Will a Mac Mini be powerful enough for Web Design?

Hi there.

I am looking to swap over to a Mac pro from XP with a view to web design.

I would like to test the water first and think the Mac Mini's look great.

I need to know, would the new 1.8ghz Mac Mini's be ok running apps like Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Photoshop as well as other a few less power consuming apps all at once? First thing I will do is up the RAM to its max of 2gig.

Anyone know for sure?

You could probably get by as long as you upgrade the ram to 2Gb I would think.

It should be fine.

I'm running a Mini without the memory upgrade (2.0ghz Core2Duo) and this weekend was editing a 30-minute video using iMovie, whilst browsing the photo library and also with iTunes open (large library) and a VMWare Fusion window with XP in and whilst it slowed down at times it was okay, so I'm sure it will be fine for web design. With the memory upgrade it will be even better of course.

The thing to remember is that whilst a lot of Mac people will look down upon the Mini (it seems), the spec is still good and comparible to a similar specced MacBook. I think you would have to be doing some heavy duty video editing or playing games throwing large amounts of 3D objects around before you hit the wall. In my opinion.

Could be worth asking the same question in the following forum, which is specifically for Mini users and therefore may have more people who have tried what you are trying
http://www.123macmini.com/forums/

Like Minkster already said, The Mac Mini is basically a MacBook in a small desktop case. The new Minis use the Core 2 Duo CPU also. For all the Adobe stuff I would Max out the RAM, but otherwise it should be fine for what you are doing and getting the know OSX without spending a lot of $$$.

I have the older 1.66 Core Duo (Not Core 2 Duo) mini and it's fine. Only really demanding 3D games bog it down. It's not a Game or 3d system and neither is the Macbook. Nothing with Integrated graphics is either.

Excellent way to get to know the Mac and OSX. If you do like what you see then you can get that Mac Pro and really enjoy!

Do remember one thing, older Adobe products like CS2 or before and same with Dreamweaver will work under Emulation as they are not coded for the Intel CPU in newer Macs. If you want the best performance from your Mini or Mac Pro for that matter, Get CS3 which is coded for the Intel Macs.

Also do remember the Mini is just the computer. It's made for people wanting to try out a Mac that already have their Monitor and Keyboard and Mouse from their Windows system and want to test the waters. After you get your Mac Pro the Mini makes a great Multimedia computer for the Living Room video system!

The mini will be more than powerful for web design. Just max out the RAM if you would be doing a lot of dreamweaver+photoshop side by side. 2GB should be smoking.