8 replies to this topic

[VicTheKnife]

I am considering buying my first mac. Is a mac mini a good choice? I would get the top
option they have on the apple website.
The new Osx .4.4 looks absolutly beautiful and I am switching from my PC ways. (am pretty fed of with windows)
Could you guys help me with the pros and cons of getting a mac mini.
thanks

[errandwolfe]

VicTheKnife, on Jan 25 2006, 02:52 PM, said:

I am considering buying my first mac. Is a mac mini a good choice? I would get the top
option they have on the apple website.
The new Osx .4.4 looks absolutly beautiful and I am switching from my PC ways. (am pretty fed of with windows)
Could you guys help me with the pros and cons of getting a mac mini.
thanks

Don't!....Well at least not yet.  It simply is not worth the money for an old G4 for almost zero expandibility (at least internally).  Though not released at MacWorld, you can bet they have some consumer level Intel based Macs coming down the pipe.  I would definitly expect to see them by mid-summer in time for the education market buying season.  Now if you just want some simple pro's and con's:

Pro's:
-They are cheap
-They are small
-They look kinda kewl (least to me).

Con's:
-G4 Processors
-Apple charges an arm and a leg to upgrade memory (and trust me you will need to)
If you want to put the memory in yourself, you are going to need a paint spacle to pry open the case, and when you do you have to be REAL careful not to scratch it (least if you like to keep a pretty machine).
-Hard drive are god aweful slow
-Hard drives are 2.5" notebook drives, so to upgrade costs almost twice as much as standard system
-Can't upgrade the video card (there isn't one, video is built into motherboard)
-Can't insall any upgrades beyond memory and HD internally.  Anything else you want to add you need Fireiwire or USB

I am sure many other folks can think of some more cons.  Bottom line is I think Mac should have waited to realease the mini with Intel parts.  Hell if they got SATA in the MacBook Pro, you can probably expect to see it in the new Mini as well.

[VicTheKnife]

The Intel chip is what I was actually waiting for.
So when the Intel chips comes out for them do you think it will be a
good buy?

[errandwolfe]

VicTheKnife, on Jan 25 2006, 05:20 PM, said:

The Intel chip is what I was actually waiting for.
So when the Intel chips comes out for them do you think it will be a
good buy?

Well it will definitly be a better buy price to performace wise, but as for anything else, we won't know the specs till Apple tells us.  Hope Mr. Jobs doesn't get too distracted with this Disney deal.

[Metrogirl]

If the specs are up to scratch when they release the Intel version I'm tempted to buy one and try it.   It would be cool to hook up to my TV in the bedroom (it has a pc input port) and use a wireless k/b ... then I might never get out of bed.

But seriously, they are cool but all the previous observations about upgradeability are true and you are almost stuck with what you buy.   Mini = nice toy, Mini != practical serious computer.

[Doug the Impaler]

I personally would be happy if the Mini is nothing but an Intel Core Solo at 1.67 or 1.83GHz, a Radeon X600 with 64 or 128MB of memory, and included the same options as today (Airport Extreme/Bluetooth, 2.5" 40 or 80GB hard drive, slot-loading Combo or Super Drive, 512MB of memory expandable to 1GB).  I'd buy two, one for me and one for my wife.  It'd be hella fast vs. a G4 and it'd be compact and have good looks to it.  Right now my mac is an iMac 1.25GHz and hers is an eMac 1.25GHz, both G4's...this would blow those out of the water.

[Templeton Peck]

Yeah, I would strongly advise against getting a mini now - And I have one!  My Hacintosh is about 4x as fast and cost half as much.  The G4 was the Pentium killer 6 years ago, as were all previous PPC chips.  But after designing the G3, Motorola pretty much stopped caring.  The most significant change they've made was the inclusion of AltiVec on the G4.  Other than that, it's been small tweaks and cache increases.  It still uses SDR Memory!  Well, technically it uses DDR memory at SDR speed, but that's not important.  The important thing is DON'T BUY A G4!!!!

[TheoCryst]

It all matters on your personal situation. If you can possibly wait a few months, do that. At this point the Intel switch is moving much faster than anyone would have predicted a year ago, and no one knows what will be coming down the pipe next. If you absolutely need a new computer now, see if you can spring for the iMac Duo. You definitely won't be dissapointed with the purchase. If, however, you absolutely need a new computer AND need to go on the cheap, then the Mini isn't a terrible option. Not ideal, but better than a Windows box, right?

Have you considered an iBook? I absolutely adore my iBook (newest 12"), even though it technically isn't one of the new Intel books.

[ozzie123]

I bought an iBook for my brother last November and to be honest... I envy him (because I'm still a Windows user).