I've had the Mini (in my sig) for almost 2 years now and knew I wanted something with a little more ooomph. Spent the last 3 months (since the release of the new Mini's and other desktops) trying to decide if a new mini was enough, or do I want an iMac (I already have a 24" monitor hooked to the Mini) or a low end Pro.
In the end I decided even a tricked out new Mini (4G RAM, 500G 7200RPM HD) just wasn't "future proof" enough with a 2.0GHz CPU, 4G RAM limit, and integrated graphics....but the approx $700 price (refurb w/upgrades) was a major plus.
The low end Pro (refurb) was just too much $$$ to justify a single processor, 4 memory slot box...I'd thought about building a hackintosh for less, but didn't want to spend my off hours searching for drivers and crossing my fingers after each software update
So I settled on a 2.93GHz, 4G RAM, 640G HD 24" iMac w/GT120 graphics...it was more $$$ than the one with 9400M graphics, and I did already have a 24" monitor, but I figured with an almost 3GHz CPU, an 8G RAM ceiling, and discrete graphics, it should last a few years. Already ordered a mini diplay port to DVI adapter to hook up the second 24" monitor. Now I just have to cross my fingers that migration assistant will take everything off the old Mini via ethernet cable (I don't have a FW400 to 800 cable). Soon I'll find out if it was worth double the price of a refurb'd new gen Mini.
In the end I decided even a tricked out new Mini (4G RAM, 500G 7200RPM HD) just wasn't "future proof" enough with a 2.0GHz CPU, 4G RAM limit, and integrated graphics....but the approx $700 price (refurb w/upgrades) was a major plus.
The low end Pro (refurb) was just too much $$$ to justify a single processor, 4 memory slot box...I'd thought about building a hackintosh for less, but didn't want to spend my off hours searching for drivers and crossing my fingers after each software update
So I settled on a 2.93GHz, 4G RAM, 640G HD 24" iMac w/GT120 graphics...it was more $$$ than the one with 9400M graphics, and I did already have a 24" monitor, but I figured with an almost 3GHz CPU, an 8G RAM ceiling, and discrete graphics, it should last a few years. Already ordered a mini diplay port to DVI adapter to hook up the second 24" monitor. Now I just have to cross my fingers that migration assistant will take everything off the old Mini via ethernet cable (I don't have a FW400 to 800 cable). Soon I'll find out if it was worth double the price of a refurb'd new gen Mini.
