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Media server choice... dual core or quad core Mac mini?

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Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz
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HD3000 and/or 6870
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  1. MacBook Pro
Classic Mac
  1. Power Mac
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  1. iOS
Is one better suited for use as a multimedia server? If cost is not consideration.
 
Just realized I posted this in the wrong forum, if a moderator would move this to the appropriate location I would appreciate it .
Thanks, Mike
 
If cost wasn't a factor why not just get the quad-core.
Not only do you get the quad-core for $200 more but you also get 500GB more in the HDD to the standard 1TB drive.
You also get a choice of two processors and a couple other storage options with the $799 version.
 
If cost wasn't a factor why not just get the quad-core.
Not only do you get the quad-core for $200 more but you also get 500GB more in the HDD to the standard 1TB drive.
You also get a choice of two processors and a couple other storage options with the $799 version.

Thx eelhead,That was how I was leaning...My home media center allows use of web browsing and I can always use another Mac.
I had planned on upgrading with some after market stuff which ever I decided to use, Bypassing Apples ridiculous markup. this will also take the load off my other server.
Thx again, Mike
 
We're talking about the new models aren't we? Not 2nd-hand? The new ones give you USB3 which adds a lot of storage flexibility.

So are you considering the quad-core i7 "workstation", or the server version?
The server version comes with the mounting kit for the 2nd hard drive (which otherwise you can get from macsales.com).

As far as CPU power goes, I'd be surprised if the machine needed more than two i5 cores.
Up until last month one of my workstations was the previous generation of 2.5 GHz i5-dual and it was very respectable (browsing, compiling, running VMs, etc). Of course having more CPU power never goes astray, but it's a cost question. Media encoding would be the most power-hungry function I can imaging for a media centre of some sort, but apart from web browsing (meh) you haven't really specified what you'd be using it for. BTW that 2011-model i5 I had was beefed up to 16 GB RAM and internal SSD+HDD.

Geekbench scores:
  • i7 2.7 GHz 2012 mini: 12816 (there's variation: I've tested this at 12979)
  • i7 2.3 GHz 2012 mini: 11688
  • My i3 thornbill HTPC: 8272
  • i5 2.5 GHz 2012 mini: 7218
  • i5 2.5 GHz 2011 mini: 7065
As you can see, there's a significant jump in overall power going from dual 2.5 GHz i5 to quad 2.3 GHz i7.

Thornbill does a great job, including encoding recorded EyeTV shows in the background. The machine it replaced was a 2007 Core2 Duo mini (GB: 2744) which clearly was not coping. :)
 
I got the new fastest quad i7 Mini for my wife's graphic design business and it's a great machine and somewhat of a good value. Definitely will sell and replace it when the Haswell Minis come out. Biggest boost in performance was an SSD for the boot drive, and I added 16gb of RAM.

Could i build her a hack cheaper? Yes, but she doens't care and doesn't want one. At least I can update this one without worrying about it breaking.
 
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