The only things that the Mini has going for it are that it is the least expensive Mac, and that it is the smallest Mac.
Being inexpensive doesn't mean that it is a good bargain, though, only that it is the least expensive way to get some kind of Mac. Being small is important for some special situations, like if you want it to be a component in a living room entertainment center, or if you plan to stash it away on a shelf in a closet. Neither of these things make it a good desktop Mac, or even a good deal. If you have no idea if you'll even like a Mac, it is the cheapest commitment to try it out. If you're sure that you want to use a Mac, though, it doesn't make financial sense. The entry level iMac, the 21.5 inch model with the 3Ghz Core Duo CPU, 4GB of memory, 500GB hard drive, and accessories, costs right at $1200. This iMac comes with the full Apple desktop experience. You have a real Apple keyboard and a Mighty Mouse. You don't need to worry about a monitor, because it's built in. Its still a very small computer. The difference is that your Mini lays down on your desk, and the iMac stands up. In some ways, this actually saves you desk space over the Mini. What do you need to get a Mini like that? The Mini doesn't even have a 3Ghz CPU. The 2.66Ghz is the best you can get, and that Mini starts at $949. Pay another $100 to get a 500GB hard drive, like on the iMac. Of course, you'll need a keyboard and mouse like are included with the iMac, and so add an Apple keyboard and magic mouse. Your Mini has no monitor, though, and you'll have to buy one, so you'll need a video adaptor. Final check out is $1,196.00, the exact same thing that you would have paid for the iMac. Not only that, but unlike the iMac, you still don't have a monitor. You can go buy a 20 inch one new for $70 at an office supply store, but it will be a low quality LCD, not the nice wide screen LED display in the iMac. Everything together will cost you almost $1,300. So, when you're finished, you've spent more than you would on an iMac, you have a slower CPU, a slower hard drive, and a lower quality monitor. Not only that, but you have a separate monitor/CPU, instead of a combined unit. That means that your Mini with monitor and keyboard is far less portable than the iMac would have been. Also, for almost the same amount of money, you could have purchased a MacBook with 4GB memory and a 500GB hard drive for $1,249. That would have matched the Mini's performance, since the Mini uses laptop guts anyway, except the MacBook would be extremely portable. Even if you got the cheapest Mini, but still got a $70 cheap-o monitor and accessories, you'll spend over $800. Yes, you saved $400 over getting an iMac. But you have a 2.26Ghz CPU instead of 3Ghz, you have 2GB of memory instead of 4GB, and you have a tini tiny 160GB hard drive. To me, that's pretty much cutting the Mini's performance to half the level of the cheapest iMac, and only saving $400. Not a deal at all. Of course, if your goal is to spend as little as possible on a Mac, then this will do it. It most certainly, though, is not a deal. Bryan -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dan Roy Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 9:17 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: My Mac Mini Brian, the mini uses a 2.26GHZ processor and, while that isn't as much as the 3.06GHZ that the IMac uses,it's certainly close. Yes, the internal drive is a laptop drive, therefore, it runs at 5400 RPM instead of 7200RPM, however, for some people who just use the internet , listen to music, rip CD's, and occasional word processing, it's enough. Your right though, it shouldn't be such a big deal, but, with the other supposed limitations, we knew about them before we bought our mini's, but, the monitor thing, well, it would have been nice to know. On Apr 1, 2010, at 9:25 AM, Bryan Smart wrote: > I think that people are getting the concept of the Mini all wrong. > > The Mini is not a laptop. If you try to use it like some sort of portable, > then you're of course free to try, but Apple has not designed it to be a > portable computer, and so, if it doesn't work like that, they won't care that > you can't make it suit that purpose. Its also not intended to be a headless > Mac for blind people. > > The Mini is designed to fit two types of situations only. > > 1. You don't know if Mac is for you, and you want a cheap way to try it out. > > 2. You need a low-powered Mac to handle some basic tasks, such as being a > home or small office server. > > That's it. > > If the Mini feels underpowered, it is because its underpowered. It is powered > by a mobile processor, uses laptop memory, and slower laptop hard drives. > > If the Mini sucks at being a portable computer, it is because it isn't a > portable computer. Its a cheap desktop Mac. > > If the Mini sucks as a headless Mac, then that is because it isn't designed > to run without a monitor. People are supposed to buy a Mini to use with their > existing PC hardware, as part of evaluating if they'd like to really use Mac > in the future. Of course, using a Mac with a PC keyboard and mouse means that > you miss out on a lot, also. Still, it is a way to try this stuff to see if > you'll like it, or if it will be a waste of money, without forcing you to pay > a lot for the chance to try it out. > > If you're serious at all about using the Mac, you probably won't stay with a > Mini for very long. The internal hard drives are slow, the capacity won't go > any higher than 500GB, the memory won't expand very far, the processor is > underpowered, so on and so on. > > Not trying to rain on your parade. I love hacking around with what's possible > in equipment. The thing is, if, after using a Mini, you've become serious > enough to get frustrated with what it can't do, then it is time to sell your > Mini to another newbie, and upgrade to a MacBook, an IMac, or a Mac Pro that > will do more. > > For example, if you're moving a computer from room to room to browse the web, > then you really should be using a MacBook. > > Bryan > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Chris G > Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 8:30 AM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: My Mac Mini > > Hi, > > It makes it more convenient to move the mini from room to room within ones > house. Now you need to move a monitor just to browse the web. > > Chris > > > > On The, 1 Apr 2010 07:23:44 -0400 > Ricardo Walker <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi, >> >> I was just wondering why people find this so important? Monitors are very >> cheap and you can even hook up Your Mac to newer TVs. >> On Mar 31, 2010, at 10:23 PM, Sarah Alawami wrote: >> >>> I myself have not reported but I might even though I own a macbook. >>> >>> Take care. >>> On Mar 31, 2010, at 5:34 PM, E.J. Zufelt wrote: >>> >>>> Good evening, >>>> >>>> Has this issue been reported to [email protected]? Perhaps there's >>>> nothing that they can do, but it might be worth sending a quick message. >>>> >>>> >>>> Everett Zufelt >>>> http://zufelt.ca >>>> >>>> Follow me on Twitter >>>> http://twitter.com/ezufelt >>>> >>>> View my LinkedIn Profile >>>> http://www.linkedin.com/in/ezufelt >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On 2010-03-31, at 8:31 PM, Dan Roy wrote: >>>> >>>>> Yes, that's definitely true, I wish I had known that before I purchased >>>>> the mini, but, live and learn. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Mar 31, 2010, at 8:35 AM, M BROWN wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Several months ago I bought a Mac Mini without a monitor. Everything >>>>>> went well until I tried to use Safari to browse the web. To say the >>>>>> least, it was painfully slow, and at times refused to open the web page >>>>>> at all. All I got was Safari busy. However, when I attached a monitor, >>>>>> all the above problems went away. Even though I do not have the monitor >>>>>> powered up, it still works perfectly. So, just a warning to anyone >>>>>> buying a Mac Mini who intends to browse the web, forget it unless you >>>>>> have a monitor attached. >>>>>> Kind regards >>>>>> Martin >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>>>> [email protected]. >>>>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>>> [email protected]. >>>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>> [email protected]. >>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> [email protected]. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> [email protected]. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> > > > -- > Chris G <[email protected]> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
