Should I get a MacMini

[risket]

I've had a Mac Mini for about two years now and it's awesome. It may be small but it's a powerful computer. I'm a graphic artist and a hobbyist musician and Photoshop CS4 works great. I also use Garage Band because Mac's can handle some really nice sounding midi drums and synths.

I've been using it regularly for the past two years and it still only takes a little over 30 seconds to be ready to go after pushing the power button.

Right now I currently have it hooked up to my main TV in the living room so I can use the Hulu application to watch Hulu on the big screen in high quality. Never have any problems.

I think a Mac Mini is a great choice. By the way, because of how small it is, if you have a flat panel LCD monitor you can set it right on top of the mini and your entire computer will take up almost no space at all.
Edit:
I should probably add, that the MacMini isn't that great when it comes to playing games with very high graphics. My wife tries to play The Sims 3 on it and even though the graphics aren't anything special, it seems to lag and at times textures won't even load. She ends up playing it on my laptop.

So if you're looking for something to play games on, the MacMini is not a gaming computer. If you're looking for something that's quick and ready to go when you are for everyday use, it's not a bad choice. You'll pay a bit more for it but considering mine is still just as good as it was about two years ago (maybe a little more) it's worth it.

[diabolo]

I would say personally I prefer OS X for everyday use. Web surfing, e-mails, Office, everything just seems to work as it should. I also prefer it for pro apps like Logic, Final Cut, and Aperture. Basically, if you want a gaming machine, look to upgrade your graphics card in your XPS. If you want a machine for everyday use, look into a Mini. If you're satisfied with the Windows experience and don't want to spend much money, you may want to look into reformatting your hard drive, as Windows machines tend to bog down after a year or two. A graphics card will not make it run better on everyday tasks, but getting the clutter off will.

I've had a Mac Mini for about two years now and it's awesome. It may be small but it's a powerful computer. I'm a graphic artist and a hobbyist musician and Photoshop CS4 works great. I also use Garage Band because Mac's can handle some really nice sounding midi drums and synths.

I've been using it regularly for the past two years and it still only takes a little over 30 seconds to be ready to go after pushing the power button.

Right now I currently have it hooked up to my main TV in the living room so I can use the Hulu application to watch Hulu on the big screen in high quality. Never have any problems.

I think a Mac Mini is a great choice. By the way, because of how small it is, if you have a flat panel LCD monitor you can set it right on top of the mini and your entire computer will take up almost no space at all.
Edit:
I should probably add, that the MacMini isn't that great when it comes to playing games with very high graphics. My wife tries to play The Sims 3 on it and even though the graphics aren't anything special, it seems to lag and at times textures won't even load. She ends up playing it on my laptop.

So if you're looking for something to play games on, the MacMini is not a gaming computer. If you're looking for something that's quick and ready to go when you are for everyday use, it's not a bad choice. You'll pay a bit more for it but considering mine is still just as good as it was about two years ago (maybe a little more) it's worth it.

thanks guys!
I have decided that Im not going to get a new computer. (even though I want a mac badly)
Im just going to upgrade my current Dell and flush out the whole system.

[risket]

That would be the best choice if you're looking for a good gaming computer.

But if you really want a Mac and decide to go for it in the future (and don't need it to be a laptop) I highly recommend the Mini. It's a pretty speedy computer. Like I said mine is up and my browser is loaded an I'm on the internet in just over 30 seconds.

I do a little test with it occasionally. I'll turn on my Windows XP desktop and my Windows 7 laptop at the same time and I don't press the power button on my Mini until both of my Windows computers have displayed the Windows logo. Then I press the power button and it's still up and running and I'm online before the other two are ready to go.