Why should I buy a Mac mini?
To simply answer the question - Is it worth buying a Mac Mini? Yes, it is. Still, you have to consider the following:Can you wait to save for a MacBook Pro? It's current entry level price tag is US$1,099 (non-retina). Which, compared to the US$499 for the Mac Mini makes for US$600 difference (Mac Compare - Apple).Do you have a monitor, keyboard and a mouse? With a Mac Mini you have to have these, purchased separately. If you can fit way under US$600, then the total for a Mac Mini would be your cheaper option.Do I need to be mobile? A Mac Mini is a desktop computer, whereas the laptop can be either used as a desktop or mobile computer. Do I want to upgrade my computer by myself (the disk drive or memory)? You can only do upgrades by yourself with the Mac Mini.How much memory do I need? The entry level MacBook Pro, mentioned above, allows for up to 8GB or memory, compared to 16GB for the entry level Mac Mini. The next model up MacBook Pro (retina) is on par with the Mac Mini. Keep in mind that this maximum memory has to be purchased separately (between US$100 and US$300).Do I need a built-in camera? The Mac Mini doesn't come with a monitor, nor camera.Do I need a DVD drive? Only the above mentioned MacBook Pro comes with a built-in DVD drive. The later models don't include one.From personal experience - I prefer the MacBook Pro. Before that I've used only Mac Minis and still do. I've got a Mini on my desk at home and a MacBook Pro at work that I work on, but sometimes carry home, use on the bus, in the park and so on.Good luck.
Is it worth buying a Macbook Pro 15 inch i7 2010 model in 2016?
I have an older 13" MacBook pro. It is rock solid, and fast. Having a older macbook is nit really an issue, since it is powered by an Intel i7, it will be supported for many years to come.The advancements in computing have been very small at a system level. The big drawback of that model year is that the Maximum addressable RAM is only 8GB. Though it does have built-in and discrete video processors, so you can save battery using the builtin video, or get (then) gaming performance using the NVidia GeForce GT 330M GPU. It also does not support bluetooth 4 le. It does have wireless n dual band wifi, and Gigabit ethernet, so performance on the network is okay.It really comes down to can you afford a more recent model. This one will perform quite well for the average user, but will be quite limitted to a hard core developer. since it doesnt have BluetoothLE you wont be able to use all the connectivity feautes that make an mac and iphone so powerful/convenient when used together.If you are on a tight budget and desire a mac, try to get 2012 or newer. These can go up to 16GB RAM, and have Bluetooth 4. They are essentitally the same as the 2010 performance wise, but they have much faster GPUs and are fully compatible woth all the latest operating system features (AirPlay, coherence, handoff, etc). 2012 is the model year I have for my MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. My iMac is a 2008 model that i bought used for $250, and that is my daily compute system and it works great. So if you can afford it, go newer, but if you cant, you wont be dissapionted unless you need the missing features of the newer models.
Should I buy a Mac Mini or a Macbook Pro?
I’ve had both. “Better” is relative.When I first re-Macified myself (I was a dedicated Mac user from about ’86 until ’96 when I was forced to Windows NT at gunpoint, and took a while to get back) I bought a late 2012 Mini with the four-core i7. I upgraded it to 16GB, and a 256GB SSD (I also kept the original 1TB spinner). From there the setup was pretty traditional - wired keyboard, mouse, two monitors.It was really nice - all the performance you could want, ran everything I wanted, was OK-ish for casual gaming.And I kept needing to carry work into meetings. Some on site, some off-site.Enter a late 2015 MPB 15 with GPU. Also 16GB, 512GB SSD. Initially I just cabled everything up and de-cabled when I needed to go mobile. That is a colossal pain in the ass, so I grabbed a vertical dock from Henge Docks (highly recommended BTW).That’s my current setup. I’ve got offices in two buildings, both nearly identically equipped (one has a 34″ ultra-wide instead of two monitors, which I’m actually liking better). And when I need to go mobile, I just grab and go. If I worked at home enough to warrant it, I’d do exactly the same thing there.The Mini is a great solution, and very cost effective. The quad-core i7 is a little harder for find, but totally worth it.If at all economically possible, I’d really recommend the MBP setup over the Mini, though, because it solves for one thing that you can’t really do with a Mini:Oh - PS. If you’re going MBP, don’t focus on the “upgradable” units. It’s a false meme. Get the newest more powerful unit you can.
Is the Mac Mini good for video editing?
I would say go for a Macbook Pro or PC when editing large and high-quality video project. Your Mac Mini won't be able to handle it and the memory and SSD is very limited. Your PC will likely crash when you render videos from Adobe Effects or AVID. We all know that rendering a video eat up a lot of time in our schedule so it’s important that your computer is fast at rendering and responding so you can focus more on building your storyboard. You can inspect this checklist to check your computer Specs.SSD – SS Drive is a fast storage drive for accessing your video clips, footage and software faster. The SSD may be a bit expensive than the traditional hard drive, but it is definitely worth on the long run because of its fast render, loading and export time.Memory RAM – When your PC have a high memory, your video editing can be done faster and easier. This is why we recommend that you will have at least 4GB of RAM. If you are dealing with large scale video editing project that requires hundreds of footage to edit, you can upgrade your RAM up to 8GB. The higher your RAM memory, the better.Video Card – Video card is essential as it output the best graphic images and image resolution when you edit your video. This will give you the best overview of the visual effects and aesthetic aspect of your video.Processors – Your RAM, storage drive, video card and processors go hand in hand. If you already purchased higher specs for the first three, it is important that you also purchase a faster processor for faster editing and rendering. You can never go wrong with choosing for i7.You can read more about computer specs here: https://valoso.com/blog/top-prof...
Is a Mac Mini good enough for graphic/UI design work?
No matter what machine you buy... I would always recommend going with the most power you can possibly get / afford. Period. I have always a found that it is just a matter of time before a client will ask you if you can do something just slightly outside you're typical services like a little video editing perhaps. Or maybe you want to learn a new skill to add to your resume like 3D modeling. So why limit what you can possibly do?The i7 processor version is worth the added cost. Upgrading the amount of ram is a good idea too, always. 1TB seems like plenty of storage, assuming you are probably using some kind of cloud storage too. It's a shame these don't have a dedicated graphics card. I will say the same thing about that, that I would say about any small format machine/laptop/etc without one, Mac or otherwise. Be prepared for the possibility of overheating. Plug into a very large display or projector for an hour or two while doing any intensive video / graphics work and then put your hand on it, I would be amazed if it isn't hot enough to cook an egg. If you never plan on doing that though then it's probably fine.
Should I build a $700 Hackintosh or buy a Mac Mini for programming?
We have used Mac mini’s for many of our build monitors at work to just do a single task of running a webpage and, let me be honest, I would never waste that money on such a crappy computer. Ok first let’s look at the specs, for $500 you get a 1.4GHz dual core i5 with 500GB storage.Wow they charge a lot for a very low end computer. And the best you can get, to even make me want to think about using a Mac mini, is if you boost every spec available. Boost the processor, boost the ram and put in a solid state drive so you are looking at a $1600 Mac mini. At this point you could have built an almost top of the line hackintosh for this price.So, just in my opinion, I would suggest not to drop all that cash on a Mac mini. Either build your hackintosh or buy a couple year old MacBook Pro to do development on. At the end of the day it comes down to preference. My choice would not be the Mac mini.
In 2009 I bought a fully-loaded iMac (costed about $8000 at the time). I’m still using it, it works well, but is not compatible with the latest OSX. If I buy a 2017 iMac Pro fully-loaded (about $13000) will it still be useful in 8 to 10 years?
8–10 years? Maybe/probably.In 10 years, you can probably expect something to go wrong. Might be the SSD, or the RAM, or the CPU. It might work fine though, it’s really a matter of luck.In 10 years, will Apple be supporting the latest OS on it? Probably not. Apple do not support any 2007 or 2008 models now, and I see no reason to think the iMac Pro will be different. Whether latest OS support matters to you or not, is another matter of course.If you need the power of the iMac Pro, then go ahead and buy, but I think for most people, it probably makes more sense, rather than buy a $13,000 computer now, and expect it to last 10 years, buy a $6000 computer for the next 5 years, and then see where you stand then.Having said that, if the money isn’t important to you, I’m sure the iMac Pro is a hell of a computer.On the other hand, if a 2009 iMac is serving you fine, then you don’t need an iMac Pro.