Mini Mac or iMac, that is the question!

[iMacThere4Iam]

Thanks for letting me know I have a good monitor! I know I like it! I think you all have talked me into the Mini! I love that it is so small and has plenty of connections on the back.

I have a My Book External HD. It is so slow 'waking up' when I first click on anything that is located on it. Do any of you have better external HD to recommend?

Thanks!

The LaCie d2 Quadra. I know two graphic artists who put theirs to heavy duty use, and they swear by them. The 500 GB sells for $119.95 at PC Connection Express; that's the cheapest price I've found so far.

http://www.pcconnectionexpress.com/...54&srccode=cii_13736960&cpncode=23-75889720-2

 

[Badger^2]

pfft, just get a 27" iMac and be done with it already.

Why sacrifice you hard earned money on something that doesnt make you happy?

Theres nothing wrong with your MyBook drive. You have your system preferences set to make the drive sleep when its not in use. Once you click it, it takes a few seconds for it to spin back up. Wouldnt matter what kind of drive you have. Uncheck that in the Energy Saving control panel.

 

[clw51]

The LaCie d2 Quadra. I know two graphic artists who put theirs to heavy duty use, and they swear by them. The 500 GB sells for $119.95 at PC Connection Express; that's the cheapest price I've found so far.

http://www.pcconnectionexpress.com/...54&srccode=cii_13736960&cpncode=23-75889720-2

Thanks for the info and link. Looks like a great HD and not a bad price.

 

[clw51]

pfft, just get a 27" iMac and be done with it already.

Why sacrifice you hard earned money on something that doesnt make you happy?

Theres nothing wrong with your MyBook drive. You have your system preferences set to make the drive sleep when its not in use. Once you click it, it takes a few seconds for it to spin back up. Wouldnt matter what kind of drive you have. Uncheck that in the Energy Saving control panel.

Thanks for telling me my My Book might be set for sleep. I will have to figure out where those settings are and change them.

A 27" iMac is quite a bit more money. I will have to weigh the options with each system. I like the compactness of the Mac Mini. I don't know if I would ever use the camera in the Mac display. I know there is a higher end computer in the iMac, but not sure I want the computer and monitor all in one. I will have to go to the Apple store again and look at them since my software issues have been satisfied.

I found my USB card reader for my SD card for my camera so I don't have to buy a card reader with the Mini. I know if I went with the Mini I would have to get speakers. So it boils down to that large monitor....if I want to take a change that it will end up yellow or flickering on me. That would be very disappointing and a hassle to deal with. And if I want to buy speakers or spend the extra money on the iMac.

Thanks for your input.

 

[yojitani]

I would go for the iMac if I were you. Minis are extremely limited machines. iMacs are also limited in some senses but RAM is a breeze to install and they are competitively spec'd. Although it's probably not quite a fair comparison, I bought my wife a G4 mini several years ago after her windows machine died. She was using it for photo editing, web surfing, word processing. After about a year, it really wasn't performing quickly enough (especially with the photos) and there wasn't much I could do for it (RAM was, and may still not be, a user replaceable component*), so I bought her a C2D iMac (one of the white ones ) and she's been happy with that for over three years now. We've had to upgrade the ram and buy an external drive for all her pictures, but that's it. It's been a very stout machine.

* By this I mean that a user can replace it, but doing so may void your warranty.

 

[Habitus]

I am new to this forum and I hope I have found the correct forum to post in.


I am a PC user for many years and my son who is a programmer has convenienced me to try a Mac this time around.

My biggest hold up for a Mac was that I teach Corel Paint Shop Pro and Animation Shop online. These are Windows only programs. However, my son just showed me on his Mac that using VMware Fusion 3, he installed my PSP programs and they run fine! YEAH!

Since that was my only hold up....I am ready to decide what Mac to buy.
I have a wonderful 24" Acer monitor and love that size monitor doing my graphic arts and having room to have a webpage open with a tutorial I am following side by side. The iMac's 21.5" display is a little small for me and the 27" display is WOW! I don't need a display that large, but if I have no choice....LOL!
I can't decide between the Mac Mini (and keep my monitor) or the iMac. I think you get more "computer" with the iMac.

I DO need to keep my keyboard, it is one of those curved keyboards and it really helps with my carpal tunnel.

So any advice on which Mac to get would be greatly appreciated. Any problems known for either model?? I am very new to Mac and don't know a thing! Thanks in advance!
Connie

I'd go with the MacMini. However, I suggest making upgrades to the hdd and RAM; it's difficult to perform these upgrades later.

Habitus

 

[MacMini2009]

Thanks for telling me my My Book might be set for sleep. I will have to figure out where those settings are and change them.

A 27" iMac is quite a bit more money. I will have to weigh the options with each system. I like the compactness of the Mac Mini. I don't know if I would ever use the camera in the Mac display. I know there is a higher end computer in the iMac, but not sure I want the computer and monitor all in one. I will have to go to the Apple store again and look at them since my software issues have been satisfied.

I found my USB card reader for my SD card for my camera so I don't have to buy a card reader with the Mini. I know if I went with the Mini I would have to get speakers. So it boils down to that large monitor....if I want to take a change that it will end up yellow or flickering on me. That would be very disappointing and a hassle to deal with. And if I want to buy speakers or spend the extra money on the iMac.

Thanks for your input.

I would go for the iMac if I were you. Minis are extremely limited machines. iMacs are also limited in some senses but RAM is a breeze to install and they are competitively spec'd. Although it's probably not quite a fair comparison, I bought my wife a G4 mini several years ago after her windows machine died. She was using it for photo editing, web surfing, word processing. After about a year, it really wasn't performing quickly enough (especially with the photos) and there wasn't much I could do for it (RAM was, and may still not be, a user replaceable component*), so I bought her a C2D iMac (one of the white ones ) and she's been happy with that for over three years now. We've had to upgrade the ram and buy an external drive for all her pictures, but that's it. It's been a very stout machine.

* By this I mean that a user can replace it, but doing so may void your warranty.

Just get the 2.53GHz model. It already comes with 4GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive, which means you'll never have to open it up unless you really have to.

It only voids your warranty if you break something.

 

[kanpachi]

When you've made your final decision on which Mac you want to buy, you should consider purchasing it from Amazon - they have much better prices vs. the Apple Store. Also, depending on where you live, your purchase will be tax free as well. Just a friendly tip in case it helps.

 

[clw51]

I would go for the iMac if I were you. Minis are extremely limited machines. iMacs are also limited in some senses but RAM is a breeze to install and they are competitively spec'd. Although it's probably not quite a fair comparison, I bought my wife a G4 mini several years ago after her windows machine died. She was using it for photo editing, web surfing, word processing. After about a year, it really wasn't performing quickly enough (especially with the photos) and there wasn't much I could do for it (RAM was, and may still not be, a user replaceable component*), so I bought her a C2D iMac (one of the white ones ) and she's been happy with that for over three years now. We've had to upgrade the ram and buy an external drive for all her pictures, but that's it. It's been a very stout machine.

* By this I mean that a user can replace it, but doing so may void your warranty.

Thanks, this is food for thought!

 

[clw51]

When you've made your final decision on which Mac you want to buy, you should consider purchasing it from Amazon - they have much better prices vs. the Apple Store. Also, depending on where you live, your purchase will be tax free as well. Just a friendly tip in case it helps.

Thanks for this idea! My daughter in law suggested that to me yesterday. However, I don't think I can configure one with upgrades through amazon.
The prices at Amazon were only around $50 - $100 less than at the apple site.

Thanks again!

 

[Badger^2]

Can I get the last word on this? =)

As a person who is called daily and asked these kind of questions... I dont have the luxury of "guessing" for some of my clients.

They tell me what they want to spend, what they want it to do and they expect it to be the right decision -- they dont want to be hassled with the "tech" part of it.

You should never have to be bothered with updates, or adding more ram, or figuring out if doing any of those tasks will void warranties or whatever.

You just want to sit down and go.

You have already seen the 27" and love the screen, right? Then get it.

Its ready to go right out of the box. Theres nothing extra to buy or necessary to upgrade. It has one cable out the back for power, and thats it. Plug it in and go and forget about it for years and years.

Plenty of ram. Plenty of drive. Plenty of extras and oomph for many, many years to come. Wouldnt be surprised if its the last computer you ever buy...

Dont get me wrong, I think a mini is a great little mac and it has plenty of horsepower, at least right now. (priced $100 too much, but thats another story). But the potential of "you can just upgrade it in a few years" just means an extra headache 3 years from now. And a mini seems small, but clutter: power cable + monitor cable + monitor power + cable from keyboard/mouse (if you dont have wireless) + cables from speakers = a mess.

Heres my suggestion: 3.06 27" for $1599 after rebate, no tax, free shipping from here:

http://www.macconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=10682041&cac=Result

I use them for all my mac purchases.

I hope you enjoy your new iMac when it gets there.

(PS, you keep mentioning the cost of speakers in your mini buying decision, but speakers are like $29, not a real bank breaker.)

 

[MacMini2009]

Can I get the last word on this? =)

As a person who is called daily and asked these kind of questions... I dont have the luxury of "guessing" for some of my clients.

They tell me what they want to spend, what they want it to do and they expect it to be the right decision -- they dont want to be hassled with the "tech" part of it.

You should never have to be bothered with updates, or adding more ram, or figuring out if doing any of those tasks will void warranties or whatever.

You just want to sit down and go.

You have already seen the 27" and love the screen, right? Then get it.

Its ready to go right out of the box. Theres nothing extra to buy or necessary to upgrade. It has one cable out the back for power, and thats it. Plug it in and go and forget about it for years and years.

Plenty of ram. Plenty of drive. Plenty of extras and oomph for many, many years to come. Wouldnt be surprised if its the last computer you ever buy...

Dont get me wrong, I think a mini is a great little mac and it has plenty of horsepower, at least right now. (priced $100 too much, but thats another story). But the potential of "you can just upgrade it in a few years" just means an extra headache 3 years from now. And a mini seems small, but clutter: power cable + monitor cable + monitor power + cable from keyboard/mouse (if you dont have wireless) + cables from speakers = a mess.

Heres my suggestion: 3.06 27" for $1599 after rebate, no tax, free shipping from here:

http://www.macconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=10682041&cac=Result

I use them for all my mac purchases.

I hope you enjoy your new iMac when it gets there.

(PS, you keep mentioning the cost of speakers in your mini buying decision, but speakers are like $29, not a real bank breaker.)

I don't think you HAVE to upgrade your Mac Mini in 3 years.

To the OP, if you want to keep all your current peripherals, get the 2.53GHz Mac Mini.

If you want to replace all your hardware, get the 27in iMac.

 

[clw51]

Can I get the last word on this? =)

As a person who is called daily and asked these kind of questions... I dont have the luxury of "guessing" for some of my clients.

They tell me what they want to spend, what they want it to do and they expect it to be the right decision -- they dont want to be hassled with the "tech" part of it.

You should never have to be bothered with updates, or adding more ram, or figuring out if doing any of those tasks will void warranties or whatever.

You just want to sit down and go.

You have already seen the 27" and love the screen, right? Then get it.

Its ready to go right out of the box. Theres nothing extra to buy or necessary to upgrade. It has one cable out the back for power, and thats it. Plug it in and go and forget about it for years and years.

Plenty of ram. Plenty of drive. Plenty of extras and oomph for many, many years to come. Wouldnt be surprised if its the last computer you ever buy...

Dont get me wrong, I think a mini is a great little mac and it has plenty of horsepower, at least right now. (priced $100 too much, but thats another story). But the potential of "you can just upgrade it in a few years" just means an extra headache 3 years from now. And a mini seems small, but clutter: power cable + monitor cable + monitor power + cable from keyboard/mouse (if you dont have wireless) + cables from speakers = a mess.

Heres my suggestion: 3.06 27" for $1599 after rebate, no tax, free shipping from here:

http://www.macconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=10682041&cac=Result

I use them for all my mac purchases.

I hope you enjoy your new iMac when it gets there.

(PS, you keep mentioning the cost of speakers in your mini buying decision, but speakers are like $29, not a real bank breaker.)

Thanks for the link! I will look into this and I was coming to this same conclusion today as I continue to research the Mac computer.

I do have one last small concern about getting the iMac. How often do people have the problem with the displays being yellow or flickering? I hear Apple has great customer service and would do right by the customer if that were to happen.

Do you recommend getting the extended warranty?
Thanks again!

 

[macrumorsMaster]

Although it's probably not quite a fair comparison, I bought my wife a G4 mini several years ago after her windows machine died. She was using it for photo editing, web surfing, word processing. After about a year, it really wasn't performing quickly enough (especially with the photos) and there wasn't much I could do for it (RAM was, and may still not be, a user replaceable component*), so I bought her a C2D iMac (one of the white ones ) and she's been happy with that for over three years now.

Yup, that is an UNFAIR comparison. Comparing a G4 mini with a C2D imac is the wrong way to go here. Compare a C2D mini with a C2D imac. While the imac may have a little more processor umph, it's not that much. A c2d mini can even outperform a g5 power mac. Plus a c2d mini has more max ram than a g4 mini.

What's great about the mini is YOU get to choose the monitor(you can easily even set up a dual monitor system), and if you already have one great(otherwise check slickdeals or fatwallet for monitor deals). If you have the moola and NEED the power get the 27" imac. (otherwise save your money for accessories or a special gift for yourself)

What's also great about the mini, is it's semi-portable(i.e. if you need to travel somewhere, you can take it with you, not as easy with a 27" imac)
Get a wireless keyboard and mouse(look on the deal sites I mentioned earlier) and get a wireless sound system(or wired if needed) and you'll have a great system for while. If you feel you outgrow it in a year or more, you can always sell it and get something more powerful.

 

[Badger^2]

Yeah, but who really wants to "outgrow" you computer in a year and get something more powerful?

Dont worry about the yellow display.

Applecare is probably a good idea, but you have up to a year to decide on whether you want it or not. Im one of the lucky ones, I have never bought Applecare and have never had the need to use it.

Go with the iMac.

 

[MacMini2009]

Yeah, but who really wants to "outgrow" you computer in a year and get something more powerful?

Dont worry about the yellow display.

Applecare is probably a good idea, but you have up to a year to decide on whether you want it or not. Im one of the lucky ones, I have never bought Applecare and have never had the need to use it.

Go with the iMac.

You could outgrow the Mac Mini and the iMac in a year because they are both Core 2 Duo.

 

[Boomhowler]

Yes, I'd recommend that you buy the i5/i7-variants if you aim for the iMac (especially if one of the reasons for buying the iMac is to be future-proof).
So much bang for teh buck!


// David

 

[clw51]

I think you all have talked me into the Mini! I love that it is so small and has plenty of connections on the back.

Thanks!

I don't know if any of you who replied to my plea for advice here in this thread will see this, but I wanted to say thanks so much for all your help. I got my iMac last Monday and I love it! I am learning how to use it and there is a bit of getting used to a Mac coming from a PC. But nothing really difficult.

I ended up getting far more computer than I needed but my hubby wanted to get the best one we could afford at this time. So we ended up with the 27" iMac quad core. I do love the big screen and the glossy finish doesn't bother me at all. I love that you can touch it without worrying about damaging the screen like my old monitor.

I am using the Mac wireless key board and so far so good. I have always been a mouse click person, but with the Mac it seems I am becoming more and more a short cut key person.

I also got the Magic mouse with this iMac and I had no trouble getting used to it at all. I did have to go to preferences and turn on the right click feature. I like it very much so far. It is a little sensitive if I accidentally touch it, but that is a matter of getting used to it.

My son got VMware Fusion 3 on here and Windows XP Pro installed. I also got my windows Paint Shop Pro and Animation Shop installed. It is so easy to use in Unity mode. It is perfect for me and my windows programs. To have the great features of a Mac for my main computing needs and still be able to use my windows programs. Very nice!

OH, my son also set up my external as my backup drive using Time Machine! This is another wonderful feature!

Well, this is long enough. Thanks again for all the advice! Now to decide on the right email program as I am not real pleased with the Mac Mail.
Connie