I am going to do it.

[EnronRocks]

So, I am currently looking at Apple computers. I have decided that I am going to invest some cash into one and start doing my photography stuff on it and possibly make the complete switch to Mac's. Right now, I am looking at the Mac Mini and the iMac.

I was looking at the Mac Mini 2.0 Intel upgraded to a 160 gig main hard drive, and 2 gigs of ram with the Apple Keyboard & Mighty Mouse. With the total Care plan it comes to $1,271.00. I don't need a Mac monitor, I have a second 20.1" Sceptre widescreen LCD in its box I can use. Harddrive space isn't really a problem, because I was going to buy a Western Digital 1TB MyBook for my photos.

Now for the iMac. Basically the exact same setup, with a 250 gig hard drive instead of a 160. It comes out to $1,518.00 with the Apple Care plan.

My main question is, should I go with the Mini as a starter Mac, and look at upgrading later down the road when I get comfortable with the Mac setup, or should I just spend the extra cash and get the iMac?

I already have a copy of Photoshop and Aperture 1.5 I get from the University.

[Tony-S]

Unless you're prepared to deal with the glossy screen issues of the iMac, I'd go with the Mini. It is perfectly suited for doing photo work. I routinely run Aperture and PSCS3 concurrently with no issues. I boot and maintain all my files on a 500 gig firewire drive.

[EnronRocks]

Unless you're prepared to deal with the glossy screen issues of the iMac, I'd go with the Mini. It is perfectly suited for doing photo work. I routinely run Aperture and PSCS3 concurrently with no issues. I boot and maintain all my files on a 500 gig firewire drive.

Do the Intel Macs have USB 2.0?

[ender78]

Are you getting your extra memory from Apple or through a third party. You can get an extra 4GB from OWC versus what Apple charges your for the extra 1GB.

[EnronRocks]

Are you getting your extra memory from Apple or through a third party. You can get an extra 4GB from OWC versus what Apple charges your for the extra 1GB.

I have never opened a Mac, let alone a Mac Mini, with everything jammed in there. I guess I could buy the sticks and take it to Geek Squad. Also, will the motherboard support 4 gigs of ram?

[slappy sam]

If replacing the ram on a mac is as easy as on a PC, you should be fine. I just had to pop open my case and remove the 2 sticks of ram from their slots and put 2 new ones in.

[EnronRocks]

If replacing the ram on a mac is as easy as on a PC, you should be fine. I just had to pop open my case and remove the 2 sticks of ram from their slots and put 2 new ones in.

A PC is a lot bigger than a Mac Mini. The Mini is only 2 x 6.5 x 6.5 inches.

[slappy sam]

I guess. They still have to have the ram be accessible - I doubt you have to dismantle the whole computer to get to it.

[Tony-S]

Do the Intel Macs have USB 2.0?

Yes, USB2 and Firewire 400.

[Tony-S]

I guess. They still have to have the ram be accessible - I doubt you have to dismantle the whole computer to get to it.

You have to run a putty knife around three edges, then the lid pops off. Takes about 10 minutes the first time. All the components are easily replaceable and the CPU is socketed, not soldered, so you can pop it out and put in a new one as the technologies improve. You'd be stuck with the GMA950 GPU, though. Not a bad chip - certainly good enough for photo work.

[EnronRocks]

This is what the inside of a older Mac Mini looks like, with a single PC 2700 memory slot.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff250/68Whiskey/Forum%20Images/expominiguts.jpg

The new ones use two PC2 5300 slots, which I am guess is Laptop Memory.

[Tony-S]

That's the original PowerPC G4 mini. The Intel-based minis have two SO-DIMM slots, max of 2 gb RAM (which you should get).

[EnronRocks]

That's the original PowerPC G4 mini. The Intel-based minis have two SO-DIMM slots, max of 2 gb RAM (which you should get).

I am guessing this is the inside of a Intel Mac Mini.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff250/68Whiskey/Forum%20Images/opened_up.jpg

I guess I could get some Corsair memory from NewEgg and swap it myself, I would save $96.00. I could spent the money I save on a Apple Wireless Keyboard & wireless Mighty Mouse, WOOT! If I opened the Mac Mini, would that void my Apple Care plan if I bought it?

[Tony-S]

I am guessing this is the inside of a Intel Mac Mini.

Yes, it is.

I guess I could get some Corsair memory from NewEgg and swap it myself, I would save $96.00.

I get my RAM from Other World Computing, but so long as you get lifetime warranty, you should be ok, regardless of where you buy it.

I could spent the money I save on a Apple Wireless Keyboard & wireless Mighty Mouse, WOOT! If I opened the Mac Mini, would that void my Apple Care plan if I bought it?

The new wireless keyboard is very nice and compact, but it is missing the numeric keypad on the right side. I would never buy a Mighty Mouse - I have two and they just plain suck. Better off buying a optical scroll mouse (bluetooth or USB), IMO.

[johnms88]

I guess I could buy the sticks and take it to Geek Squad. Please god no don't do it.

[harrydog]

The Mini Mac certainly isn't bad but the iMac is better in several ways.
First, someone mentioned the "glossy screen issues". What issues? In most all settings, once the display is turned on, there are no reflections at all. Most all people who actually own one say the same thing - there are no glossy screen issues.

The main differences between the Mini and the imac that can affect performance are:

1) Mini comes with 1Gb RAM in two slots. If you want to go with 2Gb (the maximum possible) you have to discard the RAM that came with it. The iMac comes with 1Gb RAM in one slot so you can upgrade to 3Gb total without discarding what came with it. Of course you can upgrade to the 4Gb maximum if you need that.

2) The Mini comes with a graphics card that uses 64Mb of shared RAM. The iMac comes with graphics cards of either 128Mb or 256Mb of RAM that is dedicated, not shared.

3) The Mini comes with USB and Firewire 400 ports. The iMac comes with USB, Firewire 400 and Firewire 800 ports.

4) Based on everything I've seen, the Mini comes with either 80Gb, 120Gb or 160Gb hard drives that run at 5400 RPM. The iMacs come with 250Gb, 320Gb, 500Gb or 750Gb hard drives running at 7200 RPM.

5) Of course the iMac comes with processors running at 2.0, 2.4 or 2.8 Gig while 2.0 is the fastest for the Mini.

But never having owned a Mini, I can't really say how much of a difference all this makes, but it certainly will make at least some difference in performance.

[Tony-S]

The Mini Mac certainly isn't bad but the iMac is better in several ways.

First, someone mentioned the "glossy screen issues".

That would be me.

What issues? In most all settings, once the display is turned on, there are no reflections at all. Most all people who actually own one say the same thing - there are no glossy screen issues.

While I don't have an AliMac, I did have a MacBook with a glossy display. It was a pain in the @$$. Some screen calibrators have trouble with glossies (Spyder2 doesn't). The 20" glossy iMacs also have real color rendition problems and have TN panels. The 24" iMacs aren't so bad since they have S-IPS panels. My white 24" iMac does too, but it's matte.

The main differences between the Mini and the imac that can affect performance are:

1) Mini comes with 1Gb RAM in two slots. If you want to go with 2Gb (the maximum possible) you have to discard the RAM that came with it. The iMac comes with 1Gb RAM in one slot so you can upgrade to 3Gb total without discarding what came with it. Of course you can upgrade to the 4Gb maximum if you need that.

Some iMacs come with 2x512. Besides, with RAM prices so cheap, just buy the least and go 3rd party.

2) The Mini comes with a graphics card that uses 64Mb of shared RAM. The iMac comes with graphics cards of either 128Mb or 256Mb of RAM that is dedicated, not shared.

No, it doesn't. It uses 80mb of system RAM. The GMA950 gpu is also part of the chipset; it's not a card. It's also not so important for 2D photo work so long as you have 2 gigs of RAM. A dedicated graphics card has its own VRAM and gpu for 3D graphics work and to drive 30" displays, while the Mini will max out on a 24" (1920x1200 ws). The iMac can drive a second display, while the Mini cannot, but this would break the OP's budget in short order. The video performance argument for photo work is largely spurious, just like with the MB and MBP comparison.

3) The Mini comes with USB and Firewire 400 ports. The iMac comes with USB, Firewire 400 and Firewire 800 ports.

Firewire 800 is certainly nice, but the price of the drives are not. I'd rather have eSATA (which Apple has apparently forgone).

4) Based on everything I've seen, the Mini comes with either 80Gb, 120Gb or 160Gb hard drives that run at 5400 RPM. The iMacs come with 250Gb, 320Gb, 500Gb or 750Gb hard drives running at 7200 RPM.

And this is why I boot from a 500 gig 7200 rpm 16 mb L2 firewire drive with firewire and usb hubs (MiniStack II).

5) Of course the iMac comes with processors running at 2.0, 2.4 or 2.8 Gig while 2.0 is the fastest for the Mini.

But never having owned a Mini, I can't really say how much of a difference all this makes, but it certainly will make at least some difference in performance.

More importantly, the iMacs come with the Santa Rosa chipset (true 64 bit, but which makes little difference for 2D work, and faster fsb). There are also a lot of other nice features for the iMac, including 802.11n (vs. g on the Mini). There is no doubt the iMac is a better performing machine, but for me (and many photographers), the glossy screen is a deal killer.

[Canuck]

One bad thing is that the mighty mouse and keyboard that come with is really suck. That is an easy fix, though. As I sit here, I'm typing on a 640MB G3 900MHz iBook. It still rocks, but running it near the outer edges of its capacity really draggs it down. 36MB TIFFs from the 10D are starting to slow this one down. That said, this computer is from 2002 and weighs 4.2 lbs. Can't shake a stick at that!

[harrydog]

One bad thing is that the mighty mouse and keyboard that come with is really suck. That is an easy fix, though. As I sit here, I'm typing on a 640MB G3 900MHz iBook. It still rocks, but running it near the outer edges of its capacity really draggs it down. 36MB TIFFs from the 10D are starting to slow this one down. That said, this computer is from 2002 and weighs 4.2 lbs. Can't shake a stick at that!
I agree that the mighty mouse sucks but I have grown to like the keyboard.

[harrydog]

The iMac can drive a second display, while the Mini cannot, but this would break the OP's budget in short order. The video performance argument for photo work is largely spurious, just like with the MB and MBP comparison.


Since he already has another display, this would solve the "problem" of the glossy screen for photo work, if in fact it is a problem for him. And for non-photo work, the iMac would be a superior machine. The Mini (as he had it configured) and the iMac are pretty close in price.
But I have a feeling the Mini Mac will be updated fairly soon. Unless I was in a hurry, I would wait to see what is offered.