[MacTUG] iMac vs mini with 27" screen comparison

[Glenn Anderson]

I had to do up such a comparison and here is what I found.

Base entry price…

Base 27" iMac - $1,699 - comes with 2.9Ghz quad-core i5, 8 GB RAM, 1TB - 7200 hard disk, mouse, keyboard, etc ( $1,838 with Applecare )

Base mini with 27" Apple configured to be close ( 8 GB RAM 2.5Ghz i5, 500GB drive, keyboard and mouse ) is $1,736 ( $1,835 with Applecare)

As you can see the price for these two systems is basically the same. With the mini one gets a slightly slower processor and a slower/smaller hard disk. Also the video processor is faster in the iMac.

Note: Apple use to offer hard disk upgrades to larger sizes and faster drives, but for some reason they don't now.

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i7 system price

The base price for an i7 iMac is $2,079 and comes with a 3.4Ghz i7, 8 GB ram, 1 TB 7200 drive, mouse, keyboard. ( $2,218 with Applecare )

The base price for an i7 mini is $1,936 and comes with a 2.3Ghz i7, 8 GB ram, 1 TB 5400 drive, mouse, keyboard ( $2,035 with Applecare ).

So in this case one can get an i7 mini for around $143 ( $183 Applecare ) cheaper. However, one does give up processor speed and hard disk speed. Also the video processor is faster in the iMac.

Note: For $90 one can upgrade to a 2.6 Ghz i7 processor and $225 add a fusion drive to gain some performance. 

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I spend some time doing some other configurations, but the bottom line is that price wise there really isn't much difference between these two systems. 

What it comes down to is trading off the faster/better configurations of the iMac for the future benefits and saving of having the CPU and screen separate. The biggest benefit is that down the road when it comes to upgrading the system, with the mini all one has to do is upgrade the mini itself ( and not the screen ) making the future upgrade likely half the cost of the iMac approach.

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Apple 27" monitor vs Dell 27" monitor

The Apple monitor cost $949. ( $829 if one is willing to buy one of Apple's refurbished monitors ).

Dell has several 27" monitors. For example they have a U2711 at $719.28, a U2713H for $749.51 that are likely close to the Apple monitor. Dell does make cheaper 27" monitors such as the $266.39 S240L,  but its resolution is 1920x1080 - much lower that the other models ).

Basically, if one is willing to step "down" to a dell monitor, then the mini option becomes cheaper than the iMac option. By how much depends upon the quality of the monitor one wishes to get.

Note: The Apple monitor does possibly offer some extras that might be useful to some buyers. For example, 

1) it comes with a magsafe charger ( useful if one has a laptop - $100 value ). 
2) To use the Dell monitor means giving up one's thunderbolt connector.
3) It has thunderbolt and provides a full hub of ports on the monitor - this might prove useful
3b) The Apple monitor functions as a dock for the computer, a very useful feature for a laptop, but also possibility a useful feature for a mini as a mini can easily be transported between the office and home and "docked" with an 27" monitor in both places.