[Eug]

I see on the Mac refurb store that the dual 500 GB HD, dual display Mac minis (with no optical drive) sometimes is listed with a good price, but it comes with Mac OS X Server.

How well does Mac OS X Server run for end users? I have no need for an optical drive, because I have two external 5.25" optical drives for my iMac already. (One is a region free DVD drive with +R bitsetting, and the other is a Blu-ray burner.) Because of this the built-in optical drive is of no use to me.

If OS X Server is not good for an end user, I assume running regular Mac OS X is fine on it right? Actually, it would function as my media server.

[besson3c]

I could be mistaken, but I believe that the OS X Server kernel is optimized a little differently so you may not have optimal performance running Server on it during certain things, but you could install Client on it without any problem if you had the Client DVD.

[Eug]

How's the performance on the current 7200 rpm 2.5" drives?

I'm eyeing a refurb 4 GB 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo dual 500 GB 7200 rpm Mac mini, although ideally I'd prefer to get a system like this:

Core i5 2.4 GHz
8 GB RAM
Dual 750 GB 7200 rpm drive <-- Doesn't exist yet?

I'd be running Aperture on it, but only rarely. Same goes for Photoshop.

The main problem would be video encoding. That'd suck. However, I just really hate the form factor of the current iMac.

---

My Core i7 iMac is in the shop, but I'm tempted to put it up for sale as soon as it's fixed.

[besson3c]

How often do you buy new Macs, Eug? Just wondering...

[AKcrab]

My computer at work is a MacPro running server. It does software updates and net-boot/net-installs. Work fine for day to day use, I don't even notice I'm running server.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

How often do you buy new Macs, Eug? Just wondering...

Pretty often. Usually every couple of years. Sometimes even once a year. Why do you ask?

However, I'm now also considering a used 8-core Mac Pro Xeon 3.2 GHz 8 GB with 320 GB SATA drive. I'd add a couple more SATA drives and maybe a FW800/eSATA card. That would actually solve all my problems, but it's a bit on the pricey side. How's the 512 GB GeForce 8800? It'd be running two 1920x1XXX monitors, with a bit of Aperture thrown in.

Originally Posted by AKcrab 

My computer at work is a MacPro running server. It does software updates and net-boot/net-installs. Work fine for day to day use, I don't even notice I'm running server.

Interesting, although you are a Mac service guy, so I'm wondering if your perspective may be a little different.

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Pretty often. Usually every couple of years. Sometimes even once a year. Why do you ask?

I can't remember what you do for a living and/or with your computer or if you've shared this (and I won't be nosy enough to ask outright), but I figured that obviously it was something in content creation or something since you seem to upgrade pretty frequently. Not that there is anything wrong with that

[Eug]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

I can't remember what you do for a living and/or with your computer or if you've shared this (and I won't be nosy enough to ask outright), but I figured that obviously it was something in content creation or something since you seem to upgrade pretty frequently. Not that there is anything wrong with that

I do not do content creation for a living. However, occasionally I like to dabble with my Canon 7D, as a rank amateur. For work I do pretty mundane stuff on the computer.

A few reasons I upgrade pretty frequently:

1) My computer purchases are often subsidized through my expense account.
2) I get the education deals and discounts.
3) I like having AppleCare.
4) I'm an Apple geek.

The iMac is fine for my needs in terms of power. My main issue with it is the unadjustable stand, and the chin. I'm relatively short, so its height is far too tall for me. Not ergonomic, and it causes me a bit of back pain, something I don't get as much with my Windows 7 box with screens that are lower.

The Mac Pro or Mac mini would solve this problem. My other option would be to get the 21.5" iMac, but it's still unadjustable and it still has the chin. As far as I'm concerned, the iMac ends up being almost like a tarted up Mac mini but with less ergonomic options.

For an 8-core and expandable Mac Pro, I could see that lasting me many years though. I'd just hope I can buy another 2 years of AppleCare on a used item.

[AKcrab]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Interesting, although you are a Mac service guy, so I'm wondering if your perspective may be a little different.

Heh! It probably is.. BUT.. I also do phone support, so I'm constantly firing up iLife/iWork apps to offer guidance over the phone.

That said, I never use any of the pro or prosumer apps.

[Waragainstsleep]

Using the Server OS for a workstation is considered bad practice, but in reality its not a massive problem for casual work. If you intend to start fiddling or doing anything complex, you may run in to issues more frequently than you would with ordinary Snow Leopard.

That said, unless you actually want to run any services, it makes a lot more sense to wipe it with the client version. If you run server, you'll need to know how to set up DNS too...

[Eug]

Damn, the used Mac Pro is already sold. That was quick.

The ones on the Apple refurb store are much less enticing. Only 3 GB RAM and quad core for about the same price as the one I listed above. Bigger drive though.

Maybe what I'll do is continue to hold off until another nice used Mac Pro shows up.

[Mac Write]

Why not get the VESA mount for your iMac and a VESA arm, then you can position it as low as you want. I do that with my Apple 20" Cinema as I need it flush with the front of my desk.

[msuper69]

I run a stock Mac mini (2010 model) server as an Xcode development and personal machine.
It works very well and unless you look in Activity Monitor, you can't tell it's a server OS.

I do intend to install SL client eventually but until I have a reason to do so, I'll just keep on with the current setup.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Mac Write 

Why not get the VESA mount for your iMac and a VESA arm, then you can position it as low as you want. I do that with my Apple 20" Cinema as I need it flush with the front of my desk.

I'd considered that, but it's a bit of a kludge. I'm still thinking about it though, since my iMac was defective, and Apple is giving me a brand new iMac.

Originally Posted by msuper69 

I run a stock Mac mini (2010 model) server as an Xcode development and personal machine.
It works very well and unless you look in Activity Monitor, you can't tell it's a server OS.

I do intend to install SL client eventually but until I have a reason to do so, I'll just keep on with the current setup.

Interesting. However, I've since decided against the Mac mini server because it's basically as cheap to get a refurb 21.5" iMac, which also has the benefit of simpler memory expansion.