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switching over to Mac
- Thread starter gburl3
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The iMac is getting ready to be refreshed. Should be sandy bridge processors. The mini will follow, since it uses the same parts, not long after the iMac. Your decision will depend on what your going to use it for.
The iMac is a better buy if you are intending to replace your keyboard and considering upgrading your monitor. The mini is good if you are happy with your current peripherals and don't need a lot of power.
I'd expect the mini to move towards the i5 and i7 processors in the next month or two. It would be best to wait until this Summer for the next OS upgrade to come out (10.7 aka Lion) otherwise you'll be looking at an OS upgrade cost to you in the future.
I'd expect the mini to move towards the i5 and i7 processors in the next month or two. It would be best to wait until this Summer for the next OS upgrade to come out (10.7 aka Lion) otherwise you'll be looking at an OS upgrade cost to you in the future.
The next Mac Mini will probably have i3 Sandy Bridge CPU's, however, the lower end i3 SB CPU's have Intel HD 2000 integrated graphics, which are inferior to the current NVidia 320M GPU on the Mac Mini. Only the higher end SB CPU's have Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics, which most reviews say is about the same as the 320M, but I can't see Apple putting the most expensive i5 or i7 CPU in the Mini.
So the next Mini might have a faster CPU but inferior graphics, which they've done before when they dropped the Radeon GPU in the early Mini's and went to an integrated Intel GPU.
So the next Mini might have a faster CPU but inferior graphics, which they've done before when they dropped the Radeon GPU in the early Mini's and went to an integrated Intel GPU.
The Mac Mini, iMac and Macbooks will all be updated some time soon. The Mac Mini and Macbook will get Core i3 @2.1GHz, with the Intel HD 3000 GPU. iMacs will have a base model with Core i5. The Mini and Macbook will be far more powerful than they are now - the Core 2 Duos are outdated now. It also depends on whether you have got your own keyboard, mouse and display. If you have, and you're happy to use them, the Mac Mini will probably save you a bit of cash.
If your doing everyday things, the Mini or Macbook will be fine. For more advanced things, video processing and rendering, and Photoshop, use the extra money for an iMac - it's worth it. Definitely wait for the updates whatever you do. You won't regret going to Mac!
If your doing everyday things, the Mini or Macbook will be fine. For more advanced things, video processing and rendering, and Photoshop, use the extra money for an iMac - it's worth it. Definitely wait for the updates whatever you do. You won't regret going to Mac!
I would say that it is a toss up at this point whether the new Mini will get either the HD 2000 or HD 3000 graphics. I would hope for the better, but Apple has upgraded CPUs and opted for less powerful GPUs in the past.
I guess that it depends on the price point that they can get. At this point in time, it really is anyones guess outside of the citadel of Cuppertino. If I were in the market for a Mini this would be a hard choice as the current 320Ms are very good for their class of GPU.
I guess that it depends on the price point that they can get. At this point in time, it really is anyones guess outside of the citadel of Cuppertino. If I were in the market for a Mini this would be a hard choice as the current 320Ms are very good for their class of GPU.
Possible, but highly unlikely. Apple did this before with 10.1 for 10.0 owners (Since 10.1 was what 10.0 shouldve been, and 10.6 is what ideally 10.5 shouldve been) - Id expect it going back to $129, since its a full release instead of an improved Snow Leopard.
The mini does not use the same parts as the iMac to be pedantic. The mini uses MBP parts. The iMac uses desktop parts.
I'm just the opposite. After 18 years of using Macs if Apple doesn't hurry up and get a mid range product between the mini and the Pro where I can use my own monitor I'm likely to switch to PC's.
Until Apple has the computer I want I not interested in any of Apple's other products.
Until Apple has the computer I want I not interested in any of Apple's other products.
help to understand !!!
Hi there ! I'm close on switchin' to mac, just waiting for mac mini refresh, meantime reading for macusers feedback. As i see, there is no normal audioplayer if you don't wanna use Itunes, and some issues with video files, such as mkv containers and others, flash content problems... People are forced to use unfinished enthusiast-made soft, which of course crashes and so on. I didn't hear that from mac users earlier! All they says - Mac is just work perfect in contrast with Windows PC. May be those comments about troubles are overblown !?
Please, someone, tell me truth! i'm REALY still want to buy mac, but now started to doubt. i've got so limited budget, and don't want to miss.
Sorry for my language, hope expressed clearly
Hi there ! I'm close on switchin' to mac, just waiting for mac mini refresh, meantime reading for macusers feedback. As i see, there is no normal audioplayer if you don't wanna use Itunes, and some issues with video files, such as mkv containers and others, flash content problems... People are forced to use unfinished enthusiast-made soft, which of course crashes and so on. I didn't hear that from mac users earlier! All they says - Mac is just work perfect in contrast with Windows PC. May be those comments about troubles are overblown !?
Please, someone, tell me truth! i'm REALY still want to buy mac, but now started to doubt. i've got so limited budget, and don't want to miss.Sorry for my language, hope expressed clearly
Hi there ! I'm close on switchin' to mac, just waiting for mac mini refresh, meantime reading for macusers feedback. As i see, there is no normal audioplayer if you don't wanna use Itunes, and some issues with video files, such as mkv containers and others, flash content problems... People are forced to use unfinished enthusiast-made soft, which of course crashes and so on. I didn't hear that from mac users earlier! All they says - Mac is just work perfect in contrast with Windows PC. May be those comments about troubles are overblown !?
Sorry for my language, hope expressed clearly
Very simple mac is great for music if you have a lot of cds and rip them with apple lossless to iTunes.
I buy zero music from iTunes none. I load all music with apple lossless and I am fine with music.
For movies and videos apple is less then perfect.
Less than perfect means "in fact uncomfortable" or "almost perfect" ?
And i'm worrying about my music collection (albums and artists got named folders, subfolders, without correct IDtags) can i just use it bypass itunes, don't wasting my time on writing tags .... Is there normal audioplayer, that can eat my folders of music ?
Can you tell me please about Web Flash content situation ? i heard that it seriously load processor, main troubles with flash videos, is it true ? Or exaggerated rumors ?
iTunes can read all of those folders of music just fine, just tell it not to manage your library or copy your stuff around, and itll probably do fine. You can also ofc choose to play all of your audio and video in Quicktime X, which is still there on a Mac, and still useful. But iTunes for Mac is what Windows Media Player is for Windows. You can also use VLC on the Mac to play files QuickTime cant handle.
Flash is just fine on the Mac, the only times you hear about problems are from people with PowerPC Macs, and the high CPU load has decreased dramatically with the latest upgrades from Adobe. As an example, my 5 year old very first gen Intel iMac (You know, the 1.83 Core Duo), running a Flash Video, as well as several instances of this forum with Flash Ads, my CPU is currently at 35%, and thats with iTunes, Mail, iCal, Messenger, Skype open as well.
Ok, thanks, you're reassured me ) But it seems that after switchin, "dancing with a tambourine" will not disappear ...
This is the essence of computer *sigh*