Which Mac Mini?

[TheMagicM]

My son wants a Mac Mini so I was going to craigslist it and get him one for Xmas.  

I was thinking of getting the Core Duo or solo because it can run Parallels (sp?) that way he can run XP for games.  He's been getting real interested in running Linux since he sees me using it daily along w/VMWare.  He specifically asked for a Mac Mini which was interesting since I've been wanting to check one out myself.

I'm thinking Intel based over Motorolla.  Is the 1.66ghz Core Solo faster than the G4 version?

[koaftder]

Linux on the G4 minis isn't bad at all. I have two running debian at at the moment. OSX crawls on the G4 minis though. I wouldn't bother with a G4 mini unless it's cheap and you only intend to run linux or netbsd on it. Any of the intel macs will be significantly faster than the G4 models.

[persia]

Forget the ones with the IBM chips (G4, G5), they're history, they haven't been made in a couple years and frankly IBM chips are just plain slow when compared to Intel.  

Also you are right you can get Fusion and run XP flawlessly,  so those games should run just fine.  

[motorollin]

Games which heavily utilise 3D graphics will not run well under Parallels. For example, Eve Online is awful under Parallels, but runs very well under Boot Camp on the same machine.

However, that's no reason not to go for the Intel Mac Mini. The price difference isn't vast, and the Intel machines are significantly faster.

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moto

[cantido]

motorollin wrote:
For example, Eve Online is awful under Parallels, but runs very well under Boot Camp on the same machine.

The common misconception being that bootcamp actually does anything. All the stuff you need is in the firmware.

[motorollin]

I am fully aware of how Windows works on the Mac, and what the Boot Camp assistant actually does.

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moto