Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Mac Mini vs. Shuttle: did the comparison seem a bit unequal?

Apr 22, 2005 12:46AM PDT

In regards to the Mac Mini vs. the Shuttle XPC I 8600b:
Personally, I found the comparison a bit unfair, not to mention unequal. (Whats the point of comparing a PC-only system to a full system?). Granted, the Mac Mini is a nice piece of work (its sleek; I'll give it that), but what was the logic in regards to their choice for Shuttle? I mean, why compare a $500 PC-only Mac Mini to a $1100 PC+LCD Monitor+keyboard combo?
Though I've not worked with Shuttle's XPC systems, their barebone systems are very good (not to mention fairly quiet, which is impressive given the graphics cards and CPUs some of them can handle)
I'd probably have compared it to a Shuttle SN95G5 stocked with similar parts (40 gb HD, 256 RAM, Video Card, etc). The cost would've been much closer.

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Incomparable. Here's why.
Apr 22, 2005 1:00AM PDT

With the Mac-Mini, you toss in the Apple OS CD/DVD and it installs and you get to use the machine.

With the Shuttle you'll likely spend the first month installing and configuring Windows.

Bob

- Collapse -
Re: Incomparable
Apr 22, 2005 2:09AM PDT

I agree it is equally unfair to compare a self-configured system to a pre-configured one. Still, the gap between the 2 systems being compared in this case struck me as odd.

Although, I can't say its ever taken me a full month to set up a new computer..unless its dl'ing updates via 56k (I've backed mine up (including SP1 and SP2 on DVD, so I can get my system running from pretty much a full rebuild in a few hours)
Besides, I'm betting that a person buying a Mac Mini probably isn't the type to want to put together their own system.

- Collapse -
Gee dingO, what post concerning the
Apr 22, 2005 5:08AM PDT

Mac Mini vs. the Shuttle XPC I 8600b are you referring to? Seem interesting, but I put it in search and can't seem to find it. Could you please give the link/URL.

- Collapse -
On the home page, but here's the link
Apr 22, 2005 5:51AM PDT
- Collapse -
(NT) (NT) Thanks.
Apr 22, 2005 6:59AM PDT