clixpix Loc: Surprise, Arizona

Hi to All:

My 9.5 year old 21 inch Apple desktop is showing signs of aging and is no longer supported by Apple help. I believe it is time to get another current one. One thought I have is to get an Apple Mini with maximum ram and hard drive--they show a couple of options on the Apple site. I already have the mouse and keyboard for my current desktop. The price for the fully decked out mini is about the same as for a 21.5 inch desktop.

I am asking for advice as to whether this is a sensible solution for a little less money. I know I will have to purchase another screen, one that will allow for good photo processing. Has anyone have thought about this, has anyone done this, are you happy with your decision?

Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks

Mister H Loc: Michigan

I would go to the Apple store if you have one nearby and ask their advice/opinion. In the past they spent a lot of time guiding on and not pushing product. They may enlighten you to something you’re overlooking based on your needs.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

I had an even older Mac which died, an old G5 I was using with an old Eizo monitor which was also past its prime, and I was using Photoshop CS4. I got a Mac mini with extra RAM and hard drive. I wanted another high end photo monitor, and I got the BenQ SW271, not cheap, but cheaper than equivalent Eizos. With the LR and PS subscription, I feel like I'm up to speed again. The Mini works great, no problems at all.

johnst1001a Loc: West Chester, Ohio

the new IMacs are out. Get the 27" I9 processor, 32 gb ram, 1tb ssd.

jeryh Loc: Oxfordshire UK

Well, I had an Apple mini; I wouldn't go that route again though; I recently bought a three year old Apple iMac 21" 4k retina; brilliant, you won't regret it !

neillaubenthal

The mini is a wonderful machine…but is somewhat underpowered compared to the current iMac line. Unless price or space is an issue…then I would go with an iMac. Mini's make wonderful media servers but for editing photos you'll greatly appreciate the extra horsepower in the iMac.

Bfree2 Loc: Grants Pass, Or

I am in market of a desktop as well, and I have been considering the mini as well. What issues did you experience?

John_F Loc: Minneapolis, MN

Some Macs can be had with SSD internal storage - no moving parts to die. I have a stand alone SSD unit - it is 1TB USB so movable between computers. Max out on RAM, you never can have enough.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

The other reason to get the mini is if you want a photography-specific monitor instead of the iMac one.

wrangler5 Loc: Missouri

I've been using a Mac Mini since about 2012, and could not be more pleased with the setup. It's mounted (upside down) in a locking bracket that's screwed to the bottom of a shelf on the wall that my desk faces, and the monitor is on an arm screwed to that wall, so except for the keyboard and mouse the computer takes up -0- desk space. When it can no longer be kept running I'll probably look for another, newer, one.

Mine is a quad core i7 with 16Gb of RAM and a 1.2Tb Fusion Drive (200GB SSD and a 1TB hard drive that the system sees as one unit.) I have never sensed any sluggishness, although I'm using mostly Lightroom for editing and printing the ~1,000 B&W images I bind into books every Christmas for family members. Admittedly I do not do multi-layer work in Photoshop, nor do I do any video, so I'm probably at the lightweight end of photo processing.

If you haven't seen it, check out RefurbMe, a site that shows what Apple products are available as certified refurbished units. (They come with a 1 year Apple warranty, which I believe can be extended with Apple Care.) You can search for a very specific set of characteristics, and if they don't have something available at the moment you can set up an email notification when what you are looking for becomes available.

clixpix Loc: Surprise, Arizona

Thanks to all who replied to my Apple upgrade issue. There are some good suggestions that I will consider as I visit my local Apple stores.
Joe

Bfree2 Loc: Grants Pass, Or

So I’m guessing that only a few had problem experiences with the Mini. My reason was though the iMac is appealing, I like the thought of specifically selecting the monitors and also for space concerns. For portability I have my iPad Pro that’s always with me. Thanks for your incite.

Dun1 Loc: Atlanta, GA

My first Mac purchase was a Mac Mini. I wanted to make sure I would like the Mac Operating System. My exposure to Mac was due to the fact my wife was employed by an architectual firm, with over two hundred employees. I moved on to an iMac 20" and currently use an iMac 27". I find the iMacs are far easier to use over the Mac Mini

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

I got a Mac Mini so I could use a photography specific monitor. But I didn't think the OS for the Mini was any different than the iMac. How is the iMac far easier to use?

Dun1 Loc: Atlanta, GA

The Mac Mini experienced its first update in many years. iMacs are move frequently updated. The operating system is no different than that of an iMac or Mac Pro. An iMac does not require a external monitor and the display on most iMacs rival the higher end monitors.
When I used my Mac Mini I was using a KVM Switch to toggle from the Windows OS to the Mac OS. I shoot sports and events so for my purpose the iMac better suited for my purposes