Mini as a student machine and DAW?

Hey guys, I'm in a slight dilemna. I'm an audio student at university and they've told us to try and get a mac because they mostly use macs. I didnt think much of it at first since I have an IBM Thinkpad T43 1.86Ghz which I use to do everything, however. The software theyre using in this semester and for the next 2 years is very much mac bonded So my Thinkpad is a bit useless right now! I'm on a real tight budget right now and could probably just buy the mac mini c2d 1.83ghz brand new or a used powermac g4 or ibook. I'm not worried about the desktop or laptop issue and I have a monitor/keyboard/mouse ready for mini. Just one thing though, will it be alright for me? I will move to mac completely soon as I can install windows if i need it! but as an audio work machine and maybe a lightweight DAW, does it have enough grunt?

The applications I'm gonng to be using are Bias Peak, Cubase, Nuendo, Logic, Pro Tools, Reason, Ableton Live & iLife. I can upgrade the RAM & HDD later & use an external dvd writer if I need it, so will the base mini be ok? I'm in the UK by the way

I'd love to know your thoughts and suggestions folks!

Thanks for reading

Harmi

You need to be aware that both the PowerBook and iBodo not have the ability to install windows! If this is essential then I obviously the mini is your best option providing its the intel chip!
I think the mini is the best if you don't mind the whole portability thing, I have a 12" powerbook g4 and love it, but for what you want its gotta be the mini IMHO l!

ditto.
The mini is the way to go.

Hey thanks for the reply's guys. Just wondered though, i suppose running windows on it isnt that important as I have my Thinkpad for that, would I be able to get an older machine off ebay and use the rest to buy the software titles which I didnt think of before. My uni has a mixed range of mac's, and at the top end they have the mac pro but they also have a lot of emac's and powermac g4's. The speeds of these mac's are from 1ghz i think to about 1.25, if these can do the job , then I could save some money and also save up for a macbook pro in the future which wud replace the whole setup Thanks again for ur help, please let me know what you think!

Harmi

If you need a mini, woot.com is selling the older 1.83GHz Core Duo mini new for $500. I think they will be sold out of them real soon though.
I will be selling my used 1.42GHz mini in a week or so for $375 or so,