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Mac for my wife: really just iPhoto, email, and surfing needs. Which to get?

S

Scott-n-Houston

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Apr 27, 2008
1,023
338
Houston (duh)
I have the most recent generation iMac (bought last May), and love it. My wife has a P.O.S. Dell laptop that I'd like to replace with a Mac. Normally, I'd go buy the latest and greatest iMac and give it to her, but I know it will be over kill.

She's not a tech person at all. I'm constantly having to fix things or answer questions about things with her iPhone and/or laptop, etc.
So, I'd like to get her a Mac because I know she'll love iPhoto mainly, and then she'd use Safari for surfing and Gmail. I'm also hoping she'd begin to use iCal and Address Book to coordinate with her iPhone, but knowing her, that may not happen... although if she'd give it a chance, she'd love it.

So... my question: Which Mac to get?

1) A refurb current gen iMac 20"

2) A previous gen iMac 20"

3) Some refurb or used MacBook?

3) Any other mac from current or previous generations that has the latest OS on it? (I need help here as I'm relatively new to the Mac world... would a prev. generation iMac that I could get for <$800 suffice and run OS X?)
 
Was going to suggest Mac Mini as well but if you are not looking to be picking up a screen a Macbook might be a good bet. All there and portable, like what she has at the moment except not in POS form lol

Any of the iMacs from the last few years (guessing thats the time period you were looking at?) will run Leopard perfectly as well.
 
Santa Rosa said:
Was going to suggest Mac Mini as well but if you are not looking to be picking up a screen a Macbook might be a good bet. All there and portable, like what she has at the moment except not in POS form lol

Any of the iMacs from the last few years (guessing thats the time period you were looking at?) will run Leopard perfectly as well.
Click to expand...


Thanks everyone for the fast responses. It's good to know that any iMac or Macbook from the last copule of years will run Leopard.

I think I'll look for a year old MacBook or maybe even 2 year old one.
I don't want to buy a Monitor too, so the Mac Mini is probably not my best option.


Any suggestions on the best places to buy used Macs? Ebay? It makes me nervous buying from eBay, but that may be the best option.
 
Scott-n-Houston said:
Any suggestions on the best places to buy used Macs? Ebay? It makes me nervous buying from eBay, but that may be the best option.
Click to expand...

You can get refurbs on the Apple Store. You might be better in the long run buying a new baseline model. Its obviously a bigger outset but you will have comback on it and it should really last longer. Just something to think about. Also with new Macs coming out possibly soon, there will be a slight shift in the prices they are going for so might be worth waiting it out for a small while longer.
 
Santa Rosa said:
You can get refurbs on the Apple Store. You might be better in the long run buying a new baseline model. Its obviously a bigger outset but you will have comback on it and it should really last longer. Just something to think about. Also with new Macs coming out possibly soon, there will be a slight shift in the prices they are going for so might be worth waiting it out for a small while longer.
Click to expand...


I almost pulled the trigger on a 20" iMac at Best Buy that was selling for $1019 (was $1199 new), but was an "opened" product.

What's the rumor on an update to iMacs? They just did it in April, so I didn't expect one soon. I know the Macbooks are rumored for Sept... that has me waiting as well.

Thanks for the help!
 
I would suggest a base or middle model iMac, MacBook, or if you would like to buy a display for your wife, a Mac Mini. If you want something for a lower price of and/or not up-to-date, get her a GOOD iMac G4 (my mom is still pretty happy with her 800MHz G4), or a 12"-14.1" iBook G4 (not a Powerbook, because I've sometimes seen many go over $800 even to this day, but if youre lucky, give it a shot).:D

P.S: Look on eBay for a MacBook! My brother found a couple ending at under $600! Some even $500 flat!!!
 
Macbook Air! Get her a sexy machine, she doesn't need all the power anyway but she'll earn +rep with her shallow friends.
 
Scott-n-Houston said:
I don't want to buy a Monitor too, so the Mac Mini is probably not my best option.
Click to expand...

I think you're far better off with a mini. You can get a nice monitor at Best Buy for about $150. Costco has wireless keyboard and mouse packages for about $60. With the money you save, you can get a 1 terabyte FireWire external drive to serve as her Time Machine backup.

mt
 
CristobalHuet said:
I'd go for a last gen Macbook, or a refurb, so she can take it where she wants and show it off. :D
Click to expand...

That would be my recommendation, too. Go for the Apple refurbs, - rather than eBay - as you then will have the security of whatever guarantees Apple offer and full backup should anything go wrong.

Cheers and good luck
 
Macbookpro

Scott-n-Houston said:
I have the most recent generation iMac (bought last May), and love it. My wife has a P.O.S. Dell laptop that I'd like to replace with a Mac. Normally, I'd go buy the latest and greatest iMac and give it to her, but I know it will be over kill.
Click to expand...

Ok this will be a typical female answer and not a solution to your problem..first I think it is absolutely adorable that you want to buy a Mac for your wife....

I suugest a MBP (refurbished) and check out some cool colorful covers to protect the case or some nice neoprene carrying bag ( i don't know how ur cashflow is but there are some nice leather ones too!). also you might want to buy her one of those cooling pads or trays or what they are officially called. I bought my MBP 2 months ago and as I sit in bed doing my things on it, sometimes I wonder if I have a fever....the temperature on these babies can get pretty high sometimes....


ok some female BS amongst all this male technical stuff :D:D
 
Thanks for all the replies. I'm leaning towards a refurb MacBook, but still on the fence because for photos, the iMac's screen is so nice. Sounds silly, but I may get both. lol

Thanks for the "female" input sra Aguirre. :) A MacBook Pro would be overkill for her I think, but the cooling pad is a good idea for any laptop, and yes, some kind of case will be a must because she is notoriously hard on nice things.
 
Scott-n-Houston said:
Thanks for all the replies. I'm leaning towards a refurb MacBook, but still on the fence because for photos, the iMac's screen is so nice. Sounds silly, but I may get both. lol

Thanks for the "female" input sra Aguirre. :) A MacBook Pro would be overkill for her I think, but the cooling pad is a good idea for any laptop, and yes, some kind of case will be a must because she is notoriously hard on nice things.
Click to expand...

I'd say get a refurb macbook..

Although I do find it odd that you have no problem buying a used one from eBay, or refurb, but wouldn't buy an iMac from Best Buy at a reduced price because it was opened...You still would have gotten the 1-year warranty
 
I'd probably go for a reburb or used Macbook.

She does not need ANY amount of power, compared to what is out these days. Still, running Leopard would be nice, so get a machine that isn't too old.
 
emac82 said:
I'd say get a refurb macbook..

Although I do find it odd that you have no problem buying a used one from eBay, or refurb, but wouldn't buy an iMac from Best Buy at a reduced price because it was opened...You still would have gotten the 1-year warranty
Click to expand...

That's a good point, but there was something in my gut regarding the best buy machine that scared me away...

I mentioned eBay, but i can't say I'd be comfortable with that either. Good point though.
 
I would say get a MacBook.

For one, I wouldn't want my wife to have the same computer as me. (Sorry, I know, I'm weird like that) unless she specifically wanted it.

The MacBooks are white and pretty...
Go for it.
 
sra. Aguirre said:
I bought my MBP 2 months ago and as I sit in bed doing my things on it, sometimes I wonder if I have a fever....the temperature on these babies can get pretty high sometimes....


ok some female BS amongst all this male technical stuff :D:D
Click to expand...

If you spend a lot of time on your MBP in bed, you might want to reconsider this. Sitting in bed with a laptop can be very bad for your neck and back. Just a thought.
 
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