A few pre-switch questions

OK, I'm thinking of switching over, after too many headaches dealing with new programs, hardware, reboots, BIOS, etc. And I've always drooled over the design of Macs. Just wanted to clear up some things before I do.

I mainly use my computer for browsing, email, office, etc., as well as for watching movies and for photo organization and editing (with Lightroom).

1. I'm looking at a Mac mini, especially because of a)the price and b)I have a relatively new monitor, keyboard and mouse. I'm guessing that if my older PC can handle what I do, any new computer will, too. Right? I see that "New" mac minis have come out recently; what are any upgrades? Are the previous generation of Intel minis very different?

2. I was planning on using my current HDD's as external drives, then was reading about different formatting systems. So, if I use my PC to convert the formats from NFTS (sp?) to FAT32 (after copying the files back and forth between the two drives), then pop them in external enclosures and hook em up to a mac via USB, they will work? I don't need to convert them to Mac's format system?

3. With Minis, if you want to add a new HDD, can you only replace your current one or use external? I imagine there isn't a whole lotta room for add-ons in the case, and I'm trying to determine what size HDD to get.

4. Is Mac RAM different from PC RAM? I was thinking of getting the base RAM then adding some from a secondary vendor for savings. Can you mix PC and MAC and DDR/DDR2/DDR3 and speeds?

5. Does the Mini have a separate graphics card, or is it just integrated? Is there a DVI out? Is there any other video out for connecting to a TV?

6. Is neoffice similar to Open Office? Is this what most people use as a free office suite?

That's all I can think of for right now. I'm sure there will be more to come. I've found parts of different answers on different sites, but want to make sure I have everything straight before taking the plunge. Thanks a lot in advance for any and all help!
-brian

1. I'm looking at a Mac mini, especially because of a)the price and b)I have a relatively new monitor, keyboard and mouse. I'm guessing that if my older PC can handle what I do, any new computer will, too. Right? I see that "New" mac minis have come out recently; what are any upgrades? Are the previous generation of Intel minis very different? You can upgrade the RAM and possibly the HDD, but by and large Minis are like Laptops where they're a fixed configuration. However, a new mini is pretty powerful and should cover your needs.

2. I was planning on using my current HDD's as external drives, then was reading about different formatting systems. So, if I use my PC to convert the formats from NFTS (sp?) to FAT32 (after copying the files back and forth between the two drives), then pop them in external enclosures and hook em up to a mac via USB, they will work? I don't need to convert them to Mac's format system? Macs can read/write FAT32 and also read NTFS most of the time, but not always. Apple offer a service to copy all your files over for free when you switch though, so you could just do this.

3. With Minis, if you want to add a new HDD, can you only replace your current one or use external? I imagine there isn't a whole lotta room for add-ons in the case, and I'm trying to determine what size HDD to get. External is the cheapest solution, but it adds to the clutter. Get the biggest you can afford from the start.

4. Is Mac RAM different from PC RAM? I was thinking of getting the base RAM then adding some from a secondary vendor for savings. Can you mix PC and MAC and DDR/DDR2/DDR3 and speeds? Mac RAM is exactly the same, although Apple will charge a premium if you get it from them. You can mix speeds, as long as the slowest one you install meets the minimum requirements. However, you're wasting your money getting faster RAM than the slowest in your system. BTW, DDR, DDR2 and DDR3 are effectively different types of RAM and cannot be mixed. The new mini uses DDR3.

5. Does the Mini have a separate graphics card, or is it just integrated? Is there a DVI out? Is there any other video out for connecting to a TV? It's integrated, but it's quite good (9400m). It can decode 1080p and play last generation's games quite comfortably.
6. Is neoffice similar to Open Office? Is this what most people use as a free office suite?

Unless you are a power user, the Mini makes a great system. I bought one last year when I wanted to try a Mac and it did everything I wanted to do and was plenty fast. For the browsing, email and so forth it will be fine. Not sure about video editing because I don't know what software is available for the Mac and that process can use all the power you can give it. I suspect that it will also be fine for that, unless you are a professional and doing really heavy stuff.

The new Minis are more powerful than mine.

My Mac Mini turned out to be such a good DVD jukebox that I now use it for just that. Nothing else is required but a TV and a cable. The little remote works fine, but so does my huge Sony Remote Commander battleship so apparently the Mini uses standard inflared technology.

The addition of some 1tb USB drives work great - they even go into sleep mode with the Mini and the display. I can't tell the difference between the USB drives and the internal one.

You can use Openoffice, Neooffice, or...

I just found Lotus Symphony and it is a really polished Aqua apt - also free. Open Office works fine also, but it is an X11 program and doesn't look quite as neat - if you care.

All that being said, I really like my new 24 inch IMac. Really an awesome machine.

Konan

Thanks!

Wow, thanks for the great answers!

Sounds like a mini will easily be able to do what I want it to, especially since I can photo edit pretty easily on my old PC.

With HDD's, it sounds like HFS is preferred to FAT32? If I reformat my current drives to FAT32, then I can connect them to the mac, and using partitions (since I should have enough room between the 2) I can switch everything to HFS, basically try and leave half the drive free, make that HFS, then move everything from the FAT partition to the HFS partition. You can move stuff between two partitions on the same drive, right?

How do you connect to your TV? I see there is a "Combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack)" but not sure how to run the audio to my speakers/stereo and the video to my TV. Can I use the "DisplayPort" for something?

Thanks again!

blip said:

Wow, thanks for the great answers!

Sounds like a mini will easily be able to do what I want it to, especially since I can photo edit pretty easily on my old PC.

With HDD's, it sounds like HFS is preferred to FAT32? If I reformat my current drives to FAT32, then I can connect them to the mac, and using partitions (since I should have enough room between the 2) I can switch everything to HFS, basically try and leave half the drive free, make that HFS, then move everything from the FAT partition to the HFS partition. You can move stuff between two partitions on the same drive, right?

How do you connect to your TV? I see there is a "Combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack)" but not sure how to run the audio to my speakers/stereo and the video to my TV. Can I use the "DisplayPort" for something?

Thanks again!

Click to expand...

I can only answer the TV portion. The Mac Mini comes with a mini-div to DVI cable. You can then use this Newegg.com - Link Depot 10 ft. HDMI To DVI Cable, Black Model HDMI-DVI-3 - Cables to connect to your mini to your TV. There's someone that did a review on the 16' version of this cable that uses that setup on the same 42" plasma I have and said it automatically adjusted to correct resolution at 720P. I just don't need the 16' version. As far as the audio out, you need to use the headphone jack and probably get an unattenuated (sp?) 3.5 to RCA adapter and connect to the audio "ins" on your tv or receiver. At least that's what I've seen. Maybe other's can comment on a better method.

Another option is to install software onto your Mac which enables it to write to as well as read NTFS No more barriers between Windows and Mac®

blip said:

Wow, thanks for the great answers!


How do you connect to your TV? I see there is a "Combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack)" but not sure how to run the audio to my speakers/stereo and the video to my TV. Can I use the "DisplayPort" for something?

Thanks again!

Click to expand...

For the Video, either run a VGA cable to the TV or a DVI cable. I have tried both and supposedly the DVI is better, but I can't tell the difference.

The audio takes a little more doing. It will drive a set of headphones or powered speakers just fine, but I wanted to hook it into my surround system. However, it doesn't have the output power to drive into a pair of standard RCA jacks (the red and white type) on a component system or the TV, so I had to run it through a preamp first (from Radio Shack). My main TV upstairs has a preamp-in feature but the TV that the Mini is connect to, alas, doesn't.

Again, the simplest way would be to buy a good set of powered speakers and use them.

Konan

I am a switcher and still learning the basics. In my opinion, you should just do it! There are so many kind people on here to help you.

Thanks again for the help!

Looks like with the NTFS software, I won't have to worry about reformatting right away. Just wanted to make sure that it isn't something that requires Bootcamp, right? I don't plan on using that.

And, unfortunately, my TV is a more "classic" style, and only has component inputs. It sounds like that will take some extra work to hook up. With my current PC, I have it hooked up to my monitor and my TV simultaneously is a dual-monitor set-up. Could I do something like that? Maybe use the mini-DVI port to go to the TV, then Displayport to DVI converter to my monitor? This seems a bit counterintuitive, but I'm still trying to find the best way...

Thanks!