MAC Mini 2015

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PFitz86

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Apr 20, 2015
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Hey People

Thinking of buying a mac mini
any thoughts on the capabilities?
is it a negative that parts aren't upgradable?

Would it be better to build a pc as i could upgrade parts
the mac mini i was going to buy comes in at €1250 http://www.apple.com/ie/shop/buy-mac/mac-mini?product=MGEQ2B/A&step=config#

Would i be better off building my own pc?

Main uses for pc are
some light gaming
work related - office, editing of photos, some other light work duties ( nothing too heavy on processing)
Entertainment - internet, streaming,music etc

Want a good priced computer that will last me ( preferrable with one that can be upgradable in future if needs be)

so wondering should i buy a mac mini or build my own ? or any other suggestions welcome

Thanks in Advance
 
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jakegroves

jakegroves

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I never recommend anyone Apple.
You are paying extreme premiums for their products.
Yes their iOS is pretty sweet ... but mac OSx is a Unix based OS (Linux) ... nothing impressive, limitations on games ... applications.
For that amount of money you can build yourself a much better pc ... with a dedicated GPU lol and 16gb of ram ... it doesn't specify what generation of intel processors.

Only thing you are paying for is the metal case and idk I see it as a fashion label.
"hey I got the new "iPhone" ... "iMac" ... "mac mini"" and people are starting to realise now ... probably why Microsoft jumped on the band wagon with the surface book ... hell nice laptop can build cheaper PC but why should Apple get all the glory if people are that stupid ;)

But yer build your own PC any day.
Idk if you can upgrade ... most likely and even if u do it is very small so I can imagine it is fiddley D:
So yer if you need a build from people for 1250Euro (£1,000) ($1600) then hit the forum up :)
 
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PFitz86

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Thanks dude updated my question there

only reason id get mac mini is that i hear good things about them
 
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PFitz86

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Thanks for that

if i was building my own i'd prob have a budget for around 700 euro if i could....
also could i push more RAM and a wifi adapter in to it if possible ?
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Sorry for delay...
Wi-fi adapters are fairly inexpensive, but for system memory I'd stick with 2x4GB (8GB) with your budget. I'll post a revised build...
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/GhsdRB

You can adjust that slightly, do more research and investigate individual part quality etc if you wish.

Some notes:
1) i5-4590 CPU - seems about perfect for your budget

2) motherboard - a few other options but QUALITY (customer feedback) is most important

3) GTX960 4GB - I recommend the 4GB and not 2GB for future proofing. Most current games don't need more than 2GB but that's changing. It's a fairly small price difference.

4) Windows 10 64-bit Home:
That's included in the price. I can't recommend another OS.

Summary:
It turns out your budget makes a pretty kick-ass system. It will perform similarly to mine so I know how it will do. I max out Skyrim at 1080p/60FPS and several mods. Most games at max or near-max for 1080p/60FPS. Those that do NOT get near max still look and run great if tweaked properly.

*I suggest learning how to use "Adaptive VSYNC" (NVidia Control Panel -> Manage 3D Settings-> Add game->...

Other:
I didn't look at rebates or shipping closely so you may be able to tweak that.

Other:
Case-> Make sure it has front USB3 and I suggest TWO usable fans. I think the NZXT 220 I linked has two fans the motherboard can control... speaking of..

Fan control:
Install the fan control software (usually motherboard support site) and setup for CPU fan and also case fans if possible. Optimize for noise vs cooling.

*If you want less NOISE then you might want to invest slightly more and get the Noctua NH-U12S which is SILENT in idle if setup properly (300RPM) and very quiet under load. The GTX960 fans should be very quiet so if you have everything setup properly the system should be very quiet indeed.

Other:
An SSD wasn't in the budget, but if you can swing it you might want a 250GB (or even 120GB SSD) for Windows/programs but still buy the HDD for a Windows image backup, Steam games, downloads etc.
 
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PFitz86

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Apr 20, 2015
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thanks for everything in your comments etc and the explanations very good
i kind off went off the idea of building one for a while but think i am gonna re visit and investigate more
and it might give me something to do over Christmas aswell


Thanks agian
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Sure.
When you do, I'd compare pricing of Haswell vs Skylake such as:
i5-4690K + DDR3 + motherboard
vs
i5-6600K + DDR4 + motherboard

(The other parts will be the same)

Skylake is newer and has a few improvements which may or may not be worthwhile. More importantly PRICING will change.

Sometimes there are SALES on parts so if you could save a bit on a similar Haswell (including similar quality of motherboard) that might be worth the while. Otherwise I'd stick with the newer setup if pricing is similar or only slightly more expensive.

Skylake has several tweak to help the CPU cores turn on and off quickly to be slightly more responsive and save power (need Windows 10 for some).

Some security improvements, better bus management and a few other things.
 
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