Mac Mini For Photo Editing Or Another Alternative?

I was looking into a new computer for photo editing. I myself have a Nikon D5100, and may soon upgrade to a D7000 or whatever Id like when the time comes. I shoot occasional weddings with my aunt and I'm on my school yearbook and newspaper so I take a lot of photos and edit them. I plan on using Lightroom 4 for my editing. I'm most likely going to get the 2.3ghz i7 model (maybe the 2.6ghz? Is it worth it?) and the 1tb fusion drive. I will upgrade the RAM to 16gb myself because it is cheaper. Is this computer good enough for doing photo editing and such? Do you have any Windows equivalents for $1000 or less? I'm going to get a monitor so thats aside the cost of the computer. Thanks for your replies! I'm looking for any other alternatives!

I have a Mac Mini Server (two HDD spaces). I have a D7000. They work perfectly together.

Any new PC can also edit photos. You have to consider how quickly, easily, and consistently you can do your work with whatever tool you choose. Most pros use Mac for that reason--no downtime for malware infections. Ignore the Mac-haters who claim Mac gets viruses. It's like saying meteors can crash into your house.