Apple newbie, taking his first, awkward steps into the world

[MrEnfilade]

Hello!

So, I've been a PC user for my whole adult life, but lately our family has been leaning toward the Apple side of things. First came one iPad, and then another, and now I'm eyeballing replacing our Android phones with the fancy new 5Cs. Our experience with iOS has been really good, and I hear such good things about the desktop machines as well.

We have this Windows 7 box I built back in 2008 (and let me tell you how fun it was to upgrade from Vista to 7, yes sir). Boy howdy is this machine dying. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if it blue screened while I was trying to type this post. Point is, I'm itching for an iMac or a Mac Mini The buyer's guide says "for God's sake, don't," and I think I understand the reasons why. It's been nearly 300 days since the 2012 models were released, and it would be foolish to buy one now.

So, I mean, what's a new customer to do? I want to spend my money wisely. Is finding a used machine worth the hassle? They seem to be hard to find, and the prices aren't that much lower than getting a new one. I look forward to hearing your feedback, you veterans of the Mac world. This is your opportunity to educate the noob! Or it's your opportunity to reply dismissively with a link that I should have obviously read before posting a question on any forum whatsoever. You know, whatever blows your skirts up.

 

[davedev100]

Its the classic upgrade calculation. If you can get enough value out of it prior to the upgrade, then you should go for it. I did because I was updating my business computer last year, but usually with a home computer its better waiting especially since both seem to have imminent possibility of being upgraded.

However, if you really need to upgrade, you could go with the Mini. Whatever is new about it won't be that revolutionary and frankly processor upgrades really aren't all that great version to version. Then, you could get an iMac when they do come out and use it as your primary and use the mini as a secondary (media server, video streaming, kids) computer.

Having said that, I am really happy with the 27" iMac I bought last December when it was released. The upgrade to Haswell would be nice, but the Fusion drive really makes my computer go. Retina would be nice (if that's happening), but the 27" is a really nice display even now. And I don't think a new model would look that much better. I'd bet they stick with the current case.

 

[Old Muley]

Welcome to the forum! Going from a PC to a Mac is like having a nice, cool, glass of iced tea after working in the hot sun all day.

It sounds like you might be facing a time crunch given your machine's impending doom. Unless you have a great monitor you want to bring to a Mini, may I suggest you consider an iMac. If you are worried about the potential refresh on the iMac, you could try and hold on as long as you can; there is some rumor we might see a spec bump (Haswell?) next month.

If "cutting edge" isn't a requirement, you might want to browse the refurbished list on the Apple website. Current and previous versions can usually be had for a discount.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I spent 11 months waiting to buy my first Mac, as it was about to be upgraded. Well we got there in the end and I'm currently typing this on my lovely Mac machine.
Unless you do a lot of intense things on your machine, I doubt waiting for Haswell will make that much difference. Depends onif you want to game or run 3d software programs. If not the just go for it (before your PC dies). Hopefully you have a back up!
Now iMac verses Mac mini. If you have a great screen, keyboard and mouse, then perhaps the mini is for you. If not by the time you factor those in the price between the two is not all that much. Best thing about the iMac is it's a beautiful machine (design) to look at. Worse thing is accessibility. You can't even upgrade the RAM on my model.
Now the mini is great if you want to open it up and tinker (I don't). You can change the RAM or even the hard drive.
Whichever you choose you will love OSX. Takes some getting used to, but persevere and you will get there.

Good to check out the guides part of this forum
http://guides.macrumors.com/Category:Mac_Hardware
As there is lot of useful stuff in there as you find your feet, plus generally we are quite a helpful community!
Enjoy your new machine whatever you decide upon.

 

[MrEnfilade]

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

So, the principal uses for a new Mac would be for general family web browsing, streaming video, playing with photos and videos, writing the Great American Novel, and some gaming. The standard upper-middle class lineup of activities, I imagine. This old 22" monitor from Dell (model SP2208WFP, if that matters) isn't so bad, and neither is the existing keyboard and mouse, so maybe a Mac Mini is an okay way to go. It'd certainly save me some money since it's not an all-in-one jobber. I've had some experience building PCs, so tinkering inside a box is inside my comfort zone.

I remember from days gone by folks would say "Gaming on a Mac? Is you smoking crack?" That is literally what people would say. Is that still a thing anymore? I'd like to be able to play some games on a new Mac, and I know my kids would too. I'm very certain newer Macs can handle Minecraft with no problem, but about how far can someone take their gaming predilections on a Mac?

Ugh, I'm all over the place now, and this thread is no longer strictly about when to buy an iMac. This is why we can't have nice things.

 

[Fatboy71]

Hello!

So, I've been a PC user for my whole adult life, but lately our family has been leaning toward the Apple side of things. First came one iPad, and then another, and now I'm eyeballing replacing our Android phones with the fancy new 5Cs. Our experience with iOS has been really good, and I hear such good things about the desktop machines as well.

We have this Windows 7 box I built back in 2008 (and let me tell you how fun it was to upgrade from Vista to 7, yes sir). Boy howdy is this machine dying. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if it blue screened while I was trying to type this post. Point is, I'm itching for an iMac or a Mac Mini The buyer's guide says "for God's sake, don't," and I think I understand the reasons why. It's been nearly 300 days since the 2012 models were released, and it would be foolish to buy one now.

So, I mean, what's a new customer to do? I want to spend my money wisely. Is finding a used machine worth the hassle? They seem to be hard to find, and the prices aren't that much lower than getting a new one. I look forward to hearing your feedback, you veterans of the Mac world. This is your opportunity to educate the noob! Or it's your opportunity to reply dismissively with a link that I should have obviously read before posting a question on any forum whatsoever. You know, whatever blows your skirts up.

I got my first Mac (27 inch iMac with Fusion Drive) in January after been a PC user for 10 years.

All I can say is, its the best move I made in a long time.

The screen on the iMac is an absolute beauty, crisp and detailed. I've seen no other monitor that matches the crispness, vividness of the iMac's display. And the anti reflective coating really works extremely well too.

I'm running Mountain Lion on my iMac and its rock solid reliable and never gives me any hassle. I found when I was with Windows, I spent quite a bit of time maintaining my machine, sorting random issues out, that were caused by god knows what. Whereas Mac's do tend to look after themselves.

Prior to getting my iMac. I spent around 6 months researching what programs that I was using on Windows would be available on Mac. The vast amount were available in a Mac version, but even ones that weren't, they was a application for the Mac that would basically do the same thing. I find most of the applications for Mac tend to be clearly laid out and intuitive. During the 6 months of researching I thought up and asked questions that I had on various forums (Apple's Support forums are a really good place to ask, I got a lot of help from there). I also done a bit of reading up on various things.

Don't forget that if you cannot leave Windows altogether, there is an application called Bootcamp (which is included on the Mac OS) which basically lets you run Windows on a Mac. Once you have Windows installed through Bootcamp, then with Bootcamp, you hold down the Option (Alt) key while you start up your Mac to switch between Windows and Mac OS.

There is also applications available such as Parallels Desktop which basically allows you to install Windows on a Mac, but without the need to restart your Mac when wanting to run Windows. You basically load Parallels Desktop, this in turn loads Windows. You can then be doing something in Windows (Parallels Desktop), minimise the Window and be doing something else on the Mac side.

Somethings on a Mac are very similar to what they are on Windows, somethings are not. For example, on Windows, you have Control Panel where you access various settings. On a Mac you have System Preferences instead. In the beginning you will probably try and do it the Windows way, but once you start picking up and learning the Mac way of doing things, they will be no stopping you.

In the end up for me, the move from PC to Mac was a very easy and trouble free move. A lot of people I know who have Mac's all say the same thing, and that is, once you have had a Mac, you won't go back to Windows, and I most definitely agree.

 

[tom vilsack]

While you wait to buy your new mac,you might want to try starting from fresh with your windows 7 computer. A clean install and then using all your systems latest drivers would do it a world of good.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

Wait for October 15th

 

[MrEnfilade]

Wait for October 15th

Wow, that is ... as cryptic as it is unhelpful. Thanks so much! Care to clarify?

 

[dextr3k]

Wow, that is ... as cryptic as it is unhelpful. Thanks so much! Care to clarify?

I think he means that there is an Apple event then, so they might announce a new imac, or they might now. But doesnt hurt to make your purchase until the event to hear what they say. Unless you desperately need a new imac this instant.

 

[ElectronGuru]

Part of my own timing answer is ownership horizon. If you need it for a project and are selling in a year, waiting even a month is an eternity. If you expect to own it for 5+ years (as 2008 suggests), waiting 3 months ain't no thing. Use the time to read a few 'welcome to Mac' guides' and watch a few videos.