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New BTO Mac Mini- Opt for Max CPU or Max RAM?

I have a friend looking to get a new Mac with a budget of $1000 or less. He's a video editor, so being able to run Final Cut Pro smoothy, etc would be a must. Unfortunately the budget is non-negotiable so I am having to make some tough decisions as to the custom-order build. With that said- now that RAM is no longer user-replaceable, which is more important for future-proofing? Maxing out the 2.6 ghz dual core i5 to a 3.0 ghz dual core i7, or maxing out the RAM to 16 gigs? If you had to go only one way or the other, which would you do?


Thanks!

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2010), OS X Mavericks (10.9), 8 GB RAM

Posted on Sep 2, 2015 12:08 PM

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4 replies

Sep 2, 2015 1:38 PM in response to lllaass

Lllaass,


Thank you for the reply. Unfortunately, that doesn't really help me that much. I understand what each component does, and I know that maxing tech out is the preferred route. I was more or less hoping that someone (with real-world use) could chime in on the merits of this generation of i5 vs i7, and whether the gains made by the processor upgrade would outweigh the gains made my maxing out the RAM, or vice-versa. As stated, the budget will only allow for one upgrade: CPU or RAM; I just want to make it count!


Thanks again.

Sep 3, 2015 3:11 AM in response to Zach Foster

FWIW, probably more of a bottleneck in video processing will be the slow

5400 RPM drive that the Mini comes with standard than the options you

are fretting over.


Something to consider, a refurb or used 2012 i7 quad core Mini. Most video processing

apps are core hungry and the more cores you throw at them the better they perform.


If set on the latest Mini, still check out refurbs at the Apple Store. They come with a full 1 year

warranty and are eligible for Apple Care. (http://www.apple.com/shop/browse/home/specialdeals/mac)

New BTO Mac Mini- Opt for Max CPU or Max RAM?

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