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Could you advise on the pros/cons of the mini vs the imac? Regards. nice post, I was also debating going with lower end model. I'm glad to here upgrading ram also increases video ram as well. Good to know, you've just helped me make my decision easier.The iMacs are good, but I simply don't like the idea of having a built-in monitor on a computer system and never have. Once the monitor goes you are screwed, you have only a few options and none are good. You can either hook it to an external monitor and have a big dead screen constantly in the way, or replace it which would cost nearly as much as getting a new computer. Whereas with a mini you can upgrade your monitor at anytime with whatever brand you want (apple monitors are very nice, but also very expensive and in the past I have had a cheap generic monitor outlast an apple studio display).

That said, it all depends on how long the monitor lasts. They continue to get better, so it may last for years to come, but for me it's not worth the chance of even a single dead pixel occurring sometime after the 3 year extended warranty.

If I were willing to spend as much as the low end iMac (and don't already have a laptop), I would rather have the White Macbook (essentially the same specs as the new mac mini, but with FW400 instead of 800) for more mobility and versatility.

If you truly want a desktop and don't already have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, the iMac is a really good deal (a 20" monitor of that quality is going to be at least $300 alone). Plus, most people probably don't mind if/when the screen eventually goes out, because by that time they will want a newer faster computer anyway. I on the other hand am going to try and squeeze as much life out of the mini as I can (which will likely be longer than an iMac due to the display alone).

The new iMacs are considerably faster than the Mac Mini as well:

- Twice the L2 cache (6MB vs 3MB)
- 2.66GHz C2D (vs. 2.0GHz)
- Up to 8GB ram (vs 4GB)

Plus built in iSight camera if you plan on doing any skype.

I didn't necessarily need the extra processing boost, and 8GB of ram seems to be a little overkill for my average uses (plus already having a 2.5GHz Macbook Pro made it unnecessary for me on the processing end).

So, to sum it all up it depends on the amount of money you are willing to spend, whether you already have a monitor, and your computer processing needs.for someone getting a new Mac, buying a new iMac vs a new Mac mini is a whole different ball of wax. 1st a new iMac price starts out at $1200. true you get a LCD monitor with the iMac. And yes I will admit even the base model iMac has a lot to offer.

For me, and others I think, a new Mac mini is appealing because I would be able to use my current Monitor and other peripherals. More people (even switchers) will look at the $595 price (if you buy from Amazon) and think Wow is that all it is for a New Mac?

the new Mac mini is finally a speedy alternative with decent graphics and makes me really think about upgrading from my old workhorse a MDD Dual 1.25GHz G4 I got new back in 2003.Be careful following all this upgrade 'advice'. Nothing inside of the Mini is considered user-serviceable and therefore opening a Mini yourself will void your warrantyIt does have no user-serviceable parts inside according to apple, so upgrading it yourself may void the warranty as David says. I did a little research on apple forums before I opened mine and found that the general consensus is if you break something, you void your warranty. If you don't break anything, you may or may not void your warranty depending on the apple authorized retailer's decision. For me the risk was worth it, as I have been working on macs for years, but definitely take this into consideration when installing yourself. I still recommend buying the low-end model as you can always upgrade it later if/when you want. If you are uneasy about upgrading yourself, you can always buy a larger hard drive and/or ram from OWC or another third party and have an authorized apple retailer install it for you. This will save you a considerable amount of money and still fully protect your warranty.

Thank you David for bringing up this important warranty issue. I would not like to be responsible in any way for people accidentally screwing up while installing their own ram/hard drive and possibly voiding their warranty. Sorry for not mentioning this issue previously in my review.