Mini or iMac

[MacKrazy]

I had a CoreDuo mini back in 2007 or 2008 I think and it died right out of Warranty. For the past few months while my friend was in Iraq I've been using his MBP and have been reminded very quickly of how much I love Apple and OS X. I currently have an ancient 1ghz G4 eMac running 10.5.6 that holds my iTunes and such and effectively works fine with the exception of ANYTHING with Flash. I've been getting into iMovie and FCE and lets face it, there ain't now way on my poor eMac.

So here is my question I have a nice 22" monitor and an apple keyboard. But I'm trying to decide if I should just get the base Mini and upgrade the RAM or get a Base iMac.

I mainly just do ordinary email, web browsing, etc. But I really want to get into some more involved home video editing activities as well as more advanced photo editing. I have gaming consoles so I don't game. But I also don't want to feel like next year I wished I would have gotten the iMac because the Mini is not meeting my needs.

I know the Base Mini officially tops out at 8GB Ram, but does it actually support more?

Any guidance on the issue is appreciated.

 

[halledise]

I had a CoreDuo mini back in 2007 or 2008 I think and it died right out of Warranty. For the past few months while my friend was in Iraq I've been using his MBP and have been reminded very quickly of how much I love Apple and OS X. I currently have an ancient 1ghz G4 eMac running 10.5.6 that holds my iTunes and such and effectively works fine with the exception of ANYTHING with Flash. I've been getting into iMovie and FCE and lets face it, there ain't now way on my poor eMac.

So here is my question I have a nice 22" monitor and an apple keyboard. But I'm trying to decide if I should just get the base Mini and upgrade the RAM or get a Base iMac.

I mainly just do ordinary email, web browsing, etc. But I really want to get into some more involved home video editing activities as well as more advanced photo editing. I have gaming consoles so I don't game. But I also don't want to feel like next year I wished I would have gotten the iMac because the Mini is not meeting my needs.

I know the Base Mini officially tops out at 8GB Ram, but does it actually support more?

Any guidance on the issue is appreciated.

given what you already have, the Mini would be the obvious choice for mine.
(core i7 at 2.7 ghz)

it does support up to 16gb of memory - not that you'd need it for your stated use

specs here:
http://goo.gl/UgBVo

memory here:
http://goo.gl/QRBOf

 

[KylePowers]

iMac wouldn't be a bad idea if you went refurb ($999). You could benefit from the quad-core, graphics card, and dual-monitor setup (with your 22in). Then you could sell the new Apple keyboard and make a quick $50 or so.

But, a Mac Mini would probably serve you just fine. Definitely go third party RAM and install yourself though. I did that with my iMac and it was very cost effective.

Note that the base Mini only has Intel integrated graphics, whereas the step up has a Radeon HD 6330M 256MB. A base iMac has a Radeon HD 6750M 512MB. I'm not too sure how great of a role graphics cards play in video and photo editing, so you may want to rethink your choices.

 

[MacKrazy]

Hadn't thought of the Refurb for some reason. Still a $400 difference. But the idea of dual displays is intriguing. Part of me is saying hold on until the next update, but we all know how apple can be about timing. I have 2 perfectly fine PCs at the moment, and Windows 7 so far is much more acceptable than it's predecessor. But somehow reason seems to escape me when it comes to Apple.

 

[Confuzzzed]

Get by on your PCs and wait until sandy bridge emerges. That way you get the benefit of having a current generation machine longest. Besides, that may actually solve the integrated GPU situation of the base mac mini. Regards to memory, I can concur it's a piece of cake to upgrade DIY. The back bane swivel unlocks, out it pops and there are the two blades that need replacing. Done in 60 seconds and I am not a guru. Go to at least 8GB RAM if you can. I also grapled with the iMac or mac mini idea and in the end, I went with the mac mini because of the flexibility it gives me. I know I like to have the newest and best possible so selling the machine shortly after a new model comes out is somewhat easier logistically speaking to send the machine to your buyer. And if you are happy with the monitor, then just change the computer. Also on the iMac, I had reservations about glare. I haven't regretted it but I am not a gamer so GPU performance is not an issue for me. It may well be for you though...