Should I get a Mac Mini?

[DrMacintosh]

 

So basically you just made an almost similar PC (granted with double the memory and storage) for almost same price (including windows). Now let's rethink priorities here

 

- You're getting a much better form factor with great ID
- You're getting pretty much getting the best after sales support in terms of both hardware and software
- You're getting Thunderbolt port for potential expansion
- User experience and much easier troubleshooting as its a popular machine

 

With custom build,
- Not everyone live in the US for an easy PCPartPicker checkout
- Nor anyone has the time to review each and every part for compatibility and reliability issues
- Don't have to troubleshoot problems yourself or bother shipping it back to anyone when you could just goto local app store and fix the issue in like 30 min

 

For an enthusiast like me sure a custom build would be a better fit but for most people in the world the former option is much more appealing than non perceivable performance improvement in MS Word

100% agreed

 

 

and it's twice as fast with twice as much storage. And 60$ on 450 are a 15% saving, which is not bad for a 100% performance gain.

 

want the same performance?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-HD2 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($39.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Mushkin ECO2 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital AV-GP 500GB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($35.90 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $220.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-21 11:09 EST-0500

 

voilà, half the price

 

 

wow, 2$ extra per year if even that (remind me why exactly thermals matter in this case?)

 

oh and the wonderful thunderbolt he can use for.... for... oh right, nothing useful in this case - thunderbolt drives are incredibly expensive and he doesn't need them at all. Usb expansion cards are 20$.

Maybe an external Thunderbolt GPU enclosure? Cough* Cough*

 

 

no, no, no - the i5 in there is more than twice as fast as the mobile, underclocked and undervolted one on the mac mini we're talking about.

 

-again, I said if form factor doesn't matter. It definitely wouldn't to me as I have plenty of space, but I did say that if it matters this build obviously won't do.
-personally I believe having individual warranties for different parts is better. You can still pay a shop like ncix 50 bucks to build it for you and you get their warranty too.
-expansion? like what? external thunderbolt drives are extremely expensive and completely pointless when you don't even have an ssd inside the computer, whereas you can easily expand and upgrade a custom build
-the "easy" troubleshooting is completely voided by the fact that it's a custom form factor machine inside which you can barely change anything without tearing it apart, definitely not easy to repair

 

as for pcpartpicker, he linked to a us amazon page so it's safe to assume he lives there. If he doesn't, prices will be different and this whole discussion won't make any sense. Time is not a concern, we're here to do it for him. And apple stores don't do hardware repairs on spot in 30 minutes... they'll either give you a new one or send it to a repair centre which will take at least a day, just like going to ncix or a dedicated store for it.

 

He said he'd use it for more than just word, too - he mentioned games. And a mac mini just won't do for those.

He actually said he wouldnt be gaming on it.....just saying.

[DebatED Nothing]

So basically you just made an almost similar PC (granted with double the memory and storage) for almost same price (including windows). Now let's rethink priorities here

 

- You're getting a much better form factor with great ID

- You're getting pretty much getting the best after sales support in terms of both hardware and software

- You're getting Thunderbolt port for potential expansion

- User experience and much easier troubleshooting as its a popular machine

 

With custom build,

- Not everyone live in the US for an easy PCPartPicker checkout

- Nor anyone has the time to review each and every part for compatibility and reliability issues

- Don't have to troubleshoot problems yourself or bother shipping it back to anyone when you could just goto local app store and fix the issue in like 30 min

 

For an enthusiast like me sure a custom build would be a better fit but for most people in the world the former option is much more appealing than non perceivable performance improvement in MS Word

No but it's a mac so it must be terrible right?

[Sauron]

Maybe an external Thunderbolt GPU enclosure? Cough* Cough*

 

Yes, because that's much better and not at all way more expensive and gimmicky than just slotting it in a pcie slot...

[DebatED Nothing]

-the "easy" troubleshooting is completely voided by the fact that it's a custom form factor machine inside which you can barely change anything without tearing it apart, definitely not easy to repair

And apple stores don't do hardware repairs on spot in 30 minutes... they'll either give you a new one or send it to a repair centre which will take at least a day, just like going to ncix or a dedicated store for it.

The idea is this person isn't necessarily a techie: they don't want or know how to tear down their computer to troubleshoot it.

Why does it matter if they give you a new one and you restore from a full backup? There's no problem there. Apple's customer support is god tier.

[Sauron]

 

He actually said he wouldnt be gaming on it.....just saying.

 

ehm

 

 

I think I will be also playing games on it to

 

if he said otherwise in a different post I haven't seen it. Regardless, you can get the same performance for half the price as I demonstrated.

 

 

The idea is this person isn't necessarily a techie: they don't want or know how to tear down their computer to troubleshoot it.
Why does it matter if they give you a new one and you restore from a full backup? There's no problem there. Apple's customer support is god tier.

 

Apple won't give you a free new mac if the other one can be easily repaired... as for the op "not being a techie", if he doesn't want to build his own he can say so, but he hasn't in the op nor has he replied to me (or others as far as I can tell) saying so, so that's just a hypothesis. I gave him my advice on what I think would be best for him and told him why, if he has reasons for which what I said doesn't apply that's another matter entirely.

[Keudn]

At my school we have a couple of mac minis that I have dealt with, they aren't really that bad for what they do. They get hot but I haven't really seen one thermal throttle (I haven't played games on it of course), but they don't have AFAIK dedicated GPUs, they all use Intel Graphics, so why would you want to game on one? Are you bootcamping it and streaming to it from your gaming pc? A windows computer like a ZBOX would work MUCH better for games and is much cheaper for the hardware inside. For the movies and videos, why not use a chromecast from another PC? TBH Mac Minis have a very small market where it is actually the best option.

[DrMacintosh]

ehm

 

 

 

if he said otherwise in a different post I haven't seen it. Regardless, you can get the same performance for half the price as I demonstrated.

He did state otherwise. It somewhere on the 3rd page I think. But what does that extra cash get you on the Mac mini? Better I/O (a lot better) the customer support of the Apple Store and any certified establishment, OSX and everything it has for free (OSX has almost everything you need by default right out of the box), and that sexy ass form factor. You cant say the Mac Mini is a bad PC without being a total liar.  

[RedRound2]

no, no, no - the i5 in there is more than twice as fast as the mobile, underclocked and undervolted one on the mac mini we're talking about.

 

-again, I said if form factor doesn't matter. It definitely wouldn't to me as I have plenty of space, but I did say that if it matters this build obviously won't do.

-personally I believe having individual warranties for different parts is better. You can still pay a shop like ncix 50 bucks to build it for you and you get their warranty too.

-expansion? like what? external thunderbolt drives are extremely expensive and completely pointless when you don't even have an ssd inside the computer, whereas you can easily expand and upgrade a custom build

-the "easy" troubleshooting is completely voided by the fact that it's a custom form factor machine inside which you can barely change anything without tearing it apart, definitely not easy to repair

 

as for pcpartpicker, he linked to a us amazon page so it's safe to assume he lives there. If he doesn't, prices will be different and this whole discussion won't make any sense. Time is not a concern, we're here to do it for him. And apple stores don't do hardware repairs on spot in 30 minutes... they'll either give you a new one or send it to a repair centre which will take at least a day, just like going to ncix or a dedicated store for it.

 

He said he'd use it for more than just word, too - he mentioned games. And a mac mini just won't do for those.

 

again the undervolted, underclocked is more than enough. He's not doing some hardcore video rendering which is pretty much the only time you'll ever see a significant difference in CPU usage

 

- When you have the option to go for a smaller build, most people will go for that as long as it doesn't hurt whatever they're doing. 

- You like individual warranties, most people don't give a shit what company made mobo, ram, power supply, graphic card, etc rather just the whole package

- Splitter. A dock with expanded ports like more USB ports, display ports, etc. Who in the right mind would buy a thunderbolt drive for general purposes

- Easy trouble shooting as in software. Or something like a widespread problem. And that reminds me you don't have to deal with crazy driver problems in windows where usually the manufacturers preloads it in one software

 

Apple store replaced my cousin's iPhone screen in 20 min. But nonetheless Apple's after sales support id pretty much the best in the industry

 

he said he wouldn't be playing games

[Keudn]

The idea is this person isn't necessarily a techie: they don't want or know how to tear down their computer to troubleshoot it.

Why does it matter if they give you a new one and you restore from a full backup? There's no problem there. Apple's customer support is god tier.

I have personally had to deal with apple tech support, I wouldn't call them god tier. They are SUPER paranoid about security to the point where it was damn obvious I was calling from a school as the IT person and I NEEDED to get into our school's apple account but they would refuse to let me in unless I could answer security questions that had ZERO answer for a school like "Who was your high school best friend" or "Who was your favorite teacher". Like WTF seriously apple? How can a school possibly answer those questions in a way that three IT people later can still remember or figure out???? 

 

Hardware support is a bit better but when they say nope need a whole new logic board or nope need a whole new casing we will send it in for $xxx then is that good support? Yes. Is it still a rip off? Yes. Does it require much more technical know how and tools to fix a broken Mac yourself so you don't have to pay an arm and a leg compared to a PC? Yes.

[sissj]

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

Worst. Idea. Ever.

[Sauron]

 

He did state otherwise. It somewhere on the 3rd page I think. But what does that extra cash get you on the Mac mini? Better I/O (a lot better) the customer support of the Apple Store and any certified establishment, OSX and everything it has for free, and that sexy ass form factor. You cant say the Mac Mini is a bad PC without being a total liar.

 

I/O is completely irrelevant when a 20$ expansion card solves it completely (thunderbolt is completely irrelevant in his case). OSX doesn't come with MS office and that's the only otherwise paid software he'd need. On a side note, there are plenty of free programs that do everything you can do on osx out of the box.

 

What I'm saying is that the mac mini is a bad offer from a performance standpoint. If you need the form factor, I already said you barely have any choice. But 4gb of ram and a 5400rpm hdd aren't particularly good in general, either - anything but the most basic tasks would be very unenjoyable on this particular mac mini.

 

 

again the undervolted, underclocked is more than enough. He's not doing some hardcore video rendering which is pretty much the only time you'll ever see a significant difference in CPU usage

 

- When you have the option to go for a smaller build, most people will go for that as long as it doesn't hurt whatever they're doing.
- You like individual warranties, most people don't give a shit what company made mobo, ram, power supply, graphic card, etc rather just the whole package
- Splitter. A dock with expanded ports like more USB ports, display ports, etc. Who in the right mind would buy a thunderbolt drive for general purposes
- Easy trouble shooting as in software. Or something like a widespread problem. And that reminds me you don't have to deal with crazy driver problems in windows where usually the manufacturers preloads it in one software

 

Apple store replaced my cousin's iPhone screen in 20 min. But nonetheless Apple's after sales support id pretty much the best in the industry

 

he said he wouldn't be playing games

 

then swap the i5 for a pentium and watch the price drop by 100$.

 

-I'm giving my advice, not telling him what "most people" would do. "most people do it" is not a valid argument.
-if you make a custom build you are bound to know who made what, and if you hired someone (namely ncix) do build it for you they'll take care of it.
-why bother with splitters when you have a real pcie slot that you can populate for cheaper than a thunderbolt splitter would be?
-I've had my current rig for 4 years, changed 3 windows releases and upgraded different parts, and I never had "crazy driver problems". And that's with a dedicated gpu, without it the problems would be even lower. If he'll use it for office and media consumption he'll most likely never have a software problem

[★ Coups ★]

Its a lot more expensive than a usualy PC, and not as powerful and good for games.

 

Nah mate.

[kjvnasa]

Its a lot more expensive than a usualy PC, and not as powerful and good for games.

 

Nah mate.

I agree with this guy. You're better off with a PC.

[DrMacintosh]

I agree with this guy. You're better off with a PC.

He better be willing to build it himself.

[AlanAlan]

No. For that price you can get something much, much better for everything you want to do on it.

 

What will you Reccomend?

The idea is this person isn't necessarily a techie: they don't want or know how to tear down their computer to troubleshoot it.
Why does it matter if they give you a new one and you restore from a full backup? There's no problem there. Apple's customer support is god tier.

 

I know how to build a pc I just want a small form factor computer that can accomplish my task I wanted that will not take much space

[Sauron]

What will you Reccomend?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($164.65 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-HD2 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($39.99 @ Micro Center) 

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $436.59

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-21 18:58 EST-0500

 

unless you really need microsoft office I'd use linux on this

[AlanAlan]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($164.65 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-HD2 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($39.99 @ Micro Center) 

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.99 @ NCIX US) 

Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $436.59

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-21 18:58 EST-0500

 

unless you really need microsoft office I'd use linux on this

I know how to build a computer and I don't be gaming on this computer I was talking about I another computer I wanted to build. Sorry for the confusion

I want something that is small and be able to handle the tasks easily I know that a computer build is way better for the money and performance but I want something small and powerful.

[Sauron]

I know how to build a computer and I don't be gaming on this computer I was talking about I another computer I wanted to build. Sorry for the confusion

I want something that is small and be able to handle the tasks easily I know that a computer build is way better for the money and performance but I want something small and powerful.

 

If you really want it to be small the mac mini isn't a bad option, but take a look at the intel compute stick - it's enough for web browsing/ media consumption/ office and is cheaper and smaller. Obviously not as powerful though.

[bcredeur97]

no.

[DrMacintosh]

If you really want it to be small the mac mini isn't a bad option, but take a look at the intel compute stick - it's enough for web browsing/ media consumption/ office and is cheaper and smaller. Obviously not as powerful though.

Man, an Intel compute stick? The only thing I would feel comfortable doing on that is watching 1080p YouTube videos, otherwise it might explode

[scootydoo]

Depends on what types of games you are playing! They are not bad, if you play steam games though there's quite a few of them that you cant get so sometimes your choices are limited

[Sauron]

Man, an Intel compute stick? The only thing I would feel comfortable doing on that is watching 1080p YouTube videos, otherwise it might explode

 

you underestimate modern atoms. besides 1080p video is more intensive than both web browsing and office use.

[JasonLiebig]

no

[AlanAlan]

What should get that is powerful and is in a small form factor besides the Mac mini?

[Ohernia]

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

 

I know I'm late to the party but here is my two cents.  IF you are going to be playing big games like Call of Duty, Skyrim, GTA5 DONT get a mac!  I've owned a iMac, loved it, but sucked playing video games.  I just recently got a PC again and actually windows 10 isn't that bad.