Questions concerning macs

[Donut417]

Long time Windows user here. Windows 3.11 to Windows 10 to be exact. Windows 10 is the worst OS I have ever used. It’s buggy and doesn’t work half the time. I’m looking at switching it up with an iMac. I ha e already switched to the iPhone. Kinda pissed I didn’t do it sooner.

Specificity the 21 inch with i3. 16 gigs of ram and the 256 gig ssd. Plus Apple care. But I have a few questions first.

1. I have 2 1080p monitors. I’d like to use one as secondary screen, so I’d need the USB C to AV multi port adapter? Correct?
2. Going to have 2 1TB Sata hard drives that I can use. What’s the best solution to join one up to the computer? USB 3.0 hard drive enclosure?
3. The second 1 TB may make it in to my QNap Nas. Apple’s time machine should be able to use it correct? On top of that what does time machine backup?
4. Any other thoughts, suggests, or observations for a potential first time Mac buyer is welcomed.

 

[Tulani]

you may want to wait for the next few months until hopefully apple launches the rumored 16 inch "all screen" macbook pro with new keyboard (and maybe more macs). who knows what you may end up settling for....budget permitting.
it will not be long

 

[Donut417]

you may want to wait for the next few months until hopefully apple launches the rumored 16 inch "all screen" macbook pro with new keyboard (and maybe more macs). who knows what you may end up settling for....budget permitting.
it will not be long

Yeah see I watch too much Louis Rossmann. So a MacBook is out of the question. Secondly If I did go that route I’d get a 13 inch. Thirdly I’m currently down a computer. Windows is hoses on my current machine, but I also lost my Plex server as well. So the current machine is being repurposed as a Plex server.

Currently I’m using a Raspberry Pi as a desktop. It makes me want to gouge out my eyes. God help me if I go to Facebook as it will crash and burn.

 

[Tulani]

i am simply just saying the product launch season is upon us and most apple faithfuls are now in anticipation and holding off a bit with their wallets pending making informed final buying decisions.

but am sure someone else will guide you appropriately regards your specific needs

 

[mikzn]

Long time Windows user here. Windows 3.11 to Windows 10 to be exact. Specificity the 21 inch with i3. 16 gigs of ram and the 256 gig ssd. Plus Apple care. But I have a few questions first.

1. I have 2 1080p monitors. I’d like to use one as secondary screen, so I’d need the USB C to AV multi port adapter? Correct?
2. Going to have 2 1TB Sata hard drives that I can use. What’s the best solution to join one up to the computer? USB 3.0 hard drive enclosure?
3. The second 1 TB may make it in to my QNap Nas. Apple’s time machine should be able to use it correct? On top of that what does time machine backup?
4. Any other thoughts, suggests, or observations for a potential first time Mac buyer is welcomed.

Here's my 2 cents

1) why not a mini and use both your 1080 monitors? (I also like the MBP idea - I use my MBP with a 32 in LG - it's great)
2) USB 3.0 is what I use - lots of enclosures available - fast enough and low cost
3) Totally recommend CCC over time machine for back up - much better and worth every penny - can do much more like scheduling back ups and separate cloning of hidden folders, music files, Photo libraries etc.
4) I would try to justify the i5 or i7 processor and minimum storage 500g SSD - no fusion

again just my 2 cents

BTW - I love Louis Rossman too - but I have several MBP's that have never had an issue - ever - people don't send him Mac's that work - so he has a good points about the worst cases.

Apple should fly him to Apple and make him an authorized repair shop and give him the parts he needs IMHO.

 

[Donut417]

Here's my 2 cents

1) why not a mini and use both your 1080 monitors? (I also like the MBP idea - I use my MBP with a 32 in LG - it's great)
2) USB 3.0 is what I use - lots of enclosures available - fast enough and low cost
3) Totally recommend CCC over time machine for back up - much better and worth every penny - can do much more like scheduling back ups and separate cloning of hidden folders, music files, Photo libraries etc.
4) I would try to justify the i5 or i7 processor and minimum storage 500g SSD - no fusion

again just my 2 cents

The iMac has a dGPU, so if I chose to install steam and some games it would be a better experience. Plus the iMac has a 4K display. So it would be a bit of an upgrade. But I’ll give the Mac mini another look. Also the fusion drive was never a contender as I have been on an ssd for too long. LOL.

As I said above I watched too many Louis Rossmann repair videos. The MBP has issues. While Apple has programs to fix them, I don’t want to be without a computer while that has to happen. It’s literally killing me slowly on the inside having to use a Raspberry Pi as my primary machine. Hell I can’t even go to half my sites due to them locking up the Raspberry Pi.

 

[smbu2000]

You don't have to use the av dongle. You can pick up a USB-c to hdmi cable to connect to your other monitor. Or USB-c to DisplayPort if your monitor has a DP connector.

 

[Fishrrman]

If you already have 2 1080p displays that you like, the answer is easy:

Get a 2018 Mini.
It will easily accommodate both displays.

You can use the keyboard and mouse you have now (or get something new if you like, I definitely DO NOT recommend Apple's keyboard or pointing devices, they're all about style and NOTHING about "substance").

If you want to save a little $$$, keep an eye out for Apple refurbished Minis at their online store.
I bought one, it came out of the box "like new".
IMPORTANT: If you're looking for a specific configuration, you have to check morning, noon, and night and be ready to buy as soon as one appears. The custom configurations "go QUICKLY".

 

[dwig]

... But I have a few questions first.

1. I have 2 1080p monitors. I’d like to use one as secondary screen, so I’d need the USB C to AV multi port adapter? Correct?
2. Going to have 2 1TB Sata hard drives that I can use. What’s the best solution to join one up to the computer? USB 3.0 hard drive enclosure?
3. The second 1 TB may make it in to my QNap Nas. Apple’s time machine should be able to use it correct? On top of that what does time machine backup?
4. Any other thoughts, suggests, or observations for a potential first time Mac buyer is welcomed.

"Best" is a value judgement only you can make. That said:
RE #1: Since the monitors are only 1080p, a USB AV adapter will be fine. You could use a multi-port adapter, a simple dongle, or a dedicated "dongle in a cable" like Fishrrman mentions. If you wanted to use both of your monitors for a 3 display setup you need to use a Thunderbolt3 hub or docking station as macOS only supports a single monitor stream over USB. Also, not all USB solutions will suppport 4k at 60hz over USB, but this isn't an issue with your current monitors.
RE #2: The best performance would be achieved with a Thunderbolt3 enclosure and cable, provided the drives are fast enough to take advantage of TB3's higher speed potential. If the drives are SATAIII drives they will be limited to only slightly faster than USB3 and thus make the substantially higher price of a TB3 solution not worth the expense for almost everyone. It makes no real difference in performance whether you connect a USB-3.1gen1 enclosure to the iMac's USB-C (USB3.1+TB3) or USB-A (USB3.1) port.
RE #3: You might be able to use your NAS with TimeMachine, though it can be finicky about what drives it will work with.

RE Backups: whoever says CarbonCopyCloner (CCC), or SuperDuper! (SD!), are better than TM for backups is completely wrong about backups. Also, anyone who says TM is better is equally wrong. The only really good backup solution is to use both TM and either CCC or SD!. Use TM to backup all folders that contain files the change. It is then the first tool to use to restore an individual file or folder of files. Use CCC or SD! to periodically clone your internal drive to make a bootable drive that can be used to run the machine in the event that the computer's internal boot drive fails.

BTW, I've used Windows from 3.11 through ME and WindowsNT from v3.5 through Win10 along with MacOS 7.5 through 9.2 and OSX from beta through Mojave. In my experience, Win10 is extremely stable, equal to the best of the OSX releases and better than some.

 

[bpeeps]

you may want to wait for the next few months until hopefully apple launches the rumored 16 inch "all screen" macbook pro with new keyboard (and maybe more macs). who knows what you may end up settling for....budget permitting.
it will not be long

No new iMacs are getting released this year. So if that's what OP wants (which is why they posted in this thread), then they should buy one. They don't need to wait for the fall keynotes. iMacs won't be updated until 2020 at the earliest. Since 2015, iMacs have been on a 2 year upgrade schedule so we could even see an iMac update pushed out to 2021. Especially if they decide to continue the iMac Pro line.

We have a pretty decent idea of what we're going to see in the fall: macbooks, ipads, iphones, and the mac pro.

 

[Tulani]

No new iMacs are getting released this year. So if that's what OP wants (which is why they posted in this thread), then they should buy one. They don't need to wait for the fall keynotes. iMacs won't be updated until 2020 at the earliest. Since 2015, iMacs have been on a 2 year upgrade schedule so we could even see an iMac update pushed out to 2021. Especially if they decide to continue the iMac Pro line.

We have a pretty decent idea of what we're going to see in the fall: macbooks, ipads, iphones, and the mac pro.

My apologies.
Please disregard everything that I have said.