PC Competition for the Mac mini?

Omega1045 asks: "When Apple announced their Mac mini last week for US$499, it caught my eye. Wanting to buy/build a small PC for my already cramped breakfast bar, I started pricing out similar PC hardware. The results startled me. It was very difficult to price a PC as small (6.5" x 6.5" x 2") as the Mac mini with comparable equipment cheaper than the Mac mini. Indeed, most of the configurations I found were more than the humble $499 of the Mac, often much more. To match price I often had to configure with a much bigger shuttle-style case. What computers are currently on the market to compete with this? When my wife asks for the 'cute little Mac', what PC can I buy instead that will take up as little space and do as much for the same price (or less)?" How long do you think it will take PC manufacturers to answer Apple's latest entry into the market?

Comments

Nothing

[arson1]

what PC can I buy instead that will take up as little space and do as much for the same price (or less)?

Nothing comes to mind that can do as much for that price, but I'm sure someone will post all the components that they got for some price you'll never be able to find. They won't account for the OS price, the time spend building the computer, or the lack of any warranty.

Re:Nothing

[I_Love_Pocky!]

I know, seriously, all other things being equal I would always take a Mac over a PC. The only reason I don't own a Mac is because they cost too much (not so much the case with the mac-mini anymore).

I mean really, unless you could get a comperable PC for less than the $500 price tag why would you even consider it?

Don't like OSX (It takes some getting used to, but I think it probably has the best UI of any OS out there)? Run PPC Linux.

Re:Nothing

[Blondie-Wan]

I think there's a bigger, more basic question here. If the Mac mini's specs are all things Omega1045 is looking for in the computer he intends to get (which I'm assuming is the case, since he's trying to spec out a PC that matches or beats the mini's features), and the mini is cheap enough for his budget ("... for the same price (or less)," he says he wants his PC to be), and (most importantly) his wife wants the mini, why doesn't he just get the mini?

I'm asking this only partly from the perspective of wondering what's wrong with the Mac mini in his eyes (I accept there may be any number of legit reasons for wanting a PC instead, like wanting to use certain software, etc.). I'm asking largely because I wonder why he'd prefer to get something other than what the wife wants - not something specific, mind you, but just anything that's not the one thing she's suggesting, despite the fact that from his own query's wording it apparently features everything he wants in the new computer, and at a price he can't match with another system. It sounds a bit like he's just arbitrarily refusing to get the Mac mini to spite her, or something. I hope that's not the case (and I do apologize if I've mischaracterized his intent; I just don't understand what he's thinking)...

Think different.

[Just Some Guy]

What computers are currently on the market to compete with this? When my wife asks for the 'cute little Mac', what PC can I buy instead that will take up as little space and do as much for the same price (or less)?

None, and you can't.

You want something small and functional for your breakfast bar, right? Then just get the Mac Mini and be done with it. It'll play your music, browse the web, and read your email every bit as well as your Windows PC, so what's the problem? Are you planning to play Doom 3 over eggs and bacon?

Sorry, has to be said

[captnitro]

When my wife asks for the 'cute little Mac', what PC can I buy instead that will take up as little space and do as much for the same price (or less)?

You could just buy the Mac Mini. I know it seems silly, but this is exactly what Apple is hoping you'll do. For iLife, a BSD userland, and some other fun stuff, how can you resist? I know you can, thank you peanut gallery.

I tried pricing something similar a while ago -- look at OEM parts, and consider putting the whole thing into a cardboard box; you can do well with an Athlon 64, a couple hundred megs of memory, and a bulk HD. Size, however.. that's hard. MiniITX doesn't come cheap.

Re:Sorry, has to be said

[Golias]

If OS X actually does scare away a smart guy like you, why not buy the Mac mini and then load Linux on it.

Seriously. If a Linux box is what you want, and you want it as small and quiet as the mini, than a mini running Debian or YDL is hands-down the cheapest way to do it.

However, before you reformat and pull out those Debian disks, I suggest you give OS X a brief trial.

- It's pre-loaded with the only browser that compares favorably with Mozila's offerings, and Mozila runs fine in OS X if that's your preference.

-Bring up the terminal window and you have access to a bash prompt.

- It has a remarkably simple e-mail app with thread tracking and spam filtering, but feel free to run command-prompt mail programs if you are a hard-core Linux/BSD CLI guy.

- It comes with Apache pre-installed. Launching httpd is as simple as clicking a box in the network preferences.

- The remote desktop tool works great, and also comes pre-installed. ssh is loaded up and ready if you prefer.

- The developer disk (which is not pre-loaded, but ships with every copy of OS X) contains an outstanding set of programming tools.

- Aqua is a more consistent and functional GUI than anything the free *nix world has ever offered. The Finder window in 10.3 or later alone is worth the price of admission.

- BBEdit, the preferred text editor of most Mac users who do dev work in text-based environments, is fairly cheap and far in advance of TextPad (the best inexpensive Windows-based text editor I've seen to date.) If you are a text-based programmer, start using BBEdit and you just might turn into a raving Mac Bigot. Plus, if you really love *nix tools, you can just run Emacs or vi.

Buy her what she wants!

[True Freak]

"When my wife asks for the 'cute little Mac', what PC can I buy instead"

Why would you want a PC when a Mac can be had for that low price. What does the PC have that the Mac doesn't?

an obvious flame inducing topic...

[jxyama]

but as a mac user, i wouldn't touch a PC even if it's $200 cheaper and smaller than mac mini for the simple reason it won't be running OS X.

Re:an obvious flame inducing topic...

[dn15]

some apps are in /bin and some are /Applications

Huh? The UNIX-ish stuff is in /bin and the like, yes. But the programs that normal humans use are in /Applications. The average Mac user doesn't know (and doesn't need to know) that /bin even exists. I don't understand how this is even a complaint worth making.

Re:I dunno Cliff

[Jord]

Funny enough Safari comes with a built-in spell checker :)

Re:Cappuccino

[iluvcapra]

I bought a fanless mini pc from CappuccinoPC.

I looked this up and it is a pretty awesome box for an embedded app. For someone who just wants a computer, I think it's probably not worth the hassle.

I get a total of $808 configured thus:

Pentium mobile at 650Mhz (the fastest they'll install for you)

PC133 256MB RAM

40GB 4200 RPM drive

Slot-loading combo drive

DOS-formatted drive (add $159 for XP Pro)

Integrated graphics, (no VRAM cited, so I assume this is shared.)

it does have PS/2 and serial ports, but only USB1.1. It includes a firewire.

I don't think this is the right machine for the application, and even though it is a much lesser machine than the Mini, it still is more expensive.

Cool box, just waiting for hacking, but not for the punters.

Re:First thing that popped into my head...

[Senjutsu]

So, when asked "When my wife asks for the 'cute little Mac', what PC can I buy instead that will take up as little space and do as much for the same price (or less)", your suggestion is a box that's significantly larger and heavier and costs nearly 4x as much?

Re:Hey! My Mom Can Build One!

[jxyama]

>It isn't all about the money.

it is when it's the dominant parameter being used to make comparisons.

zerg

[Lord Omlette]

Here's the quote that fortune spit out @ the bottom of this page:

A friend of mine won't get a divorce, because he hates lawyers more than he hates his wife.

Can you name a single man here on slashdot who wouldn't get hot @ the thought of his wife wanting to use a UNIX-based operating system?

Get her the Mac Mini and get the AppleCare stuff so you won't have to worry about a damn thing in the event terrorists strike. And when she asks for help, you put one arm around her to work the keyboard, reach around her to grab the mouse, and whisper in her ear, "Oh no, baby, Safari is so much better than IE. Let me show you..."

*cough*

Re:Not to Troll but...

[Drakino]

HP Recalls

Dell Recalls

Make sure never to buy from them either, since aparently a company admitting a problem and fixing it for free is too much for you to deal with. While your at it, make sure to sell any vehicle you own, as it is likely that company has also issued recall notices on some of their products. Next up, make sure to avoid the grocery stores. They have recall notices posted all the time too.