iMac vs mac Mini vs pc

lizard6king6

lizard6king6

CAGiversary!
Feedback
15 (100%)
Need a new computer. I am pretty good with computers and have had the same pc for the last 10 years with xp. Upgrades here and there but it's time to upgrade.
What do you guys reccomend? I like the all in one iMac but am new to macs so I'm apprehensive especially with the all in one deal but looks real nice.
Mac mini also nice but and easier to upgrade things. However need to buy keyboard , mouse and screen seperate.
Pc with windows I know best but I'm not a fan of windows 8. More customizable but over the last few years I've been curious about macs as everyone talks them up. Any advice or opinion would be appreciated.
 
For light gaming a mac will be ok. In my opinion your will get more functionality and bang for your buck with a windows machine. Parts for PCs are very readily available from a wide variety of  vendors whereas with a mac you are at the whim of a "Genius". 

 
I'll be honest... the last Mac games I played were Starcraft and You Don't Know Jack around 2000 on my PowerMac G4.  I know you can dual boot into Windows or with Parallels, and Steam is out there, and there are a lot more options today for gaming than there were a decade ago (hell... even 5 years ago)... but I'm a console guy at heart.

That said... I have a 21.5" iMac I got from Apple's website directly in 2011.  It was a custom upgrade with a faster processor (Core i5 to Core i7) and, I believe, I upgrade the graphics card at the time.  Then I went and upgraded the memory myself from 4gb to 12gb. Really haven't had a problem with the system. However, since then, I know that they've removed the SuperDrive (mine was the last model to include it), which most people won't mind, but I'm old school disc guy, so I'm happy to have it.  With the removal of the SuperDrive, they were able to compact it even more (apparently, Apple prides itself on being able to sell a computer with a large, vibrant screen that you actually cannot see at all, if turned at the right angle).   And I'm not sure if you can upgrade the memory yourself as you once  could. 

BUT... I am happy with what I have.  I have an Adobe Suite with all sorts of programs and I generally use After Effects for messing around, and I haven't experienced any issues with it.  I'm sure if I had one of the newer models with a SSD built-in, it would run even faster.   Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere, etc... and other stuff.  And, honestly, I use a lot of lower budget programs like Pixelmator and Comic Life and Sketchbook Pro for different things.  SimpleMovieX for (literally) simple movie editing (it's free!) and so forth. 

My mother has a MacMini from around the same era and, honestly, it is slower and doesn't do as much as the iMac does (I'm the one that set it up and "trained" her to use it, having relied on PCs all of her life, previously).   Of course, 2.5 years later, maybe they will things better.  I'm not sure.   But, between the iMac and the MacMini, I would say to just go for the iMac itself. 

 
lizard6king6 said:
Light gaming but mostly use for internet browsing, editing photos and streaming video .
Click to expand...
For light gaming, internet browsing, and streaming video, there is no reason not to go with the more affordable, easier to mod / repair PC format. You may not like Windows 8, but if you've never delved into iMacs before, it will be an adjustment either way (but you'll get used to it).

Editing photos is easier and more accessible on a typical iMac, but it's not like there aren't options available for PC users. Unless you happen upon a good deal for the iMac / Mac mini, then go for a windows PC.

One final note on Macs, is that you aren't tied into getting Apple specific keyboards, monitors (for the Mac mini), or mice, though (personally I have never liked the trackpads, and the stupid scroll ball on their standard USB mice always gives me trouble).

 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top