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Mac for my girlfriend.

K

kgarchar

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 21, 2006
332
0
So we have about $300 (Definitely no more) to get her a Mac, she's not going to be using it for many processor intensive tasks. The most would probably be 3 way video chatting(which i know requires a 1GHz G4). what would be the best computer for her needs? she has a monitor and keyboard if she were to get a mac mini...anyone have any suggestions? (or even feel like selling me something good?)
 
i think all you'll be able to get for $300 is a used Mac mini (maybe) or a used iBook. eBay is best.
 
i was definitely planning on going used, where would be a good place to buy one?
 
kgarchar said:
So we have about $300 (Definitely no more) to get her a Mac, she's not going to be using it for many processor intensive tasks. The most would probably be 3 way video chatting(which i know requires a 1GHz G4). what would be the best computer for her needs? she has a monitor and keyboard if she were to get a mac mini...anyone have any suggestions? (or even feel like selling me something good?)
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I think you're really going to have a hard time finding anything for that cheap other than a used first-gen Mac mini. Check eBay as well as the Marketplace section of these forums.

EDIT: Beaten to it...
 
QCassidy352 said:
maybe a 1 Ghz emac?
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This is gonna be you're only option, most likely. And with shipping and tax, you still won't be able to keep it under $300. Just save up a little longer and you'll find something. Good luck.
 
Old Smuggler said:
well you could allway get her one of these they are pretty cheap
Click to expand...

that link didn't work for me.

i forgot about eMacs - those are probably pretty cheap. i agree with ripfrankwhite, though; your best bet is to keep saving a little longer so you can get something that will last longer.

edit: this eMac is only $230.
 
kgarchar said:
Mac for my girlfriend
Click to expand...

Maybe if you post pictures of your girlfriend we could tell you whether this would be a good trade or not :D
 
If the need is not urgent I will snowball the money to get something better.

I always believe in the mantra "The poor cannot afford to buy poor", if you buy crap now you will end up having to buy crap again to replace said crap (ie: throwing good money after bad), it'd be a vicious cycle.

That said you can get a refurbished Dell laptop with a Pentium-M 1.7Ghz processor for $270. That is actually a somewhat modern processor, and beats the hell out of the G3/G4 machines that you'd otherwise get for your $300.

You might want to dig out the "Dells are so insanely cheap" thread to glean the link another poster pointed to.
 
do you have an isight camera? to do three way video you need one and only the imacs and macbook /pro have them built in. If you dont have one you have to keep in account those are 150 new. id say get the computer on ebay. good luck
 
i have a macbook 2.0 ghz, so i'm set. She just got a $600 dell for christmas and she HATES it, she really wants to go Mac, so a dell is completely out of the question. If I were to get an emac (1.25 ghz) for $300, is that a good deal?
 
ohh, for an isight she would use a digital camcorder. i have an old one where it won't record anymore(and jvc won't fix my $800 investment) so i'm just going to give it to her
 
I would probably save up a bit more and sell the Dell before buying the Apple computer.

I would atleast get her a MacBook.
 
Come on it can't be that bad. Using your Mac as your girlfriend - Really - you could get electrocuted that way ;) "Mac for my girlfriend" - I could not resist ;)

To the original point - $300 may not get any mac - with video chat capabilities - sure you have keyboard and mouse, but you would need acamera too - the budget would be busted.
 
ziwi said:
To the original point - $300 may not get any mac - with video chat capabilities - sure you have keyboard and mouse, but you would need acamera too - the budget would be busted.
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the OP already specified he has a camera to use.

if you can wait, wait until you have more to spend (perhaps sell the Dell first and use that money for the new Mac). if you can afford it, MacBooks are great because they are the newest thing out there and are all-inclusive (camera, screen, computer, keyboard, mouse - the whole point of a notebook). if not, an eMac is a good all-in-one and is definitely in the $300 range.
 
Jiddick ExRex said:
Btw, how's that Photoshop going for ya?? :rolleyes:
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We all need different things...

The original poster needs a low price, so Intel is out of the question... Why even debate?

A Mac Mini, considering that she already has all the other components (who doesn't have extras?) would probably give you the most bang for the buck. I would search ebay and the marketplace and first get a feel of what they're going for. Don't hop on the first one you see that seems to be a "good price." Wait it out until one actually is a good price. If you do this well, that could be in a week, two weeks, or whatever...
 
Boxer said:
I would personally not buy any Mac that does not have intel in them. Just from personal experience they are way to slow!!!! Just my opinion!!!
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Yeah, I mean, those macbooks and intel minis really kick the crap out of quad G5s.
 
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