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Best setup for under $1500?

corywoolf

corywoolf

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 28, 2004
1,352
4
I am 17 and by no means wealthy, I was curious to hear some different setups people could come up with. Think bargain, ultra cheap, good deals, worth the money, etc.

My idea was:

Used rev B 12" PB w/ 20" Dell monitor. Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Cheap but good 2.1 stereo speaker system.

idea's?

pics of anyones setup that may apply?
 
iBook G4 with 80GB HD, 1.256GB RAM, Bluetooth, Apple BT Keyboard/Mouse, iCurve, Samsung 715v.
 
wwooden said:
The iMac G5 is by far the best deal. With student discount, you can get a 17" superdrive for $1500 (including tax).
Click to expand...

I agree, go with an iMac G5 (I would on your budget). Although your powerbook idea would be nice as well.
 
corywoolf said:
Used rev B 12" PB w/ 20" Dell monitor. Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. Cheap but good 2.1 stereo speaker system.
Click to expand...

That would be a nice mobile setup for the price. You'd definitely have to wait and jump on a good Dull coupon to get the 20 incher. I love my rev C, but make sure factor in that it needs at least 768 (512 for light users) Mb of ram. I can't remember, did the rev B have a 64 Mb grahpics card, CoreImage ripples alone are worth getting a slightly faster system, if not ;)

If you are more sedintary, I would have to agree with wwooden that the iMacs have a great value. You can pick up a certified used iMac G5 20" for $1,399.00 if you act fast, then add bt kb and mouse and decent speakers for close to your budget. Faster processor/bus, faster and bigger hard drive, and even less footprint on the desk than the 12" PB.

Choices, choices. Have fun!
 
ITASOR said:
iBook G4 with 80GB HD, 1.256GB RAM, Bluetooth, Apple BT Keyboard/Mouse, iCurve, Samsung 715v.
Click to expand...

Dude, you will totally want this. When you are in college (eventually) you are going to want to be portable.

Period. I'm getting the same iBook. ;)
 
Go with the iMac!

lilstewart92 said:
Dude, you will totally want this. When you are in college (eventually) you are going to want to be portable.

Period. I'm getting the same iBook. ;)
Click to expand...

This seems a little pragmatic to me... You're way to grounded! ;)

The wording with which the thread was started (BEST setup) leads undeniably to the 17" iMac with superdrive and room for a ram upgrade (though one isn't as critical as with the iBook). The specs are nearly too good.

I "need" portability as I'm going into college this semester, so the 14" ibook it will be. That said, I still pull up the iMac order page on a daily basis and salivate uncontrollably.

Use your education discount (a bit of the force couldn't hurt either), and enjoy your SWEET new iMac!!
 
The iMac G5 is a nice machine. Just traded mine away, though, as the noise bothered me. I don't recommend them to my friends and family, however, because of both the noise (this still isn't 100% fixed in RevB models - go read the Apple support forums) as well as the very real chance of premature HDD (and other component) failure due to the high heat levels. I thnk barefeats.com has a good article about the heat on the HDD of the RevB (and A) iMac G5.

Also, after having one, I tend to steer people clear of all-in-one systems, except laptops IF they need portability. Seems like a better investment, to me, to spend a little more now, and then be able to spend less on future upgrades. Especially if you decide to keep the old computer for some other use rather than 'trading up'.

Rather than go with a used PB, I would consider a new 12" iBook. There should be an update to them soon and I would guess that they'll be getting a Core Image capable GPU. You can snag a nicesly loaded 12" iBook, a nice LCD, and a high speed FW HDD for about $1500, especially if you can hold out untill the next revision. You could also grab a current generation iBook on clearance after the new ones come out and save some cash.

If you don't absolutely need a portable system, go for a mini with a nice LCD and extra RAM and external HDD. Later on you can move up to a PowerMac if you want more power, or you could move to a laptop if you decide you want portability, and keep your external devices, etc.
 
I found a RevA PowerMac G5 1.6GHz for $800. Add my 19" Dell Ultrasharp LCD I got with coupons for $275. Wireless keyboard and mouse combo (Logitech MX Duo) was $50. A decent set of speakers was $50 as well. You'll need to add some RAM to make Tiger run smoothly, so add 2 x 256 at a minimum. That will bring you up to 768MB and should be fine. That upgrade costs ~$40.

Soooo...

PowerMac G5 + 19" LCD + Wireless Keyboard and mouse + speakers + RAM = $1215. To me, that's a pretty good price on a setup like this. And I guarantee the 19" Dell Ultrasharp is better than the built in displays on the iMacs.

Try and find a used or refurbed PowerMac. You'll be happy.
 
mac mini - $748 with 512 ram and 80 GB HD bluetooh module/keyboard/mouse
dell 20" wide screen monitor (my personal favorite!) - $434 with cupons
klipsch 2.1 speakers $150 (or $100 referbished from klipsch site)

then you still have $200 to put to software or games, or just a savings acount for your next mac (once the macintels come out) or an iPod shuffle. i love the shuffle!!!
 
corywoolf said:
pics of anyones setup that may apply?
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here is my setup, similar i think to what you want with the PB, my stats are in my sig. the mini in the set up belongs to my brother i was just playing with it while he was out of town. i really liked the mini and would love to get my own (just get more than the minimum 256mb of ram!!!!) i do not have a good set up speakers. i normally use airport express to play music on my full stereo system in the other room if i want to hear good quality music!
 

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i hate to be the one to say this, but if you want a value system get a Dell.

Really. For $1295 (no tax if you don't live in Texas) you can get a Dell 600m 2.0 GHz Centrino (802.11g incl.) 512 mb RAM 60 GB HD 14.1" SXGA+ screen ATI 9000 (or higher, not sure) w/ 64 MB RAM. At most tasks that system will outperform any similary priced mac. That machine is usually sold at $2045, but you can get a $750 rebate on dell machine through 7/21. You could even opt for a more powerful inspiron or a smaller one (like 700m).
 
Ryan T. said:
I found a RevA PowerMac G5 1.6GHz for $800. Add my 19" Dell Ultrasharp LCD I got with coupons for $275. Wireless keyboard and mouse combo (Logitech MX Duo) was $50. A decent set of speakers was $50 as well. You'll need to add some RAM to make Tiger run smoothly, so add 2 x 256 at a minimum. That will bring you up to 768MB and should be fine. That upgrade costs ~$40.

Soooo...

PowerMac G5 + 19" LCD + Wireless Keyboard and mouse + speakers + RAM = $1215. To me, that's a pretty good price on a setup like this. And I guarantee the 19" Dell Ultrasharp is better than the built in displays on the iMacs.

Try and find a used or refurbed PowerMac. You'll be happy.
Click to expand...

I agree with this setup. You can later on add a second SATA internal Hard Disk, and upgrade the ram to 4GB (I believe) and you can be sure it'll be faster than an iMac 1.6GHz because of the HDD and RAM and Vid Card. Heck, you can probably get a really cheap 17" LCD and use the extra $$$ for a faster Power Mac, if you need the power.

The iMac is cool, but a Power Mac is king. Once you go tower, you don't look back. ;) Unless, of course, you need a laptop for college. Then you'd need a pimped out 12" iBook, as described above.
 
rev c

rev C pbs are better graphicswise so you might want to get that one on ebay for around 1000 if you look right and 1100 w/ superdrive. LOOK for them, they are there. The 20 incher well be ready to fork out 400, then youre left with 100 bucks.... um... mcally bt mouse 50.... apple wireless keyboard 50 on ebay again... then just spend a little more and get whichever speakers suit you best... I have the jbl creatures.... 50 bucks on ebay....

good luck! and if you dont need portability, then mac minis are nice but be sure to order from the store w/ bt so you dont have to buy the extra parts yourself
 
wide said:
i hate to be the one to say this, but if you want a value system get a Dell.

Really. For $1295 (no tax if you don't live in Texas) you can get a Dell 600m 2.0 GHz Centrino (802.11g incl.) 512 mb RAM 60 GB HD 14.1" SXGA+ screen ATI 9000 (or higher, not sure) w/ 64 MB RAM. At most tasks that system will outperform any similary priced mac. That machine is usually sold at $2045, but you can get a $750 rebate on dell machine through 7/21. You could even opt for a more powerful inspiron or a smaller one (like 700m).
Click to expand...

Sure, you can always go the Dell route. They do have some good, cheap machines. But the value quickly disappears when you factor in all the software you get with a Mac. iLife alone is worth the price difference, plus the sheer joy of using Tiger makes the Mac (ANY Mac) a much better computer. And NO VIRUSES!!!! Really. I can't stand dealing with anti-spyware, anti-virus, pop-up blocking crap.

Sorry to take this a little off topic, but I felt this needed some clarification. And the Dell will work well, and be very inexpensive. But you have to take the good with the bad.
 
wide said:
i hate to be the one to say this, but if you want a value system get a Dell.
Click to expand...



To add to that, Dell also has really good deals on their Small Business systems.

Basically you can get a very cheap system for ~700 USD, add a 20'' 2005FPW LCD screen for less then 1000 USD. They have a $200 coupon when you buy an Small Business system and a screen and a few other coupons you can find on the net to make the screen a bit cheaper.
 
mrgreen4242 said:
I thought that deal expired a couple days ago, or is there a new set of codes?
Click to expand...

New set starting this morning. There is a 34% off code and a $60 off $500 stackable code.

%34 : 33KW3147ST500M
$60 off $500 : M1LC?KT3MMTGT$

the 2405 is $863 after 28% off - HHBPGKXS288?21

Id buy one if I wasnt trying to be cheap so hopefully this helps someone else out.
 
If I had 1500 and was looking to invest in a quality machine, with lots of screen desktop space, I'd say go with one of the G5 PowerMacs someone is selling in the Marketplace for around ~1000-1100 and then add on the Dell 20" Widescreen (~460) that would be a sick setup for ~1500, that would last for years probably through college, and be able to expand with more ram bigger hard drive etc.
 
Why don't you take a look at Apple's refurb section, they have some incredible deals and you still get the full warranty opposed to buying used.
 
Do you want a PC or a Mac?

wide said:
i hate to be the one to say this, but if you want a value system get a Dell.

Really. For $1295 (no tax if you don't live in Texas) you can get a Dell 600m 2.0 GHz Centrino (802.11g incl.) 512 mb RAM 60 GB HD 14.1" SXGA+ screen ATI 9000 (or higher, not sure) w/ 64 MB RAM. At most tasks that system will outperform any similary priced mac. That machine is usually sold at $2045, but you can get a $750 rebate on dell machine through 7/21. You could even opt for a more powerful inspiron or a smaller one (like 700m).
Click to expand...

I haven't been too impressed with the Dell laptops. I think they're clunky and too heavy (but those are just my petty complaints). I feel the XP interface is waaaay laggy on a P4 Dell laptop compared to Panther on an iBook with a slower processor.

If you want a great deal, go for the Apple refurbished stuff. Previous model iBooks are a steal.

I've bought a lot of Mac stuff used over the years on ebay, but I'm wary of doing so now. I think you could count on the reliability of used equipment before all these newer machines came out the past few years with their uber heat producing powers- especially laptops.

When I'm spending that kind of money now, I like to get a warranty =) I also like to know 100% that I'm not going to get ripped off.

I like the setup with the iBook ITASOR recommended earlier in this thread. For school, portability is the way to go if you can only have either a laptop *or* a desktop.
 
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