Should I buy a Mac Mini (new or refurbished)?

Question

Wasn't sure if this was the correct place to make this post. If not, please accept my apologies...
I have a 5-year-old Dell desktop with a 40GB HD and Windows XP. Am sure the HD will give up the ghost one of these days. I had put more memory (1GB) in it (which was “fun”) and noticed the HD would be “fun” to remove and replace as well. When the HD dies (or close to it; within the last year or so it’s had the “blue screen” come up, which scared me to death), I really don’t want to go through the hassle of replacing it.
I also have a Sawtooth G4 that has a 160GB hard drive, but of course only “sees” 120GB of it. It’s got 640MB of RAM (I replaced a 64MB with a 512. Should have maxed it out, but couldn’t afford it at the time.). It’s starting to get slow because of the memory… With newer software going away from PowerPCs and to Intel Macs, I thought about saving my money and getting an Intel Mac that can have Windows XP as well, because I have some documents that can only be opened with the Windows programs (not available for Macs) currently on the Dell…
Looked to see which Macs are Intel and the only ones I find are the Mini and the iMac. Even checked to see how easy or hard it would be to upgrade the HD and memory if needed. Of course, it looks like it would be a very difficult job to do! I really don’t like the idea of the iMac having everything together (I know it has been that way since day one…) and crammed into that skinny case… It’s too expensive for my budget anyway. So I’m looking into the Mini. Am kind of concerned that with its small crammed case that it won’t last very long and have a heat issue. Maybe I’m worried for nothing on it.
Have looked on *bay and some said on this Discussion Group (which by the way, I LOVE as I’ve learned a lot about Mac here!) to stay away from Minis on there, as some want to get rid of them because of problems… Have been watching a bunch of them selling and they are selling at or more than a new one! Seems like people don’t do their research before bidding. I have bought three old Macs on *bay, and only one (strawberry iMac had a bad HD to begin with (it didn’t happen until I had had it three weeks after getting it). I replaced its HD, PRAM battery, added more memory and installed Tiger on it. I hardly use it at all, but use it as my all-in-one DVD player. The other two were the Sawtooth (replaced the HD and installed Tiger…) and a B&W G3. The towers of course were very easy to work on and the iMac was more difficult. So, I think I’ve done pretty well on getting some old Macs on the 'bay.
Plan to edit photos I’ve taken (with possibly PhotoShop Elements 6, which I haven’t bought yet), do email, Internet, documents, create projects (flyers, cards, etc.), stuff like that with the Intel Mac.
*I did find a refurbished Mini (starting bid at $399 & Buy it now for $450) from TCW Computers (Item #: 230368377067) currently on *bay that has the following:*
*# 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo processor*
*# 1 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM*
*# 80GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA Hard drive*
*# Slot-loading SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) - Ports*
*# One FireWire 400 port (8 watts)*
*# Four USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)*
*# DVI output - VGA output (using included adapter)*
*# Bluetooth - built-in Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) module*
*# Wireless - Built-in 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (802.11g)*
*# Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit)*
*# optional external USB Modem*
*# Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.11 & Dual Boot with Windows XP Professional (OEM COA Sticker)*
*# Keyboard & Mouse*
*(I would need the USB modem as I have dial-up.*
*I have asked them 2-3 times on if the HD has been replaced, if it has a warranty etc. Some of my questions were answered, but not the ones on the HD and warranty. Have the feeling that maybe I should steer away from this deal! TCW Computers website says they’ve got an Apple store, but it doesn’t say anything about refurbished Macs or if they are an Apple certified refurbish business.*
From what I’ve read here on the group, I would probably be smart to get a refurbished one from the Apple Store. Also read that the Apple Care is cheaper through *bay. Do most of you out there recommend getting Apple Care through *bay or elsewhere (Apple wants $149.00 for it on the Mini.)? It will cost me more to get it at Apple and then put Windows XP on it, but it’s better to be “pound wise than penny foolish.” I’d have to buy the XP software as am sure the Dell’s won’t work and it’s Service Pack 1.
Sorry I’ve rambled on about this. Just want to put all my ducks in a row before putting hard earned money down on something that I might be sorry I bought.
Thanks.
Silverado93

Answer 1

I would echo BGreg's advice and stick to official Apple refurbished Minis sold through the store.apple.com site. They will have a 1-year warranty and be eligible for AppleCare. And they will have current OSX and iLife software.
The term "refurbished" is often abused by other retailers who apply it to used computers that have been returned by unhappy customers -- but have not actually been fully diagnosed or repaired.
The 1.66 GHz model you list is rather long in the tooth. At least get a Core2Duo model, rather than a CoreDuo.
The links to the offical Apple refurbs are here:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB138LL/A
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB463LL/A
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB139LL/A
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB464LL/A
You'll have to check these links daily for a week or more to find them in stock.
I'd be very leery of buying AppleCare via *bay.
But lacomputercompany appears to sell genuine boxed AppleCare at prices close to Apple's educational price for AppleCare.
On another topic you brought up ... for desktop publishing on a budget I'd strongly endorse SwiftPublisher. Just enough features, just the right price -- and to my mind, works more intuitively than Apple's Pages program.