Why should i buy a mac mini?

What sort of things do you want to do with the computer?

Do you already have a serviceable monitor?

For most users, the iMac works out to be a better deal.

Unless you already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse, the mac mini works out to be more expensive than a comparable iMac.

So, my question is why the mac mini and not an iMac?

I see you already have a monitor.

Here are benchmarks for the new mac mini compared to the iMac.

http://www.primatelabs.ca/geekbench/mac-benchmarks/

Either of the dual-core mac minis should suffice.

The pros of any Mac is OSX.

To discuss the pros and cons of a particular computer, it needs to be compared to an alternative.

Otherwise, the Mac Mini is perfect in design for it's form factor.

> For most users, the iMac works out to be a better deal

I have small children in the house so I got a Mac mini.

I was worried about them to break or mess with the iMac's built-in screen. I had an old Sony monitor around. A laptop was also out of the question because they might pour something to the keyboard and break the whole thing. They have behaved well but it is better to be safe than sorry...

The Mac mini is the perfect computer for a home theater system.

Avoid any models that do not include an optical drive.

It's all about the customization, really. You can use your own monitor/keyboard/mouse, or get something fancy like a Logitech Solar Wireless Keyboard, a Magic Trackpad, and a second monitor through using an HDMI adapter in the Thunderbolt port. As mentioned, you can hide the unit pretty well if you want to make things look better. And, you're getting all the great features of the Mac Operating System.

I don't have the newest Mini, but I do have the next to newest one (6 months ago) and I came from an XP PC that burned up. I was curious about a Mac but never wanted to spend as much as for an iMac, but when the old PC died, I had a nice monitor, new keyboard and new wireless mouse just sitting on the table with nothing to do. The Mini fit the bill perfectly and didn't break the budget. My uses are the usual web stuff, media viewing, "Office" software, photo editing and web coding, all of which work fine on the Mini. In addition, while I can't say that the Mini redefined computing for me, I do find that everything seems easier or smoother or something, in small ways that add up to a very favorable experience. The new Mini is cheaper and faster, so, aside from the missing optical drive (an external one costs about 50 bucks), it would be even better than what I got. If you have a monitor, KB and mouse, it's really an easy purchase.

I bought one & I love it. Gotta get used to all the new apps & changes but that is only a minor irritation which soon passes. Once your up running it is great!

Can't you just use the headphone jack on the back if the mini and use an optical adapter?

scorogers; "optical drive" refers to a DVD/CD drive.

What you seem to be referring to is an optic fibre audio system. In which case you don't need an adapter - the optical output is already there.

but I don't want it slowing down when i want to do more then two things at the same time.

Get a Mac Pro.

The Mac Pro stomps the Mini in the customization department. Folding down the Mac Pro's side door gives you easy and almost instant access to its innards, and virtually every component is simple to swap out. Hard drives in particular are extraordinarily easy to swap in the Mac Pro.

Contrast that with the Mini, where the RAM is essentially the only user-serviceable component.

I added cards to add more USB Ports, more FireWire Ports, Video inputs and a dual eSATA card to my Mac Pro,

(Sounding like Darth Vader.) "You don't know the POWER of the Mac Pro."

Actually I was referring to the "audio out" on the back of the mini mac which is the headphone jack? If I use an optical adapter, I can use this for my fiber optic line to feed into the back of my stereo. I do not see an optical output unless I am missing something?

scorogers wrote:

Actually I was referring to the "audio out" on the back of the mini mac which is the headphone jack? If I use an optical adapter, I can use this for my fiber optic line to feed into the back of my stereo. I do not see an optical output unless I am missing something?

The audio out is the optical out. If you gently depress the leaf switch at the side of the socket to simulate plugging in a device, you'll see a red light come on - that's the optical fibre output.

However, Ziatron was referring to CD/DVD drives, which are absent in the newest Minis.

Thanks. Very helpful.