I'm on the verge of selling my 1.25 eMac (with superdrive and 756m of RAM) for $475 so that I can get a Mac Mini. Question #1: am I getting a fair price for the eMac (I think I am)? As for the Mac mini, I was gonna try to go the chepa route and snag a randomly available refurb 1.5 core solo off the refurb store for $479 or should I bite the bullet and get a new 1.66 core duo for $599? I don't game or anything intensive. I occasionally do some Illustrator/Photoshop work. I primarily want to turn the Mac mini into a digital hub in the living room and basic web surfing and e-mail. Help!
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Mac mini advice
- Thread starter deeforce
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I would say you should try and see if you can get a refurb Core Duo? I see the refurb is going for $649, and it comes with a superdrive, which the current low end one (new) does not. I have a Core Solo, and while it's great for regular tasks like word processing and web browsing, if you're going to do anything like encode video or work with high-end apps, you'll want a Core Duo. If you're not too worried about needing the fastest processor, though, get the Solo and spend the extra money on more RAM. Either way, you'll need it!
Hey there Tampa, that's where I went to H.S. That sounds like a fair price for the eMac. I didn't think you could get that much, but I don't really know eMac values. I would think you may want a Superdrive. You can no longer get that as a $50 upgrade on the low end Mini. So I would suggest a 1.66 refurb which would have a SD for $649 or find one on eBay.
I can always get an external DVD burner for $100 now that iDVD works with them, can't I? DVD burning is convenient, but not essential. I've only really used it to do some file back-ups and to make the occasional photo slideshow.
deeforce said:
Well, the refurb Duo comes with an 80GB (vs 60GB) HD and the Superdrive. Assuming you don't think those two things are really worth the extra $50, go with the new Duo. Or, again, if you don't think you need the extra power, and would rather spend the money on RAM, get a refurb Solo. You can always upgrade the processor in the future, which is why I settled for a Solo for now!
does anyone know of any head-to-head comparisons between the 1.5 solo and the 1.66 duo? I'd be curious to read...
deeforce said:
Here are two quick reviews I found:
http://www.123macmini.com/news/story/455.html
http://www.macworld.com/2006/03/firstlooks/minibenchmarks/index.php