Apple Mac mini (Core 2 Duo Processor 2.0GHz; 120GB HDD)

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Performance

For S$988 (US$710.03), the baseline Mac Mini nets you a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with the aforementioned integrated graphics chip, 1GB of DDR3 RAM, a puny 120GB hard drive running at 5,400rpm, a dual-layer DVD burner, and built-in 802.11n wireless networking. You need to add a monitor, a keyboard and a mouse, as well as to build out a complete setup. In comparison, the Acer X1700 slimline PC is cheaper yet gives a faster processor speed, three times more RAM, and a staggering 640GB of storage space--at 7,200rpm to boot. The Acer lacks the Mac's good looks and wireless networking, but the Acer's hardware becomes even larger when you consider expansion possibilities, both inside and out.

Thanks to its accessible case interior, the Acer system provides room for a dedicated half-height graphics card, along with a spare full-size hard-drive bay and a 1x PCI Express slot. On the outside, its prospects improve even more. Its HDMI video output is more living-room-friendly than the Mac Mini's mini DisplayPort and it also needs no special adapter to connect to a television. Its eSATA input also offers nearly four times the data bandwidth and twice the transfer speed of the Mac Mini's FireWire 800 jack. Those features all give the less expensive Acer more flexibility as either an office or a living room PC, with the potential to add features down the road. In comparison, Apple's traditional closed box system looks decidedly rigid.

Adobe Photoshop CS3 image-processing test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

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Apple iTunes encoding test (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)