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Best way to get into Mac?

Flyers1718

Flyers1718

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 9, 2007
66
0
Well I now have an old windows laptop and its starting to die on me. I really want to get a mac but dont have much money. I really want to get something decent but for cheap. I want to spend like around 500 give or take. What are my best options? Thanks in advance.
 
Do you have a USB keyboard and mouse? How about an LCD screen?


If so, get a used Intel Mac Mini.

If not, look into a used iMac G5. Usable speeds, LCD built in, very small, and good looking.
 
Flyers1718 said:
Well I now have an old windows laptop and its starting to die on me. I really want to get a mac but dont have much money. I really want to get something decent but for cheap. I want to spend like around 500 give or take. What are my best options? Thanks in advance.
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what currency?
 
Sorry US dollars.

I don't have a keyboard,mouse,lcd but I think a used intel mini might be nice. Can you put 3 gigs in those? Whats the going price for intel mini.
 
Flyers1718 said:
Sorry US dollars.

I don't have a keyboard,mouse,lcd but I think a used intel mini might be nice. Can you put 3 gigs in those? Whats the going price for intel mini.
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only the very latest mini will take 3 gigs (although apple says 2).
 
Flyers1718 said:
The core 2 duo? Is the core duo with 2 gigs good for safari,im client,torrents and some photoshop/flash?
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yes, core 2 duo.

i would think a core duo with 2 gigs would be fine. but then i'm not as picky as some. i use photoshop very happily on a 2 year old ibook 1.33 GHz with 1.5 gigs.
 
Yeah well im using cs3 on my 4 year old laptop with 256 megs of ram. How much do one of those ibooks sell for now? And how much are core duos selling for? Thanks a lot for the help btw,I appreciate it.
 
Flyers1718 said:
Yeah well im using cs3 on my 4 year old laptop with 256 megs of ram. How much do one of those ibooks sell for now? And how much are core duos selling for? Thanks a lot for the help btw,I appreciate it.
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well, i'm not in your country so i have no idea about relevant second hand values. but there should be someone about here who can help!
 
Flyers1718 said:
Yeah well im using cs3 on my 4 year old laptop with 256 megs of ram. How much do one of those ibooks sell for now? And how much are core duos selling for? Thanks a lot for the help btw,I appreciate it.
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You could get maybe $350 for the iBook if its in good condition (800MHz G4 model). You can get a 1.66GHz CD mini for $429 with a combo drive or a 1.83GHz CD with a superdrive for $479 from the refurb shop but you have to be quick.
 
Yeah I dont see the minis on the refurbs online much. I dont mind not having the superdrive cause ill just get an external. I guess I will be looking for a used intel mini. I guess for a monitor I will get a sceptre 20 inch because its like 30 more than anything smaller on newegg for lcds.
 
Flyers1718 said:
Yeah I dont see the minis on the refurbs online much. I dont mind not having the superdrive cause ill just get an external. I guess I will be looking for a used intel mini. I guess for a monitor I will get a sceptre 20 inch because its like 30 more than anything smaller on newegg for lcds.
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To get my daughter's mini I stayed up until 2:15AM PST when they had updated the shop.
 
What do you mean like watching until they update and then buying? How often to they update?
 
Yeah I guess when I get the money that will be my first option watching for a mini on the apple store. I guess the marketplace here would be a good place to look too.
 
you may want to be on the lookout if you have a Fry's nearby. I went there beginning of the week and they had a brand new in box 17inch iMac with combo drive etc....the one that retails for $999. Fry's price was only $599. Since the new update to iMac's the old models had a huge price decrease. I would check there or check refurb store which i think they go for $699 there though.
 
You can get a refurb mini from Apple for $429 for the 1.66 Core Duo with superdrive. A wireless mouse and keyboard can be picked up for under $40 online. You can easily get a used CRT monitor for free or under $30 on Craigslist.

That puts you at $499. Take the extra dollar and buy a Snickers bar.
 
rmhop81 said:
you may want to be on the lookout if you have a Fry's nearby. I went there beginning of the week and they had a brand new in box 17inch iMac with combo drive etc....the one that retails for $999. Fry's price was only $599. Since the new update to iMac's the old models had a huge price decrease. I would check there or check refurb store which i think they go for $699 there though.
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Thanks for the tip. I'll have to check out the Frys near me.
 
Wait for Leopard in October if you can. Save the $129 for an upgrade ...

Also, the 1.66 refurb comes with COMBO not superdrive.
 
WannaGoMac said:
Wait for Leopard in October if you can. Save the $129 for an upgrade ...

Also, the 1.66 refurb comes with COMBO not superdrive.
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Will apple load leopard onto there mini refurbs? I guess Ill do that if they are going to.

Thanks for the tip.
 
Flyers1718 said:
Will apple load leopard onto there mini refurbs? I guess Ill do that if they are going to.

Thanks for the tip.
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No one knows 100%
But group opinion is yes it will be upgraded or at least be available for a cheap upgrade as they did for ilife 08
 
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