2011 i5 Mac Mini .25GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 Vs. 2011 iMac 2.5GHz quad as DAW

mapexvenus

New member
I need to replace an aging 2007 Macbook Pro that served me very well. I am looking at the 2011 i5 2.5 Ghz iMac and a2011 2.5 Ghz i5 Mini My primary use of the computer will be as a DAW.

I use Logic Express 9 and a PreSonus firestudio Project.
 
I need to replace an aging 2007 Macbook Pro that served me very well. I am looking at the 2011 i5 2.5 Ghz iMac and a2011 2.5 Ghz i5 Mini My primary use of the computer will be as a DAW.

I use Logic Express 9 and a PreSonus firestudio Project.

Do the new 2011 Macs have firewire ports for your Project?
What are the differences between the iMac and the Mini?
 
Do the new 2011 Macs have firewire ports for your Project?
What are the differences between the iMac and the Mini?

Yes, they both have firewire. Mini is dual core, iMac is quad. Mini takes up to 8GB of RAM, iMac takes up to 16GB of RAM. iMacs can have much higher internal drive sizes, due to being 3.5"-based. Both have Thunderbolt, which means future peripherals (namely external drives) can be very fast. Both can handle dual displays (internal+external, in the case of the iMac). The Mini actually doesn't have an optical drive, so you'll need a cheap slimline DVD to load apps from disk, or burn stuff.

There are definite benefits to going with the iMac, but then again, there's an obvious cost difference. either one is more than powerful enough to run what he's asking though.
 
In terms of power, I recently bought a 2011 MBP with 2.3ghz i5 and 4GB 1333 ram.

I'm seriously considering buying a dock and just doing away with my desktop setup. (q9550@3.2ghz+8gb@1066)
I really think the MBP would be powerful enough for anything I'll be throwing at it.

It's really up to you. I don't think you could make a wrong decision.
 
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