Presently using my MBP with i7 quad core but I'd like a dedicated computer for photography only and already have a NEC 24 PA series monitor. I'm using LR4 and NIK plug-ins including their HDR program. Eventually, I'd like to try stitching panoramas as well.
I don't want to spend alot on a Mac Pro (major refresh hinted for 2013) and want something smaller as well.
Looking at the various Mac blogs/forums, the Mac Mini may be due for a sooner than later refresh. Hopefully it will include a quad core processor and USB3. OWC also can upgrade the present M Mini to 16GB RAM.
Would the lack of a quad core processor in the present Mac Mini going to radically slow things down compared to my laptop?