And for me, the biggest disadvantage to the Mac Mini is not being able
to support a dual display with it. I'm completely dependent now on
using my iMac with an external monitor in dual display mode.

Otherwise the mini is tremendous value.


On Thu, Sep 5, 2013 at 5:50 PM, steve harley <p...@paper-ape.com> wrote:
> on 2013-09-05 13:24 Larry Colen wrote
>
>> The mac-mini seems to have a couple of major advantages over the iMac or
>> laptops:
>>
>> 1) more ports, and a wider range of ports. USB, firewire, thunderbolt,
>> video  and gigabit ethernet
>
>
> i would consider the ports more of a trade of the Mini's HDMI and FireWire
> ports for a built-in display and an extra Thunderbolt port
>
> a Thunderbolt port is more flexible; it can become either of the ports you
> lose — a Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter is $29; a Thunderbolt (really
> DisplayPort) to HDMI or DVI adapter is under $10 — and since the display is
> built-in, you could get both of the Mini's ports back if you want (even
> after adding other Thunderbolt devices as long as they have pass-through)
>
> the Mini does have separate audio in & out, though for serious audio most
> would use an external ADC/DAC
>
>
>
>> 2) When the CPU is obsolete, you don't need to throw away the monitor.
>
>
> no one throws away (er, recycles) iMacs unless they are broken (that's the
> worst case scenario)
>
> if the CPU is obsolete, just put it in TDM and it will act just like a
> Thunderbolt display (the CPU can idle or remain booted headless)
>
>
>
>> 3) Even the single disk minis can be upgraded to dual disk. Upgrading the
>> drive on an iMac is a bit of a pain.
>
>
> upgrading to dual on a Mini is only a lesser pain; ifixit rates it
> "moderate", same as the 2011 iMac, versus "difficult" for the current iMac
> (i would not want to mess with the 2012 iMac):
>
> <http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Replacing+Mac+Mini+Late+2012+Dual+Hard+Drive+Kit/11713/1>
>
> <http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Replacing+iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2429+Dual+Hard+Drive+Kit/7575/1>
>
> (ifixit sells a dual drive kit for 2011 iMac, but has no guide)
>
> <http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Replacing+iMac+Intel+27-Inch+EMC+2429+Hard+Drive/7555/1>
>
> some advantages for the iMac:
>
> * iMacs have discrete graphics; this is the only major performance
> difference (assuming you aren't relying on spinning disks, which are slower
> on the Mini); when the GPU matters, the iMac will be *much* faster
>
> * the iMacs support Target Display Mode (TDM); also, if you have a
> Thunderbolt Display attached to a 2012 iMac, you can put it into TDM and the
> main display can be used by another machine while the iMac continues to run
> on the external display
>
>
>
>> I do expect that it is just a bad drive.
>
>
> you could try to boot from an external (or another Mac in Target Disk Mode)
> to test that theory
>
>
>
>> I'm also hoping that I can pull the superdrive out of
>> a dead macbook to repair the dead drive in the iMac.
>
>
> probably simpler to pop it into a cheap USB case
>
>
>
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