Should i get a Mac Mini?
- Thread starter Biz.Kid09
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Soldato
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You don't need emulation dude. Google "bootcamp" all will be revealed.
I'm ordering my mac mini in a week or two, already own a mac wired keyboard for my hack, but wanna go proper apple as I'm starting to use it more and more.
It should be overlooked because it's still not worth the ridiculous price. That's just a fact.
I generally use my Windows machine much more than my MacBook, I don't see how OS X is on another level in terms of efficiency. Nothing goes wrong with my PC, nothing goes wrong with my Mac.
You Mac fanboys are fun!
There's plenty of great looking non-Mac cases out there, I think the PowerMac is mighty fugly myself.
It's a bad piece of kit to test the waters with a Mac, why pay £600+ for an overpriced machine that is terrible compared to the PC equivalent you could build, for less? If anything the best to test the waters with a Mac is a MacBook as you can get them for £700 odd and they are better than Mac Minis while still being competitively priced with similar Windows laptops. (worse spec wise but good luck finding 9 hour + batteries on Windows laptops)
The current pricing of the Mac Mini is a joke and anybody paying for them is a fool.
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Soldato
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I don't think the mac mini is too bad value. the base imac is £400 more... yet I don't need a monitor nor have the save for one, I couldn't use a 21" screen either so would have to fork out for the 27" which isn't cheap by any means.
I don't think the Mini has any place in their product line at it's current price, it should be £400-500 at most.
Edit: Don't get me wrong I love OS X and my MacBook but I still can't help but be critical of the price points, I mean I've used the OS extensively now but still don't see the fuss. I guess I'm too much of a technical user to really 'get' it, stuff just works for me in Windows and I've not really had any issues with any versions of Windows since XP. (I hated XP generally)
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Soldato
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Well I'm going to buy one at £540 next week with the HE discount.
If you ignore PC hardware and compare the price to the iMac, for the form factor it's pretty good value. £400 extra for an iMac wiuth a screen that is smaller than my 24", the mac mini is a good entry system to get into apple.
When my screen dies and if my love of gaming fades some more then i will get a 24-27" iMac, but for now the Mac mini meets my wallet and needs best, saving me £400...
Even at that price I'd still be tempted to try and snap up a MacBook for £730-770 or whatever they are going for (not from Apple store), better specs and then you have a laptop if you'd ever want one at some point. Plus it's smaller...well, thinner.
Definitely something to consider for people looking at spending £600+ on a Mac Mini though, I'd rather just go for a MacBook.
Soldato
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Even at that price I'd still be tempted to try and snap up a MacBook for £730-770 or whatever they are going for (not from Apple store), better specs and then you have a laptop if you'd ever want one at some point. Plus it's smaller...well, thinner.
Definitely something to consider for people looking at spending £600+ on a Mac Mini though, I'd rather just go for a MacBook.
Iv'e got a macbook but I don't have the space to place it to plug in my keyboard and mouse etc.
You can get a Daewoo for less money than a BMW - both are cars, both do similar things, what's your point?
Funny that, you advocating that the OP should get a MacBook instead of the Mini, and there was me thinking the Mini had the identical spec to the mid-range MacBook.
Soldato
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Lian Li QO1 i think its called.
I dont want it on a virtual machine...thanks oxy but bootcamp is if you want to run windows through native osx..i want one where i can run osx through native win7?
Well i am still tossing up getting a mac be it mini or book just because of how attractive the price is but then i look at specs and see what else i can get for similar price and it turns me away from them :/...i think i will just stick with what i have for now. Thanks anyways guys.
Soldato
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I don't even have the space for one of those lol.
Plus having to fiddle with plugging in M+K + Monitor each time would be very tiresome.
Soldato
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Sounds to me that you have missunderstood what bootcamp is.
Bootcamp allows you to partition your HDD and have a proper installation of windows alongside the OSX partition. No virtualisation is involved.
SIM free iPhone4 at around £600 iPad around £500ish Mac Mini £599. You can see the price points there and the Mini is great value for money when you examine the other offerings. Stop comparing it with tin box budget PCs and compare it with other Apple products.
I think what you really meant to say was get a Mini as the iPad is a total waste of money. How would the user put W7 on an iPad? He could however put it on the Mini.
Quit bleating on about the price points. It's rivals are not other Apple products that happen to cost £599 like the iPad 64Gb Wifi or iPhone 4 32Gb SIM free, but other small form factor desktops like the Dell Zinio.
It's an affordable, small, energy efficient computer that was originally designed to tempt switchers across to the Mac as evidenced by the BYOKM (Bring Your Own Keyboard and Mouse) philosophy. Add the Apple keyboard and mouse that comes free with any other Apple Mac desktop and you're suddenly another £78 out of pocket...
It's an affordable, small, energy efficient computer that was originally designed to tempt switchers across to the Mac as evidenced by the BYOKM (Bring Your Own Keyboard and Mouse) philosophy. Add the Apple keyboard and mouse that comes free with any other Apple Mac desktop and you're suddenly another £78 out of pocket...
Soldato
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Can he get me one with a 30% discount?! I agree it's a BIT overpriced these days but I still want one, since it fits a bunch of requirements for my home entertainment plans. As much as I'd love an iMac if I got one it'd have to be the 27" and that's both far more £ than I can spend, as well as taking up a bit too much space in my current abode. Something for the future no doubt.
Looking for one that's an early '09 spec onwards, either 2nd hand or through the refurb store, just the base model, to make it work out more reasonably (the prices they seem to go for on the bay are a bit of a joke!). I'm aware I could probably build a h*ckintosh for much less, but I'd be hard pressed to wrap it up in as neat and tidy package as even the older Minis, and I just want it to - yes - 'just work' with no faffing, especially when it comes to things like bit-perfect audio output. Tis to be my general web surfing come jukebox front ender you see, while I leave the games and heavy duty work for something that'd sit in amongst many of your sigs.
Do you get many/any in the Members Market?
Looking for one that's an early '09 spec onwards, either 2nd hand or through the refurb store, just the base model, to make it work out more reasonably (the prices they seem to go for on the bay are a bit of a joke!). I'm aware I could probably build a h*ckintosh for much less, but I'd be hard pressed to wrap it up in as neat and tidy package as even the older Minis, and I just want it to - yes - 'just work' with no faffing, especially when it comes to things like bit-perfect audio output. Tis to be my general web surfing come jukebox front ender you see, while I leave the games and heavy duty work for something that'd sit in amongst many of your sigs.
Do you get many/any in the Members Market?
Soldato
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I'm on my second Mac Mini. Started with the initial non-intel model at release and then refreshed to the early 2009 release. The non-intel model was my first Mac.
Are they overpriced for what they are ... probably yes. Are they a nice little box which can be convenient to use and have reasonable performance for non-specialised duties .... yes.
Mine sits on the coffee table in the lounge with a 22" LCD and is probably the most used system in the house. It is used for browsing the internet, managing files on the NAS and media playback via Plex.
I just run OSX on it (no bootcamp) but I do have multiple other machines around the house running Windows and Linux as well.
To the OP, whether you should get one or not depends on what you want it for. If you want it to run Windows and games then don't bother. If you can accept the lack of upgradability and it's limitations then go for it
Are they overpriced for what they are ... probably yes. Are they a nice little box which can be convenient to use and have reasonable performance for non-specialised duties .... yes.
Mine sits on the coffee table in the lounge with a 22" LCD and is probably the most used system in the house. It is used for browsing the internet, managing files on the NAS and media playback via Plex.
I just run OSX on it (no bootcamp) but I do have multiple other machines around the house running Windows and Linux as well.
To the OP, whether you should get one or not depends on what you want it for. If you want it to run Windows and games then don't bother. If you can accept the lack of upgradability and it's limitations then go for it
Spec up a Zino to the level of a Mini and you are knocking on Mini door prices. However, you still end up with a plastic box and almost zero resale value unlike the Mini. Now then what was your point again?