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thegeriatric
2007-08-19, 19:43
Ok. I have a Mac mini ppc g4, 1.42mhz, 512mb ram, 80gb hard drive, superdrive, bluetooth, wireless. running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.

I have been considering the new iMac. But As i already have a perfectly good seperate monitor and like the mini.

How about a mini with the same spec as above apart from it being an Intel duo core 1.66mhz, front row inc remote, running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.

Incidently this machine is approx 16 months old and could be purchased from a friend (who is upgrading) for around 270 pounds sterling.

So my question is should i? is it worth it? would i notice much difference?

I also would want to upgrade to Leopard when available in case this makes a difference. HELP. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
scratt
2007-08-19, 21:01
What do you use it for? The only real advantage to upgrading to Intel with a machine of that spec is that you can run Parallels. Personally I think that is worth it by itself. And if you are getting a deal from your friend then why not!
Dorian Gray
2007-08-19, 22:32
Why not? Sounds like a good idea. The Intel mini would certainly feel a lot quicker for many things. It also has more ports and stuff if I'm not mistaken. But what I'd do personally is sell the G4 (try www.gumtree.com; you should be able to get at least £200) and use [some of] the proceeds to buy more RAM for the new Intel mini. 512 MB is quite limiting, especially on the Intel machine with its shared graphics memory.

P.S. I think it's a crying shame that Apple isn't giving the Mac mini much attention. It's a perfect little jewel of a computer and such a delight to use.
bprice
2007-08-19, 23:11
Ok. I have a Mac mini ppc g4, 1.42mhz, 512mb ram, 80gb hard drive, superdrive, bluetooth, wireless. running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.

I have been considering the new iMac. But As i already have a perfectly good seperate monitor and like the mini.

How about a mini with the same spec as above apart from it being an Intel duo core 1.66mhz, front row inc remote, running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.

Incidently this machine is approx 16 months old and could be purchased from a friend (who is upgrading) for around 270 pounds sterling.

So my question is should i? is it worth it? would i notice much difference?

I also would want to upgrade to Leopard when available in case this makes a difference. HELP. Any suggestions would be appreciated.


If you want to go macintel ...which is about twice as fast (if not more) as your G4 .... upgrade the CPU in your G4 Mini.You can probably get a 2.0 Core 2 Duo for half the price of the one you are looking at.While you are in there up the ram to 2 gigs and it still won't be as much.

The C2D will also get you compatiable (take full advantage) of Leopards 64 bit OS.That's the cool thing about the Mini's they're very flexiable, inexpensive and powerfull....what's not to love!!.


ooops! sorry you can only upgrade the macintels....
BP
thegeriatric
2007-08-20, 04:22
What do you use it for?

Just browsing the web, email, iTunes, iPhoto, general stuff, nothing too demanding.
thegeriatric
2007-08-20, 06:28
OOPS. My friends mother has decided to switch (at long last) to a Mac. So guess where the mini is going now.

So I'm now thinking iMac (really like seperate monitors) or mini
would the 1.83Ghz and 1gb ram be enough?
scratt
2007-08-20, 06:36
If you are just doing the stuff you say 1GB will be ample...

If you did decide for some reason to run Parallels, or do any really large edits on movies / photos then 2GB is better. Some would say essential in Parallels case.
thegeriatric
2007-08-20, 16:57
Ok guys thanks for the input.

I am leaning towards Mac mini 1.83Ghz and 2gb ram, just in case i decide to run Parallels or do more stuff in the future.

Any other suggestions would still be welcome though.
Fahrenheit
2007-08-20, 16:59
Geri I didn't think you were British!
thegeriatric
2007-08-20, 17:04
Geri I didn't think you were British!

Well I am. But I no longer live in the UK. ;)
Fahrenheit
2007-08-20, 17:04
Come back!
thegeriatric
2007-08-20, 17:07
Come back!

Why? Remember I am in heaven.
Fahrenheit
2007-08-20, 17:09
I don't know!
thegeriatric
2007-08-20, 17:19
I don't know!

Well if you don't know. I certainly don't. :confused: ;)
thegeriatric
2007-08-21, 19:36
Back on track. I must be gettng senile in my old age. I've only just realised the 1.83Ghz machine i was thinking of getting, only has a combodrive.

So it looks like I'll be getting the 2.0Ghz machine in order to have a superdrive.

Other bonuses include the slightly higher spec processor and of course 120gb instead of 80gb hard drive.