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Dilemma

F

Five Star

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I'm planning on getting a PowerMac but have been a bit hesitant. I've been watching the rumors for about a month, but it seems we won't see Rev. C PowerMacs until WWDC..

However, I need a new computer now, and therefore have been eyeing up the Mac mini for a temp. machine. I'd be using this for a few months for Photoshopping, email, the internet, iLifing, etc for a few months. after that it'll just be an email/internet machine for light word processing stuff. Would the Mac mini be suitable for this? I was reminded by someone about the iBooks? What about them? Are the iBooks the exact same as the Mini, just in a portable form?

Or should I just get the PowerMac now? I'd have to buy Tiger later on then too.
Help.
 
If you want to burn DVDs as part of your iLifing, you'd need a model with a SuperDrive. Other than that, any currently sold Mac will handle Photoshop, e-mail, Internet use, and iLife. So a Mac mini might be perfect for you.

In general, portability costs money and upgradability costs money. If you don't need your Mac to be portable, I wouldn't get an iBook (or PowerBook). If you need expandability, Power Macs have an edge over iMacs. But look at the specs and prices, and you should be able to narrow your choices.

Do you really want to end up with two Macs after the "few months" you refer to? Maybe you are better off buying now whatever Mac (from the currently sold models) suits your longer term plans. If you wait just in case new models are announced, you could miss the date by which you need the Mac, because newly announced Macs may not actually be shipping promptly. On the other hand, if you don't care when you get it, ordering a model when it is first announced can get you the latest and greatest and a good deal price/performance-wise.

Everyone has to get on the bandwagon at some point. I think the best time to buy a computer is when you first need it, since if its earlier you can wait a bit to make sure you get the latest new model.
 
How intensively are you going to be using photoshop? The iBooks and the Mini are very similar, but neither will be acceptable for heavy PhotoShop use.
 
Eh me, I just pulled the trigger and bought the power mac. If you really need to buy tiger it's cheaper to buy it when it comes out than to buy a mac mini now and then buy the powermac when it comes out.

So personally I'd say if ya need a machien right now it's better to buy the best machine you can, up grade the OS later than to buy a cheap machine just to replace it when a better one when tiger is released.

just my 2 cents.
 
Well having two Macs would be a plus in a sense. An iBook would have an advantage over the Mini tho. For photography it's a good bonus.

I would like to get the PowerMac now, but if for the same price now I can get a faster machine that will last longer then so be it. I read somewhere that there could be 10000rpm HDDs, Dual-Layer Superdrives, increased clockspeeds (obviously), and maybe Bluetooth 2? Plus the bonus of not having to dick around buying Tiger.
 
Five Star said:
Well having two Macs would be a plus in a sense. An iBook would have an advantage over the Mini tho. For photography it's a good bonus.

I would like to get the PowerMac now, but if for the same price now I can get a faster machine that will last longer then so be it. I read somewhere that there could be 10000rpm HDDs, Dual-Layer Superdrives, increased clockspeeds (obviously), and maybe Bluetooth 2? Plus the bonus of not having to dick around buying Tiger.
Click to expand...

It's always the case that something better will come at a future date.

Anyway, these sort of decisions are (personal) value judgements. Noone else can really tell you what to do. You did start out though by saying you need a machine now and that's what has (correctly IMHO) biased most of the replies.

From reading your quoted post, it sounds like you've already made your judgement. If you're happy then go for it.
 
I suppose the whole point to this topic is.. should I buy the PowerMac now? I so badly want it now, but I'm not sure to wait for any upgrades..
 
I personally would wait. Do you have children, parents, grandparents, or a spouse that might need a second computer? Maybe it'd be worth it to get the Mac mini now and give it to them when you get the PowerMac so it's all yours? Are you in school or do you do business meetings? Maybe an iBook would be a good offering for portability. Computing on the couch can hardly be beat.

I bought a Mac mini to get started on OS X. I figured that since much of what I would be doing would be getting used to the OS, which would not need a PowerBook or iMac/PowerMac. For me having that much power while learning would be mostly a waste. However, I have access to Dual 2 GHz PM's at school. I plan on buying a PowerBook G5 (or Dual core G4) by the end of next school year or that coming summer. I would get a PowerMac, but I'd rather get the PowerBook and an external display if need be because I'm a student.

Let us know your details.

-Brian
 
So would a Single/Dual 1.8Ghz PowerMac be a wise purchase now? Would it be worth the money, especially if it they drop the models o make them cheaper? I'm not really after the latest and greatest thing, I just want something that will lat me a few years at least.

At the moment I'm running on a 666Mhz Pentium 3 so you see, I would like something now but I'm not really sure what to do. June seems like an eternity away.

Sorry, thanks for the help.
 
Five Star said:
So would a Single/Dual 1.8Ghz PowerMac be a wise purchase now?
Click to expand...

I'd go for the Dual 2 Ghz.
The rumors are (as far is i've read this site 😛 ) the new rev G5 won't get to 3 Ghz, but having a 1.x Ghz machine while all they sell is 2.x Ghz processors does seem to be kind of a downer 😉

But you'll have a great computer anyways ! 😎 And both models would prolly serve your needs very well.

Cheers
 
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