Mac mini vs. iMac vs. Mac Pro: Which Apple desktop should you get?

Retina iMac, Mac mini, or Mac Pro — Which Apple desktop is right for you?

Though Apple's Mac line is more limited than, say, its iPhone line, there is still a lot to think about before investing in your next (or first) desktop computer, like what screen size iMac should you get, or should you invest in the most powerful Mac mini processor, or should you just go all in and spend the big bucks on the Mac Pro? It's a big decision to make, and that's why you're reading this buyers guide — to find out which desktop Mac is right for you.

See which Mac desktop Rene Ritchie thinks is the best

The Mac mini

The Mac mini is Apple's least expensive desktop computer, and that's because it's basically just the powerful guts of a Mac, stuffed into a 7.7-inch box. It needs to be connected to an external display, keyboard, and mouse in order to work.

It is also Apple's most customizable Mac because, in addition to the four USB 3 ports, you can daisy-chain up to six peripherals to a single Thunderbolt 2 port (and there are two of them). It also has an HDMI port, and believe it or not, a built-in SDXC card slot. So, your display, speaker, keyboard, mouse, and hard drive options are practically unlimited.

It starts at just $499 for the baseline low-end model. The midrange Mac mini starts at $699, and the high-end, fastest processor Mac mini starts at $999. All three models are configurable with more memory and storage, and the mid and high end models are configurable with faster processors.

The dual-core processor starts at 1.4GHz and can be upgraded to as much as a 3.0GHz Intel Core i7 processor. You can start small with 300GB of hard drive storage, or shoot for the moon with as much as a 2TB Fusion drive. The low-end model sports 4GB of memory, but the high-end model expands to as much as 16GB. The graphics range from HD 5000 for the low end and Iris for the rest. You're not going to get an advanced gaming machine, or a dedicated movie and music editor out of the Mac mini, but it is still a powerful computer for a very low price.

The Mac mini can support two 2560 x 1600 pixel displays at one time. It connects to Thunderbolt digital video output or HDMI 1080p resolution output. It also has a minijack digital/analog audio-in port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. With the right adapters, you can connect it to just about any screen

It is far from the most powerful Mac in the desktop line — it's got similar specs to the 2015 MacBook Pro — but it's got it where it counts.

The Mac mini is great for anyone switch from PC that already has a display, keyboard, and mouse that they love. It's an inexpensive way to switch to Apple, while still keeping your current peripherals.

It's also ideal for use as a home media server that you can connect directly to your television set. Thanks to the mobility of the Mac mini and it's plethora of supported connections, it can be plugged into practically any display and used for offices, classrooms, and other places where the guts of the computer needs to be movable.

If you want the level of power you can get in a MacBook Pro as a desktop computer, and already have all of the accessories you need to get to work, the Mac mini is a low-cost investment. It's also a great computing device for small businesses looking for an in-house server.
If you need something with more power, and either don't already own a separate keyboard, mouse, and display, you should take a look at the iMac or Mac Pro line.

Everything you need to know about the Mac mini

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The iMac

The iMac is Apple's all-in-one computer, almost literally. The guts of the computer are stored in the iMac's display screen. It's remarkably thin (5mm at its edge) for having so much tucked inside. It also comes with a Bluetooth connected Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2 (you can upgrade to the Magic Trackpad 2), so you can start working right out of the box.

It comes in two sizes — a 21.5-inch with Retina 4K display or 1920 x 1080p resolution, and the 27-inch with Retina 5K display. All sizes and resolutions support millions of colors, but the 4K and 5K Retina displays are exponentially better than the standard resolution display. As technology advances, the higher resolution models are more future proof.

The standard resolution iMac sports a 1.6GHz dual-core i5 processor and can be upgraded to a 2.8 quad-core processor. The 21.5-inch 4K iMac starts off with a 3.1GHZ quad-core processor and can be configurable to a 3.3GHz quad-core i7 processor. The 27-inch 5K iMac starts with a 3.2 or 3.3GHz quad-core i5 processor and can be configurable to a 4.0GHz quad-core i7 processor. You can get pretty powerful with the iMac line if you're willing to spend a little extra on more processing power.

The iMac comes stock with 8GB of onboard memory and is configurable up to 16GB for the 21.5-inch or 32GB for the 27-inch model. It also starts with 1TB of hard drive storage and can be configurable up to a 3TB Fusion drive, depending on the size. It's important to point out that the 27-inch iMac has a removable panel that allows you to upgrade RAM on your own (which is remarkably easy to do), but the 21.5-inch model does not. It would take a lot more work, and possible a professional technician, to upgrade the RAM on the smaller iMac. If you know, beyond a doubt, that you've chosen the right amount of RAM for your computing needs for now and the life of your iMac, the 21.5-inch model is fine, but if you think there is a chance you'll want to invest in more RAM someday (and don't want to pay for it right now), the 27-inch model is worth the extra investment.

The standard resolution 21.5-inch iMac is outfitted with standard graphics of HD 6000, while the Retina 4K model has a slightly better bump at Iris Pro 6200. The 27-inch model, on the other hand, starts out with the AMD Radeon r9 M380 graphics processor with 2GB of GDDR5 memory and can be upgraded and configured to as high of graphics as the AMD Radeon R9 M395X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory. As far as graphics go, you won't be able to go top-of-the-line as far as hardcore gaming is concerned, but you can max out your iMac with a powerful movie and music editing device that is an industry standard for many film makers and recording engineers.

If you want your desktop to be a part of the Apple ecosystem, but don't have a lot of money to spend, you can still get a lot out of the 21.5-inch standard resolution iMac. It's definitely an entry level model, though, and will likely be obsolete long before its usefulness is.
If you are on a budget, but want the most out of your desktop iMac, the 21.5-inch 4K Retina model is a great baseline choice. It's powerful and speedy and has a mid-range price that you can conceivable save up for. The screen real estate is big enough for most and you can spend a little more to supe it up. If you work on your desktop most of your day, especially if it's your main working device, the 21.5-inch 4K Retina display iMac is your pic. Keep in mind that you'll have to pick your RAM needs when you buy, and you'll be stuck with that choice or the life of your iMac.
If you work in an industry that is graphics heavy, if you need speed and efficiency, if you need a lot of screen real estate, you're looking at a 27-inch 5K Retina display iMac. It's the most powerful in the line, and also the most future proof. Not only do you have the most advanced display, you can also upgrade your RAM yourself at any time. Even the baseline 27-inch iMac is a smart investment if you work with visual arts in any capacity.
If you still need something with more power, we're talking rendering power, the kind of power that can match scientific computing, video encoding, and file compression, then you should set your sights on the Mac Pro.

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Everything you need to know about the iMac

The Mac Pro

Let's get one thing out of the way: the Mac Pro is not for everyone. This is a niche machine aimed at content creators in professional video editing, graphic design, music and more - people who are looking for maximum, no compromises performance to get stuff done. Scientists, too. This isn't designed to compete with a high-end gaming PC, for example. This is workstation-class hardware.

The Mac Pro's peculiar cylindrical design has been likened to an office trash can. That mistake is easy to make when you're looking at pictures, but in real life, it's different: the Mac Pro is less than 10 inches tall. It's tiny for its astonishing performance. And in this case, form follows function - the very shape of the Mac Pro has been designed like a jet turbine to whisk away hot air from the very powerful internal circuitry, which has been arranged around a unified thermal core, with a specially designed fan at the top that makes the Mac Pro whisper quiet.

Inside the Mac Pro, Apple has used Intel's Xeon processor. Xeon is aimed at workstation and server applications, with boosted levels of internal cache and enhanced multiprocessing capabilities.

Apple's focus on optimizing the Mac Pro as a workstation-class computer continues to the graphics, where Apple has opted for AMD's Dual FirePro GPUs. These processor aren't like Radeon GPUs you might find for sale from your favorite PC game hardware outfit. They're designed for optimal performance in high-stress environments for video cards to work in, like 3D rendering, for example. And they are parallel-processing monsters. Application software that's optimized for OpenCL — a core Mac technology and an open standard — has huge benefits, which makes the Mac Pro ideal as a system designed for massive computational work, as is being done in science and research. Also for other applications that are driven by parallel processing, like video effects rendering.

The Mac Pro eschews conventional hard disk drive technology altogether for PCIe-based flash storage. That means that the Mac Pro is not very expandable - it tops out at 1 TB. But that 1 TB is terrifically fast. And RAM is expandable at present to 64 GB of 1866 MHz DDR Error Correcting Code (ECC) memory.

Despite the relative dearth of internal expansion options, the Mac Pro is Apple's most expandable Mac on the outside. Four USB 3.0 ports and dual Gigabit Ethernet ports are only the start - there's also six Thunderbolt 2 ports. That means the Mac Pro can simultaneously accommodate RAID, Storage Area Network (SAN) systems, exotic network interfaces like Fibre Channel and up to three 4K displays - making this a terrific companion for professional film editing.

There's also an HDMI 1.4 "UltraHD"-compliant interface for hooking up a 4K television. And just like Apple's other machines, there's a 802.11ac Wi-Fi networking under the hood, so even if you're not hard-wiring this beast to your network, you'll see some smoking wireless networking speed.

If you are a full-time movie or music editor, if you render large amounts of graphics on a regular basis, or if you are working with 3D content development, then you are the pro-ist of pros and you will be right at home with a Mac Pro.

Everything you need to know about the Mac Pro

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Note: The Mac Pro was recently updated with a spec boost, but is otherwise the same as it was in 2013. Apple is working on updating the Mac Pro in the near future. See if the Mac Pro is something you should invest in right now.

Still thinking about it?

If you're still not sure which Mac desktop is right for you, get some advice from the iMore community in the Mac desktop forums. Our readers are fantastic sound boards for your thought process and offer sound suggestions that might help tip you in the right direction.