I know nothing about Mac Minis. My daughter needs her on computer and as of right now she says she will be going to college for graphic arts.

So for Christmas we are looking at getting her a computer. Was looking at PC laptops for about $500 but then I saw that you can get a Mac Mini for a couple hundred more and now I'm wondering if that is the better way to go.

I see that you can upgrade the SSD and RAM in the Minis. Could a Mac Mini take her through college? (She is a year and half from graduating high school)

And advice would be greatly apprecaited.

It sure can … and then some.

Just keep in mind that it won’t have the portability of laptop as it requires a monitor of some kind and,therefore, may not be as suitable for a college student.

I have two girls one that just finished college in 2020 and one finishing next year.

Get her a laptop, be it Mac or PC.

Shes going to want to take it everywhere.

JB

Good point on the portability.

Costco has a HP Pavilion with a Ryzen 7 and a 15.6" touchscreen for the same price as a Mini.

quote:

Originally posted by kx90:
Good point on the portability.

Costco has a HP Pavilion with a Ryzen 7 and a 15.6" touchscreen for the same price as a Mini.

Yeah. I love our Mac mini. Quiet, lightening fast, etc etc. But not for a student who is going to want to put in their backpack everyday.

I like buying things NIB but there is also the Apple Refurbished program that’s gets you in at a lower price point.

https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/mac

quote:

I see that you can upgrade the SSD and RAM in the Minis. Could a Mac Mini take her through college? (She is a year and half from graduating high school)

Note it can only be upgraded WHEN PURCHASED. The unified memory architecture Apple is using doesn’t allow the user to upgrade once it leaves the factory. Get the 16 GB now.

Pass on the Mac mini.

She will need a laptop in college. Most students these days will bring their laptops everywhere with them to take notes and to do work. The desk in her room is rarely where the work gets done.

Remember that students get a discount from Apple, and Apple has refurbished computers that are indistinguishable from new.

As already said. GET HER A LAPTOP.... Furthermore, get her an Apple MacBook. Especially, since she is going into graphic arts. Music, art, graphics etc that is Apple's domain both in college and professionally. And as already mentioned use the college student discount that Apple offers to all students. The school will also have a discount program in place for any specialized graphic programs that she will be using. At least most do.

Get TWO Lacie external back up drives...one for the Time Machine (auto daily backup of hard drive) and the other for everything else.

The M1 Macs are amazing. I sold a 2019 top end 16” MacBook Pro and replaced it with a 13” M1 MacBook Air and an M1 Mac Mini.

I’ve had as many as 25 pics open PhotoShop and it is no problem.

On principle, I never buy the base model- I went to 16gb Ram on the MBA and 1TB SSD in both.

"Buy em both" is usually my answer.

But in this case it might be right one. Laptop will be very important for school, but personally I wouldn't want to do anything art wise on one.

Desktop, two or more large monitors, tablet, external drives...

get her a M1 MacBook Air

they can be had for $850 in the refurb section on apples website

The M1 Mac Mini can totally handle graphic arts, but like others have said, definitely get the 16gb RAM for that. Gaming not as well - no Mac can really do hardcore gaming to the extent a PC can, but the new Macs are getting closer. Would definitely recommend a laptop over a desktop if she's going to be taking it to classes or commuting home periodically.

quote:

Originally posted by SparkyWho:
Gaming not as well - no Mac can really do hardcore gaming to the extent a PC can

In addition, many video games are not available for Mac... PC only.

Want to add the gaming is more Roblox, Minecraft type stuff. No graphically intense or FPS type games.

Can you run a second display from a Macbook Air?

quote:

Originally posted by kx90:
Want to add the gaming is more Roblox, Minecraft type stuff. No graphically intense or FPS type games.

Can you run a second display from a Macbook Air?

2 I think

Also, remember that applications have to be optimized for the M1 chip. Otherwise they'll run in a kind of emulation mode. You'll take a hit on performance.

I edit 6K video on mine, and when all the apps are optimized, it's an amazing machine.

It looks like Photoshop is now native to the M1?

Is Win 11 just an updated version of 10? Is there a reason to steer clear of 11?

No way. It can handle the tasks, but EVERY college student needs a laptop. Get her the newest MacBook Air. Even the base offering will be fine for her. I have two kids in right now, and that's what I did.

Agreed~ +1

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo Jones:
I have two girls one that just finished college in 2020 and one finishing next year.

Get her a laptop, be it Mac or PC.

Shes going to want to take it everywhere.

JB