As 2012 draws to a close, I'm happy to report that I am totally in love with my new Mac mini. It boots like a dream. Its Fusion drive seamlessly and invisibly manages my data, keeping the files system snappy and responsive. Even Xcode, bane of my existence, crashes faster and more smoothly than it did on my old system.
My new setup, which set me back just under $1100 after all was said and done, is a fully loaded 2.6GHz Intel Core i7. I self-service upgraded the memory to 16GB (thanks Josh for convincing me that I could do it all on my own!). I connected existing monitors (courtesy of sales at Costco),
