Review the imac/mini 2012

[thisisnotme1212]

Hope to get some reviews here.

What was your configuration and did it perform up to your expectation?
Did you get 21.5" or 27"? Would you had wanted the other option?
Would you had preferred a imac or mini?
Overall rating and experience?

Still confused between a 21.5" and 27". Had wanted a 21.5" cause some say that gaming in the 27" was bad? But every time I saw the 27" it just looks way more awesome.

 

[Whizinit]

You seem to be interested in the new macs for gaming, and a 27" screen appeals to you. In which case, the mac mini is out. Only the new imacs have discrete kepler graphics engines that do well in gaming at 27" (ie, WQHD).

 

[thisisnotme1212]

You seem to be interested in the new macs for gaming, and a 27" screen appeals to you. In which case, the mac mini is out. Only the new imacs have discrete kepler graphics engines that do well in gaming at 27" (ie, WQHD).

actually i seldom game. but i don't want a 1/2 bucket machine that doesn't perform when i need it to.

guess everyone must be pleased with their new toy. no news is good news.

prefers the 27" cause i can keep more windows open without too much switching. or at least have bigger windows as compared to 21.5".

 

[Whizinit]

The mac mini can drive 27" monitor for most tasks, but it has the sole advantage of being easily carried around, upgraded and repaired. It won't perform when you need it for high fps games, but it still can beat imacs cos they may not even function whether you need them to perform or just work.

The innards are notoriously hard to access, are very cramped, leading to high internal temperatures when operated for long periods of time, ultimately leading to shorter component lifespans and probably malfunctions even before this happens.

But otherwise, yeah, imacs can be configured to "perform" when you need them to, in the widest range of applications.

 

[thisisnotme1212]

i just realised something. i have a 4.1 speaker system that needs 2 audio jacks for the front and back. imac only has one...how to overcome this?

 

[viperfra]

i just realised something. i have a 4.1 speaker system that needs 2 audio jacks for the front and back. imac only has one...how to overcome this?

im pretty sure you can buy something that can be combine to 1 audiojack then reconnect to the one audiojack in iMac. I got a 8 speakers that connect to a subwoofer than connect to a controller which becomes one audiojack

 

[Desaturated]

If you already have a monitor, go for mac mini 2012. with the upgrades it is a killer machine.

2.3GHz Mac mini
2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 (upgrade to 2.6GHz through apple store, for $140)
16GB memory (get from sls, $110, Apple store overpriced it for $420)
Crucial M4 SSD 256mb (get from sls, $275. Apple charge $420 also)
Intel HD Graphics 4000
OS X Mountain Lion

Total: $1613, it pwned all the stock 27" imac.

Best of all, it allow you to install dual drive, the internal is much easier to manage and they are highly upgradable.

 

[PetPet]

You forgot about the graphics card...

 

[Desaturated]

You forgot about the graphics card...

If not on middle to heavy gaming or 3d rendering, mac mini is sufficient for most tasks, even heavy rendering program like after effects.

 

[anfielder]

The mac mini can drive 27" monitor for most tasks, but it has the sole advantage of being easily carried around, upgraded and repaired. It won't perform when you need it for high fps games, but it still can beat imacs cos they may not even function whether you need them to perform or just work.

The innards are notoriously hard to access, are very cramped, leading to high internal temperatures when operated for long periods of time, ultimately leading to shorter component lifespans and probably malfunctions even before this happens.

But otherwise, yeah, imacs can be configured to "perform" when you need them to, in the widest range of applications.

I don't know about previous generations but the new iMac is pretty good at heat management, even when running intensive tasks.

 

[limpe84]

Hope to get some reviews here.

What was your configuration and did it perform up to your expectation?
Did you get 21.5" or 27"? Would you had wanted the other option?
Would you had preferred a imac or mini?
Overall rating and experience?

Still confused between a 21.5" and 27". Had wanted a 21.5" cause some say that gaming in the 27" was bad? But every time I saw the 27" it just looks way more awesome.

I have the 2011 27" imac, so my experience may no longer be relevant. However, I find that the graphic card may have problems powering games at native 2560x1440 resolution, unless you pay more to upgrade to the better version. So you either run it at 1920x1080 (which I find looks like crap when blown to full screen) or run the game in a window (in which case you may as well go with the 21.5" imac).

The 27" imac is awesome for tasks like word-processing (where you can view documents 2 pages at a time). However, OSX apparently has problem scaling text properly, so you will find that the font size in toolbars are ridiculously small. Compare the two side by side; the 21.5" has more readable fonts.

I also went with the imac because it comes with the apple keyboard and trackpad. If I had bought the mini, I would either have to spend another $200 on them, or go with a normal keyboard/mouse, and thus miss out on the multitouch gestures in OSX.

Also, the challenger shop I bought from threw in a ton of freebies (not applicable for mac mini), so I felt I didn't really lose out.

 

[viperfra]

im going to buy a iMac soon (been pondering for a month now), im leaning towards the 27 inch but im afraid it is too big for me... But I do alot of design work and multi-tasking so I guess the screen size is important to me? Im just worried about the text being too small to read..

 

[saha-med]

the imac design is nice, would go with that.

If your looking at cheaper options then u can get the mac mini + korean 27inch ips which should total around 1.1k...

 

[faithsilence]

27" is really BIG. It may not appear so in the stores.

 

[josephkjc]

Darn it, my 27" is already on the way. Now you guys make me think of changing to 21.5".
The small font is for all the sofwares' toolbars? Isn't there some settings to change the font size?

 

[saha-med]

Darn it, my 27" is already on the way. Now you guys make me think of changing to 21.5".
The small font is for all the sofwares' toolbars? Isn't there some settings to change the font size?

i moved from windows to osx... yes the fonts sizes are too small even in my 20inch monitor.

But there are plugins for safari where you can increase the text size of the tabs etc...

Anyway 27inch is awesome, you can view windows side-by-side and

 

[ryan_khoo]

Darn it, my 27" is already on the way. Now you guys make me think of changing to 21.5".
The small font is for all the sofwares' toolbars? Isn't there some settings to change the font size?

Stick to 27" bcos 27" u can upgrade the RAM yourself !

 

[Whizinit]

I don't know about previous generations but the new iMac is pretty good at heat management, even when running intensive tasks.

Yeah I was referring to the 2011 imac 21... it had so many heat problems.
1) Even moderately CPU-intensive tasks like watching 1080p video caused the internal fan to whirrrr loudly and emit a lot of heat
2) In a non aircon living room with good ventilation, the system in a high fan speed state of operation would eventually be unstable and crash. Solved it by positioning a desk fan directly at the rear of the monitor, which then caused the warm air to blow to the front ... right at my friend!
3) The interior of the imac gets pretty darn hot even during non-high speed fan usage... the lifespan of the parts in such a cramped space is likely to be very low.

The latest reviews of the imac 2012 series are very focused on the heat problems of the 2011 and earlier series, with optimistic hopes but only time will tell if the similarly cramped (if not more cramped than ever) chassis will cause problems with heat buildup, dissipation and venting.

 

[winorlose]

Im using the 2011 27" and im loving it!

 

[emoh14]

I am using the BTO 27" iMac Late 2012. Ordered 16GB Ram, 1 TB Fusion Drive.
My first iMac and too quiet as compared to turning on my usb fan on table, just to ventilate my MacBook Pro 2011 version.

Till date, I've been using it for Photoshop Editing, Video screening. No heat issue at all.
I've also upgraded my ram to 32GB Ram from 16GB

I fine the 21.5" too small. If you are upgrading from 17" previously, you might be feeling this machine is HUGE for you. However, I find that the big screen is good for multi windows open at the same instance. I need to work on large spreadsheets files concurrently and big screens helps loads.

Enjoying my iMac especially love the Trackpad as well.
The font size changes according to your display resolution changes, you can set it lower instead of the 2560pix.
Zooming is always straight forward in OSX. (dislike the Windows, magnifier tool, PITA)

If your budget allow, 27" is the one to go with.