[Douglashh]

I would like some input on purchasing a new Mac. I’m over 50, got my first Mac in 1986, and have been extremely happy with the overall performance of my 1.25GHz MDD G4. It’s over 4 years old now and I’m getting ready to purchase a new Mac. I’m not upgrading for a speed increase just to replace my aging G4. I almost bought a Mac Mini last April but decided to wait until they were upgraded. Now, I’m sort of looking at the new iMac but don’t really know if it’s worth the extra money to me since by all accounts either the Mini or iMac will be substantially faster than my G4.

I am NOT a gamer. My uses include photo editing with Photoshop Elements, which will hopefully go universal soon, word processing and spreadsheets, ripping and burning DVD’s and CD’s, Quicken and web surfing.

I am assuming that in order to get good performance from the Mini, 2.0GHz, that I should get a memory upgrade, $150, due to the shared memory on the video card. I’m not sure I’d need a memory upgrade for the iMac. This makes the cost difference only $250 which is not a big deal. I have a year old ViewSonic 19” monitor I’m happy with and believe I could sell for at least $50 thereby reducing the difference to $200.

I would never use the built in iSight and the bigger hard drive in the iMac really isn’t a big deal either as I still have 40 GB available on my current 80GB G4. The only benefit I can see for the iMac is the 3.5” 7200 rpm hard drive. Also I sort of prefer separate components and the iMac has the built in monitor.

Should I go with my original decision and get the Mini or cough up an additional couple hundred bucks and get the iMac? Is there something I’m not considering?

[chazz894]

I have a Power PC 1.5GHz with 1GB of RAM ( max for that model ) and i run Adobe CS2 on it and have not had any real issues, The Lack of enough USB 2.0 ports ( 2 on my model and 2 USB 1.0 port on the Keyboard ) and only 1 Firewire 400 port even on the new model is a let down but you can always use some kind of hub for both Firewire and USB 2.0 pots ( the new apple (wired) keyboard has 2 USB 2,0 ports for a total of 6 if you get it)

anyway i would say if you don't really need the power of the Mac Pro and you don't like the Glossy display of the iMac's then you might give the mini a real look at. I have used mine for 2 years now and i still use it on a daily basis, but i am thinking about an upgrade as well just to be able to run some universal apps and maybe Windows XP for the few games that i play and i will more then likely move up to the iMac just to unclutter some of my desk space and to have a Firewire 800 port for a new external HDD,

Any way just a thought

[P]

You sound like you want the mini, but want to make sure that you're not missing something vital by picking it. Advantages to the iMac, then:

Harddrive: bigger, faster. The slow HD in the mini will be holding it back.
RAM ceiling. The iMac will let you go to 4GB, while Apple reports that the mini tops out at 2 gigs. (This would be the dealbreaker for me, btw)
FSB: 800 MHz on the iMac, 667 MHz on the mini. Not that the iMac can make use of that without a RAM upgrade, but still.
Display: The iMac will let you connect a second display for desktop spanning.
Wireless networking: the iMac supports draft 802.11n, a newer faster wireless network standard. The mini is stuck at 802.11g.
Input devices: If you plan on selling the G4, the buyer is going to expect the mouse and keyboard. The mini comes without those - not sure if you were planning to scavenge the ones from the G4.
Graphics: For all the complaints about the iMac's GPU, it still beats the mini's GMA 950 by at least a mile. That GPU is not only used for games, btw - it can accelerate video decoding and is used by the OS for image processing.

Take a look at the list and see if there is anything there that is worth $200 to you. If not, save your money. The iMac is probably a better deal for most people, because you get a lot for your dollar, but that doesn't matter if you don't need the bonuses.

[iREZ]

if you could swing an imac, get an imac...if you use the money elsewhere, the mini will not let you down.

[bearcatrp]

I have owned a mini and do own a 24 inch iMac and a mac pro. I am in my upper 40's (not telling) and if you have kids or grand kids living away, you will love the iMac with the built in video cam. I see my daughter and my granddaughter every week (she lives in another state). Its also powerful enough using imovie (if you decide to use a camcorder and do a little editing). If your not far from a apple store, go see one in person. I think you will bring the iMac home. Good luck in your decision.
Randy