MacBook Pro or Mac Mini as music server


Currently have apple extreme server. Also using the Olive Media Olive 4HD and Olive 2.
Thinking of adding either the latest Macbook pro or the mac mini as a music server for my cd collection.
Which of the two would be better suited to my task ?
I'm leaning towards the macbook pro 13" with 2.3 GHZ but then at almost half the price the Macbook min 2.4 is a steel but i wouldhave to add keyboard, a monitor and a mouse so cost would be close to the macbook pro.
Anything else am missing here ?
For the Dac, i plan to use either an I-Nova or a Bel canto designs dac 2.5. An esoteric D-07 is also not far fetch.
Would greatly appreciate some advice as i'm just starting out on this hobby (computer audio) just now.
Thanks guys-
nolitan

Showing 2 responses by rdavwhitaker

I'll add my vote for the Mac Mini. I have a MacBook Pro I use for general computing, but got a Mini to use a music server. The Pro is way more expensive, even if you purchase a monitor to use with the Mini (you don't need anything big or fancy -- I bought a used monitor for $40.00 from a pawn shop that works fine), and the MacBook brings nothing extra to the table as a music server. IF anything, the Mini is better because is is quieter (the MacBook fan gets pretty loud sometimes) and has a much smaller footprint. And if you are using it as a dedicated server. you can set it up to automatically rip CDs you insert into the SuperDrive. And if you happen to have an iPhone, iPad or Touch and a wireless network, the Apple Remote app is a joy to use.
On the subject of monitors -- I'm just using an HP 13 inch VGA monitor that's at least a couple years old (I'm not completely sure because I bought it used at a pawn shop) --I got a dvi-to-vga adapter from Apple for the mini and plugged the monitor in. Apple's OS automatically recognized the monitor and offered up a variety of possible screen resolutions. I just fiddled with the different resolution options until I found one that I thought looked good. I had a spare wireless keyboard and mouse sitting around, so that was no expense -- I do keep the monitor in place all the time, althought it is often turned off -- I find it easier that way to deal with software upgrades and new music purchasing.