, or use the hdmi port with an hdmi cable or the hdmi-dvi adapter that is included. If you need VGA there are mini-displayport to vga adapters.
Click to expand...
I don't want to regret buying the Mini, or would an iMac 21.5" be better for my needs? Then I can get a 13" Macbook Pro to go with it then I've got the best of both worlds, I do not want to regret buying the Mini though :(
 
For the price you can reach with the mini, you get close to MBP/iMac territory. I think those are definitely better value for having the whole machine. I already have a great 24" display I wanted to use, and am kind of waiting to see a design refresh next year or later for the iMac.

Honestly, worse case you can return the mini if you are unhappy with it.
 
I definitely think the iMac is a better all-around computer, especially if you only want 1 machine. However, if you need a dedicated windows box in addition to a Mac (like a serious gamer would) then the Mini is an easy, small no-brainer to KVM up to a nice monitor along with the windows box, especially now that they're no longer Core 2 Duos.
 
I guess the good thing with the Macbook Pros you can hook it up to an external display.

I'm not sure what to do here;
Mac Mini 2011
Macbook Pro 13" 2011

OR
iMac 2011
Macbook Pro 13" 2011

Hmmmmmmm....
 
LQYoshi said:
I'm seriously thinking on buying a Mac Mini next week.

But... is the price worth it compared to a Windows machine? (I'm a Windows user).

Atleast then I'll have a Mac Mini to play around with while waiting for the refreshed Macbook Pros.

Is the base line Mac Mini good in terms of video/editing?

Would I need to buy a cable to plug the Mac Mini into? (HDMI/VGA) or something or is this supplied?

Thanks for your time.
Click to expand...
Very weak, extremely hot. Quite expensive. With Intel HD graphic solution- huge step backward. Mobile AMD Radeon with only 256 MB RAM, even DDR5 - pure joke.
"Shiny" software with weak capabilities.
Dubious HD 1080 video hardware acceleration- which means huge heat inside, and quick decline of all components inside.
Ridiculous HDD drive of 5400. Insanely expensive SSD and official upgrades.
For web browsing- no flash hardware acceleration on HD videos. Which means again- huge heat inside.

Why to buy then? To do what? write Word text, or what? For 600$?

The Intel HD 3000 solution IS not compatible with the OpenCL framework! Be aware of this!
 
Pecorino said:
Very weak, extremely hot. Quite expensive. With Intel HD graphic solution- huge step backward. Mobile AMD Radeon with only 256 MB RAM, even DDR5 - pure joke.
"Shiny" software with weak capabilities.
Dubious HD 1080 video hardware acceleration- which means huge heat inside, and quick decline of all components inside.
Ridiculous HDD drive of 5400. Insanely expensive SSD and official upgrades.
For web browsing- no flash hardware acceleration on HD videos. Which means again- huge heat inside.

Why to buy then? To do what? write Word text or what? For 600$?
Click to expand...
I do video/photo editing, so the Mini might not be ideal.

Can the iMac 21.5" be hooked up to an external display?

I don't think I need the Macbook Pro as I already have the iPad/iPhone for portability.

Hmmmm.
 
An advantage of the mini would be being able to install the SSD of your choice (yourself). If that's scary then I go back to the iMac recommendation - the major benefit there being the simplicity of it all and the better GPUs they have.
 
profets said:
Using OSX on the mini and will probably install Windows as well so I can go back and forth as I need.
Click to expand...
Sorry, but all of you go to the Mac "universe and ecosystem".
Why you endlessly look back to the "Windows site" all the time??
No sense at all.... .
I, myself, with my " poor Windows 7 64 bit" never look at the Mac OSX site... why?
 
Jimmdean said:
An advantage of the mini would be being able to install the SSD of your choice (yourself). If that's scary then I go back to the iMac recommendation - the major benefit there being the simplicity of it all and the better GPUs they have.
Click to expand...
With the MBP I can always hook it up to an external display, with an iMac, is that possible to do as well?
 
Pecorino said:
Sorry, but all of you go to the Mac "universe and ecosystem".
Why you endlessly look back to the "Windows site" all the time??
No sense at all.... .
I, myself, with my " poor Windows 7 64 bit" never look at the Mac OSX site... why?
Click to expand...

What exactly are you trying to ask? If I'm using a Mac there is no sense at all to use Windows?

I use windows 7 day to day at work and home, and wanted to get experience and familiarity with OSX and different apps.
 
Pecorino said:
Sorry, but all of you go to the Mac "universe and ecosystem".
Why you endlessly look back to the "Windows site" all the time??
No sense at all.... .
I, myself, with my " poor Windows 7 64 bit" never look at the Mac OSX site... why?
Click to expand...

I myself switched back to PC land. But I'm still on here because my job requires me to at least know what's what in the computer land, and OS X is a part of computer land.

OP: I'd look at getting a 15" (or 17") MBP, and a used mini to play around with. Or, if you don't think you'll need any sort of portability, get a nice new iMac, and if you can't wait, get a used mini, and sell it off later.

the difference between the new and old mini, or video editing, is nill, except in rendering times. And depending on who you ask, the older mini with the nVidia card may even be faster, unless you're planning on getting a new one with a 6630m.
 
thejadedmonkey said:
I myself switched back to PC land. But I'm still on here because my job requires me to at least know what's what in the computer land, and OS X is a part of computer land.

OP: I'd look at getting a 15" (or 17") MBP, and a used mini to play around with. Or, if you don't think you'll need any sort of portability, get a nice new iMac, and if you can't wait, get a used mini, and sell it off later.

the difference between the new and old mini, or video editing, is nill, except in rendering times. And depending on who you ask, the older mini with the nVidia card may even be faster, unless you're planning on getting a new one with a 6630m.
Click to expand...

I can get a used - like new iMac 21.5" direct from Amazon themselves on Amazon.co.uk for £745.

"New Apple iMac 21.5" All-In-One Desktop PC (LED Backlit Screen, 3.06Ghz, Core-i3, 4Gb RAM, 500Gb HDD, ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics, Slot-loading 8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) (Launched July 2010)"

Only i3 though... That's an inpulse buy but it's from last year? Does that matter?

Now that's tempting. But no keyboard and mouse though.

Will that come with a warranty?

I won't get the free Lion upgrade though, right?

Does this model have a thunderbolt port?
 
Last edited:
Liquinn said:
I don't want to regret buying the Mini, or would an iMac 21.5" be better for my needs? Then I can get a 13" Macbook Pro to go with it then I've got the best of both worlds, I do not want to regret buying the Mini though :(
Click to expand...

If its a choice between mac mini and imac then the IMAC wins hands down. For not a lot more you get a fantastic 21.5" IPS full HD display, 4GB Ram in the base model and a DVD drive.

For your portable device what will you be doing? the 13" pro is big for a travel machine. I would recommend the 11" MBA if you travel a lot and need a full OS. If not then the Imac and Ipad 2 will cover you for most things.
 
Why don't you get a late 2009 model, it comes with 4gb ram and internal superficial, yeah its core 2 duo, but you do get nvidia graphics
 
I'm partial to the idea of a 21" iMac and a 13" Air. Then you have the best of both worlds. The best all-in-one around and one of the sweetest ultra portables.

Think about it.
 
adnoh said:
If its a choice between mac mini and imac then the IMAC wins hands down. For not a lot more you get a fantastic 21.5" IPS full HD display, 4GB Ram in the base model and a DVD drive.

For your portable device what will you be doing? the 13" pro is big for a travel machine. I would recommend the 11" MBA if you travel a lot and need a full OS. If not then the Imac and Ipad 2 will cover you for most things.
Click to expand...
"Fantastic"? EIZO are fantastic. Some NEC also. Some Dell also.
iMac screen is IPS LG screen. Glossy, and without any advanced electronics inside. Like EIZO has.
But, let's this be my personal opinion.
Please, be informed customer:
http://www.prad.de/new/monitore/testberichte.html

Apple does not inform their customers that, the Intel HD 3000 solution in the Macmini 2011 DOES not support OpenCL framework. Which Apple advertised to us, years from now, like their "most advanced invention"... .
 
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