Photographer Desktop Upgrade

I have been taking photographs for the last 10 years. my Computer is Macbook Pro 2009, 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 8Gb RAM. Running OSX Yosemite.

I use Apple Aperture 3.6 as my main program (just upgraded), Photoshop CS3 and am thinking about Lightroom. I am a power user, I like to have 5 or so programs running on and off while I'm editing it its possible. I'm not a Gamer.

I'm looking to get a desktop mac and have a limited funds to do this. ($1000-$2000) The Mac Desktops have recently been Upgraded.
I'm looking at the Imac and the Mac Minni. I'm Hoping I could get away with the Minni simply for Money reasons. I have Monitors/keyboards for the Minni.

When Editing I've always maxed out my RAM on my computer using Aperture, and often had to Force Aperture to restart.
From my understanding, Photo editing Requires RAM not Graphics?? I know that Minni Maxes at 16 Gb of Ram and the Imac 32Gb. How Important is the RAM??

1.What is the best option to make my photograph work best?
2.Will the Minni Work for my photography?

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Thanks
mjaworga

Yes, RAM is most important factor, at least with Photoshop. The new Minis have unfortunately been 'downgraded' from quad core to dual core processors, meaning that the performance will likely be less than the older Minis if you're doing serious graphic multitasking.

Having said that, about 5 years ago I was editing 12 megapixel raw files in Photoshop and Nikon Capture on a dual core PC with 2 GB of RAM, and never had any real issues, aside from saves and some processes taking a while longer.

I'd avoid an iMac and rather save for an Eizo or similar color-accurate monitor. So, at this point a Mini is probably your best option.

I cannot imagine how one would think that graphics isn't important on a system primarily aimed at doing photography. If that isn't the very definition of graphics, I'm not sure what is. The word "graphic" is right in the name!

If you were going with a Mac mini, you'd want the one with the most RAM *and* best graphics available, since neither can ever be upgraded. At only 16GB of RAM max, I'd consider the middle Mac mini (the best "bang for the buck" among the new models) to be merely adequate for a dedicated Photoshop/Lightroom workstation, though I suppose at that budget level it's the best option.

Photoshop is a 2D app that makes minimal use of GPU. For the cost of a decent GPU, the money will be better spent on RAM, CPU, and storage.

Bear in mind that a GPU-based card powerful enough to make a noticeable improvement in performance will run into the thousands of dollars.

It's well established that RAM makes the most difference.

Thank you everyone, You have helped a lot.

Mac Mini's harddisk are user replaceable, aren't they? If so, try a ssd as your main OS disk. I have OSX im my iMac running from an external ssd on Thunderbolt, and booting/starting apps is way, way faster. The SSD is more then 3 times as fast as the original internal hdd.