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I am looking to change from a desk top PC to the I mac. I like that is comes with the monitor, new keyboard and mouse. An all in one would give me everything new. That said what are the disadvantages of the I mac compared to a mini mac? I would need a monitor and the apple monitors sure are high priced. I would need a new keyboard and mouse. Looking for help in choosing. My budget would be from $2000 to 2500.
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Apple Silicon processors feature a System-on-Chip design. The main chip contains the CPU, GPU, Neural Engine, hardware video processing engines, and more. The choice of chip makes a huge difference in the system design, regardless of which chassis (e.g., iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Air) Apple places the chip in.
Some Mac minis have M2 chips. Others have M2 Pro chips. Even though the M2 Pro is one generation behind the M3, it is a higher-end chip within its line. So, in some respects, it is a better chip than the M3.
The 24" M3 iMac and the M2 Mac mini offer
The 24" M3 iMac has a very nice 4.5K Retina display, but it's only for use by the built-in computer. You can't use it as a hardware monitor for, say, a Windows or Mac laptop. The M2 Mac mini comes with two USB-A (USB 3) ports, and a HDMI port, and an Ethernet port. Some versions of the 24" M3 iMac offer two USB-C (USB 3) ports, and an Ethernet port. The cheapest versions do not – and will soon have you running out to buy a hub or dock.
The M2 Pro Mac mini offers
If you load up a M2 Pro Mac mini with 32 GB of RAM and other goodies, the price may get to a point where it would make more sense to get a low-end M2 Max Mac Studio. The M2 Max Mac Studios start out with 32 GB of RAM and have several welcome front-panel additions: two USB-C (USB) ports and a SDXC card slot.
Apple Silicon processors feature a System-on-Chip design. The main chip contains the CPU, GPU, Neural Engine, hardware video processing engines, and more. The choice of chip makes a huge difference in the system design, regardless of which chassis (e.g., iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Air) Apple places the chip in.
Some Mac minis have M2 chips. Others have M2 Pro chips. Even though the M2 Pro is one generation behind the M3, it is a higher-end chip within its line. So, in some respects, it is a better chip than the M3.
The 24" M3 iMac and the M2 Mac mini offer
The 24" M3 iMac has a very nice 4.5K Retina display, but it's only for use by the built-in computer. You can't use it as a hardware monitor for, say, a Windows or Mac laptop. The M2 Mac mini comes with two USB-A (USB 3) ports, and a HDMI port, and an Ethernet port. Some versions of the 24" M3 iMac offer two USB-C (USB 3) ports, and an Ethernet port. The cheapest versions do not – and will soon have you running out to buy a hub or dock.
The M2 Pro Mac mini offers
If you load up a M2 Pro Mac mini with 32 GB of RAM and other goodies, the price may get to a point where it would make more sense to get a low-end M2 Max Mac Studio. The M2 Max Mac Studios start out with 32 GB of RAM and have several welcome front-panel additions: two USB-C (USB) ports and a SDXC card slot.
Apple's 27" 5K Studio Display is nice, but it is very high-priced by the standards of the now-discontinued 27" 5K Retina iMacs. By the time that you buy that monitor, an Apple Magic Keyboard, and an Apple Magic Mouse (since Apple doesn't include a keyboard or mouse with the Mac mini and Mac Studio), you have already spent an amount that once would have gotten you a decent 27" 5K Retina iMac system. Only you still need to buy the computer!
This is why many people who buy Mac mini or Mac Studio systems have "settled" for lesser 4K displays. (You can get a nice 27" 4K display for half the cost of a 27" 5K Studio Display, and some inexpensive 27" 4K displays which have IPS panels and near-100% sRGB coverage go for as little as $300 – $350.)
There are two other 27" 5120x2880 pixel displays on the market:
List prices on these monitors seem to be in the $1300 – $1600 range, but I'm seeing the Samsung one on Amazon Marketplace for $799.99 and the LG one on B&H Photo Video's site for $849.
I use an M2 Mac Mini Pro with a 1 TB drive and 32 GB RAM. It is paired with an LG 32UN880-B 32-inch 4K UltraFine anti-glare display (~$600) and uses an Apple Extended Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse II. The M3 iMac is currently capped at 24 GB RAM. The M4 models of the iMac or mini may expand this RAM capability.
Once you use a premium 32-inch display, you will wonder why you thought 27-inch was sufficient. This is why I don't have an Apple Silicon iMac. I also have a 2020 27-inch Core I7 iMac in the other room and find myself preferring the Mac mini and the LG screen over that 5K iMac.
VikingOSX wrote:
Once you use a premium 32-inch display, you will wonder why you thought 27-inch was sufficient.
On the other hand, I have a 27" iMac and iMac Pro and I use my 24" M3 iMac 99.99% of the time. I think the 24" is certainly sufficient for my needs. 🤔
Really the only significant difference is that with the iMac you have only a single display size and resolution option. With a Mac mini you can choose the size and resolution of the display (within the specs of the Mac, of course) that best suits your needs. Otherwise, they're going to be virtually identical in terms of performance and capability when equipped with the same processor. And of course with an iMac, if the display goes bad, the computer may be unusable until repaired, whereas with a Mac mini you can just swap monitors.
Should rumors of impending new Mac models be correct, the situation may change, but for now that's my take on it. So it really comes down to your very specific needs as to which would best suit you.
Regards.
Comparing iMac and Mac mini for a $2000-$2500 budget
