As a life time Microsoft user (25 years) I am now looking at Macs and was thinking about adding a Mac Mini to my Windows Kit (Thinkpad 1.6 with 1.5Gb RAM plus dual core 2.xxGhz desktop with 2gb RAM). Photoshop and Lightroom on Windows XP plus others. Nikon D70 to be replaced with a D200. Always RAW (well nearly always)
However, looking at the benchmarks, the Mac mini, doesn't do as well as the Mac Book or iMacs and considering it comes without monitor or keyboard/mouse, it doesn't actually seem like particularly good value.
However, I don't want to lay out on a new laptop, until my ThinkPad is a bit longer in the tooth and I don't really have the space for an iMac.
In "Practice" how does the Mac Mini stack up against the Mac Book (not the the Pro) or the iMacs. and how is it likely to perform compared to my Windows kit.
I know its a vague question, but I would appreciate any pointers and thoughts as to whether the Mac Mini is good idea or whether I should hold off for a Macbook or iMac.
Many thanks,
Graham
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I haven't worked with a Mac mini so I can;t help you. However I do own a macbook (black with IGb ram) as well as an iMac (17" 1.83). The Macbook screen is bright and shiny but SMALL. It's OK for word processing or excel but not enough even for using iphoto. However it's light (so easy to carry around) and quite fast
The imac on the other hand has a 17" screen (there are also a 20" and a 24" version with 2 or 3 processor options) so using it for photo processing is a lot more comfortable. Although a desktop machine it's equiped with a wireless card (airport it's called). The version I have (early intel-not core2duo), seems a bit faster compared to my ibook, although the portable carries 1Gb ram and the desktop 512Mb
The choice is yours
Don't forget that:
1.You can always setup xp pro sp2 or vista at any intel mac as a secondary OS
2.using a mac means no more anti-virus, internet security etc!!!
The choice is yours!!
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Thanks for the comments, at the moment because of costs and space, the Mac Mini is the most realistic option, but I don't want to buy the Mini and immediately realise I should have waited and got something more powerful.
And I could, with a bit of juggling, get an iMac into the space currently used by a 2nd monitor - but an iMac takes me into a different price bracket to the Mini and I would need to dispose of perfectly good 17" monitor.
I'm not ready yet to fully replace my PC with a mac running parallels.
Graham
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
You're asking about the performance of the Mac Mini and expressing reservations about possibly needing something more "powerful", but I don't understand what you want to do with it. Is this a "get acquainted" computer, or do you have some specific purpose for it?
If it's a "get acquainted" computer, then I would ask if there's a second life awaiting it down the road as a gift to a relative or something?
If you have hopes to do specific kinds of work on the Mac, there are people here (probably including myself) who can tell you what to expect.
I can confirm you should not pin your hopes on Parallels. It's cool, but it's not a no-brainer. Dual-boot ("Boot Camp") generally works great, but that's not necessarily appealing.
To answer your general question with a general answer: it's currently impossible to actually line up the Mac Mini with the Mac Book on purely even ground, because Apple specs them out differently. It is fair to say that they will perform somewhat "similarly". The Mac Mini is basically a laptop, sans screen and keyboard. Apple packages the guts a little differently to achieve certain price points. The high-end Mac Mini is almost the same as the low-end Mac Book: the main difference is that that Mac Mini uses a Core Duo while the Mac Book uses a Core 2 Duo. Regardless, they're both competent computers, and neither is a barn-burner. Most computer users don't need barn-burners, which is why Apple sells so many Mac Minis and Mac Books. They are more than adequate for email, web, writing, watching video and maintaining an iPod. They are generally adequate for entry-level video/audio production. They're even plenty adequate for mid-tier Photoshop work, too. If you plan to get hot and heavy with multi-layer 10 megapixel images in Photoshop, you might wish for something gutsier.
One warning that applies pretty much across the entire Apple product line: the computers don't ship with adequate RAM by default. My opinion is that 1GB RAM is the minimum for a casual user. For a Photoshop user, 2GB.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Last edited by Martin_Doudoroff; 04-26-2007 at 12:44 PM.
Reason: factual correction/augmentation
I use Both Mac and Windows machines about equally. I have both a PPC and Intel Mac Mini. For me both serve as fairly capable light duty web servers running Apache. I also do some image editing and batch procesing on them when the need strikes me. Both are capable of driving a 24" display at 1920x1200. I liked the first one so much, I bought #2.
I consider them very capable, and if you don't need the ultimate in performance, they can do the job very well. The Intel version is quite zippy; not the fastest clock speed, but still very good, and very comparable to your laptop.
The Limitations: No internal expansion, limited RAM
OK: bus speed, on board HD
The Good: Duo processor, decent video support (for the price), good external expansion ability: USB2, FW400, wireless, bluetooth, 1000 baseT, small form factor, very quiet.
They can run Photoshop, but I'd max out your configuration if you do. Especially RAM. I'd also go external for extra HD space.
Also, consider using a KVM switch for multiple machines. Then you can just use one display and one keyboard. I have 1 4port switch behind my monitor.
And be warned that if you feel you must open a Mac Mini case, it can be a bit traumatic for a first timer; you will feel like you are breaking your new toy. So if you do get one and you decide on extra RAM, think about getting it preinstalled.
Thumbs up from me.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
You're asking about the performance of the Mac Mini and expressing reservations about possibly needing something more "powerful", but I don't understand what you want to do with it. Is this a "get acquainted" computer, or do you have some specific purpose for it?
Its primarily to "get acquainted" but at the same time even the Mac Mini is a reasonable amount of money and I would like to do real work with it as well. There are a couple of Mac only programs I would like to use.
From a space point of view I can easily add a Mac Mini to my armoury but if the general "feel" of the responses to my question turned out a bit "luke warm" then I would have rethought the Mini and worked out a way to fit in an iMac.
However, what you have said has helped and I had already budgeted for adding RAM. And yes, I had thought of the Mini possibly becoming some sort of media centre or local server.
Thanks for your comments.
Graham
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I use Both Mac and Windows machines about equally.
Very useful comments. I had budgeted on maxing out the RAM and upgrading the HD to 120gb. I also already share monitors and keyboard/mice via a KVM switch and have a wireless network. Hence the attraction of the Mini in that I could just drop it onto an existing spare bit of desk space, Plug into the KVM and go.
Certainly the comments so far have encouraged me to go with the Mini.
Thanks,
Graham
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
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