Mac Mini Users?

hman360hman360 Member Posts: 590
edited November -1 in Working with GS (Mac)
I will be getting a mac mini soon due to my slow old mac that takes forever to do anything (I named it Turtle), and I think I will buy a mac mini. Of your experiences, please rate which is the best choice as for the best running with the best price. I'd like one that runs xcode and Gamesalad well.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/mac_mini/select?mco=MjMzOTQxMTc

Comments

  • DZTECHDZTECH Member, PRO Posts: 216
    I personally don't use a mac mini but one third of my employees are using the newest 999 model with lion server. The only software they use is some in house stuff Xcode and game salad. It all runs perfectly. They couldn't want anything better. However unless you need a server i would recommend the 799 model
  • hman360hman360 Member Posts: 590
    I talked to one of the employees and they said that the server was good for "business". They didn't really explain what it does to me. Anybody knows the advantage of having the server and what it actually does?
  • DZTECHDZTECH Member, PRO Posts: 216
    to fully take advantage of the server u need an actual physical server. but it lets you share files between computers. i guess you could say it connects all your company devices together

    Wiki Server 3 brings even more ease of use and control to your wikis. Use Wiki Server to host a website or wiki where your users can add content using the new Page Editor. Your wiki includes a document repository where users can upload, preview, and download files to their computers, making sharing and collaboration a breeze. With the new navigation bar, users can quickly switch to the server’s home page, My Page, Updates, Wikis, People, or Podcasts. People Browser lets you discover and share information outside a wiki. And automatic email notifications let users know when a page has been updated or when new comments have been added.

    Now built into OS X Lion, the Xsan file system allows any Mac with appropriate connectivity to access an Xsan volume. Lion Server includes the Xsan Admin application for hosting and configuring Xsan volumes. And for improved performance and simplicity, you can create case-insensitive Xsan volumes that act like traditional HFS+ volumes and do not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase characters in filenames. Lion also supports industry-standard multipathing and failover, so Xsan can be used with a variety of Fibre Channel RAID storage arrays.
  • hman360hman360 Member Posts: 590
    Thanks, I was looking for an answer like that. Can't I just do that by sharing through my wifi?
  • StusAppsStusApps Member, PRO Posts: 1,352
    zakdavid said:
    I personally don't use a mac mini but one third of my employees are using the newest 999 model with lion server. The only software they use is some in house stuff Xcode and game salad. It all runs perfectly. They couldn't want anything better. However unless you need a server i would recommend the 799 model

    Er... why would you want your client machines to be running server?
  • DZTECHDZTECH Member, PRO Posts: 216
    hman360 said:
    Thanks, I was looking for an answer like that. Can't I just do that by sharing through my wifi?

    Essentially yes but this is file storage and remote sharing to other devices. A lot faster and powerful and gives you a way to share with clients
  • DZTECHDZTECH Member, PRO Posts: 216
    StusApps said:
    Er... why would you want your client machines to be running server?

    What do you mean. my employees are using it. My whole office is running it.
  • StusAppsStusApps Member, PRO Posts: 1,352
    zakdavid said:
    What do you mean. my employees are using it. My whole office is running it.

    I mean that you only need one computer running server, the ACTUAL server. individual client machines run the normal version of lion and connect to the server. a room of people each running a server wouldn't really work.
  • hman360hman360 Member Posts: 590
    So does the 599 version run well enough for everyone?
  • StusAppsStusApps Member, PRO Posts: 1,352
    hman360 said:
    So does the 599 version run well enough for everyone?

    Yep, we have one here. While not our GS machine it is actually very powerful. It would be more than capable of doing things well. It will need 4GB of ram though.
  • 3d103d10 Member Posts: 471
    Wont the mac mini($599) will cost nearly to the cheapest( $1199) imac when you add up the cost of a monitor and keyboard mouse(a good one) and up the ram to 4 gb.
    And also in imac you do get a quad core cpu with a dedicated gpu with 4 gigs of ram.
  • StusAppsStusApps Member, PRO Posts: 1,352
    3d10 said:
    Wont the mac mini($599) will cost nearly to the cheapest( $1199) imac when you add up the cost of a monitor and keyboard mouse(a good one) and up the ram to 4 gb.
    And also in imac you do get a quad core cpu with a dedicated gpu with 4 gigs of ram.

    I guess apples assumption is that a lot of mac mini buyers may already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse. But they can be had quite cheaply.

    I agree though the iMac with it's quad core is really a much more future proof and great all round system.
Sign In or Register to comment.

© Vanilla Keystone Theme 2025