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Which Mac mini should I purchase?

Buy a current model with 8GB Ram. Buy an external SDD. Boot from the external SSD and use the internal HDD as a time machine drive. This combo works brilliantly. I have never struggled for speed, plus you get a warranty and there is no need to open it up.
 
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PilotWoo said:
Buy a current model with 8GB Ram. Buy an external SDD. Boot from the external SSD and use the internal HDD as a time machine drive. This combo works brilliantly. I have never struggled for speed, plus you get a warranty and there is no need to open it up.
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I have an internal SSD laying around
 
9fiftyfive said:
I have an internal SSD laying around
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I have a 09' Mac Pro and I love it- Mac Pro is probably the best line of Apple computers that have been made, especially the cMP. Unrivaled upgradability, amazing speed for the year it is, and looks amazing. Snag one while you can, you won't be sorry.
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Zobrien said:
I have a 09' Mac Pro and I love it- Mac Pro is probably the best line of Apple computers that have been made, especially the cMP. Unrivaled upgradability, amazing speed for the year it is, and looks amazing. Snag one while you can, you won't be sorry.
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Oh, and this is coming from a previous Windows guy. Built 5 since last summer, but still love apple :)
 
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Zobrien said:
I have a 09' Mac Pro and I love it- Mac Pro is probably the best line of Apple computers that have been made, especially the cMP. Unrivaled upgradability, amazing speed for the year it is, and looks amazing. Snag one while you can, you won't be sorry.
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Oh, and this is coming from a previous Windows guy. Built 5 since last summer, but still love apple :)
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What are your thoughts on the 2008 though? I won't care about using the latest OS X, so are there any other deal-breaking advantages?
 
9fiftyfive said:
What are your thoughts on the 2008 though? I won't care about using the latest OS X, so are there any other deal-breaking advantages?
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08' is still a great computer. I would take it over a Mac mini any day. Mac mini you can't expand hardly at all compared to the Pro. Plus the pro is going to pack much more power for how much you are going to pay for it compared to if you spent the same amount on Mac mini or iMac.
 
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Zobrien said:
08' is still a great computer. I would take it over a Mac mini any day. Mac mini you can't expand hardly at all compared to the Pro. Plus the pro is going to pack much more power for how much you are going to pay for it compared to if you spent the same amount on Mac mini or iMac.
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Thanks for the input! I feel my purchase is justified :)
 
Oh- and upgradeable graphics card
for if you decide to edit more, or even get into gaming. With the Mac mini or iMac, you are stuck with what you get.
 
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Zobrien said:
Oh- and upgradeable graphics card
for if you decide to edit more, or even get into gaming. With the Mac mini or iMac, you are stuck with what you get.
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Looking at them on EveryMac right now. Can I potentially have 4 GPUs in my system?
 
9fiftyfive said:
Looking at them on EveryMac right now. Can I potentially have 4 GPUs in my system?
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Depends on how many watts they suck up. I think natively if you have ones that use PCIE there are only 2 pcie cord slots on motherboard. If you wanted to use something over 250 watt each card or use more than 2 that you either get an external psu or swap one of the CD drive's out for a psu.
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Zobrien said:
Depends on how many watts they suck up. I think natively if you have ones that use PCIE there are only 2 pcie cord slots on motherboard. If you wanted to use something over 250 watt each card or use more than 2 that you either get an external psu or swap one of the CD drive's out for a psu.
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Then* sorry
 
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Zobrien said:
Depends on how many watts they suck up. I think natively if you have ones that use PCIE there are only 2 pcie cord slots on motherboard. If you wanted to use something over 250 watt each card or use more than 2 that you either get an external psu or swap one of the CD drive's out for a psu.
[doublepost=1486331014][/doublepost]
Then* sorry
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Nice, I can get more than one though
 
As long as you know what the limits are, a 2008 (3,1) is a perfectly acceptable choice, and I'd expect it to run Linux just fine. (reFind is your friend if you want to dual boot.)
 
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kschendel said:
As long as you know what the limits are, a 2008 (3,1) is a perfectly acceptable choice, and I'd expect it to run Linux just fine. (reFind is your friend if you want to dual boot.)
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rEFInd is amazing! I don't know exactly what I'd do with a dual boot but I have a few extra HDDs laying around that I could put OSes on
 
I thought about a Mac Pro but I think there was some article on electricity usage where it would cost much more than a Mac mini over a period of time. I keep mine on 24/7 and mostly use it as a home server.

$141.07 per year for MP versus $12.56 for a Mac Mini, According to this article: http://loewald.com/blog/2009/04/mac-and-pc-power-consumption/

If you aren't going to really maximize the speed, then you're better off buying a Mac mini and saving the electricity costs to fund the next future purchase.
 
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