New Mac Products: Underperforming Minis But Good iMacs and Mac Pros

After having released new MacBook Pros, the tech world was buzzing with the latest products from Apple which have just been released through the Mac Store. The desktop Mac Pro receives an update, as well as the whole iMac line. We are also getting a new Mac Mini. Things couldn't be better, right? Or maybe you're just like me and can't stop obsessing about a new 17-inch MacBook Pro and all of its multi-touch gigantic screen goodness.

The new Mac Mini has a faster processor and is available with larger HDs. 320GB will set you back about $800 and 120GB will cost you $600. One of the more important features is that the Mini as now five USB ports at the back, making it easier to plug in all of your peripherals and networked HDs. For what it is, the Mini is still overpriced and underfeatured. You can create your media PC in a small form factor cheaper and better for the same price.

The new Nehalem-based Mac Pro features a quad-core processor or a dual quad-core processors. Both are available starting at $2,500. The octo-core version will set you back $3,300. Naturally, these are just the initial prices. It's been a long time coming since Intel released these chips.

iMacs have double the storage, double the RAM and are have got an optical drive from a laptop, giving it a smaller form factor. I do agree that these drives are useful, but I can't remember the last time I used mine. For $1,500, you'll get the 24-inch iMac with 4GB of RAM and a 1TB HD. That's good value. Instead of coming with a full keyboard, Apple has released a new smaller keyboard, without a numeric keypad.

The Minis are seen as "underperforming" but the iMacs are good? From a price/performance viewpoint, they are nearly the same. The higher end 2.0 Ghz dual core Mini is $400 cheaper than the low end 2.6 Ghz dual core iMac and the main difference between the two is the built-in display on the iMac. For that $400, you could easily get a separate display, mouse, and keyboard with some change leftover.

Not everyone wants a Mini for a media PC. Some of us actually use them as real computers with no problems whatsoever. I run every major Adobe application on my old single processor 1.4 Ghz Mini, so clearly it can handle quite a lot more than running videos and MP3s.

posted by Orchid64 on March 5th 2009 at 7:17pm
view Orchid64's profile

Completely agree Orchid. Not only is it a good price comparison, but you end up getting to keep your display!

I don't need a new screen as often as I would like to upgrade my cpu box. I have felt pretty wasteful selling my iMacs in the past when the monitors were in perfect condition. Or the case of my iMac G4 where I love the form factor & screen of it, but the components just can't seem to handle even light browsing or video play back.

posted by Benji on March 5th 2009 at 9:37pm
view Benji's profile

The optical drive on the iMac isn't new. The iMac is still the same size, no smaller.

Performance-wise, the Mini is the closest to the iMac it has ever been. Same bus speed, same graphics as the low-end model, same processor speed--okay it has a smaller L2 cache somewhat slower processor speed and a laptop form-factor disk so it will loose some points. I can't imagine how that is disappointing given how the Mini has always been positioned.

posted by Adolph Trudeau on March 6th 2009 at 7:27am
view Adolph Trudeau's profile

didn't go to the specs but i am guessing that the mini is still way behind the imac on video memory?

I would say that is probably one of the biggest differences between the 2. The mini usually gets nothing and the imac you can deck out pretty nicely.

Also expandability. Can you expand the RAM on the mini the same as the imac?

I have a 24" imac at home and work and i love them both. I doubt a mini could keep up with what i do.

posted by jmorey on March 6th 2009 at 12:20pm
view jmorey's profile

Thank you, your account has been registered.

We have sent an email to the address you registered with for verification purposes. Please use the link in the verification email to activate your account.