9 replies to this topic

[BroodsSexton]

Any thoughts on the new Mac Mini as a replacement for the family desktop? It's getting good reviews but I turn my eyes to SoSH...

[soxhop411]

I had one and I love it. But really it all depends on what you use your computer for (your current one) to see if it would fit your needs.

Edited by soxhop411, 08 December 2012 - 06:11 PM.

[BroodsSexton]

Web browsing, office functions, music, photos (storing and creating folios, not heavy editing).

Edited by BroodsSexton, 08 December 2012 - 08:32 PM.

[mt8thsw9th]

It would be perfect if that's what you need it for. iPhoto has been a godsend for me for storing photos from my DSLR and phone. I run Photoshop with no issues, though anything higher end will be tough with the i5 model.

I would suggest getting the lowest RAM model and just swapping in a pair of inexpensive notebook RAM chips. Doing so saved me about $100. It's insanely easy to install RAM on it, you just twist off a panel on the bottom and pop it in.

Edited by mt8thsw9th, 08 December 2012 - 07:27 PM.

[plucy]

With the dual core, would the base model (2.5 gHz i5) support gaming or would i need to upgrade to the i7? Both have 4GB ram?

[BroodsSexton]

Stupid question: I have a monitor I like that I've used with my Dell for the last 5 years. Will I be able to plug it into the Mini?

[GreenMonster49]

Stupid question: I have a monitor I like that I've used with my Dell for the last 5 years. Will I be able to plug it into the Mini?

If the monitor has a DVI connection, then it will work out of the box if you have a DVI cable. (The Mac Mini has an HDMI input and comes with a DVI-to-HDMI adapter.) If it has a VGA connection, then you will need a VGA-Mini DisplayPort connector to connect it to the Thunderbolt input. (Thunderbolt is backwards-compatible with Mini DisplayPort. The connector is $29 with an Apple brand but there are cheaper alternatives out there.)

[canderson]

With the dual core, would the base model (2.5 gHz i5) support gaming or would i need to upgrade to the i7? Both have 4GB ram?

Integrated graphics card will be tough for a lot of games.

[NHbeau]

With the dual core, would the base model (2.5 gHz i5) support gaming or would i need to upgrade to the i7? Both have 4GB ram?

Both will have integrated graphics and results are mixed depending on what titles you want to play and at what resolution tbh.

[Blacken]

With the dual core, would the base model (2.5 gHz i5) support gaming or would i need to upgrade to the i7? Both have 4GB ram?

Neither current model is appropriate for games. (Some older Minis had a discrete GPU, but the current ones don't.)

The first Mac where you can expect good performance and image quality is the 15" MBP.