I'm going to buy a Mac computer and as the Mac mini is the cheapest Mac (and the only one I can afford) I think it's a good choice. However, can it run games well? I'm not going to play really heavy games, something like The Sims 2 and such. Anybody knows if the cheapest Mac mini (1.83GHz, 1GB RAM, 120 GB hard disk) can run that?

Yes.

System requirements for The Sims 2 call for Mac OS X v10.3.4 or later, G4/1GHz or faster, 256MB RAM, 4.2GB free hard disk space, ATI Radeon 8500 or Nvidia GeForce2 MX or better 3D graphics with at least 32MB VRAM and DVD drive.

 

 

 

If you payed $100 more to get a new Mac Mini, you would get more value for your money. You'd get a faster processor, better graphics performance, faster RAM, more hard drive space, a SuperDrive, new standards such as Mini DisplayPort, and a more energy efficient model (which would probably cover the cost of $100 over a ~two years). You'd get a much better experience on the latest generation. Even then, if you up the RAM to 2GB, you'll get x4 graphics memory versus the model that you're looking at. The 9400M tops Intel's solution by far.

 

 

 

EDIT: I couldn't find the model you're looking for on Apple's website. I assume you're buying it somewhere else? This is the closest I found, but it has a smaller HDD.

It would run it but not well. My sister has a Dell laptop with around the same specs (faster CPU though) and had a lot of problems with Sims 2 crashing at a certain part. Still it did end up working.

Thanks for the quick replies :)

I own a 3 year old MacBook, and my brother owns a MiniMac which is also 3 years old... from what I've found when using both computers, I'm surprised at how far I can push the graphical capabilities on the computer. And if you buy the one that Laura outlined, I'd have to assume that it would only perform better.