I'm thinking of getting a desktop so it's going to be either the mac mini or the imac. I'm going to use it for my work (website designing) as well as recording some songs of my own. Which one do you think i should get?

go for IMAC....is cool...and the specs are more worth it for themoney

ah... imac was my priority at first but then i thought that if i need to do any upgrades in the future i would have to sell the whole thing away. But with the mac mini, i could just sell the mac mini and get a new mac mini with the latest upgrade. Erm... get what i mean ma?

I have a Mac Mini. I like it because I can upgrade the CPU when those Merom chips are cheaper.

On the other hand, the iMac comes with a built in iSight. It also uses a standard 3.5" drive so you can get a 500GB drive in there. One very important consideration for me is that the iMac will have way fewer cables lying around. It's also somewhat portable.

Personally though, I would suggest that you get a Macbook.

unfortunatly macbook is not in the list. So tishaban, if you have to make a decision strictly between the mac mini and imac, which one would you choose?

can the mac mini motherboards support MEROM CHIPS"?

anyways, i think the imac is a better buy. i dunno about you but there seems to be a slight lag in mac mini due to 1) slower proc 2) using notebook hdd, slower. 3) smaller L2 cache

wow i didn't know there are so many disadvantages of mac mini. Thanks for the info carpathia

Yes, the Mac Mini can support Merom CPUs. People have done the upgrades before. Note that the iMac CPU is soldered, you cannot upgrade them.

#1 is very true unless you upgrade your Mac Mini CPU of course
#2 is true unless you use an external firewire enclosure. More cables
#3 is only true for 2GHz and faster iMacs.

With widescreen 19" LCDs going for RM700 nowadays, a Mac Mini + LCD is still 20% cheaper than an iMac although all else being equal, it's probably 10-20% slower on CPU intensive stuff than the iMac. However, that extra money can easily bump up your RAM to 2GB and partially buy an external firewire drive for faster/bigger storage.

However the Mac Mini will be messier than the iMac. I bought a Mac Mini myself but only because I usually need 2 computers, a portable that I carry around and a desktop for other stuff. If I were limited to 1 computer only, I would still buy the iMac because I like a neat, low maintenance desk

This post has been edited by tishaban: Mar 15 2007, 03:08 PM

im just wondering -- --
1) how much will it cost to upgrade to merom, 2gb ram, hdd on the mac mini

2) is it possible to replace the primary hdd in the mac mini with a faster 7200rpm hdd ?

For webdesign and music recording, I'd recommend the iMac or an old G5 Powermac.

Merom is still too damn expensive for now. Newegg lists the 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo for US$300, the 2.33GHz goes for $600. Wait for Intel to reduce the pricing before upgrading. Besides why void your warranty now...

2GB RAM is around RM500.

It is possible to replace the internal drive. However, you'll be hard pressed to find large 2.5" SATA drives in LYP. Even 5400rpm 120GB SATA models are rare, don't dream of finding 7200rpm ones External 3.5" 250GB firewire drives will be around RM500 or less.

Despite all this, if this is your only machine, I'll still recommend the iMac.


This post has been edited by tishaban: Mar 15 2007, 03:22 PM

I meant replace the primary 2.5 hdd with a 3.5 type . possible ?

No, not possible.

Google for a Mac Mini image. It's very tight in there, it's physically impossible.

If you're into modding though, google for the Mac Mini eSATA hack. Cool stuff

ah i guess majority agrees on buying an imac. No supporters for mac mini ma?

i know a few graphic designers use either a PB, MBP or iMac....and they carry it around with them....even the iMac....

as some people sayd, although the iMac is bigger in size than then mac mini, it is much more portable than the mac mini.....

and for your line of work, i dont think the mac mini can do what u are asking for......

carrying the imac around... wow... i didn't know people actually carry their imacs.

Ah...so a hack is possible...so this changes everything. but a mac mini, hack the hdd, replace with merom and max out the memory and get a 24" display from Dell.

Go for iMac, you'll get everything that MacMini does not have
Oh yes, except Mac Mini have more wires than iMac.

This post has been edited by vandetta: Mar 15 2007, 06:02 PM

just get an imac! 24" !

Go for iMac. Mac mini is quite limited for website desgining and audio recording. That two functions you required clearly show Mac mini wont be sufficient.

Another advise: Don't buy both first. Both are phasing out and getting an upgrade sooner or later. Wait at least until Leopard is released except you want to get it for cheap.