New base Mini vs Latest Dedicated-GPU-powered Mini - which one to buy

Hello there Macrumors community!

This time, I'm calling your help to decide between the new base Mini that just launched versus the last generation unit with a dedicated GPU.

First of all, I'm a gamer, and I was hoping that the new Mini would follow the Macbooks and be upgraded that Radeon GPU with a more powerful nVidia one. Not only this didn't happen, they removed the dedicated GPU from all versions and replaced it with that horrible Intel HD 4000 - I own a 2012 13'' mbp so I know how bad it is.

Also, the pricing in my country skyrocketed - almost doubled from last versions - up to the point where I believe it's not worth it buying even the simplest model. For a comparison, base Mini now costs R$ 2,500.00. For R$ 300.00 more I can buy the standard previous version with a dedicated GPU from a local reseller.

My only concerns are: is it worth it to stick with an older model just because of the GPU? Will I be losing too much from the upgrade? Can I still expect this older unit to be usable/upgradeable for at least 3 years - when I intent to replace it?

I appreciate your thoughts. Thanks in advance

 

First of all, thanks for your replies

Now, I know the mini isn't going to be a terrific gaming machine. I'm looking for something better than my current option - a 2012 13'' mbp with that Ivy Bridge stuff that barely works for Civ V at minimun settings... Running this game without having to look at deleted pixels from the Ivy Bridge's incapacity of fully assembling a leader's image is good enough for me.

In this scenario, even a weak dedicated GPU will be better than what I have. If I had more money to spend, I'd be looking at buying the previous iMac for a better GPU, but I don't. My budget currently limits my purchasing capacity to the Mini.

I already know the gaming performance of the last Mini model and I was satisfied with what I saw. I was just waiting for the updated version for a better GPU - didn't want to buy my Mini just to have it outdated in a couple months. Now I'm sad I did this, because I can't buy the old version anymore directly from Apple, so the money I separated to upgrade my RAM will have to be spent on a retailer's markup

 

Agreed. My 13'' MBP is more than enough for my everyday needs - college, office, videos, etc. It even run some games - although, as I mentioned before, just barely. If only it had some more GPU power...

Anyway, I have a PC at home which I can upgrade with a graphics card to better play games. However, I'd like to stay in the OSX environment if possible - 100000x better than Windows.

Also, I'm not that rigorous about GPU performance - as I said above, the previous Mac mini with a dedicated GPU was more than enough for me.