First mac, to go for the 2.3 or the 2.5?

[jonboxall]

Probably the wrong place to post this but, iv been waiting for a while now to buy my first mac when the minis where refreshed.

Now the time has come I can't decide to which spec to buy..

Mostly it will just be used as a media centre for watching HD films and allot of internet browsing. So im thinking the 2.3ghz with a ram upgrade should be fine..

But I will be running it on a HD 40" screen via hdmi cable, so I was wondering whether going for the higher graphics on the 2.5ghz model will be better for running on a larger screen or if this only made a difference for gaming?

Also how much difference upgrading the 5400rpm stock hard drive will make?

Any advice or suggestion would be appreciated

Cheers Jon

[philiparcario]

the 2.3 would work well. the ram needs upgrading more then any other item. here is a video link


this is the 2010 mini but ram goes in it the same way as this years mini


http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/mac_mini2010_mem/


the ram below would work but better prices exist

http://eshop.macsales.com/Basket_Show.cfm

the hdd does not need upgrade as much as the ram does.
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2010 Mm 2.4 C2D oem 320gb hdd 8gb ram
2012Mm base 2.5 with 16gb ram diy fusion drive
2012Mm quad with 8gb ram oem 1tb hdd

promise pegasus r6 3x 3tb + 3x 4tb =21tb hdds
lacie little big disk 2x 512gb ssds
synology 2tb disk station

[jonboxall]

Hey cheers for the advice, and yea id probably go for the 8gb as its fairly cheap.

But would the extra graphics help it perform any better on the larger screen or would it make no difference for everyday tasks?

Cheers Jon

[Am Yisrael Chai!]

In my opinion since the mini is not inherently meant to be upgraded you should go with the best configuration you can afford so that it will serve you well into the future. Ultimately I believe discrete graphics is something you will regret not purchasing. Also, consider that if you are going to get the 2.5 with discrete graphics the processor bump is only $100. The thing to keep in mind if you are new to purchasing from Apple is NEVER purchase ram or drive upgrades from Apple as they are ridiculously over priced. Ram and drive upgrades should be purchased aftermarket and self installed. This hold especially true for the 2011 minis.
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Proud Cube owner. Oh, I also own a 2011 2.7ghz i7 Mac Mini.

[saul]

The 2.3 with integrated graphics is desirable to me since I have one running 24x7 and don't want the heat output. The 2.5 I bought is too hot.

[saul]