If you had the money, which Mac would you buy today?

[vollspacken]

If you had enough money to buy the Mac of your dreams today, which one would you buy, how would you configure it (what BTO options, or standard config), and what would you use the new Mac for?

Mac LC II - 2MB Ram, 500MB HD, 10T ethernet, 12" monochrome CRT
- and I would use it to play shufflepuck

... WTF??? what a stupid question, anybody would pick the top of the line configuration id money wasn't the problem...

the only thing to worry about would be deskspace and therefore what display to choose...

vSpacken

 

[Apple Hobo]

• Dual 2.5GHz PowerPC G5
• 2GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x1GB
• 2x250GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL
• 56k V.92 modem
• 8x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
• Mac OS X - U.S. English

• 19" CRT display

Subtotal $4,924.00 (minus display cost)

Pretty modest, but I really don't need anything more.

If I wanted to really burn a hole in my wallet...

A Cray X1 supercomputer

 

[pianoman181]

Summary


• Dual 2GHz PowerPC G5
• 4GB DDR400 ECC SDRAM - 8x512
• 750GB ADM (3x250GB Serial ATA)
• Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
• Fibre Channel PCI-X card - (lower slot)
• PCI video card (upper slot)
• Xserve RAID 3500G/14x250G/2x2GB FC
• Mac OS X Server, Unlimited License
• Mac OS X Server Maintenance 36 Mths Unl. Client (Single Server), price per server
• AppleCare Service Parts Kit for Xserve G5
• AppleCare Premium Service and Support for Xserve
No video card


Subtotal $21,246.00

plus my current powerbook g4 12 incher 1ghz, 512mb, 40gb, ae, bluetooth

 

[andiwm2003]

Mac LC II - 2MB Ram, 500MB HD, 10T ethernet, 12" monochrome CRT
- and I would use it to play shufflepuck

... WTF??? what a stupid question, anybody would pick the top of the line configuration id money wasn't the problem...

the only thing to worry about would be deskspace and therefore what display to choose...

vSpacken

you're wrong. i don't need the top of the line dual processor mac. i don't need speed, i don't want cables, i don't need ultra subwoofer ear blasting sound. i want a simple system so i choose the best design for me. if that happens to be a "low cost" model thats fine with me. having the money doesn't mean i buy any high speed sh** that i don't need.
of course i can fully understand the people who want to enjoy the top of the line model. just having it may be already a cool thing.

my two cents, andi

 

[r6girl]

12 inch powerbook fully loaded with 30" cinema display --- ultimate portability and kiss ass display for when i'm at my desk

ditto!

however, i don't think the 12" pb can support that display size, so i guess it would have to be the 23" display...

marianne

 

[JeffTL]

20" iMac G5 loaded (including Airport -- the idea is to limit cabling), BT peripherals and a nice set of speakers; if the speakers built in aren't that great (and I doubt they're too great) and I can't recycle the speakers from my Dell I'd like some JBL Creature IIs so I am working them in. $3250 or so academic.

Maybe toss in Final Cut Express for $99 -- I'm wanting to copy my tapes over to DVD so the Pinnacle moviebox digitizer for $199 is a good choice. Though the EyeTV 200 could do that and bring in TV too, the EyeTV 500 is the ideal choice if I'm going all-out, as it can bring in OTA HD, though I might just not do TV on this and keep it to video off tape.

I already have MS Office and wouldn't need that.

Not as powerful as a Power Mac but on the other hand an iMac G5 would take up no more space than my current Dell monitor.

 

[BrianKonarsMac]

12 inch powerbook fully loaded with 30" cinema display --- ultimate portability and kiss ass display for when i'm at my desk

i wish the nvidia geforce 6800 ultra was installed in the 12" pbook...but it's only BTO on the PMac G5's.

obviously if money wasn't an issue, you would go for the best available option depending on both portability, size, and power.

my 12" will last me as a portable for a long time i think, all i do on the road is emailing, DVD watching, browsing, music, and light gaming.

my dream system would be -

wait for top of the line Rev. C G5 PMac.
8GB of RAM in 1GB sticks.
Nvidia GeForce 6800 ultra or equivalent.

remove the stock hard drive, replace with highest internal SATA drive (400GB is current i think, so maybe .5TB) and add another.

Fibre Channel PCI-X card.

X-Serve RAID for super storage...drool...

dual 30" monitors with wall mounts. HD PORN! I CAN SEE EVERYTHING SO CLEARLY

replace my logitech z-680 with some amazing optical audio equipment (although z-680 does have optical and i love them..).

and then i would use the rest of the change to buy myself a life , or maybe just a high class hooker. [note: sarcasm, maybe = true]

and all the rest of those sexy goodies, a customized case would be nice (acid etched design, logo, etc).

 

[BrianKonarsMac]

ditto!

however, i don't think the 12" pb can support that display size, so i guess it would have to be the 23" display...

marianne

yea, you can't use a 30" on anything but a PMac G5 w/ Nvidia's card.

the 12" pb's video cards performance on a 23" monitor, probably not so hot at full res.

 

[stubeeef]

id get the vt supercomputer. imagine the games i can play with that baby!

ditto....maybe I could solve the unified theory!!!!!

 

[Counterfit]

you're wrong. i don't need the top of the line dual processor mac. i don't need speed, i don't want cables, i don't need ultra subwoofer ear blasting sound. i want a simple system so i choose the best design for me. if that happens to be a "low cost" model thats fine with me. having the money doesn't mean i buy any high speed sh** that i don't need.
of course i can fully understand the people who want to enjoy the top of the line model. just having it may be already a cool thing.

my two cents, andi

Congrats, you just took all the fun out of this thread

Anyways, my ultimate system (assuming an unlimited budget)
2.5GHz G5 with:
16GB of RAM (2GB sticks, at least $339 each )
1600GB (unformatted) internal drive space (thanks to transintl's SwiftData 200 and Hitachi's 400GB SATA drive.)
NVidia 6800, driving two 30" cinema displays.
Fibre Channel card
Logitech Z-680 speakers
Related peripherals:
a FireWire (800 or 400) dual layer DVD burner
a fully loaded XServe RAID
a connection to Internet2

total price (excluding 'net connection):
• Dual 2.5GHz PowerPC G5
• 512MB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x256
• 160GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL
• Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel)
• Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel)
• Bluetooth Module
• 56k V.92 modem
• 8x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• Fibre Channel PCI-X Card (w/SFP-SFP cable)
• Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
• Mac OS X - U.S. English
• Mac OS X Server v10.3 (Unlimited-Client)
• Keynote preinstalled
• iPod w/Click Wheel (40GB w/Dock)
• Logitech Z-680 THX 5.1 Speakers & Monster 2-meter Cable
• APP for Power Mac (w/ or w/o display) - Enrollment Kit

Subtotal $12,686.95

RAM= $899 per 2GB stick from Crucial $899x8 = $7192
SwiftData 200 (two drive solution, not enough PCI slots for the four drive ) = $368
Hard drives: I couldn't find a retail price in my quick search, so I'm using $300, based on the price of Maxtor's 300GB drive ($225 at newegg, $259 at tigerdirect), so $300x4 = $1200
Dual Layer DVD drive: LaCie 16x D2, FireWire + USB "High Speed": $199
XServe RAID:
• 512MB+512MB cache
• 3500GB ADM (14x250GB Ultra ATA)
• Cache Battery Back-up Modules
• AppleCare Service Parts Kit for Xserve RAID
• AppleCare Premium Service & Support Plan for Xserve RAID

Subtotal $14,597.00

Grand subtotal: $36242.95, plus tax and shipping.
Total with RI 7% sales tax: $38779.96
That's $2537.01 in sales tax

Edit: hmm, over an hour from clicking Quote to actually posting... and then another 30 mins editing

 

[Oirectine]

1.8 G5 iMac with
-Lots of RAM
-Airport Extreme
-Bluetooth mouse and keyboard


Mmm... an entire desktop with almost no footprint and only ONE WIRE for the whole dang setup. *drool*

 

[Sun Baked]

If there was an unlimited budget, I'd probably lean towards the VT Big Mac Cluster v2.0 if the building is included.

 

[applemacdude]

I would have Dual 30'"

 

[Abstract]

• Dual 2.5GHz PowerPC G5
• 8GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 8x1GB
• 2x250GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• ATI Radeon 9800 XT w/256MB DDR SDRAM
• Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel)
• AirPort Extreme Card
• Bluetooth Module
• 8x SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• PCI-X Gigabit Ethernet Card
• Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
• Mac OS X - U.S. English
• Logitech Z-680 THX 5.1 Speakers & Monster 2-meter Cable
• APP for Power Mac with Display - Auto Enroll

Subtotal $11,257.95 (EDU pricing)

What would I use it for? Only for word processing. Nothing else. Nein!

Exactly! Why wouldn't I just buy the best system Apple has to offer? Throw in the iSight even though I have no friends who video chat, a 40GB iPod for sh:ts and giggles, a mini, and all the software options and I'm set. Oh, and why are some people buying a single 23" when they could get the 30"??

Oh, and I'd throw in one of those $50000 stereo systems for kicks. Why? I dunno, but I hear they're purdy.

 

[neoelectronaut]

Summary- My iMac G5

• 2GB DDR400 SDRAM - 2 DIMMs
• 250GB Serial ATA drive
• AirPort Extreme Card
• None - Bluetooth Module
• iSight
• .Mac Promotional Bundle
• Bluetooth Module + Apple Wireless Keyboard & Mouse
• APP for iMac/eMac - Enrollment Kit
• 20-inch widescreen LCD
• 1.8GHz PowerPC G5
• SuperDrive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
• NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra w/64MB video memory


Subtotal $3,689.95

I want it, I want it, I want it! Good specs, I like the space-saving factor most of all.

That's it. That's the winner. If I had the money and I had the guts to spend it all in one place, that's the computer for me.

 

[QCassidy352]

kind of a silly thread, isn't this? Everyone's answer is just to go to the apple store and max out the options on a dual 2.5...

 

[vollspacken]

kind of a silly thread, isn't this? Everyone's answer is just to go to the apple store and max out the options on a dual 2.5...

see

vSpacken

 

[wrldwzrd89]

kind of a silly thread, isn't this? Everyone's answer is just to go to the apple store and max out the options on a dual 2.5...

I started it because I knew that a lot of people would go for the PowerMac G5, but I also knew that some would go for a PowerBook, iMac, or other Mac...and THOSE are the stats I started this thread to get.

 

[Chaszmyr]

If there was an unlimited budget, I'd probably lean towards the VT Big Mac Cluster v2.0 if the building is included.

You beat me to it. I'd buy as big of an xserve cluster as could fit in my house.

 

[Chaszmyr]

I started it because I knew that a lot of people would go for the PowerMac G5, but I also knew that some would go for a PowerBook, iMac, or other Mac...and THOSE are the stats I started this thread to get.

Are you sure you didn't mean "if you could afford any mac if it seemed reasonable, which mac do you think is the best value?"

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Are you sure you didn't mean "if you could afford any mac if it seemed reasonable, which mac do you think is the best value?"

Yeah - I didn't mean that. You do bring up a good point though...perhaps a title like the one you suggested would achieve my goal better. Oh well - can't change it now, and no point in starting a new thread. (If I edit my original post, the thread title in the forums is not updated.)

 

[Mord]

id use 2 billion dollars to give to apple for them to make me a custom titainium polished to a mirror finish 17" g5 dual core 3GHz with twin 8GB dimms a mad firegl 512mb prototype gpu with twin dual link dvi triple head output oh and the screen rez would be native HD. and a 12 hour battery and a blue ray slot loading dvd burner.

 

[Mechcozmo]

Miracles CAN happen....right?

12 inch powerbook fully loaded with 30" cinema display --- ultimate portability and kiss ass display for when i'm at my desk

Sorry to tell you the bad news, but that 30" display won't run off the PowerBooks. You need that really expensive graphics card by nVidea to use it...Otherwise, I'd agree partway.

15" PowerBook with all that fun stuff onboard. That is a nice portable.

Dual 2.5 GHz G5 (duh!) with those
2 30" LCDs. Man, those things are HUGE! And the biggest one I've seen is the friendly neighborhood Apple Store's 23"...
16GB of RAM. Although the max is said to be 8GB, you can buy 2GB DIMMs for a price sure to bankrupt small countries.
The G5 Jam for all my junk. And to impress people.
Bluetooth keyboard/mouse
6.3 Megapixel digital camera
40GB iPod
iPod case
iPod mini
iPod mini case (maybe)
10 pounds of chocolate (oh, wait, Apple dosn't make chocolate...)
Lacie Huge Freakin' Drive, the 1TB model
USB 2.0 1GB thumbdrive, because floppies are so outdated
And, the icing on the cake....the cash to buy it with....
You would need to sell some private islands, or maybe an entire country, to buy it all. Oh well, I can dream... Sigh.......

 

[wrldwzrd89]

So far the vast majority of replies have mentioned the PowerMac G5. However, I also noticed some PowerBook and Xserve requests - the Xserves I did not expect. This has turned into quite an interesting thread.

 

[Mord]

a one million xserve supercluster would be nice, maybe i could play doom 3 at native rez on a 3" on highest details with all the trimmings at 5000fps. muhahahaha.