Is the Mac mini a good starting point?

[bobmac]

Can anyone help me please?

I've always used a windows computer but I've always been curious about the dark side, but the prices have always put me off.

I've done some research and it seems the 2012 model is the one to get with 8GB of Ram and 500GB memory minimum. A fusion drive would help.

As the Mac mini is about a 1/3 of the price of the 27'' iMac, would this be a good way to start?

And is the Mac that much better than windows?

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

 

[ScienceBoy]

Storage doesn’t have to be internal.

If you have lots of stuff consider cloud or desktop storage. Much more affordable than it used to be and you won’t notice much difference vs internally HDD.

I actually had that setup with my old Pc, small fast internal and 4TB external on the network.

I’m curious to see how things go if you switch as I’ve considered the same and all our other devices are Apple.

For me it depends on what steam games work!

 

[brendy]

Depends what you want it for Bob, internet browsing, documents then it's not worth it. Come to think of it, the operating system is the only difference as they use intel parts these days just like a regular pc half the price.
I honestly cannot see why people buy Apple devices these days beyond the want of a badge.

 

[bobmac]

Storage doesn’t have to be internal.

If you have lots of stuff consider cloud or desktop storage. Much more affordable than it used to be and you won’t notice much difference vs internally HDD.

I actually had that setup with my old Pc, small fast internal and 4TB external on the network.

I’m curious to see how things go if you switch as I’ve considered the same and all our other devices are Apple.

For me it depends on what steam games work!

Depends what you want it for Bob, internet browsing, documents then it's not worth it. Come to think of it, the operating system is the only difference as they use intel parts these days just like a regular pc half the price.
I honestly cannot see why people buy Apple devices these days beyond the want of a badge.

Thanks guys.

I did wonder if it was the badge that you were paying for and it seems that might be the case.

 

[SocketRocket]

The Mac operating system is different to windows and IMO much easier to use. As someone who used windows for around 20 years and mac for 10, I would not want to return to windows, it is very easy to learn the Mac OS. Mac is also more stable and secure, you don't get the amount of system errors and I have never had a virus on it.

 

[GB72]

The Mac operating system is different to windows and IMO much easier to use. As someone who used windows for around 20 years and mac for 10, I would not want to return to windows, it is very easy to learn the Mac OS. Mac is also more stable and secure, you don't get the amount of system errors and I have never had a virus on it.

Agree with this. My wife converted to using Mac and will not change back. The system is far easier to use and as there is only one company producing Apple products as opposed to the hundreds producing PCS and their various parts, everything just seems to work better. Also connects flawlessly to her Ipad and phone which cannot be said when trying to get windows and google devices to talk to each other.

 

[User2021]

Had a Mac for the last 15 years, no issues at all. When ever I use windows now it just seems clunky, slow and outdated.

With an Iwatch, Ipad, Iphone everything syncs back to my mac easily

 

[bobmac]

Synching is not an issue as I don't have anything else Apple except a 15 year old ipod

But thanks for the replies.

It would seem no-one has a Mac mini?

 

[Val]

The mac mini is a good starting point for a desk top mac.

 

[brendy]

Synching is not an issue as I don't have anything else Apple except a 15 year old ipod

But thanks for the replies.

It would seem no-one has a Mac mini?

Yea I support a couple of them as they are used for art packages in one of our companies. I honestly couldn't justify any cost moving to them, they are still prone to operating system problems, spinning wheel issues etc, just the same as windows. Lesser 3rd party software coverage also sucks the big one.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I'm running a Mac Pro with Windwos 10 on it. Anything Apple just seems overpriced, as I found out trying to find a PSU for my last Mac Pro (was a pre owned pressie when my last desktop went south)
The only thing I would say about the Mac Pro is that the case is a thing of beauty build wise. Other than that, I would have no qualms about using a normal Intel/AMD desktop again.

 

[rudebhoy]

Every Windows laptop I have had has been great to start off with, then performance has gradually gone downhill to the point after a couple of years when they become totally unstable, running slow, system crashes etc. I worked in IT for 25 years and know my way around a computer, did regular maintenance on them, but they would all go the same way in the end.

I bought a Macbook 4 years ago and have not had a minute's bother with it, it is still as fast as it was when it came out the box.

The reason is build quality and an OS that doesn't use anywhere near the same amount of resource.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Every Windows laptop I have had has been great to start off with, then performance has gradually gone downhill to the point after a couple of years when they become totally unstable, running slow, system crashes etc. I worked in IT for 25 years and know my way around a computer, did regular maintenance on them, but they would all go the same way in the end.

I bought a Macbook 4 years ago and have not had a minute's bother with it, it is still as fast as it was when it came out the box.

The reason is build quality and an OS that doesn't use anywhere near the same amount of resource.

Are you just the lucky one then? My work iPad has slowed up just as every Apple product people I know have has done.

 

[bobmac]

Opinions seem to be split, I think I'll stick with windows, better the devil you know.
Thanks for the reples everyone

 

[Bunkermagnet]

Opinions seem to be split, I think I'll stick with windows, better the devil you know.
Thanks for the reples everyone

At least software is in greater numbers and are often cheaper too.

 

[ScienceBoy]

Finances, banking, shopping etc.

Much safer to do all those on a Mac or other Apple product. IPad Pro is great with a keyboard!

Making videos and posters etc, Mac wins again.

I would only buy a PC for gaming purposes and general web browsing.

 

[simmb]

Which part of the dark side were you interested in? The hardware or the Operating system? There are plenty of Linux distros out there that can give you the feel of Mac OS running on your PC. I have both Mac and PC and over the years both have degraded in performance. Since moving to Windows 10 on a fairly new laptop I have not had any performance or stability issues, touch wood.

 

[Val]

Are you just the lucky one then? My work iPad has slowed up just as every Apple product people I know have has done.

A few I know must be lucky too then as my 4 year old macbook is as quick as it was out the box, likewise my mate and sister in law with macbooks.

You can't compare tablets and phones to laptops, they are night and day apart.

 

[Val]

At least software is in greater numbers and are often cheaper too.

I'd beg to differ, Apple will give you a free OS update every year whereas a windows upgrade isn't cheap. Everything else is pretty much similar with the only real exception being some open source software where Apple quite rightly in most cases block a lot of installs because of security and stability issues.

 

[rudebhoy]

Are you just the lucky one then? My work iPad has slowed up just as every Apple product people I know have has done.

Was talking about MacBook not iPad. Saying that, my iPad is 3 years old and is still working fine apart from some websites it just doesn't like. Also got an iPhone 6 which is coming up for 4 years old and still running ok. Compared to the Samsung phones and tablets I had previously, they have been much more reliable and long-lasting.