Wanting an Apple “computer” - help and advice please. What to buy ?

[dUnKle]

Hi

This will sound silly question and possibly a bit rambling but I’ll ask

I am heavily invested in the Apple infrastructure. Have iPhone XR, an Apple Watch, a 2018 Apple pro (soon to be “upgraded” to a 2020 as my dad wants an iPad so I will pass him on mine) even air pods.

i know they are expensive and I know some see as a label, but for me, I’ve just always been impressed by the fact they do what I want how I want.

Anyway (see said be rambling) I have an old windows pc (has to be 10 years old) which has had a few upgrades, but basically is a 10 year old i5 with an Nvidia GTX 7700. I don’t game on it but like the desktop experience for web browsing and photo viewing etc. As well as using it for word / excel

I don’t do any video work and probably to be fair, if not for the wanting to get into the world of macOS could easily get along with my current pc for what

I’d ideally like a Mac Ideally something with the latest macOS
Now I did get a second hand Mac Pro but it will not run the latest macOS even with the dosdude patch as the graphics card is not supported. I know I could upgrade but think would always be chasing something and whilst I have access to the funds it’s likely better to just get something new.

So I need to know what to buy

I have the budget for an iMac (budget of around £2500, if I needed to, but I want “value for money”) but I’m just not convinced I would ever get close to scratching the surface of what it would do and what with already having a nice 28” 4K monitor and a quality mouse and keyboard again I’m not sure if that warrants the money. Yes the look sexy as heck and very desirable but I’m just not sure I’d get the use out of it for the money (I’d want the 27” version)

I looked an a Mac book or Mac book air, but with the iPad that seems a little wasted and I really want the “desktopexperience

so I guess that really leaves me with the Mac mini ?

Are they any good ?
I already have a 4K monitor, a mouse and keyboard. Would a Mac mini be worth the outlay ?

is the i7 mac mini a good buy ?

does it come up short in anyway ?

any other suggestions ?

cheers.

 

[dUnKle]

Other thing I should ask. My monitor is an LG 27ul600

i have seen some posts, although seem to be quite historic, that the Mac mini has issues with 4K displays and picture and performance may suffer.

is the case ? Will I be ok ?

 

[AdamNC]

I got my 2020 MBP i5 with 16 ram and 1T drive and love it. I think for what you are wanting it would be a great machine.

 

[hobowankenobi]

The biggest issue with all Minis is GPU. It is never going to be a good machine for anything 3D intensive. Typically that would be gaming, CAD, or 3D animation (or anything similar).

For typical desktop use by average users, this is not a problem. But one should be aware. For typical desktop use, current minis are great. Fast, silent, and sleek. Older minis....yes, were not built to push a 4K monitor, but current models can:

HDMI 2.0 display video output

• Support for one display with 4096-by-2160 resolution at 60Hz

Beyond that, current models can have RAM upgraded, but not storage. So think hard about how much internal storage you need. A good model would be use the internal drive for boot OS including apps. If you plan to have a large amount of content (music, pix, whatever)...plan for fast external storage. Fast (if you go SSD), cost-effective, and flexible.

 

[dUnKle]

Cheers. I have 2 512gb SSDs in my desktop and a 2tb hybrid drive
I’ve gone for the i5 mini.

I have read various reviews and the thing they state the mini will struggle with I’ve hardly heard of let alone do. The PC I have is a proper old workhorse so it’s basically just moving over to Apple for the OS and being able to have all my devices together. I’ve also seen you can use iPad as a second display which will be handy

I did look at the Mac books but again with an iPad Pro that just seemed a little overkill as well

I really appreciate the help and advice

thank you