Which Mini for my needs?

[GanChan]

I have been running my office from a Rev. A, stock PPC Mini for a couple of years now, with an iBook G4 as my mobile unit. After some debate over whether to go with replacing both units with a single Macbook, I have decided that the 2-computer setup works best for me, so I'm just going to buy a new Mini, which I figure will be good enough for my needs (general office use) and a significant improvement over what I had. And cheaper. And the tiny size is perfect for my tiny office.

So now i need to decide which Mini to buy. I can afford to buy the $599 Mini and max out the RAM to 2GB, or I can buy the $799 and probably have to forego the extra RAM.

So which is better -- 1.83GHz with 2 GB RAM, or 2.0GHz with 1 MB RAM? Is a 0.17GHz bump more significant than twice the RAM? more importantly, is such a bump going to deliver an extra $200 worth of performance? And even more importantly than that, does a light-usage guy like me even need to worry about it?

And hard drive size isn't a big deal to me, because I use external drives for the serious media and archival stuff.

Thanks.

 

[66217]

The difference is that you can always add more RAM later. And since your need are basic and not RAM hungry, then 1GB should do the job for you.

As for the .17 GHz difference, you would probably never notice the difference. Some Apps, like video editing and some other intensive apps would have an advantage with it, but with the normal use you would give, you may never see it. At least not now.

If I was on your situation which would I buy? The 2.0 GHz one.

But let me recommend you something: why not save some more money and buy the low-end iMac. Which is in my opinion a good investment.

 

[netdog]

Agree that if your usage is primarily web, office apps, email, etc., the $599 Mini.

If you run MS Office, you might consider getting the 2nd GB now (as it taps Rosetta). As Apple only offers the Mini with 2 512MB sticks or 2 1GB sticks (for $150 more), you will have to figure out if you are better off financially getting the 1GB model and buying 2 1GB sticks after-market, or just ponying up the $150 and buying direct from Apple.

No need to consider the 2.0 Mini in my opinion. The $200 price difference just isn't justified.

 

[Twinsbb17]

The 2.0 model has the superdrive though. WHile that's not a deciding factor for my parents, it's nice to have especially for backing up GBs of data.

I got them the 1.83 Ghz, upped it to 2GB of RAM and this thing flies. There's my two cents.

 

[GanChan]

Good replies so far, thanks. Sounds like the extra RAM makes more of a difference than the CPU bump. I think I do want that 2nd gig of RAM, partly because I do use Word 2004 a lot (and Office 2008 has been delayed until January), and because upgrading the RAM on a Mini isn't the most user-friendly experience in the world so it makes sense to just load it upfront and future-proof it as much as I can from the beginning.

The Superdrive is tempting, but unless I need to move single files that are over 700MB in size, I can just break the transfers out across CDs instead. I think a video movie would be the only thing monstrous enough not to fit on one CD.

Sounds like I want the 1.83 with 2GB RAM then. I guess Apple will want $750 for that...too bad I cringe at the thought of cracking the case with a putty knife, or I'd add some nice cheap RAM from Crucial....

One last question: Any disadvantage in buying from my local Apple Store as opposed to ordering online?

 

[Twinsbb17]

I'd buy it online because you can use the educational discount. It'll shave a few bucks off for ya if you don't mind waiting a few days after ordering it.

Now all you need to do is figure out which school you'd like to represent

 

[GanChan]

I'd buy it online because you can use the educational discount. It'll shave a few bucks off for ya if you don't mind waiting a few days after ordering it.

Now all you need to do is figure out which school you'd like to represent

Ha! I used to work at UT Austin, and I have a friend who's still there and would be willing to help me out....