Tuned MP5T said:
I just did my income tax today and I'm getting more then what I thought I was going to get. Instead of getting the Mac mini, I might get a Power Mac. Here are the spec's - feedback is needed and wanted.
512MB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 2x256
80GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
ATI Radeon 9600 XT w/128MB DDR SDRAM
Apple Cinema Display (20" flat panel)
56k V.92 modem.
8x Super Drive (DVD-R/CD-RW)
Apple Keyboard & Apple Mouse - U.S. English
Mac OS X - U.S. English
Subtotal $2,360.00
I like the memory upgrade. I think it's a good idea to get 512 from the factory because instead of getting stuck with 2 128mb sticks, you get 2 256mb sticks. This is importnat if you get the 1.8ghz model (like me) and you only have 4 ram slots. If you decide to jam 2 256 sticks in there after you buy it, you're stuck with 768mb and no more ram slots. You'll have to throw away your 128mb sticks or sell them for a very small amount of money on ebay (no one wants 128mb sticks any more) if you want to upgrade past that.
Also, I like the graphic card upgrade. It's a cheap upgrade ($40) over the nVidia but I think it gives much better performance.
Do you really need the modem? Dump it if you don't and save like $20.
You should consider getting the combo drive and then buying an internal DVD burner from newegg or somewhere. Replace the combo drive with a dual-layer burner like the pioneer 108. It will only cost about $70 and will give you the dual-layer capability for when the cost of DL discs drops in the future. That's what I did.
Might I recommend the bluetooth + wireless keyboard and mouse package. It's a really nice upgrade and it's a lot of fun to show off to family and friends. I think the wireless keyboard and mouse look really slick.
My big beef with you is the 20-inch cinema display. This Apple display is extremely overpriced. For about $575 you can get a 20.1-inch Dell widescreen flat panel which is comparable in quality but is nearly half the cost. The key is to search the net (e.g. bensbargains.net) for coupon codes to use on dell's web site to bring the price down. For about $550 you can get a 20.1-inch dell standard aspect flat panel. If I were you, I'd seriously save the 300-400 bucks it would cost you to get an Apple flat panel compared to the Dell flat panel. Yeah, the Apple monitor's bezel looks nice, but $400 is a lot of money to me, and for something that is basically nonfunctional to the performance of the display, it isn't worth it. Take that extra $400 and upgrade to the dual 1.8ghz model, or upgrade to the wireless package, larger hard drive, and Radeon 9800. I think that route would make you the happiest.
