Mac Mini w/Cinema Display or iMac?

Making the switch to Mac. I'm not a gamer, so I just need something to handle my modest post-processing needs. The mini with a 23" Cinema Display is about the same price as the 20" iMac. I know the spec advantage goes to the iMac, the screen advantage I'm guessing goes to the Cinema Display, especially with the matte/glossy debate on the iMac. So, for you Mac enthusiasts out there, which would you pick, and why?

I'd go with the Mini and a matte display over the new iMacs. I'm using a 22" Samsung on my Mini and am quite pleased. I'll probably pull the processor in it (1.66 gHz Core Duo) and replace it with the T7600 (2.33 gHz Core 2 Duo) in the next few months. You should also get yourself an external firewire drive with a 3.5" drive in it. I have a 500 gig Seagate FW that I use as my boot drive.

You don't say what you're going to be running on the mac. I use a mini with a 23" cinema display with Aperture and it's sluggish to say the least.

You need the horsepower and RAM as much as a nice display.
I went with Mac Pro, and will get a big-a$$ display when I can afford it.

I decided finally to get MacBook Pro, but later on i will add mini mac with 23" Cinema display, but i will be sure to get powerful mini mac [2.33 or 2.4GHz, 2GB ram or higher if possible].

philb10 wrote in post #4117321
You don't say what you're going to be running on the mac. I use a mini with a 23" cinema display with Aperture and it's sluggish to say the least.

In what respect is it sluggish? My 1.66 gHz Core Duo does a very decent job, rendering my 30D raw files in 2-3 seconds and PSCS3 is snappy. How much RAM do you have and are you using only the internal drive?

Tareq wrote in post #4118742
I decided finally to get MacBook Pro, but later on i will add mini mac with 23" Cinema display, but i will be sure to get powerful mini mac [2.33 or 2.4GHz, 2GB ram or higher if possible].

Your MBP can drive an external display while closed. You just need to plug in a keyboard and put it aside. Probably won't need a Mini if you have the MBP.

Tony-S wrote in post #4118779
Your MBP can drive an external display while closed. You just need to plug in a keyboard and put it aside. Probably won't need a Mini if you have the MBP.

Yes i know that, but just for separate work i may prefer to keep my MBP alone, and i can swap the cinema monitor if needed.

Tony-S wrote in post #4118768
In what respect is it sluggish? My 1.66 gHz Core Duo does a very decent job, rendering my 30D raw files in 2-3 seconds and PSCS3 is snappy. How much RAM do you have and are you using only the internal drive?

It visibly takes time to render files and I have to wait for it to finish before continuing. I am using the internal drive with 1.5G of ram. From what I have read, aperture is a heavy user of the graphics card and the one in the mini is not really up to the job. However, I knew this when I tried the demo version before buying Aperture. Like many, I'm waiting for the next revision of the Mac Pro to come out before next upgrading.

My Mini renders raw images in 2-3 seconds, while my MPB does it in about half that time using Aperture. If you're doing a lot of throughput, I can see why a Mini might be a downer. No doubt a Mac Pro would be substantially better and is the way to go if you've got the money to spend. The glossy displays on the new iMacs are a non-starter for me.

Apple still has the white 20" iMacs available as refurbs. How do the original matte iMac displays compare to the Cinema displays?