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The budget Mac, with a catch
Fans of Apple computers who don't want to spend $1,200 for the cheapest iMac computer really have only one choice: the Mac mini (*Est. $600 and up). The mini received a large refresh in 2011, and most reviewers say the diminutive desktop has made significant improvements thanks to the inclusion of Intel's Sandy Bridge dual-core Core i5 processor and a high-speed Thunderbolt port -- even though there are still very few peripherals that can make use of that. The 2.3 GHz version (*Est. $600 and up) includes 2 GB of RAM, graphics integrated into the processor and a 500 GB hard drive, but most critics say it is worthwhile to upgrade to the 2.5 GHz model (*Est. $800 and up), which not only upgrades the processor, but also includes 4 GB of RAM and a discrete AMD Radeon HD 6630M GPU. Both come with the new OS X Lion operating system installed. More notable is what it doesn't include -- an optical drive.
While some critics -- such as Rich Brown at CNET -- still question the mini's overall value, most agree that the boost in processor prowess has finally made the Mac mini a capable, if not overwhelming, choice for a primary computer. Macworld reports that the new Sandy Bridge processor and upgraded RAM provides double the speeds of the 2010 version in most benchmark tests. "The new iteration is now powerful enough to take over as that primary PC in your house," Joel Santo Domingo writes at PCMag.com en route to granting the mini an Editors' Choice award. The mini still isn't a gaming powerhouse, but the graphical processing provided by the discrete AMD CPU makes it possible to play mainstream games at a more than acceptable, if not quite totally smooth, level: PCMag.com reports achieving 48 frames per second while playing "Crysis," for example. Don't expect to play cutting-edge games with the full complement of bells and whistles on the mini, however.
Reviewers report a few downsides to the 2011 Mac mini. The lack of an optical drive makes several critics call the mini's traditional position as a HTPC into question, although Jason Snell at Macworld says that the Apple's robust online ecosystem and the mini's ability to stream discs from other computers makes up for the loss. Additionally, while critics say the memory is easy to upgrade, the mini's compact form makes it difficult to swap out other components. The Mac mini also doesn't ship with any peripherals, such as a keyboard, mouse or monitor, so if you don't own any of those, you may want to consider a Windows-based desktop or the pricier entry-level iMac (*Est. $1,200).
