building mac mini

[BulletproofBob]

The biggest difference between a $699 Mac-mini...and most of the iMacs is the graphics hardware. The graphics hardware in the iMacs are superior.

$699 for a new Mac-Mini is a "bargin basement" price in the world of Macintosh computers. If you want a "better" Macintosh computer...you're going to have to spend more $$$!

- Nick

I understand about the bargin price. I am not expecting a Mac Pro, I was really just wondering what is really different. I don't need the monitor as I have a really high end IPS monitor as my main monitor. I know the CPU is a bit slower but I would have 8GB in it.

Is the graphics card on the Mac Mini poor, or just not as good as the iMac? Would I run into many problems with Photoshop/Lightroom and perhaps Final Cut or mainly in gaming?

Can the Mac Mini video card really support any games? I am a heavy gamer but would continue to use my Windows box for gaming, even if I went to a Mac Pro ultimately, so few games run on it I don't ever think gaming will be a concern to me.

Does the difference in video card performance show up in just using MacOS or is it doing things like CAD, Gaming, or anything else that is heavy on the video card?

 

[BulletproofBob]

Well I just came back from the apple store with an iMac.
I talked them down something like $350 so I just went that route. The display actually looks better than my $600 HP monitor. Still not sure how much I will like the Mac, but will see.

Thanks everyone for your speedy opinions.