08-11-2009, 09:52 AM

Hey gang, great forum.

Long time PC user here. I got my first iphone a few months back and im HOOKED. now i think i want to ditch my PC and go mac.

just had a few issues i wanted some opinions on.

1. I am into photography, and i use light room allot. I am looking at the Mac Mini (because of the price) would that be powerful enough to handle aperture? i know lightroom HOGS my memory up on my 4gig ram PC...

2. As stated above i am looking at the Mac Mini. what are you opinions on that? i surf, download pictures from my DSLR, Edit them and upload them, aside from that ( and well, playing with my iphone ha ha) i dont do much more. not really into gaming. is that Mac Mini powerfull enough?

3. can i use my existing wireless keyboard, mouse and my 24" Acer LCD screen with the Mac Mini?

if the answers are to my liking i might take a ride to the apple store this weekend...

THanks in advance!!
Derek

08-11-2009, 10:25 AM

Originally Posted by dvigue

Hey gang, great forum.

Long time PC user here. I got my first iphone a few months back and im HOOKED. now i think i want to ditch my PC and go mac.

just had a few issues i wanted some opinions on.

1. I am into photography, and i use light room allot. I am looking at the Mac Mini (because of the price) would that be powerful enough to handle aperture? i know lightroom HOGS my memory up on my 4gig ram PC...

2. As stated above i am looking at the Mac Mini. what are you opinions on that? i surf, download pictures from my DSLR, Edit them and upload them, aside from that ( and well, playing with my iphone ha ha) i dont do much more. not really into gaming. is that Mac Mini powerfull enough?

3. can i use my existing wireless keyboard, mouse and my 24" Acer LCD screen with the Mac Mini?

if the answers are to my liking i might take a ride to the apple store this weekend...

THanks in advance!!
Derek

Welcome Derek,

I will try to answer your questions as best as possible.

1. Yes...a Mac Mini should be able to handle Aperture just fine..check out the link for Apple's system requirement's for Aperture:

Apple - Aperture - Technical Specifications

2. All the computer activities you mentioned should do just fine on a Mac Mini.

3. I'm 99% sure you should be able to use your 24" Acer monitor...you may need a $19 dollar adapter from the Apple Store. I'm not as sure about the wireless keyboard & mouse. It quite possible the keyboard & mouse will work, you just have to check when you get the Mini, or go to the manufacturer's website of your keyboard & mouse, and see what they say.

As you may know...the whole point of the Mac-mini was/is low cost...and part of that low cost was being able to use your existing monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

Although...I think that the "spirit" of that philosophy was assuming a current Apple Macintosh user was purchasing a Mac Mini, and therefore their already owned monitor, keyboard, and mouse would be almost guaranteed to be compatible.

But like I said, your monitor should almost definitely work...the keyboard & mouse maybe. But a compatible wireless keyboard & mouse would not be that pricey if you had to purchase one.

One word of warning...be careful what model Mac Mini you get, and what upgrades you may or may not decide to purchase. If you get the faster 2.0ghz $799 Mac Mini, and decide to upgrade the ram or the processor...you may be getting real close to the price of a refurbished Apple iMac.

Check the prices of refurbished iMac's at the Apple website store. The inventory can change daily...usually you can get a lower end iMac for around $1000-$1100 bucks.

The $799 Mac Mini + a processor & ram upgrade from the Apple Store can push the price to $1049.

Personally, my advice would be either get the $599 Mac-mini (to keep the cost down), or get a refurbished iMac with a 20" display for around $950, or a refurbished iMac with a 24" screen for around $1199.

Like I said the Apple refurbished inventory can change daily or even hourly...so you have to check at least daily to see what's available.

Hope this helps,

- Nick

08-11-2009, 10:32 AM

hey Nick,
thanks so much for your input. I will check that out. I am pondering just getting the 599 Mini, and upgrading the ram if need be after the fact. I have a pretty good PC now, do i bet i could get around 399 for it, so a mac will not cost me much. that is why i want to go to the apple store so i can play around with it...

One other ? I still play Battlefield 1942 sometimes on my PC. can the Mac mini handle that game?

Thanks again!!

08-11-2009, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by dvigue

One other ? I still play Battlefield 1942 sometimes on my PC. can the Mac mini handle that game?

Getting the $599 Mac Mini & upgrading ram later is a great idea to keep costs down...but be warned...upgrading the ram on a Mac Mini is NOT easy! At least it wasn't on older Mini's...I'm assuming the new ones as well.

A new Mac Mini could most definitely handle Battlefield 1942...a 2004 vintage game.

But since you only have a WinTel PC at the moment (the way it sounds)...you would have to purchase the Battlefield 1942 Macintosh version.

Aspyr - Battlefield 1942â„¢ Deluxe Edition

Here's an update for the game:

Apple - Downloads - Demos & Updates - Battlefield 1942

The system requirements say Mac OS 10.2.8...since we are talking 2004. If you buy a new Mac Mini...it's going to have something like Mac OS 10.5.6 (the most current version is 10.5.8).

So there is the possibility there may be a "Old game...newer Mac OS" issue. Of course a game that old (if you can find it), should be cheap!

- Nick

08-11-2009, 10:58 AM

oh cool. I love that game, i still play once in a while...other then that, i play nothing else..

i cant wait to go look at one of the mac minis. and try it out..

Now, to sell my PC and see how much i can get for it..(so the wife wont kill me) ha ha

THanks again!
Derek

08-11-2009, 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by dvigue

oh cool. I love that game, i still play once in a while...other then that, i play nothing else..

i cant wait to go look at one of the mac minis. and try it out..

Now, to sell my PC and see how much i can get for it..(so the wife wont kill me) ha ha

THanks again!
Derek

Your welcome!

Unless you have a good idea of the value of used PC's these day's...I bet what you have is not worth as much as you think! Sorry!

- Nick

08-11-2009, 11:13 AM

oh im sure you are correct....

i do see alot of used macmini 1.84 GHZ on ebay really cheap...but i think i wanna go new..

08-11-2009, 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by dvigue

i do see alot of used macmini 1.84 GHZ on ebay really cheap...but i think i wanna go new..

What are you calling cheap...aare these final prices...or just the prices they happen to be when you're looking?

As you may know...prices on e-Bay auctions can shoot up tremendously in the last 30 seconds.

- Nick

08-12-2009, 05:13 PM

Good answers to lots of your questions - I'd certainly vote for the refurb iMac, myself :-)

As far as Windows software is concerned, the easy thing to do is to get VMFusion and run Windows as a virtual machine - you'll be able to use your Windows software on that, making the transition a little more straightforward and cheaper. I use Windows on the iMac to run Photoshop, since I don't want to put out money for the Mac version and VMFusion manages things beautifully.