[EddieRebel]

I've got a question and I was hoping some of you may be able to give me some input. I have been wanting to make the switch over to a Mac for quite some time now, and just recently I have saved up enough money to finally make this happen. My plan was originally to get a 24" iMac, but for Christmas I got a Dell 24" monitor, so that would be overkill (I really don't need 4 feet of screen space, as much as I would really love it).

Now I've started debating between a MacBook or a Mac Mini. Do the new minis have enough power to drive a 24" monitor without any problems? The max resolution is 1900x1200 -- I'd like to be able to keep it there without having any display issues, if possible.

As for the MacBook, I'd really enjoy having the portability of a laptop but I don't want to render my new monitor useless. I assume that you can somehow hook up the MB to an external monitor.. anyone know if that is correct? I've never had a laptop before, so I don't know too much about their capabilities.

One of the main reasons I can't wait to switch is iMovie. I've watched some of my friends put together some really great movies and it was very easy.. especially considering the Windows counterparts which I have tried and threw away afterwards.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to give their advice!

[seanc]

There is one thing against the Mini, it has a Core Duo chip rather than a Core 2 Duo.

Personally, I would buy the MacBook as this is what i'm saving up for, it's nice and portable meaning you can use it anywhere (you'll grow to love this) and you can also hook it up to your 24" screen meaning you have 2 screens which is very useful.

iMovie etc comes standard with every Mac but i'm sure you have already learnt this.

Thats my 2p, happy switching.

[EddieRebel]

Thanks seanc. I hadn't yet realized that the Minis don't have Core 2 Duo. For some reason I thought all Apple's computers had been upgraded to that. With that piece of knowledge, it seems like the MacBook would probably be my best bet.

I imagine that iMovie works fine on a Mini but I think I would like the additional power from a MacBook. I'm also glad to hear that I could hook the 24" up as a secondary monitor, that is awesome. Thanks for your input!

[4JNA]

the macbook is also WAY easier to upgrade with ram and hard drive if you want to save some money and do it yourself (apple is expensive when it comes to upgrades).

same computer, faster cpu, screen and battery built in. macbook for sure. best of luck.

[surfacto]

I have one of each. I would say go with the macbook if you like to do mobile computing, but otherwise the Mini is a great machine, considerably cheaper, and will have no problems with your big monitor (i'm jealous). Also, you can get those cool stackable external HDs that look and work great with the mini for video storage. I have the 500GB Newertech minStack v2 and its awesome. It also serves as a USB/firewire hub.

You can hook up an external monitor to the macbook with a mini-dvi to vga or mini-dvi to dvi-d cable. It costs about $20.

My one piece of advice is to upgrade to at least 1 GB of RAM on either machine. I have 2GB in both of mine and they run great. Both are impossibly slow to work with on only 512MB. It is considerably easier to upgrade RAM on the macbook, so if you go with the Mini you may want to have it pre-installed. Good luck.

[pcryan5]

>My one piece of advice is to upgrade to at least 1 GB of RAM on either machine. I have 2GB in both of mine and they run great.


Agreed! And esp for the Mac Mini as post sales upgrades of memory are very expensive. I recommend 2G.

[mania]

I am also in this boat as my powerbook is failing. I need one computer for work and home - so its macbook or mini plus two 19in LCD monitors. when you price it all out its about the same.

does anyone here tote their mini around as a portable that they plug in at home and work?