Macworld Lab Tests The 2011 BTO Mac mini

Macworld takes a look at a build-to-order (BTO) Mac mini with a 2.7GHz dual-core Core i7 processor, and 256 GB solid state drive. At $300 more than a standard 21.5-inch 2.5GHz Core i5 iMac (both machines come equipped with 4 GB of RAM), the maxed-out Mac mini was faster than the iMac at disk-intensive tests like file duplication, whereas performances on Apple’s recently updated small desktop box started to take a hit with graphic-intensive tasks such as playing Portal 2 or running Cinebench tests.

Not surprisingly, the BTO Mac mini with its SSD blazed past the iMac in disk-intensive tests such as the 2GB folder duplication (31 percent faster) and 4GB file unzip (42 percent faster). The BTO Mac mini also beat the iMac in our 4GB zip test (5 percent faster), our Pages import Word doc test (20 percent faster), and our Parallels WorldBench multitask test (4 percent faster).

Macworld concludes that the BTO Mac mini is a “pricey proposition” and the iMac is still faster at most tasks, though some users would prefer the Mac mini’s simple configuration in that they won’t end up with an additional screen, trackpad, and so forth.

Considering that you don’t get several important items with the Mac mini that you do get with the iMac—a keyboard, mouse/trackpad, display—the BTO Mac mini we tested is a pricey proposition. However, some people may not want a new display (or don’t like the iMac’s glass-covered displays) and new input devices, and the Mac mini’s small case is preferable than the Mac Pro’s bulky tower. For general use, the BTO Mac mini can keep up with the 21.5-inch 2.5GHz Core i5 iMac. But the iMac fares better with software that can take advantage of multiple cores or graphic-intensive tasks.

By getting rid of the optical drive and making room for an additional hard drive in the aluminum enclosure, Apple has turned the 2011 Mac mini into the most lightweight and configurable consumer-oriented Mac ever made. Check out Macworld’s full tests here.