Thinking of switching to Apple- Mac Mini good starting point?

[DuncyBoy]

Been using PC's for about 8 years now. Learned from the outset how to build one and install Windows myself. The past 6 months with different versions of Windows have been a nightmare. Between that and the fact I've found a big change in my PC habits I've been thinking it's time for a change. I need peoples opinions- as unbiased as possible, please

I have 3 PC's at the moment. One is an HTPC running XP Media Centre which I want to keep. Installation issues aside, this does everything I need. No worries there.

But my other 2 PC's I think could be replaced with a Mac Mini. I used to do a lot of 3D work in Vue, along with games, video editing and DVD authoring as well as the usual Internet, Email, photos, movies etc. But nowadays it's just the simple stuff. I can't remember the last PC game I installed and played and I never do the "heavy CPU" stuff anymore. I basically listen to tunes, go on the Net, send email, download 3D and car pics, get trailers and stuff.

The 3rd box is an Always-On machine running uTorrent and that's it, made out of old, near silent parts.

Could I use a bottom-spec £400 Mini to do
Web
Email
Torrents
Viewing photos and movies (with OCCASIONAL photo editing- a little touch-up of red eye or a scratch on an old scan, for example- nothing heavy)
Burning DVD's
Putting movies on my iPod from DVD

What's the noise output like on a Mini? It'd be in my room and if it's running overnight I'd need it to be fairly quiet.

£400 for a Mini, with OSX included, already got an iPod, then £20 - £30 for a keyboard with a bog-standard USB mouse isn't a huge investment and I could always sell it if, for some reason, it doesn't take my fancy. I have an existing network using a wired Router. And I can use my 17" monitor for display.

If it does work out, I could buy external HDD caddies and use the two SATA drives from my main PC for extra storage.

Another thing that bugged me about my recent reinstall, was the amount of maintenance/protective programs I install on XP- anti-virus, anti-spyware, defrag programs, CCleaner- it's a pain! What's it like on OSX?

So:
Do you think this is the right way to go for getting started on a Mac?
Would a 2GB RAM option be a good move?
Any problems having Windows PC's and a Mac on the same Network? I currently use Shared Folders to organise my HTPC from my desktop- can I do that with a Mini?
How reliable is OSX? As honest opinion as possible, please
I've just gone through a hellish reinstall of XP Pro- what's it like reinstalling/resetting OSX? Do you even have to do that on a Mac?

Sorry for such open-ended questions, but any advice would be gratefully accepted.

 

[DuncyBoy]

Justin and 1337z0r, thanks for the replies- that's a massive help

I've just been reading up on Mini's, Bootcamp and other stuff- it sounds exactly what I'm looking for.

The actual idea of swapping two full-size PC's- one of which is in the tackiest pre-mod case you've ever seen - for a little Mini is tempting in itself.

I'm not worried about switching to a completely new OS- I've tried an iMac in an Apple Store for about 30 seconds, that's the depth of my OSX experience! But I'm good at picking up new things and, as I said earlier, it's time for a change I think.

My only thoughts are swapping my HDD's from NTFS to Apple's format (as said above, FAT32 or I've read about HFS too?) but I'll work it out one way or another. Even if it means copying files to DVD.

Thanks again, no doubt you'll read a "My new Mac Mini" thread in the near future... overtime pending!

 

[DuncyBoy]

Just want to correct something you said; the base-spec Mac Mini, rather absurdly, doesn't come with a DVD writer, you need the £500 one for that. Obviously the move to a Mac is based on more than just tech specs, but £500 gets you a far better PC (with a good display) than a simple Mac Mini with 1GB of RAM.

Didn't read the specs on the Apple site correctly- thanks for pointing that out- I'll go for the £500 model.

I've already got a good monitor for my PC's, so that's not a consideration. I could build a corking PC for £500, you're right- but I'm fed up of Windows and I want to try a change (I know there's a 3rd option of Linux, but I don't think that's for me)

£500 is a lot of money for a simple-spec computer but it is a compact, tidy unit, is fairly capable from the benchmarks/reviews I've read and don't forget that includes the OS and a lot of software

If I had to factor software into building a £500 PC, that would take say £70-ish for Vista?

 

[DuncyBoy]

Probably, but all I did was compare an equivalent Dell 530. £500 with a 20" widescreen monitor, 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB of RAM, 320GB HDD and a Radeon 2400XT. But then, obviously it's a significantly bigger box than the Mini! But like I said, it's not just tech specs that need to be considered so I do completely understand your choice; not criticising it in any way, shape or form.

Cheers for the input- appreciated.

Interestingly, my current "Main" PC is a C2D 6400, 2GB RAM, 320GB (over two HDD's), Audigy 2 and an AGP 7800 GS!!! Pretty similar to the above specs!

 

[DuncyBoy]

It all depends on what you want and with HE discount you can get the £500 Mac Mini for around £448 Although have you considered a MacBook @ £600 with HE discount?

I take it H.E. is the Higher Education discount for students? I don't qualify for that unfortunately! I do consider myself a student of life- I just never learn my lessons Nah, I'd prefer a desktop to a laptop- haven't got WiFi and not much point having a lappy in a single room.

You're really comparing Apples (hah) to Oranges when it comes to Mac vs PC in terms of bang per buck. I know, I do it myself. But at the end of the day you just have to accept the fact you're gonna get ripped off on the hardware.

Fair enough, mate- I am "downsizing" my power requirements anyways so the Mini being a bit less capable is no problem. My main reason for change is the OS- I'll let you's know how I get on.

Thanks again for all the advice

 

[DuncyBoy]

Thanks, man- sounds good stuff

Before I buy anything I always read as many reviews and forums as I can so my research isn't done yet, but this thread has answered a good chunk of my queries. It'll be a month or two before I actually purchase thanks to financial Christmas hangover so I can do plenty of reading.

Cheers