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Should I get a Mac Mini?

AlanAlan

playing games

Oh god no, get something better Windows for the same price or hackintosh. Mac Minis aren't really too good.

 

I'm assuming that these are significant games (not Solitaire) because you've mentioned them.

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I will be using this for micorsoft office and streaming videos and movies. I think I will be also playing games on it to

Will this provide the power I need to achieve these task?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00746X7G2/ref=ox_sc_mini_detail?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=logicemail-20

No one on this forum is gonna recommend it. If that's what you like it will probably do okay, there are also some small PC equivalents that are probably a bit more powerful and a bit cheaper. I own one of the Zbox's and they're pretty great.

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This is a good little portable machine for some games

 

Or this if that's too expensive, although it comes without storage or memory

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Don't get a Mac for gaming.

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Get like a NUC or BRIX

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I will be using this for micorsoft office and streaming videos and movies. I think I will be also playing games on it to

Will this provide the power I need to achieve these task?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00746X7G2/ref=ox_sc_mini_detail?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=logicemail-20

It all depends on what games you are playing. That Mac mini wont be able to run anything graphic intensive at all with Intel HD 5,000. The Mac mini is a nice entry level PC and OSX is quite nice, but unless you stick to non demanding game you should be ok. 

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It all depends on what games you are playing. That Mac mini wont be able to run anything graphic intensive at all with Intel HD 5,000. The Mac mini is a nice entry level PC and OSX is quite nice, but unless you stick to non demanding game you should be ok.

Gaming on a Mac (mainly the Pro editions) can be done but on a Mac Mini is like asking a smartphone to run Crysis..

Get like a NUC or BRIX

Don't get a Mac for gaming.

This is a good little portable machine for some games

 

Or this if that's too expensive, although it comes without storage or memory

Mac mini's are only good for doing basic things, they throttle easily.

Gaming?

You should be able to do basic tasks but why that type of computer?

This is one of the worst places to ask for unbiased opinions about apple computers.

 

That being said, no.

This is one of the worst places to ask for unbiased opinions about apple computers.

 

That being said, no.

No one on this forum is gonna recommend it. If that's what you like it will probably do okay, there are also some small PC equivalents that are probably a bit more powerful and a bit cheaper. I own one of the Zbox's and they're pretty great.

Oh god no, get something better Windows for the same price or hackintosh. Mac Minis aren't really too good.

 

I'm assuming that these are significant games (not Solitaire) because you've mentioned them.

Oh god no, get something better Windows for the same price or hackintosh. Mac Minis aren't really too good.

 

I'm assuming that these are significant games (not Solitaire) because you've mentioned them.

What games?

I won't be gaming for this. Sorry I was talking about another system I wanted to ask about

I will be using this system for microsoft office and streaming movies and videos.

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I won't be gaming for this. Sorry I was talking about another system I wanted to ask about

I will be using this system for microsoft office and streaming movies and videos.

Then that Mac mini will handle anything you can throw at it ;) Just maybe upgrade the RAM to 8GB

Laptop: 2019 16" MacBook Pro i7, 512GB, 5300M 4GB, 16GB DDR4 | Phone: iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB | Wearables: Apple Watch SE | Car: 2007 Ford Taurus SE | CPU: R7 5700X | Mobo: ASRock B450M Pro4 | RAM: 32GB 3200 | GPU: ASRock RX 5700 8GB | Case: Apple PowerMac G5 | OS: Win 11 | Storage: 1TB Crucial P3 NVME SSD, 1TB PNY CS900, & 4TB WD Blue HDD | PSU: Be Quiet! Pure Power 11 600W | Display: LG 27GL83A-B 1440p @ 144Hz, Dell S2719DGF 1440p @144Hz | Cooling: Wraith Prism | Keyboard: G610 Orion Cherry MX Brown | Mouse: G305 | Audio: Audio Technica ATH-M50X & Blue Snowball | Server: 2018 Core i3 Mac mini, 128GB SSD, Intel UHD 630, 16GB DDR4 | Storage: OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad (6TB WD Blue HDD, 12TB Seagate Barracuda, 1TB Crucial SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD)
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I won't be gaming for this. Sorry I was talking about another system I wanted to ask about

I will be using this system for microsoft office and streaming movies and videos.

If this is the case, then it will do fine, but 8 gigs of RAM is always nice. :P

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If this is the case, then it will do fine, but 8 gigs of RAM is always nice. :P

Agreed, my 2011 iMac struggled with 4GB, but I put 8GB more in there, the total of 12GB made that thing a beast back from the grave. 

Laptop: 2019 16" MacBook Pro i7, 512GB, 5300M 4GB, 16GB DDR4 | Phone: iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB | Wearables: Apple Watch SE | Car: 2007 Ford Taurus SE | CPU: R7 5700X | Mobo: ASRock B450M Pro4 | RAM: 32GB 3200 | GPU: ASRock RX 5700 8GB | Case: Apple PowerMac G5 | OS: Win 11 | Storage: 1TB Crucial P3 NVME SSD, 1TB PNY CS900, & 4TB WD Blue HDD | PSU: Be Quiet! Pure Power 11 600W | Display: LG 27GL83A-B 1440p @ 144Hz, Dell S2719DGF 1440p @144Hz | Cooling: Wraith Prism | Keyboard: G610 Orion Cherry MX Brown | Mouse: G305 | Audio: Audio Technica ATH-M50X & Blue Snowball | Server: 2018 Core i3 Mac mini, 128GB SSD, Intel UHD 630, 16GB DDR4 | Storage: OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad (6TB WD Blue HDD, 12TB Seagate Barracuda, 1TB Crucial SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD)
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You could easily get a Gigabyte Brix or Intel NUC for this for much cheaper.

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You could easily get a Gigabyte Brix or Intel NUC for this for much cheaper.

barely dude and the Mac mini has more I/O

Laptop: 2019 16" MacBook Pro i7, 512GB, 5300M 4GB, 16GB DDR4 | Phone: iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB | Wearables: Apple Watch SE | Car: 2007 Ford Taurus SE | CPU: R7 5700X | Mobo: ASRock B450M Pro4 | RAM: 32GB 3200 | GPU: ASRock RX 5700 8GB | Case: Apple PowerMac G5 | OS: Win 11 | Storage: 1TB Crucial P3 NVME SSD, 1TB PNY CS900, & 4TB WD Blue HDD | PSU: Be Quiet! Pure Power 11 600W | Display: LG 27GL83A-B 1440p @ 144Hz, Dell S2719DGF 1440p @144Hz | Cooling: Wraith Prism | Keyboard: G610 Orion Cherry MX Brown | Mouse: G305 | Audio: Audio Technica ATH-M50X & Blue Snowball | Server: 2018 Core i3 Mac mini, 128GB SSD, Intel UHD 630, 16GB DDR4 | Storage: OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad (6TB WD Blue HDD, 12TB Seagate Barracuda, 1TB Crucial SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD)
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My mother has a previous generation Mac Mini and its a solid little computer for non-intensive tasks. Web browsing and media streaming work flawlessly, and it can handle some modest gaming tasks such as Minecraft. I even played Left 4 Dead 2 on it at decent settings so gaming isnt a complete loss on it.

IMO if your already familiar with OS X or willing to learn it it can be a lot less hassle as a daily driver than Windows.

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My mother has a previous generation Mac Mini and its a solid little computer for non-intensive tasks. Web browsing and media streaming work flawlessly, and it can handle some modest gaming tasks such as Minecraft. I even played Left 4 Dead 2 on it at decent settings so gaming isnt a complete loss on it.

IMO if your already familiar with OS X or willing to learn it it can be a lot less hassle as a daily driver than Windows.

In my experience, I enjoyed OSX over windows for the basics. OSX is a neat OS. Knowing how to use both is extremely handy as well ;)  

Laptop: 2019 16" MacBook Pro i7, 512GB, 5300M 4GB, 16GB DDR4 | Phone: iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB | Wearables: Apple Watch SE | Car: 2007 Ford Taurus SE | CPU: R7 5700X | Mobo: ASRock B450M Pro4 | RAM: 32GB 3200 | GPU: ASRock RX 5700 8GB | Case: Apple PowerMac G5 | OS: Win 11 | Storage: 1TB Crucial P3 NVME SSD, 1TB PNY CS900, & 4TB WD Blue HDD | PSU: Be Quiet! Pure Power 11 600W | Display: LG 27GL83A-B 1440p @ 144Hz, Dell S2719DGF 1440p @144Hz | Cooling: Wraith Prism | Keyboard: G610 Orion Cherry MX Brown | Mouse: G305 | Audio: Audio Technica ATH-M50X & Blue Snowball | Server: 2018 Core i3 Mac mini, 128GB SSD, Intel UHD 630, 16GB DDR4 | Storage: OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad (6TB WD Blue HDD, 12TB Seagate Barracuda, 1TB Crucial SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD)
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Then that Mac mini will handle anything you can throw at it ;) Just maybe upgrade the RAM to 8GB

 

If this is the case, then it will do fine, but 8 gigs of RAM is always nice. :P

 

Agreed, my 2011 iMac struggled with 4GB, but I put 8GB more in there, the total of 12GB made that thing a beast back from the grave. 

 

You could easily get a Gigabyte Brix or Intel NUC for this for much cheaper.

 

barely dude and the Mac mini has more I/O

 

My mother has a previous generation Mac Mini and its a solid little computer for non-intensive tasks. Web browsing and media streaming work flawlessly, and it can handle some modest gaming tasks such as Minecraft. I even played Left 4 Dead 2 on it at decent settings so gaming isnt a complete loss on it.

IMO if your already familiar with OS X or willing to learn it it can be a lot less hassle as a daily driver than Windows.

 

In my experience, I enjoyed OSX over windows for the basics. OSX is a neat OS. Knowing how to use both is extremely handy as well ;)

 

I will be just using it for microsft offce and streaming movies and videos not gaming sorry for the confusion guys do you think it is worth it?

 

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http://www.amazon.com/Apple-MD387LL-Desktop-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B007476KRY

 

is it worth it for $449?

 

or should I get something like this?

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856102093&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Barebone+Systems+-+Mini+%2F+Booksize-_-N82E16856102093&gclid=CILJyY7zucoCFUNgfgodOCkO1A&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-i3-5010U-Compact-Barebone-GB-BXi3-5010/dp/B00UKXE5Z8/ref=sr_1_13?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1453345682&sr=1-13&keywords=gigabyte+brix

 

http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-i3-6100U-Compact-Barebone-GB-BSi3-6100/dp/B0196KJCJE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453302506&sr=8-1&keywords=GB-BSi3-6100

 

which one has the best performance?

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Best Bench Runs & 24/7 Rig

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Best Bench Runs

i5 4670k (XTU) - 4.7GHz Core / 4.5GHz Cache | GTX 980 (FireStrike Extreme) 1620MHz Core / 4000MHz Memory (GPUPI) 1721MHz | G.Skill Ripjaws X 2x4GB - 2200MHz CL10-11-11-24 1T

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24/7 Rig & Clocks

i5 4670k 4.5GHz (Swiftech H320) | MSI Z87 MPower Max | ASUS GTX 980 1580MHz 4000MHz (NZXT Kraken X41) | 3x4GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz | Corsair Air 540 | EVGA Supernova G2 850w | 120GB Kingston SSD | 1TB Seagate Barracuda

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Laptop: 2019 16" MacBook Pro i7, 512GB, 5300M 4GB, 16GB DDR4 | Phone: iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB | Wearables: Apple Watch SE | Car: 2007 Ford Taurus SE | CPU: R7 5700X | Mobo: ASRock B450M Pro4 | RAM: 32GB 3200 | GPU: ASRock RX 5700 8GB | Case: Apple PowerMac G5 | OS: Win 11 | Storage: 1TB Crucial P3 NVME SSD, 1TB PNY CS900, & 4TB WD Blue HDD | PSU: Be Quiet! Pure Power 11 600W | Display: LG 27GL83A-B 1440p @ 144Hz, Dell S2719DGF 1440p @144Hz | Cooling: Wraith Prism | Keyboard: G610 Orion Cherry MX Brown | Mouse: G305 | Audio: Audio Technica ATH-M50X & Blue Snowball | Server: 2018 Core i3 Mac mini, 128GB SSD, Intel UHD 630, 16GB DDR4 | Storage: OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad (6TB WD Blue HDD, 12TB Seagate Barracuda, 1TB Crucial SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD)
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The Mac will perform better, if you haven't tried OSX before now might be a good time to dive in and stretch your horizons. Those other ones will be cheaper however. Its up to you.

 

I have used OSX it's good but I don't want to waste my money on a mac mini that throttles and lags with performance.
I will like to have something that is good for the price and has the best performance.


Imo the other 3 you linked are the best for the price but the mac mini will perform best.

At this point, it's which OS you would prefer.

 

Out of the three which one will give the best performance ?

 

I don't have a preference between OSX and Windows there both great os.

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Ive never experienced perceivable throttling on any Mac Mini. Its surprisingly well balanced in terms of performance and its ability to dissapate heat.

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