Should I get a Mac Mini?

[byalexandr]

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.

Is Solitaire even on Mac?

[DrMacintosh]

 

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.

That Mac wont throttle at all. Apple has cooling figured out. All of those you linked are running i3s, the Mac Mini will have the better performance with its i5 and better I/O

 

 

Is Solitaire even on Mac?

Mac App store

[AlanAlan]

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.

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.

 

My plan was to get a laptop with a skylake processor under $650, I looked around and I couldn't find one that I wanted and fitted my need and I asked others and they either this laptop is cheap build quality or it was bad performance.
So I was searching on the Internet today and I saw that the Mac mini was on sale for $449 and I saw the specs and I was like this was a pretty good deal for a mini computer that was sleek and mini. So I thought that I should get a mini pc instead of a laptop because I will be just using Microsoft office and streaming videos. I also thought most of my work could be done over my smartphone ,so I consider into a mini pc

That Mac wont throttle at all. Apple has cooling figured out. All of those you linked are running i3s, the Mac Mini will have the better performance with its i5 and better I/O

 

In the beginning of this post people said this Mac mini was going to have bad performance

 

Between these two which one will have the best performance over price?

 

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

[LazySpeck]

I wonder if you can put Linux on an old mac mini?

[DrMacintosh]

 

In the beginning of this post people said this Mac mini was going to have bad performance

I dont see how. There is almost nothing to support that. Those i3s wont be able to keep up with that i5 I am pretty sure.

 

 

Between these two which one will have the best performance over price?

 

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

remember those are bare bones, you need to supply your own RAM and HDD. All of which would make the Mac Mini a more compelling buy. Both of those have the same CPU and the Mac Minis i5 will be better than those i3s in the PCs

[BlargKing]

The mini is a good choice then. For the price I dont think you will find any other mini pc that matches the Mac Mini in terms of performance and build quality. Not to mention a lot of the PC minis do have problems with cooling and throttling. Apple has been building Mac Minis for a long time now theyve got the design pretty well nailed down.

[Guest]

barely dude and the Mac mini has more I/O

Mac Mini's are not bad computer's at all. All that I'm gonna say is that every Mac that I've ever owned still runs perfectly fine. As for PC's.... that's a different story.

[BlargKing]

In the beginning of this post people said this Mac mini was going to have bad performance

Performance is perspective though isnt it? A lot of people here build their own high end gaming PCs of course theyll say its bad because they come from using top tier machines.

[Guest]

Between these two which one will have the best performance over price?

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

They aren't full PC's, I hope you know that. They have the same specs. So either one.

[DrMacintosh]

Performance is perspective though isnt it? A lot of people here build their own high end gaming PCs of course theyll say its bad because they come from using top tier machines.

Truth

[Guest]

remember those are bare bones, you need to supply your own RAM and HDD. All of which would make the Mac Mini a more compelling buy. Both of those have the same CPU and the Mac Minis i5 will be better than those i3s in the PCs

I agree. In this use case scenario the Mac Mini is the best choice.

[cleb]

Personally, Macs aren't for me, or most people here, but if you like the Mac environment that much get a full fledged one. Gaming will be pretty casual but depending on the model you will get a much better gaming experience/ in general than any mac mini.

[DrMacintosh]

Personally, Macs aren't for me, or most people here, but if you like the Mac environment that much get a full fledged one. Gaming will be pretty casual but depending on the model you will get a much better gaming experience/ in general than any mac mini.

In order to get a iMac these days with a dedicated GPU, you must spend more than twice the amount. My 2011 iMac had a AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB of VRAM.....and It can perform better than the intel graphics you can get today. Macs simply arent good for gaming. 

[cleb]

In order to get a iMac these days with a dedicated GPU, you must spend more than twice the amount. My 2011 iMac had a AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB of VRAM.....and It can perform better than the intel graphics you can get today. Macs simply arent good for gaming.

Not sure if you meant can't or not but I agree, they aren't for gaming. But I figure if he's so into the mac environment and wants at least a light gaming experience, a full mac, while it would be an investment for sure, would give him more of that experience than a mac mini. 

Hackintoshes are an option but not everyone is into doing that.;

[DrMacintosh]

Not sure if you meant can't or not but I agree, they aren't for gaming. But I figure if he's so into the mac environment and wants at least a light gaming experience, a full mac, while it would be an investment for sure, would give him more of that experience than a mac mini. 

Hackintoshes are an option but not everyone is into doing that.;

Unless Intel Iris Graphics can run World of Warships on medium settings at about 30-45 FPS at 1080p then I meant my 6750M can perform better than Intel graphics. But tbh idk how good Iris graphics are. 

[cleb]

Unless Intel Iris Graphics can run World of Warships on medium settings at about 30-45 FPS at 1080p then I meant my 6750M can perform better than Intel graphics. But tbh idk how good Iris graphics are.

I did some research and you have a point

Mac really has going Intel integrated mostly. I figured higher end you could get something decent but at that point it is pretty ridiculous. Iris pro is actually on the impressive side

But its sort of a, cost/performance isn't great to buy just for graphics.

[DrMacintosh]

I did some research and you have a point

Mac really has going Intel integrated mostly. I figured higher end you could get something decent but at that point it is pretty ridiculous. Iris pro is actually on the impressive side

But its sort of a, cost/performance isn't great to buy just for graphics.

exactly. Graphics is sorrta why I built this PC after all

[AlanAlan]

My plan was to get a laptop with a skylake processor under $650, I looked around and I couldn't find one that I wanted and fitted my need and I asked others and they either this laptop is cheap build quality or it was bad performance.

So I was searching on the Internet today and I saw that the Mac mini was on sale for $449 and I saw the specs and I was like this was a pretty good deal for a mini computer that was sleek and mini. So I thought that I should get a mini pc instead of a laptop because I will be just using Microsoft office and streaming videos. I also thought most of my work could be done over my smartphone ,so I consider into a mini pc

remember those are bare bones, you need to supply your own RAM and HDD. All of which would make the Mac Mini a more compelling buy. Both of those have the same CPU and the Mac Minis i5 will be better than those i3s in the PCs

Do you think my plan of going to a Mac mini or a mini pc instead of a laptop for my needs is a better idea?

[Edwardk326]

Depends on what you really want. the advantages of a mac few system errors and crashes, good for making word documents, spread sheets, Imovies, viewing pictures, watching videos, apple coding and programming, great build quality, play's some games from the app store, and so on you know what an easy to use family computer should be.

 

on the other hand if you like tinkering around adding in a graphics card, setting up SLI, configuring RAID, running virtual machines (not to say that you can't do that with a mac, you can if you want to, using parallels), installing water cooling, and other things.

 

so again do what you want it's up to you. 

[comicsansms]

Get a barebones like:

Intel NUC

ZBox,

Gigabyte Brix

 

They are a lot cheaper than a Mac Mini, and they basically the same as a mac mini.

 

EDIT: Why did I join this thread?

[AlanAlan]

The mini is a good choice then. For the price I dont think you will find any other mini pc that matches the Mac Mini in terms of performance and build quality. Not to mention a lot of the PC minis do have problems with cooling and throttling. Apple has been building Mac Minis for a long time now theyve got the design pretty well nailed down.

Will the intel nuc or the brix overheat or throttle?

[DrMacintosh]

 

Get a barebones like:
Intel NUC
ZBox,
Gigabyte Brix

 

They are a lot cheaper than a Mac Mini, and they basically the same as a mac mini.

 

EDIT: Why did I join this thread?

In reality they arent much cheaper at all, you have to supply your own HDD and RAM making the built at least $100 more. They are also poorly built in comparison and their I/O is terrible compared to the Mac Minis.

 

 

Will the intel nuc or the brix overheat or throttle?

most likely, they are so small everything is too close. The Mac Mini is mostly aluminum, the whole thing is a giant heat sync. That is also why iMacs tend to not have to rev up their fans (I really wouldnt have even know that my iMac had fans unless i put my hand over the vents. Apple is excellent at passive cooling, they have been at it for years.

[AlanAlan]

most likely, they are so small everything is too close. The Mac Mini is mostly aluminum, the whole thing is a giant heat sync. That is also why iMacs tend to not have to rev up their fans (I really wouldnt have even know that my iMac had fans unless i put my hand over the vents. Apple is excellent at passive cooling, they have been at it for years.

So I go for the Mac mini?

This specific model?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1086735-REG/apple_mgem2ll_a_mac_mini_1_4_ghz.html/showAdm/1

Apple Mac mini 1.4 GHz Desktop Computer (Late 2014) MFR # MGEM2LL/A

Do you think this can last me 5 years. I don't want to buy something that will become bad really soon .

[DrMacintosh]

 

So I go for the Mac mini?
This specific model?

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1086735-REG/apple_mgem2ll_a_mac_mini_1_4_ghz.html/showAdm/1

 

Apple Mac mini 1.4 GHz Desktop Computer (Late 2014) MFR # MGEM2LL/A

 

Do you think this can last me 5 years. I don't want to buy something that will become bad really soon .

My iMac is 4 years old going on 5 and it works fine still. I have no doubts that that Mac Mini will last you for more than 5 years.

 

So I go for the Mac mini?
This specific model?http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1086735-REG/apple_mgem2ll_a_mac_mini_1_4_ghz.html/showAdm/1
Apple Mac mini 1.4 GHz Desktop Computer (Late 2014) MFR # MGEM2LL/A
Do you think this can last me 5 years. I don't want to buy something that will become bad really soon .

Don't forget you can always run Windows on that Mac Mini with Bootcamp. And if you really wanted, you could get a external Thunderbolt GPU housing and have a dedicated GPU if you wanted to play games on it without buying/building a whole new PC.

[LokiFire]

No you should not.