Replacing Macbook Pro with Mac Mini

[hsj2011]

Hey guys, looking for some advice please.

I've currently got a 15" Aluminium Macbook Pro (Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz). It's one of the previous design models (pre Unibody) and has the 8600M GT and a 1440x900 LED Glossy Screen.

I currently take my macbook pro with me to work as I'm a web developer and work still use Windows XP. I started to find the Macbook Pro quite slow so stuck an SSD in it which gave it a good boost but I've quickly managed to fill the 80GB SSD and can't justify buying a larger one considering the laptop only uses SATA 1.

So... what I'm thinking is should I sell it and use the money I get for it to buy a base Mac Mini?

What will the performance of the Mac Mini be like in comparison to the Macbook Pro?

Thanks

 

[rbrian]

https://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/21/new-mac-mini-benchmarks-show-significant-performance-gains/

The new Mac minis are amazingly fast, and will blow your old MacBook Pro out of the water without breaking sweat. However, the hard drives are still slow, so if that was your bottleneck, you won't see much gain.

A better fit might be a 13" MacBook Air, it has the same screen resolution as your current machine in a much smaller package, is available with a 256GB SSD, and has a much faster processor.

 

[hsj2011]

https://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/21/new-mac-mini-benchmarks-show-significant-performance-gains/

The new Mac minis are amazingly fast, and will blow your old MacBook Pro out of the water without breaking sweat. However, the hard drives are still slow, so if that was your bottleneck, you won't see much gain.

A better fit might be a 13" MacBook Air, it has the same screen resolution as your current machine in a much smaller package, is available with a 256GB SSD, and has a much faster processor.

Thanks for the reply.

The idea behind replacing my MBP with a Mini was purely because it shouldn't cost me anything (I'll get around £500 for my MBP and a new Mini can be got from the HE store for £476) whereas the base 13" Macbook Air is more than double that so really isn't an option.

I don't have a problem upgrading the Mac Mini's hard drive to an SSD if needed but the point I was making was that my MBP only uses SATA-I which has a maximum speed of 1.5Gbit/s whereas the Mini uses Sata-III which is 6Gbit/s so would be a huge improvement anyway.

However, I was just wondering what you guys think about the upgrade. Is it a good idea?

My only other option would be a 13" Macbook Pro with the same specs as the base Mini but I'd need to add about £350 to what I'd get for my MBP.

EDIT: Just done a geekbench of my MBP and it was 3337 whereas your link showed the new base Mini with standard hard drive is 6396

 

[njsa04playa]

Thanks for the reply.

The idea behind replacing my MBP with a Mini was purely because it shouldn't cost me anything (I'll get around £500 for my MBP and a new Mini can be got from the HE store for £476) whereas the base 13" Macbook Air is more than double that so really isn't an option.

I don't have a problem upgrading the Mac Mini's hard drive to an SSD if needed but the point I was making was that my MBP only uses SATA-I which has a maximum speed of 1.5Gbit/s whereas the Mini uses Sata-III which is 6Gbit/s so would be a huge improvement anyway.

However, I was just wondering what you guys think about the upgrade. Is it a good idea?

My only other option would be a 13" Macbook Pro with the same specs as the base Mini but I'd need to add about £350 to what I'd get for my MBP.

EDIT: Just done a geekbench of my MBP and it was 3337 whereas your link showed the new base Mini with standard hard drive is 6396

Listen, i dont really mean to be disrespectful or anything, but shelling out a few more $$ now instead of going with the cheapest apple computer available will benefit you long term... for 350 more euros, you get a screen, keybboard, trackpad, the option to use the computer Anywhere at anytime, and not being constricted to a power supply, PLUS the higher resale value

 

[rbrian]

Listen, i dont really mean to be disrespectful or anything, but shelling out a few more $$ now instead of going with the cheapest apple computer available will benefit you long term... for 350 more euros, you get a screen, keybboard, trackpad, the option to use the computer Anywhere at anytime, and not being constricted to a power supply, PLUS the higher resale value

It's not dollars $ or euros €, it's pounds £, but other than that I agree. A desktop is very different to a laptop.

 

[hsj2011]

Thanks guys.

My thinking was that I only use my MBP at either work (on a desk plugged into a 23" screen) or at home on a desk or on the sofa. I don't really use laptops out and about. I've also just ordered an LG E2360V LED display for home and was thinking that if I got a Mini I could get another LG 2360V and run a dual display setup.

I don't have a problem with carting a Mac Mini around from work to home, etc so not a huge issue.

It's not so much about getting the cheapest Mac available as such, it's more about getting the best value for money. My options so far are:

2.3GHz Mac Mini
2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
2GB memory
500GB hard drive1
Intel HD Graphics 3000
£476.40

2.5GHz Mac Mini
2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
4GB memory
500GB hard drive1
AMD Radeon HD 6630M
£628.80

Mac Mini Server
2.0GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
4GB memory
Dual 500GB 7200-rpm hard drives1
Intel HD Graphics 3000
£764.40

21" iMac
2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
1920 x 1080 resolution
4GB (two 2GB) memory
500GB hard drive
AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB
£879.60

13" 2.3GHz Macbook Pro
2.3GHz dual-core
Intel Core i5
4GB 1333MHz
320GB 5400-rpm1
Intel HD Graphics 3000
£859.20

EDIT: Another option would be a 2nd hand 24" iMac or something similar but then I'd still be lumped with a Core 2 Duo which isn't really what I want.

 

[treestar]

The mac mini will toast your MBP. I am a huge proponent of laptops. You might not realize how much you will use it everywhere. But, you seem on top of your game and if you want to get a mini, good choice. It doesn't sound like you need something better than the integrated graphics. I'd do all the RAM and storage upgrades on your own. I can't say whether to get the 2.3, 2.5, or the i7. I'd upgrade to 8 GB directly through Crucial. I upgraded recently and have noticed that Lion, Safari, and Photoshop are using as much RAM as is available. It also helps with writes. Also update to an SSD on your own, get an Intel 320, Samsung 470, or a OCZ Vertex 3. All the SATA 3 drives have problems. All of them -- but for people that need the speed, they've found a way to make them work. Or, for the mini's that have two bays, get two cheaper SSDs and do RAID 0. See my sig to know what my system has. I don't mind the 2.3 GHz processor. I don't mind the Intel HD graphics. Web design can be light on the workload. Take care.

 

[hsj2011]

The mac mini will toast your MBP. I am a huge proponent of laptops. You might not realize how much you will use it everywhere. But, you seem on top of your game and if you want to get a mini, good choice. It doesn't sound like you need something better than the integrated graphics. I'd do all the RAM and storage upgrades on your own. I can't say whether to get the 2.3, 2.5, or the i7. I'd upgrade to 8 GB directly through Crucial. I upgraded recently and have noticed that Lion, Safari, and Photoshop are using as much RAM as is available. It also helps with writes. Also update to an SSD on your own, get an Intel 320, Samsung 470, or a OCZ Vertex 3. All the SATA 3 drives have problems. All of them -- but for people that need the speed, they've found a way to make them work. Or, for the mini's that have two bays, get two cheaper SSDs and do RAID 0. See my sig to know what my system has. I don't mind the 2.3 GHz processor. I don't mind the Intel HD graphics. Web design can be light on the workload. Take care.

Thanks for the advice.

It's difficult to know what to do. My MBP auction finishes soon so then I'll know how much money I've got to play with

More opinions welcome

 

[njsa04playa]

Thanks for the advice.

It's difficult to know what to do. My MBP auction finishes soon so then I'll know how much money I've got to play with

More opinions welcome

you can always get a gen or two back mbp for a cheaper price

 

[hsj2011]

right, got £590 for my Macbook Pro so what should I buy?

Thanks in advance