mac mini questions

quietandy

quietandy

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I am thinking of buying a mac mini as my pc is on its last legs.

I have heard that for photo processing it is advisable to uograde the memory and ram. Is this true?

Also as money is slightly an issue i was thinking of just running it through my Samsung HDtv via Hdmi cable (i presume). Would this be ok or would a seperate monitor be better.

I am no pro when it comes to the shots i take but being able to to process them well is still important.

Your help and views would be apreciated.
 
Your TV connect to a PC/Laptop is same as you connect to a monitor. Is just the connection is different thats all, either VGA, DVI, HDMI etc.
 
Better asked in the computer section.

The Mac Minis are basically laptops in a desktop chassis. If you are looking at new, you want the i7 version, not the i5 (the i5 will do, but the quad cores of the i7 will make most image processing faster assuming the program you are using can use them). You will be OK with 4G if you only run Lightroom, but for multi-tasking, I'd want 8G.

If you are only running 1 monitor, you can probably do that through the HDMI port. Personally, I wouldn't use a TV for image processing - there are too many variables to make sure that it works as you would expect (it should do, but you can't guarantee it. A reasonable monitor IPS monitor will be from ~£100 up (http://www.ebuyer.com/388225-lg-ips224v-21-5-led-lcd-hdmi-monitor-ips224v-pn) although the more you pay, the better quality you get. For photography, you should aim for an IPS monitor as they have better colour and wider viewing. The next step up would be a Dell U series.

Also memory = RAM, or did you mean HDD - in which case the one that is in there is probably adequate. You'd only get a big speed boost by replacing it with an SSD.

Just for the record, I will also say you will get a more powerful PC for your money, but that might not be as important as a small quiet footprint or desire to use OS-X.
 
Last edited:
arad85 said:
Better asked in the computer section.

The Mac Minis are basically laptops in a desktop chassis. If you are looking at new, you want the i7 version, not the i5 (the i5 will do, but the quad cores of the i7 will make most image processing faster assuming the program you are using can use them). You will be OK with 4G if you only run Lightroom, but for multi-tasking, I'd want 8G.

If you are only running 1 monitor, you can probably do that through the HDMI port. Personally, I wouldn't use a TV for image processing - there are too many variables to make sure that it works as you would expect (it should do, but you can't guarantee it. A reasonable monitor IPS monitor will be from ~£100 up (http://www.ebuyer.com/388225-lg-ips224v-21-5-led-lcd-hdmi-monitor-ips224v-pn) although the more you pay, the better quality you get. For photography, you should aim for an IPS monitor as they have better colour and wider viewing. The next step up would be a Dell U series.

Also memory = RAM, or did you mean HDD - in which case the one that is in there is probably adequate. You'd only get a big speed boost by replacing it with an SSD.

Just for the record, I will also say you will get a more powerful PC for your money, but that might not be as important as a small quiet footprint or desire to use OS-X.
Click to expand...

saved me typing an essay :D
 
Thank you for all the replies. So from what i can gather is buy the base model, make sure it is the i7 (latest version), buy additional RAM and upgrade it.

I think i will try through my tv as my room is small for a TV and a monitor. Hence the mini and not a PC. Plus i have an ipad2 and the apple wireless keyboard.

I presume that elements will be ok to use on a mini?
 
I did the same step, I do have a High Performance PC, but noticed that I use it much less than before. Therefore I purchased a Mac Mini with the i5 CPU which is powerful enough to process decent amounts of Photos through LR and PS CS6.
I upgraded the stock HDD (500GB) with 2 x 256GB SSD and the RAM from 4GB to 16GB. Everything runs perfectly fine. The i7 model would be beneficial if you do really EXTENSIVE editing. The speed Boost through the Upgrades (especially the SSD) can normally handle everything you throw at it.

Regarding the TV, if editing is important to you, using a TV to justify colour and sharpness is a big no no. I do understand that you are limited in space in your room, but whatever you edit on a TV (I guess it's a standard LED TV) will look different on a normal monitor (don't even mention the ones with IPS panel).
 
Chee said:
Regarding the TV, if editing is important to you, using a TV to justify colour and sharpness is a big no no. I do understand that you are limited in space in your room, but whatever you edit on a TV (I guess it's a standard LED TV) will look different on a normal monitor (don't even mention the ones with IPS panel).
Click to expand...

sharpness won't be an issue sitting far back. 1.5-2m at least. Colour won't be great, but when you put it in a theatre mode or neutral mode or whatever the results can get slightly closer to truth.
 
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