[jmr1015]

So, I am considering buying an iMac. My last Mac was the old school G3... which died on me a long time ago. I was using a PC for a while, but for the past few years I have been using my MacBook Pro (mid-2009 13") as my primary computer... but I am craving a new desktop.

I know I want to stick with Apple and OS X. But, I am considering a custom build over an off the shelf iMac. Mainly because, for the money, I can build a tower that will run like a Mac Pro. But, the iMac is a great looking piece of equipment.

So, pros and cons of the iMac? Can you game on one? Does it seem underpowered at all? I would be looking to spend around $1,500, so I'm looking at the basic 21.5" with the 2.7GHz i5, iWork, and AppleCare.

I guess I could also run a Mac Mini... it looks like it would be under $1000 with accessories, if I supply my own monitor.

[Chris Parsons]

Given your current budget, I'd likely go with the Mac Mini option. My only concern would be with that Intel HD 4000 Graphics and gaming, it's not quite up to par. - http://www.anandtech.com/show/5626/i...re-i7-3770k/11

[warcraftWidow]

Go with a Mac mini with a SSD.

[Fausty82]

No matter what you do, you will not be able to create the sleek look of the iMac design. But aside from looks, you can get just as much power power elsewhere. A top of the line Mac Mini with an SSD will certainly give you the performance that you are seeking and a better price. Personally, I am not sold on the hackintosh approach, but then again, I’ve never even looked into the matter.

[Chris Parsons]

No matter what you do, you will not be able to create the sleek look of the iMac design. But aside from looks, you can get just as much power power elsewhere. A top of the line Mac Mini with an SSD will certainly give you the performance that you are seeking and a better price. Personally, I am not sold on the hackintosh approach, but then again, I’ve never even looked into the matter.

It's messy and easier to just buy the real deal IMO lol.

[ame]

What do you plan to DO with either option? If you go with an iMac you have a one piece deal, no need to buy a monitor. I am not a huge fan of the Mac Mini, I just think it's kind of an entry level device for people just coming over to macs from pcs that are not doing much on their machines but can't just get by with tablets.

[jmr1015]

What do you plan to DO with either option? If you go with an iMac you have a one piece deal, no need to buy a monitor. I am not a huge fan of the Mac Mini, I just think it's kind of an entry level device for people just coming over to macs from pcs that are not doing much on their machines but can't just get by with tablets.

I mainly use my current MBP for various internet stuff, music & disc burning, and word processing. I would like my next rig to be capable of this, gaming, and some photoshop/image processing, and whatever else I feel like throwing at it. Web page management, audio/video editing, Nothing overly harsh. I'm not trying to run Crysis 2 at max settings or anything. But I'd like to be able to do any and all of this without my computer breaking much of a sweat.

I will say, my MBP does fine most of time, (minus any gaming or extended video streaming) but during prior extended periods of time dealing with images, I would run out of RAM. I have since updated from 2gb of RAM (two 1gb sticks) to 8gb of RAM total (two 4gb sticks) and haven't had that particular issue since... though I do avoid image intensive stuff now, and monitor my available memory much more closely than before.

[warcraftWidow]

If you're not doing Crysis level gaming, an iMac, MBP or mac mini should handle it fine given enough RAM. For instance, I have a 2012 15" retina MBP with 16GB of RAM. I don't really do much gaming but I frequently have video conversion running and photo editing (not Photoshop though) along with probably 7 - 10 other programs open (iTunes, Mail, Safari and others) and have no troubles with the computer seeming to slow down. It seems seamless. An iMac with a desktop rather than laptop class processor and desktop class graphics card would perform even better.

[TMav]

I have rMBP late 2013 2.3 GHz i7 16 GB ram 500 GB SSD with the extra graphics card and it is great for everything except Crysis level gaming. Gaming at that level is pretty much a no go, close but not really there. For instance I gave up trying to use it for bio shock 2 and CSGO. It will run them but very choppy. Not sure if the computer can not handle them or if it's the Mac versions of the games are just bad. But for simpler games like Trine2 or Rayman Origins it's great.

For graphics, video, audio work and everything else I could not be happier.

Not sure how an iMac would perform with a good graphics card, but I'm thinking for Crysis level gaming Windows is a better platform.