Advice please: Should I upgrade to new Mac Mini?

[cutsman]

I currently have a 2.16GHz C2D iMac with 2.5Gb of ram, with the x1600 graphics card. I am very much into photography and use my mac for editing (Aperture and photoshop). My aperture library is getting pretty large and i find my computer is getting seriously bogged down.

Furthermore, for the past year and a half, my imac has been getting more and more unstable, often freezing during processor intensive tasks. I had initially wanted to get a Mac Pro, but I don't think I want to spend that kind of money right now. And I also have some graphics card issues with random screen artifacts popping up now and then. I guess I can pay to try to repair it, or alternatively, i can go with a new mac mini. What do you guys think?

I would probably looking at the 2.4GHz Mac Mini, with either 4Gb or 8Gb of RAM. My question is would getting the new Mac Mini provide a noticeable performance increase in programs like Aperture over my current iMac? Also, would getting 8Gb of RAM over 4Gb provide enough of a performance benefit to warrant the extra $400CAD??

Any advice would be helpful! Thanks guys!

BTW, I also considered the new iMacs, but I like the idea of the Mac Mini being headless for the option of connecting it to a high def TV as a media hub a few years down the road when I get another mac to replace it (especially with the new HDMI support).

 

[Hellhammer]

Processor wise, Mini is only minimally faster (~11%) thus I would look at iMac instead, it's already ~50% faster

 

[Jett0516]

Yes upgrade.

I would sell your old imac and get the new mini. with the money you'll save, you could get a new lense.

 

[iamuurme]

i think your mac slowed down over the last year thats isnormal. you should run onyx and maintain your mac that way your mac will be faster like the day you first got your mac. you should not upgrade to mac mini because its not that fast and i do believe that apple is ripping you off. also the chip inside is just the same you wouldnt notice the different. i suggest you buy an external drive to keep your photos. so your mac doesnt fill up. you should wait some more so you can use your money on a better spec or a new update. goodluck with u decision.

 

[indg]

short answer: yes, you'd notice a performance boost.

long answer: faster cpu, faster fsb, faster ram, faster gpu. hdd performance would be about the same as you're going from a 7200 to 5400rpm drive. however, i think your imac uses SATA I (1.5Gbps) and the mini uses SATA II (3Gbps), so it may not be slower overall.

stick with 4GB initially. if you find yourself waiting on apps because they're constantly reading/writing from the swap files, or the swap files grow more than double your ram, then upgrade your ram.