“‘Which Mac should I buy?’ is a question many of our readers ask,” Mark Hattersley writes for Macworld UK. “Apple keeps things fairly simple with a small range of computers, all of which are good… In this feature we’re going to take a look at Apple’s two consumer desktops and decide which is best. Which computer should you buy?”
“There’s no denying that the iMac has better technical specifications across the board. It has a faster CPU, graphics card and more storage space on the standard models,” Hattersley writes. “One surprising factor is that there are more input/output connections on the Mac mini than on the iMac. Both devices have four USB 3.0 ports, but the Mac mini also has a FireWire 800 port and a built in HDMI connection (you need to use an Mini DisplayPort adaptor on the iMac).”
Hattersley writes, “One thing that’s also worth bearing in mind is that the Mac mini is much more upgradable than the iMac. You can upgrade both the hard drive and the RAM of the Mac mini, and of course you can attach any display you want.”
Much more in the full article here.
Duh, the obvious answer: both.
Yes. There are cases for both.
For my use, I recently bought a Mini hooked up to a 3rd party monitor. I also tossed on a USB Apple extended keyboard and Magic Trackpad. It does what I need, which is the point of any purchase.
Mac mini is the easy choice for most for the simple fact that displays almost always outlast the computers they are attached to.
Depending upon the displays in question, I’ve found the exact opposite to be true.
You & AW both provide equally valid reason why separates are usually a better value in the long run.
But to answer the question posed by MDN: they are two very different machines. The iMac can be configured with more capability. The machines really don’t compete against each other at all.
It makes no sense that Apple doesn’t make a mid-sized tower sans display with capabilities and pricing ~ halfway between the Mac mini and the Mac Pro. If Apple did offer such a machine, it would learn that many desktop buyers do prefer the flexibility and user-upgradeability that well-design separates offer.
You can upgrade the ram and hard drive on the iMac… just takes some skill, or pay someone to do it. Besides, with thunderbolt, an external drive is as fast as most internal drives for most folks.
I thought that upgrading the iMac required a heat gun to separate the glass to open it up. Unless aesthetics were a big factor I’d do the Mac Mini.
Not true. The glass is actually held on by magnets; suction cups are recommended to remove the glass, and after that the most complicated part is to remember the orientation of the SATA aux connector (the only one that’s NOT keyed).
The late 2012 iMac’s display is held on with an adhesive strip. It’s not held on by magnets. The proper tool to cut though the adhesive strip looks like a little pizza cutter.
The cost on the Apple replacement adhesive strip is $40 and you are looking at an hour worth of labor at an Apple authorized service center.
Initially people used heat guns and guitar picks to gain access to late 2012 iMac but that’s not how it is supposed to be done. DIYers tend to use 3M double sided tape to put it back together.
Depends on which 2012 model you bought.
The new Mac Pro has 4K HDTV ports and the others do not. So, I already have a Mac mini connected to my HDTV set. It I am getting a new Mac it will be able to support the new 4K HDTV standards. Just in case I get a 4K HDTV at home. My 8 year old Sony HDTV has to fail at some point.
The iMac. It is beautiful. Pimp out the RAM.
Agreed.
The Mini may save some money overall but the iMac display quality is unmatched and beautiful.
I bought a 2012 mac mini and havent looked back. it performs great. i love my setup too
Had Powermac at home for the expansion and upgradeability. Though I added RAM and another HD, that is all I ever did. Really wanted to get another Power Mac, but opted instead, for the iMac.
Have never looked back, and the cable clutter is MUCH less.
At work, as each of my Mac minis have aged I am replacing them with iMacs. Much simpler/convenient/elegant. (Personally hate cable clutter.)
I agree. I’ve owned 2 Mac minis and 2 iMacs. I much prefer the iMacs. That being said Mac minis have there place, they are more versatile than an iMac. They’ve been used in cars, sailboats, digital signage, home theatre you name it. The mini gets less respect than it deserves, but cable management is a must,
iMac. Configure it, ready out of the box. All my needs.
Mac Mini is perfect for home theater, iMac for work.
I like both.
Let us not forget if you travel, it is very easy to carry the Mac Mini in a small case, say a Pelican case, with the keyboard and cables. Should you fly or travel with the need to have your desktop for some reason. Reasoning you can hook it up to a TV, projector, or an available Display. The Mac Mini is very convenient for this.
If the Mac mini were more easily upgradeable it would be perfect. A BTO for a decent Graphics card combined with a more reasonable pricing scheme for memory and storage would do the trick.
If you have a Mac mini and the monitor dies you plug in another and continue- you can easily use your HDTV with the HDMI jack. If you have an iMac “thin is in” laptop for the desktop and the monitor dies you have a brick with an expensive problem.
Again the Apple problem of style over substance, which Apple has made worse with it’s new Home Theater PC stinking up the Mac Pro name.
Are you, by chance, referring to the Mac Pro which two will out perform the 1100 PowerMacs in the Virginia Tech 2003 third most powerful Supercomputer in the World’s 12 teraflop computing power, turning in 14 teraflops???? THAT Mac Pro??? Are you belittling it as a “Home Theater PC” because it has HDMI outputs? If so, you are truly a world class idiot. You ignore the SIX Thunderbolt 2 ports with 20 gigabit/second simultaneous data transfer rates, allowing up to 36 Thunderbolt 2 devices—certainly NOT “home theater equipment grade—and up to three 4K state-of-the-art monitors, four USB 3 ports allowing up to 10 gigabit per second transfer rates. THAT MAC PRO? If that’s the one you are referring to, you most certainly are an idiot who does NOT KNOW anything about high end computing, connectivity, or home theater PC requirements.
It is not a Mac Pro and does not meet the needs of the existing Mac Pro market. It is style over substance, specs for specs sake.
Since I am typing this on my 3rd Mac Pro and have been using Macs since 1984 and owning them since 1985, I wouldn’t know anything. Nor would I as someone who uses high end computers to do my work in a licensed profession.
Enjoy your iMac, Fanboi.
I use high-end computers to my work as a licensed GIS analyst and the Mac Pro described here: http://www.apple.com/mac-pro/ does not appear to be a Home Theater rig. While I agree that upgradability/expansion may be an issue in the future, out of the box, from mid-range configuration on up, it will handily outperform any existing Mac Pro. What are your reasons for calling a Home Theater computer, when the lowliest Zotac micro pc’s easily perform that function.
Both iMac and Mac mini are great gear! The problem that I have run into is that the iMac just lasts too long! I have a 2006 intel iMac which just keeps running, a little slower on Lion, but it is still going strong. I wanted to upgrade it to a 27″ iMac, but I can’t afford one of those right now. I looked into plunking a SSD into my existing iMac and all of those who did so said it makes the 2006 iMac seem like a new machine. Great, except I am locked in place at Lion, so a new machine would be better. I am going to look into a Mac mini soon, then I could hook it up to a LCD TV. I use my iMac as the family entertainment center, music, video, dvd, etc. as well as a computing platform. The Mac mini attached to a 30 – 40 inch LED LCD TV sounds like a good solution to my computing/entertainment situation. And honestly, with my iPhone and iPad, I don’t use the iMac as much as I used to.
Big Problem you have there. A Mac that lasts too long.
LOL
I’ve got a 2008 iMac. I never got AppleCare.
I never dared to open it up.
With the 2012 model, I’d need AppleCare and even that runs out after 3 years. So if I’m unlucky this time, it will die sometime into the 4th year.
So, unless you can do DIY-repairs or plan to ditch the box after AppleCare has run out, a MacMini is at least worth considering (unless a GPU is needed – the Mini’s gfx is just enough to drive two displays, AFAIK).
2008 is easy to work on – much easier than the new ones. Find some videos on OWC and iFixit etc and go for it!
I know it’s easier to work on. Have watched a couple of tutorials already.
And while fitting an SSD (the HD is only 300GB) would make it faster, I don’t want to ruin it.
Maybe when the HD has died and I’ve got to open it up anyway.
😉
Still, if I fit an SSD, the PSU or something else could die a week or a month later (I’m getting an occasional “white/black screen of death). So it would be wasted.
I save the money for a new Mini or an i7 27” with Fusion drive ;-))
Looking forward to the new MacPro
It bugs me that the Mac Mini has no real GPU. Reviewers say the integrated graphics are pretty good, but not in a convincing or enthusiastic way. I like the Mac Mini in theory, but don’t want to get a brand new computer that will disappoint me first time I try to play 3d game on it.
Unless the new Mac Pro is priced exceptionally low, I predict it will be a product failure by Apple. The cons just outweigh the pros.
What do you think for if you use your mac for a lot of video editing? And bootcamp 3D CAD programs? Would the extra power of the I mac be that much better then the Mini?