My 2008 MacBook, used almost exclusively for iOS development, is starting to creak a bit. Much as the iMacs are very tempting, the Mac Mini seemed just so much cheaper. But I assume for XCode use, I really would be better with 8Gb or even 16Gb RAM. And does anyone know how good the Fusion drive is compared to straight SSD... they offer a 1Tb Fusion or 256Gb SSD for the same upgrade price... and are these especially helpful for coding?
I hear iMac is very hard to upgrade but what about the Mac Mini? Can I easily buy 16Gb RAM to replace the 4Gb it comes with? Can I get a comparable disk drive... actually the upgrade cost of £160 doesn't seem unreasonable BUT they only offer these on the i7 model which is £180 more than the i5 version! And I figure an i5 with 16Gb RAM and SSD/Hybrid would be better than i7 with a spinny disk for the same cost. Plus, £900 for a Mac Mini is starting to get pretty pricey!
So, any thoughts on the subject? For dev work is SSD a big deal, or would an i7 make more difference (note I'm coming from a 2008 MacBook so both are going to be a big step up!) I prefer to trade-off on the best compromise, not go the "money is no object" route since iOS development is only a sideline.
I hear iMac is very hard to upgrade but what about the Mac Mini? Can I easily buy 16Gb RAM to replace the 4Gb it comes with? Can I get a comparable disk drive... actually the upgrade cost of £160 doesn't seem unreasonable BUT they only offer these on the i7 model which is £180 more than the i5 version! And I figure an i5 with 16Gb RAM and SSD/Hybrid would be better than i7 with a spinny disk for the same cost. Plus, £900 for a Mac Mini is starting to get pretty pricey!
So, any thoughts on the subject? For dev work is SSD a big deal, or would an i7 make more difference (note I'm coming from a 2008 MacBook so both are going to be a big step up!) I prefer to trade-off on the best compromise, not go the "money is no object" route since iOS development is only a sideline.
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