So I’m back where I started. And to be fair it wasn’t a bad solution. Afterall the MacMini is capable for use with all my Photography work, any video stuff I throw at it plus it also runs Halflife 2 on Bootcamp (well I’ve not put bootcamp back on yet – but it did).
First thing I notice, or don’t notice is the glossy screen of the iMac. My old but matte Samsung SyncMaster 215tw (which I forgot cost £368!!!!!!) is still perfect for me. I has one fairly unnoticeable dead pixel, but other than that it’s great.
As for the Mac element of the setup I do notice it’s a little slower, but mostly that’s down to the HDD. The Mini comes with a 120gb 5400rpm laptop HDD. £53 will speed this up for me – Western Digital Scorpio Black 320GB 7200RPM SATA-II 16MB Cache – OEM WD3200BEKT, so I might look at that. In fact the only reason I didn’t update the HDD was the stick on temperature sensor inside the Mini. I wasn’t brave enough to move it. Still it will be a little underpowered compared to the iMac, but I can live with it.
Can I live without the iMac – yes, it was a superb bit of kit. However it’s design had flaws and the overall QC of the product was a let down. I may buy the Magic Mouse though. The Wireless keyboard was nice, probably because it’s new and not worn like my wired flat full sized keyboard. But really wireless keyboard when you’re infront of the computer? Seems a bit more style driven than anything else.
Right there you go.
I’m getting £825 back, some I’ll use for the Velux blinds. The rest will probably go on Barclaycard.