Will a Mac Mini do the job?

[appledyl]

I'm thinking of purchasing the newest Mac Mini from Apple.com. I wish to purchase one that has about 2 GB ram, 2.x GHZ, 120 GB hard drive, etc. for about $700. I'm not sure how large the graphics card is.... I do average social stuff such as email and IM. I also do lots of music mixing, video editing, Xcode development, and graphics design as well as some gaming. (Halo, Starcraft, etc.) Currently I have an iMac G4 with 756 MB ram, 800 MHZ processor, 40 GB hard drive and a 32 mb graphics card. Its just not good enough!! Do you think the Mac Mini will do the job?

 

[psingh01]

I'm thinking of purchasing the newest Mac Mini from Apple.com. I wish to purchase one that has about 2 GB ram, 2.x GHZ, 120 GB hard drive, etc. for about $700. I'm not sure how large the graphics card is.... I do average social stuff such as email and IM. I also do lots of music mixing, video editing, Xcode development, and graphics design as well as some gaming. (Halo, Starcraft, etc.) Currently I have an iMac G4 with 756 MB ram, 800 MHZ processor, 40 GB hard drive and a 32 mb graphics card. Its just not good enough!! Do you think the Mac Mini will do the job?

The mini will be light years better than what you have. So if you're getting by now, you should have no problem.

 

[gilkisson]

I'm thinking of purchasing the newest Mac Mini from Apple.com. I wish to purchase one that has about 2 GB ram, 2.x GHZ, 120 GB hard drive, etc. for about $700. I'm not sure how large the graphics card is.... I do average social stuff such as email and IM. I also do lots of music mixing, video editing, Xcode development, and graphics design as well as some gaming. (Halo, Starcraft, etc.) Currently I have an iMac G4 with 756 MB ram, 800 MHZ processor, 40 GB hard drive and a 32 mb graphics card. Its just not good enough!! Do you think the Mac Mini will do the job?

Wow, aren't you the trooper? You've done a lot with a little, you deserve some hardware.

Yes, the new Minis will do the job for pretty much any ordinary task.

 

[GoCubsGo]

The Mini will be great for you and so much better than what you have, as stated above. I don't think you can go wrong there.

 

[MacMini2009]

The Mac Mini is now up to par with the rest of the Apple line. It is very capable now. I guess you can say it is a 13in/15in Macbook Pro just without the 9600M like in the 15in and the other obvious things (monitor,keyboard, mouse.)

 

[dukebound85]

The Mac Mini is now up to par with the rest of the Apple line. It is very capable now. I guess you can say it is a 13in/15in Macbook Pro just without the 9600M like in the 15in and the other obvious things (monitor,keyboard, mouse.)

or its just like the mb???

 

[MacMini2009]

or its just like the mb???

No because the Macbook doesn't even have a firewire port.

 

[mr_matalino]

No because the Macbook doesn't even have a firewire port.

Burn for the MP!

 

[mgridgaway]

As long as you don't plan on playing lots of new games the mini will be just perfect for you.

 

[MacKiddyWiddy]

the mini will be fine

enough said

 

[appledyl]

Thanks. I think it will work as well.

One more question: What kind of display should I purchase? I do NOT want to purchase the expensive new apple ones. Is there an old apple flat screen display that is pretty cheap, yet still good quality

 

[MacMini2009]

Maybe you can find a cheap deal on the Apple 20" Cinema Display on Craigslist or eBay. Other than that, I recommend Dell (crappy customer service though) or HP monitors.

 

[SchneiderMan]

Yes, get the lowest end Mini, and upgrade the ram to 4Gb yourself. you will save a lot of money doing so and its a must to have 4Gb ram in the Mini imo..

 

[pukifloyd]

for display, you can look at the refurb LED display at the apple online store...its only $599

or you can buy a dell monitor...they sell for ~$300...they are pretty good too...

peace

 

[Unprocessed1]

Honestly, if you don't have a monitor or keyboard, or mouse, consider the low end iMAc as well, lots more power, accessories and everything, plus a great LED screen for only a few hundred more.

I think it would actually be prefect for you, based on your needs/wants

 

[macrumorsMaster]

Thanks. I think it will work as well.

One more question: What kind of display should I purchase? I do NOT want to purchase the expensive new apple ones. Is there an old apple flat screen display that is pretty cheap, yet still good quality

Keep an eye on fatwallet's hot deals. You can find good deals for 22"-24" monitors for $100-$200. I believe Costco has a deal on a 24", but it could be expired.

 

[macrumorsMaster]

The Mac Mini is now up to par with the rest of the Apple line. It is very capable now. I guess you can say it is a 13in/15in Macbook Pro just without the 9600M like in the 15in and the other obvious things (monitor,keyboard, mouse.)

You could just say the mini is a 13" mbp without the monitor and screen and expandability to 8gb of ram(at least officially, I know there's been a thread on it been able to go to 8gb)

 

[ewytt]

Does anybody think the Mini will work for print graphic design (mostly vectors and some high res images - no billboards) and editing RAW Nikon D80 files?

Are any designer considering this machine? Wish it could run more ram.

 

[businessgo]

I have a MAC mini + RAM upgrade. I can even play Call of Duty 4

 

[MacMini2009]

You could just say the mini is a 13" mbp without the monitor and screen and expandability to 8gb of ram(at least officially, I know there's been a thread on it been able to go to 8gb)

OWC is now selling 8GB RAM kits for the 2009 Mac Minis.

 

[appledyl]

are the oldschool iMac G3 monitors any good??? They are quite skinny and gorgeous looking! heehee are they>????

 

[ForkDolphin]

If you need a monitor you should consider picking up the previous generation 20inch imac in the Apple refurb store. Just got one for $850 and I love it. Faster processor than the high end mini, and similar specs all around. Really happy with it.