New Mac mini vs 2008 iMac

For the same amount of money I can buy either a very well kept 2008 iMac 8,1 with the following specs:
24 inch display, 3.06 GHz (E8435), 750 GB hard drive, 4GB RAM
OR
A brand new Mac Mini with the following specs:
2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 2GB of 1333MHz DDR3 memory, 500GB hard drive
and use a Samsung 23 inch LCD screen I already own

I'm leaning towards the Mac mini, partly because I'll get a new machine with warranty, but I'm also drawn to the better display on the iMac.

Anyone care to share their opinion? Any particular advantage to either option?

Thanks!

Personally, I would go with the Mac Mini. A 2008 iMac is old enough that I'd be concerned over the longevity of moving parts - and servicing those things is somewhat of a pain.

Mac Mini vs. iMac

cwa107 said:

Personally, I would go with the Mac Mini. A 2008 iMac is old enough that I'd be concerned over the longevity of moving parts - and servicing those things is somewhat of a pain.

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I would tend to agree. I have the 2008 iMac 3.06 and while I have not had any serious problems with it, the screen does have some shading in it and I don't know if it will last, and there is obviously no warranty now.

As well the iMac is limited to 4GB (officially), it can be bumped to 6GB, but the Mini will give you 8GB and Lion chews up RAM quickly and I am pretty sure that Mountain Lion will be no better.

I would consider seeing whether the Mac Mini is updated soon, as it has been a while since the last release.

The only other thing, you mention, is visual - in two ways. The Apple display is much nicer, plus I like the look of the iMac itself.

I would also consider the DPI of the two screens. I suspect the 23" may have bigger pixels, but lower resolution. Not sure if my calculation is correct, but I think it is always important to check the natural resolution of the screen and the DPI. I have seen people quite annoyed at screens like the iMac 27" with the 109 DPI.

Just as a last thought - if someone gave me the deal of switching to a new Mac Mini with the 23" screen, I would take the deal. Especially if it came with 8GB of RAM.

Good Luck