[John Pollock]

can it play games like age of mythology and age of empires??

can it use more then 2 monitors?

i dont game much or anything so would there be a noticable perfomance jump from an old P3 733mhz 128mb ram PC?

is there a big performence gap from the 1.25ghz to the 1.42ghz models?

i have looked at the folowing two setups, which would be a better buy:

mac mini 1.42ghz, 512mb ram, 80gb hdd, 17-inch lcd monitor, 250mb firewire external hdd

mac mini 1.25ghz, 512mb ram, 80gb hdd, 20-inch lcd monitor

i have also been considering an ibook, would that be a better entry to the mac world?

thanks for your time

[neowolf]

I do believe it should be able to play both of those games fine. Mine does a great job running World of Warcraft!

No on the two monitors, except maybe mirroring. Just one DVI port.

More than likely you'll see quite a jump. It's a different OS but I'd expect to be pleased.

There's not a huge performance gap, however considering it's only $100 for a faster processor and twice the hard drive space.. I'd highly recommend the 1.42GHz model. And out of those two options I'd definitely go with the first myself. Seems like a much better buy.

I've never owned an iBook myself. The mini's pretty comparable to one actually hardware wise, but considering the setup options you're talking there. I'd expect much more satisfaction from the mini.

[Hi I'm Ben]

the mini is the same thing as an iBook. Just the iBook provides you with a nice little 12 inch screen and has a monitor out function so essentially you could do dual monitor I guess.

Both I'd say are good intro machines and as long as your love of computer games extends to a few easy to play games like AoE you'll be a happy camper. The unhappy part you'll soon learn is that you can't multiplay age of empires with PC people. Only with other macs.

and i'd be thrilled if someone would correct me on that last statement =(.

[davidflas]

My mother just got a Mac Mini, and I've had the chance to use it a few times. Its the 1.42Ghz model with the combo drive and the 80GB HD, I upgraded the RAM to 512MB and it seems plenty fast for basic computer use. As far as I know there is no way to go dual head with it. I've owned iBooks before, the latest being an 800Mhz iBook G4, the are good entry level computers as well. I think you would be happy with each, as long as you keep in mind that they are entry-level computers.. As for a first Mac, I would saw that you'll be very happy. If you go with the Mini you can pump it up later with 1GB RAM, an 8X Dual layer DVDRW /CDRW drive, and a larger/faster HD. If I had a Mac Mini I would buy the 1.42 model with built in bluetooth and airport, I'd replace the combo drive with the DVDRW, and put a 60GB 7200RPM hd in there.... hope that helps.

[Jasoco]

Max out the RAM. Max it out. You'll want it maxed out.

There's only one monitor port so no on dual monitors at all. Not even mirroring.

My brother plays WoW on a 700MHz iMac G4, it's slow and erkey, but I'd suspect a 1.25+ GHz mini would play a little better.

[neowolf]

As far as WoW. On my older iMac. (800MHz G4, Geforce 2MX, 768MB ram), WoW was playable at the lowest settings. With the 1.42GHz mini and a gig of ram, 1024x768, maxed textures, and quite playable. It's not a powerhouse but it's far from a wimp.