Mac Mini

[Liquinn]

Thinking on buying a Mac Mini instead of the upcoming iPad 3.

Apple Mac mini (Dual-Core i5,2.3GHz,2GB,500GB HD,HD Graphics

Price: £510.00

Condition is new and comes with a years warranty.

This a good price?

Thanks,

Regards

 

[jj48]

Thinking on buying a Mac Mini instead of the upcoming iPad 3.

Apple Mac mini (Dual-Core i5,2.3GHz,2GB,500GB HD,HD Graphics

Price: £510.00

Condition is new and comes with a years warranty.

This a good price?

Thanks,

Regards

My humble opinion is that's not a great price. I believe that's about £10 off the usual price straight from apple which is better than nothing but not great. If you want a bargain then you probably need to either be a student or buy a refurb model.

I'm not sure whether you're asking for our opinion on whether to buy an iPad 3 instead - but I'm going to give it to you anyway! I think you should at least wait until the iPad 3 is unveiled if it's an option you're considering... it's difficult to make a decision without all the facts.

And have you factored in the cost of the peripherals for the mini? (i.e. monitor, optical drive, mouse, keyboard etc.)

EDIT: Also is 2GB memory going to be enough for you? It's not a lot these days...

 

[Liquinn]

My humble opinion is that's not a great price. I believe that's about £10 off the usual price straight from apple which is better than nothing but not great. If you want a bargain then you probably need to either be a student or buy a refurb model.

I'm not sure whether you're asking for our opinion on whether to buy an iPad 3 instead - but I'm going to give it to you anyway! I think you should at least wait until the iPad 3 is unveiled if it's an option you're considering... it's difficult to make a decision without all the facts.

Having said that they're completely different machines, one is a tablet - the very essence of portable computing, the other a desktop - designed to never leave your desk. What do you need it for? And have you factored in the cost of the peripherals for the mini? (i.e. monitor, optical drive, mouse, keyboard etc.)

They're £529 from Apple so I'm saving £20 ish which is good I think. About what I saved on buying my iPod touch on Amazon.

I've got an external monitor anyways. I already have an Apple wireless keyboard, mouse, I have an iPad 1 already and plus I want OSX.

2GB should be fine, and true, I can always expand that later for cheap? 😀

Thanks! 🙂

 

[321estrellas]

2GB should be fine, and true, I can always expand that later for cheap? 😀

My spouse's laptop would constantly get a long spinning beach ball with 2GB RAM (late 2008 MB). I upped it to 4GB and she's never seen the beach ball (much) again.

It's likely 2x1GB sticks in there. People on craigslist (in my area, anyway) are selling their stock 2x2GB from MBP's or iMac's all the time, so they will be a cheap upgrade. I got my pair for $20 🙂

I don't know if you can wait to see what the iPad 3 has in store before you decide, but if you don't have another computer/desktop or need to replace one, then I think Mac Mini is the way to go. Your iPad 1 limitations compared to a desktop with OS X is going to be almost the same as the iPad 3's limitations.

 

[Liquinn]

My spouse's laptop would constantly get a long spinning beach ball with 2GB RAM (late 2008 MB). I upped it to 4GB and she's never seen the beach ball (much) again.

It's likely 2x1GB sticks in there. People on craigslist (in my area, anyway) are selling their stock 2x2GB from MBP's or iMac's all the time, so they will be a cheap upgrade. I got my pair for $20 🙂

I don't know if you can wait to see what the iPad 3 has in store before you decide, but if you don't have another computer/desktop or need to replace one, then I think Mac Mini is the way to go. Your iPad 1 limitations compared to a desktop with OS X is going to be almost the same as the iPad 3's limitations.

I've got my Mini now, and I've barely used the iPad to be honest. iOs and OSX Lion seem very similar, which is a good thing, I think. 😛

 

[nickos94]

That mac mini should be plenty for general tasks like web browsing, word processing, etc.

2gb of ram will not last you xP

I've had my mac a few months after being a PC user for years, and I have to say I am surprised on how much ram the Mac OS X uses. I would say 4GB would be sufficient. I have 8gb, but that's mainly because I'll be using Safari, Mail, Chat, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, and Mamp simultaneously.

Ram is dirt cheap at the moment, so it shouldn't be an issue as far as price. I am from the US, and 8gb of ram cost me about $50. I think 4gb is something like $30.

I have also heard that Mac Minis are extremely easy to replace the ram in.

Anyways, best of luck and I hope you enjoy your mac mini!

 

[321estrellas]

I've got my Mini now, and I've barely used the iPad to be honest. iOs and OSX Lion seem very similar, which is a good thing, I think. 😛

If you say this because of the Launcher feature in Lion, personally I NEVER use the Launcher. Your mileage may vary, but if the app I want isn't in the dock, I use Spotlight and I think that's faster 😛

Have fun with the Mini!