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Mini vs Desktop

T

TDHawks

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 7, 2018
33
17
I apologize if this has been asked many time before.

I am just trying to understand why I should purchase a mini vs an all inclusive desktop.

I own a small business and need to upgrade our system. I do not need the bells and whistles, I will be running 2-3 windows at a time and streaming music to our surround sound, that is all (personal training studio). In a perfect world, I want to stay under $1500.

Here is where I am -

I could purchase the - 21.5" iMac® with Retina 4K display - Intel Core i5 (3.0GHz) - 8GB Memory - 1TB Fusion Drive - Silver for $1500

or

Go the route of the mini and purchase the Mac mini Desktop - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive - Space Gray plus a separate mouse, keyboard, and let's say a random 27" Samsung display and that will be roughly the same cost (plus cords, etc I would imagine).

With that being said, why pick one vs the other? This is where I am confused and I apologize for the lack of knowledge.

Thank you.

And if I do not even need this and could lower end, please advise.
 
Is the thought process behind the mini much like that of a laptop where I can take it with wherever I go if need be and work remotely? A beefed up laptop without the screen essentially? It gives the user more freedom to customize their screen size to their liking as opposed to purchasing what Apple sells them?
 
Just some quick thoughts:

The iMac has a Fusion Drive which is actually a slow 5400RPM hard disk paired with a 128gb SSD. Personally, I don't like these - they were sort of a stop-gap solution to get a little better performance out of a slow hard disk when SSD's were very expensive. How well it works will depend on your usage pattern, but IMO there is little doubt that a SSD is far superior. And the SSD's on the new Mini are REALLY fast, so if 512gb is enough storage space then that's a big win for the Mini. If not, you could get the 1tb SSD for the Mini or plug in an external SSD for some additional space.

The iMac has a dedicated graphics card but the Mini doesn't, so it uses 1.5gb of system ram to support the integrated chip. Right off the bat, that means the 8gb Mini will only have 6.5gb free. IMO, that isn't enough and you should get 16gb on the Mini. You can save a few bucks by upgrading yourself, which is possible but not supported by Apple.

For what you describe, I'd say the base i3 Mini would probably be good enough if your budget is tight. But I would still recommend 16gb RAM.
 
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TDHawks said:
Is the thought process behind the mini much like that of a laptop where I can take it with wherever I go if need be and work remotely?
Click to expand...

Well, you COULD do that, and a few people have posted that they do this. But IMO, that is really rather awkward. I suppose its a personal thing however. Lots of stuff to unplug and you need duplicate screens, keyboards, etc.
 
The idea behind the Mini is that if you already have a display, keyboard, and mouse you'll be able to simply continue using those. For what you're looking for the base model mini (i3, 8GB RAM) will do. Should you need more storage space I suggest going to external SSD route if money is tight. Much cheaper and more flexible - should you decide to upgrade a few years from now you can simply plug the external SSD into the new system and continue where you left off.
 
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chrfr said:
It's worse than that. The SSD is either 24 or 32GB in the 1TB configuration.
Click to expand...

I guess I've seen that elsewhere - that is terrible! But is it still true today? I have a 2014 Mini with a 1tb Fusion Drive and the SSD is 128gb. I separated it from the hard disk and use it the SSD as the boot drive, it's pretty fast, about 700MB/sec.

Either way, in 2020 I would avoid Fusion Drives. :)
 
The problems that have been reported with the 8gb Mini is that 6.5 gb just isn't enough memory now. So, the Mini will use virtual memory and that works really well with these super-fast SSD's (over 2000MB/sec on the Mini). However, constant SSD access generates a lot of heat - my Mini gets quite warm when copying a lot of files, for example. And when the Mini gets hot, the processor slows down.

This won't cause any harm, but it affects performance. I suppose it depends on how you use the Mini as to whether it's a real problem.
 
The display typically lasts longer than the computer driving it and for that reason alone I wouldn’t ever get an iMac. That said, the iMac design is beautiful, albeit outdated, and this matters if you care about a neat setup. For the use you want to make, I agree with the posts above in that the base mini (Preferably with 16GB RAM) will be more than sufficient.
 
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Thank you for all the suggestions, it helps and I appreciate it.

Looks like I will look into a mini i5 with 16 GB of RAM and look to purchase a separate storage device to plug into the mini.

Even with purchasing the keyboard, mouse, and display separate, it sounds like the better overall future proof investment.
 
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What do you use your machine for?

If you like gaming, the Mini is a better option because iMac screens do not go beyond 60hz in 1080p.

But if you go that way get an eGPU because onboard Intel graphics suck
 
For your stated use case, little difference. Under fairly light use, the performance differences would be really hard to detect. The iMac is simpler and more stylish, but more limited over the long term. The mini setup requires more connections but will be more flexible (setup options + RAM upgrades), especially down the road.
 
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I would suggest getting a refurbished Mini, as long as you aren't in a rush. They are just like new and have the full Apple warranty, but you will save about 15%.

But you have to be very patient. More often than not, there won't be any on their site - you could go a week or more and never see any. But just keep checking frequently every day. Eventually a whole bunch of different models will appear. Then, within a day they'll all be gone. So be prepared to buy immediately when you find what you want. Took me over a month, but I got the one I wanted. :)

www.apple.com

Refurbished Mac Deals - Apple

Save up to 15% on a refurbished Mac. Tested and certified by Apple including a 1-year warranty. Free delivery and returns.
www.apple.com

How much storage do you need? If 1TB is enough, might make sense to just get the larger internal SSD. Otherwise, the Samsung T7 is a nice companion for the 2018 Mini, I have two of the 2TB versions myself (and three of the old T3's). The T7's are quite fast for an external disk, but the Mini's internal SSD is about 3x faster.
 
Honestly, for what you're going to use it for a Core i5 and 16GB of RAM are overkill. While @Boyd01 makes an excellent point regarding the Mini's shared memory architecture I highly doubt it will matter in your case, unless those 2-3 windows are interactive Chrome Tabs. But hey, it's your money. Go for it.
 
I suspect the choice of monitor will have something to do with it. There are quite a few posts in this forum of users experiencing "lag" with 4k monitors and an 8gb Mini. And here we see that 9gb of RAM is being used on a Mini with almost nothing running

forums.macrumors.com

New Mac Mini High Memory Usage?

Hi guys, I'm no expert with Macs so go easy on me. Recently I decided to upgrade my Late 2013 MacBook Pro 15" to a 2018 Mac mini i3, because of the whole working from home thing. I've had the Mac mini for 3 days now, and was comparing both machines performance. That's when I opened activity...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com

But, you could be right for basic computing tasks. My 8gb 2013 MacBook Air has no problems (although it is running Sierra) and I have an 8gb 2014 Mini that is fine on Mojave. It's just a media server however and only has a 720p screen.
 
mj_ said:
Honestly, for what you're going to use it for a Core i5 and 16GB of RAM are overkill. While @Boyd01 makes an excellent point regarding the Mini's shared memory architecture I highly doubt it will matter in your case, unless those 2-3 windows are interactive Chrome Tabs. But hey, it's your money. Go for it.
Click to expand...

So you’re saying a simple 7th gen i5 or 8th gen i3 all in one system with 8GB of RAM would be sufficient?
 
The iMac (an "all-in-one") has a dedicated video card with its own memory. This leaves all 8gb available for the operating system and programs. The Mini uses 1.5gb for graphics memory, so you only have 6.5gb for everything else.
 
Boyd01 said:
The iMac (an "all-in-one") has a dedicated video card with its own memory. This leaves all 8gb available for the operating system and programs. The Mini uses 1.5gb for graphics memory, so you only have 6.5gb for everything else.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Good point about the resolution of the screen as well. I would go with 720 screen or 1080P rather than 4K.
 
TDHawks said:
So you’re saying a simple 7th gen i5 or 8th gen i3 all in one system with 8GB of RAM would be sufficient?
Click to expand...
Depending on what exactly you'll be doing yes, an i3 with 8 GB of RAM can already be overkill.
You mentioned "2-3 open windows" - what application are you thinking? 2-3 browser windows with 25+ tabs each? Or rather undemanding applications such as Calendar, TextEdit, Mail, Photos, etc.?

And FYI, just so we're clear: the integrated Intel GPU is not going to eat away 1.5 GB of your available RAM by default and at all times. That's not how it works. It uses a dynamic RAM allocation using as much RAM as it currently needs. 1.5 GB are the absolute maximum it will be able to address should it need that much video ram, for example when you're playing a game in high resolution. In most cases, such as regular desktop use, watching a video, or even playing undemanding games it won't need more than 128-256 MB. My wife uses an AMD Ryzen-based Lenovo ThinkCenter with integrated Vega GPU with that very same shared memory architecture connected to a 4K display for work, and her iGPU only allocates 256MB leaving her with 7.7 GB of usable RAM.
 
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mj_ said:
Depending on what exactly you'll be doing yes, an i3 with 8 GB of RAM can already be overkill.
You mentioned "2-3 open windows" - what application are you thinking? 2-3 browser windows with 25+ tabs each? Or rather undemanding applications such as Calendar, TextEdit, Mail, Photos, etc.?

And FYI, just so we're clear: the integrated Intel GPU is not going to eat away 1.5 GB of your available RAM by default and at all times. That's not how it works. It uses a dynamic RAM allocation using as much RAM as it currently needs. 1.5 GB are the absolute maximum it will be able to address should it need that much video ram, for example when you're playing a game in high resolution. In most cases, such as regular desktop use, watching a video, or even playing undemanding games it won't need more than 128-256 MB. My wife uses an AMD Ryzen-based Lenovo ThinkCenter with integrated Vega GPU with that very same shared memory architecture connected to a 4K display for work, and her iGPU only allocates 256MB leaving her with 7.7 GB of usable RAM.
Click to expand...

3-4 tabs max. Safari with Gmail, google docs and/or sheets. Pandora/Alexa/Spotify, one of them for our music source.

That’s it at one time, maybe an additional word doc or 2, but that’s it.
 
TDHawks said:
3-4 tabs max. Safari with Gmail, google docs and/or sheets. Pandora/Alexa/Spotify, one of them for our music source.

That’s it at one time, maybe an additional word doc or 2, but that’s it.
Click to expand...
The Core i3 quad-core with 8 GB of RAM will be more than fast enough for this use case. You won't notice any difference between the i3/8GB and the i5/16GB at all. It'd be a total waste of money that would be much better invested in an external backup drive should not already own one.
 
mj_ said:
The Core i3 quad-core with 8 GB of RAM will be more than fast enough for this use case. You won't notice any difference between the i3/8GB and the i5/16GB at all. It'd be a total waste of money that would be much better invested in an external backup drive should not already own one.
Click to expand...

Appreciate it. 7th vs 8th gen matter?
 
TDHawks said:
I will be running 2-3 windows at a time and streaming music to our surround sound, that is all (personal training studio). In a perfect world, I want to stay under $1500.
Click to expand...
People are suggesting an i5 Mac mini with 16 GB of RAM?? You can do this with a Chromebox without any issues. I'm not saying don't go with the Mac because it's a really good computer and I love mine but if you get anything more than the base model mini with an i3, 8GB RAM, 256 GB SSD it's just to burn money.

I would recommend the base mini $799 and spend maybe $100 on a 1080P monitor.
[automerge]1596912681[/automerge]
TDHawks said:
Appreciate it. 7th vs 8th gen matter?
Click to expand...
The mini has 8th gen CPU for all 2018/2020 models
 
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