Switching from PC to Mac mini, enough power to perform tasks?

Question

Switchingfrom PC to Mac mini, enough power to perform tasks?
Tasks:archiving slides, scans at 9600 DPI result 2.5 GB files, some of the scans are around 60 MB files. Also intend to edit video. Mostly working in Photoshop cs5.
Miniconfiguration:
i7processor with discret video memory
500GB HD (with external USB 3 storage)
4x1GB RAM  and add another 4x1 later
PCDell XPS 8300 configuration:
i7processor
500GB HD (with external USB 3 storage)
12-16GB RAM
Don't know if the mini will be enough of a machine. It can only go up to 8GB RAM, but I know the architecture is different. Also, does the minirun cool and quiet? This is a home environment.
ps operating system is Mac OS X , don't know about the (10.7.2) .

Answer 1

I have both the new Mini Core i5 and my existing Gateway Core 2 Quad PC; both running 64 bit OS.  If you're running 32bit OS on a PC, only the first 4Gb is recognized and utilized.  The Mini is Lion, the PC is running Vista 64 and I do digital media stuff both for a living and also for fun.  First things first..
You need at least 8Gb of RAM to start with the Mini if you're going to deal with HD video and working with CS5 in a 64bit environment.  8Gb of RAM on the Mini just flies, 16Gb even better; albeit noticeable faster than 4Gb especially if you are working with 64bit compliant applications -- I am.  My Mini came stock with only 2Gb of RAM, but a pair of Corsair Mac Memory certified RAM I bought from a PC store did the trick.  According to OWC (macsales.com), the Mini can be upgraded up to 16Gb of RAM, eventhough Apple official stance is 8Gb.  Secondly, throw in a SSD (Solid State Drive); this will speed bootup and applications plus act as a page memory place just in case 8Gb of RAM isn't enough, which is already the case as I am using 64bit applications in dealing with RAW images and HD videos.  But because SSD drives are fast, there isn't any lag at all on the Mac.  I have a SandForce 6G SSD drive installed on my Mini as a second drive (Mini Mid 2011 has 2 drive bays inside).  With the PC, however, you need at least 8Gb of RAM, and even then my PC is complaining that it is running low on memory when I'm working with DXO Optics Pro 7 Elite on RAW files.  So the Mac is more memory efficient in usage compared to the PC.  My PC too has a pair of SandForce RAIDed in 0 mode to help with memory paging and overall performance boost.  The beauty of the PC is that, you have lots of internal bays where you can configure the drives to function in RAID mode, especially RAID 0.  With the Mac Mini, you will only have a few choices; there is no option to add USB 3 storage unless you want to go the Sonnet Thunderbolt to Express 34 card USB 3 route which is severely limited by the Express 34 bus speed. 
However, with Thunderbolt, you get faster than USB 3 port speed and is the future.  You can buy the Pegasus RAID array box for Thunderbolt.  It is pricy, but worth the investment.
Last but not least.  Mini mostly runs cool if not pushed.  If it is pushed, it will run warm enough to keep my coffee warm when placed ontop of the aluminium case.  At least, it runs a lot quieter than my PC with those blazing fans spinning at insane speeds when rendering RAW and HD videos (both CPU and GPU).
Hope this helps.