Sell and buy? Or just buy?

[storage]

Hello everyone!

I've been reading these boards for quite a while, and now I've decided to buy my first Mac ever. But, I can't decide what to do!

Currently I have an Athlon64 3000+ (2 GHz), 1024MB PC3200 ram, 128MB GF6800LE (clocked and modded, so it's almost as fast as a 6800GT), 200GB HDD etc PC.

Should I either:
1. Sell my current system, and buy a 17" iMac (If I bought this, I could sell my current 17" monitor for some money, and upgrade the memory to 1024MB).

2. Keep the system and buy a Mac Mini (any update soon? I haven't seen any thread on this, maybe I'm just blind).

3. Sell my current system and buy an iBook (portability is always a plus!).

Please post your opinion, and please excuse my English

Thanks in advance, storage!

 

[mariahlullaby]

First, what do you want the Mac for? And what will you use it for? I'm leaning towards option #3 because the ibook is a great little machine and will help you adjust to OS X and be portable; if you want to do the full switch, you can sell the computer and maybe buy a PM later.

But what are your needs...that will help with advice the most .

 

[CanadaRAM]

I think the question revolves around what you need a machine for?

Second question is software; if you sell the wintel machine, you will have to purchase or crossgrade any software that you rely on.

The classic answer is :Add a mini to your existing setup with a KVM switch, then migrate to the Mini as you gain experience on it and get applications.

 

[James Philp]

The only reason I could see to mod your GPU is if you're a gamer. If this is the case, keep that machine for that purpose. All but the top end G5 systems don't play the latest games so well, for a start the choice of titles (compared to any gaming platform) is pretty poor.
If you want a Mac as a sort of test, go for something cheap, an iBook or something - you will love the portability and may love OS X. Once you're hooked and really know how Macs do their thing, think about getting a more expensive machine.
Good luck

 

[storage]

Thanks everyone

Sorry for not posting what I need the computer for!

I got the computer I have at the moment with the intention to play newer games, but I never really got around to it, lots of other stuff came up. But I do play World of Warcraft, Enemy Territory and Nexuiz and a couple of other games (nothing too hefty) occasionally.

Other than that I mostly watch movies, surf the web and other common stuff .

I think the question revolves around what you need a machine for?

Second question is software; if you sell the wintel machine, you will have to purchase or crossgrade any software that you rely on.

The classic answer is :Add a mini to your existing setup with a KVM switch, then migrate to the Mini as you gain experience on it and get applications.

The software I rely on is free (except a few games, mainly World of Warcraft, which comes with an OSX-port).

Thanks for the tip on getting the Mac Mini, I'm currently leaning towards what you're saying, also on getting a KVM switch, that would help me a lot, thanks!

Oh, and I almost forgot, when I have the time I'm developing various (soon to be) crossplatform applications and libraries (most of them are graphics/game related).

Thanks once again and sorry for abusing parenthesises (spelling?).

 

[javiercr]

when you add wifi, keyboard and a TFT screen is really not cheaper than an ibook, you could keep what you have and buy an ibook, may be an apple certified one to make it ever cheaper.

 

[OryHara]

you wont be able to play WoW with anything other than a PM, the ibook and mini wont be able to handle it.

 

[storage]

when you add wifi, keyboard and a TFT screen is really not cheaper than an ibook, you could keep what you have and buy an ibook, may be an apple certified one to make it ever cheaper.

I'm assuming you're talking about the Mini now. I'm not in the need of wireless networking or a TFT screen (already have one), all I need except the Mini itself is a keyboard (a wired one).

you wont be able to play WoW with anything other than a PM, the ibook and mini wont be able to handle it.

I've been playing World of Warcraft on my fathers HP laptop, which is a 1.6 GHz Athlon XP Mobile (not 100% sure about the clock frequency of it), an NVIDIA 32MB shared memory graphics card, and 512MB ram, and the system requirements states that an iMac (and MAYBE a Mac Mini) can play the game. But please excuse me if I'm wrong, I've never owned a Mac, so I can't say anything for sure.

Thanks for your opinions!

 

[James Philp]

I'm assuming you're talking about the Mini now. I'm not in the need of wireless networking or a TFT screen (already have one), all I need except the Mini itself is a keyboard (a wired one).


I've been playing World of Warcraft on my fathers HP laptop, which has a NVIDIA 32MB shared memory graphics card, and 512MB ram, and the system requirements states that an iMac (and MAYBE a Mac Mini) can play the game. But please excuse me if I'm wrong, I've never owned a Mac, so I can't say anything for sure.

Thanks for your opinions!

It'll no doubt run like crap on a Mini. If you want to game on a mac you need at least a G5 processor, and a fast one at that. The GPUs in the Mini don't cut much ice either.

 

[storage]

It'll no doubt run like crap on a Mini. If you want to game on a mac you need at least a G5 processor, and a fast one at that. The GPUs in the Mini don't cut much ice either.

Thanks for your input!

As I said, I have no idea what I'm talking about, and I never said it would run at all, all I said was that Blizzard's minimum system requirements was almost the same as the Mini specs.

And, if I bought the Mini, I would still have my current computer for gaming.

Anyone tried World of Warcraft on an iMac? How does it run?

 

[James Philp]

Thanks for your input!

As I said, I have no idea what I'm talking about, and I never said it would run at all, all I said was that Blizzard's minimum system requirements was almost the same as the Mini specs.

And, if I bought the Mini, I would still have my current computer for gaming.

Well that's cool then.
It will run, but badly that's all.
Hope you didn't read-in any hostility to my post - not my intention at all!
Macs just arn't the greatest gaming machines - you'd be better off with a $120 xbox!
I'm sure you know from PC experience that if your machine just meets the spec, this usually means the game will be almost unplayable (640x480 all options off, 15fps etc!)

I'd go for the iBook. Seriously, you'll love the portability!

 

[storage]

Well that's cool then.
It will run, but badly that's all.
Hope you didn't read-in any hostility to my post - not my intention at all!

No hostility taken, sorry if I sounded like that, I'm pretty tired at the moment

Macs just arn't the greatest gaming machines - you'd be better off with a $120 xbox!

I have a xbox, but the games I'd like to play are PC/Mac only.

I'm sure you know from PC experience that if your machine just meets the spec, this usually means the game will be almost unplayable (640x480 all options off, 15fps etc!)

Hehe, yeah I know, but I wouldn't use the Mini for playing anything at all anyway, my good old(?) PC would work fine for the games I need.

I'd go for the iBook. Seriously, you'll love the portability!

I'm not buying anything until the end of the month anyway, so I'm in no hurry deciding which to buy.

Thanks again for your help!

 

[devilot]

Anyone tried World of Warcraft on an iMac? How does it run?

I play Diablo II on my iMac G5, 2.0 GHz without a problem (but I do have a full 1 GB of RAM). As for WoW, I haven't played it, but check the Gaming forum https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/18/ thingie on MR (MacRumors). I have a 1.33 GHz 12" PB as well as the iMac and I gotta admit, the PB has a hard time w/ diablo, but that's not the case w/ the G5!

 

[Leareth]

WOW on ibook and imac G5

I played WoW on both my 1.0ghz ibook with 768mb ram (before it got stolen) and my g5 rev a imac.
On the ibook it was decent, definetely playable and enjoyable but occasionally lagged.
on the iMac it ran smooth with few noticlabe lags
this was during the BETA stage of WoW though, so I don't know how it would apply to the current version.

 

[Leareth]

I play Diablo II on my iMac G5, 2.0 GHz without a problem (but I do have a full 1 GB of RAM). As for WoW, I haven't played it, but check the Gaming forum https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/18/ thingie on MR (MacRumors). I have a 1.33 GHz 12" PB as well as the iMac and I gotta admit, the PB has a hard time w/ diablo, but that's not the case w/ the G5!

How does Diablo II lag on a 1.33 powerbook? I was running it on my 500mhz imac with 340mb ram, maxed out with no lag or any other problems running it...

 

[tsk]

Just keep the PC. You aren't going to get very much for it. PC's have pretty much no resale value.

 

[storage]

I played WoW on both my 1.0ghz ibook with 768mb ram (before it got stolen) and my g5 rev a imac.
On the ibook it was decent, definetely playable and enjoyable but occasionally lagged.
on the iMac it ran smooth with few noticlabe lags
this was during the BETA stage of WoW though, so I don't know how it would apply to the current version.

Thank you for your help!

Just keep the PC. You aren't going to get very much for it. PC's have pretty much no resale value.

If I am going to sell it, I already have a buyer, paying around $660, not much, but enough to let me buy an iMac, if that's what I'm buying.

 

[biohazard6969]

It'll no doubt run like crap on a Mini. If you want to game on a mac you need at least a G5 processor, and a fast one at that. The GPUs in the Mini don't cut much ice either.

i dissagree, i use my PB 1.33 ghz 12" for games all the time (pretty much all i use it for) and it works fine, i do stuff like halo, Close combat: first to fight (greatest game ever) unreal tournament 2004, alien vs. predator (crappiest game ever), battlefield 1942, america's army, quake 3, and ghost recon. all work fine with the default settings so in my opinion G5 is nothing special

 

[Kobushi]

Hello everyone!

I've been reading these boards for quite a while, and now I've decided to buy my first Mac ever.

Congratulations! I doubt you'll be disappointed with any mac you choose.

Currently I have an Athlon64 3000+ (2 GHz), 1024MB PC3200 ram, 128MB GF6800LE (clocked and modded, so it's almost as fast as a 6800GT), 200GB HDD etc PC.

You might want to hang on to this as Macs aren't necesarily known for their gaming strengths. A least not the "i" series.

Should I either:
1. Sell my current system, and buy a 17" iMac (If I bought this, I could sell my current 17" monitor for some money, and upgrade the memory to 1024MB).

If you're not afraid to dive in, I'd say go for it. I believe it to be the best system of the ones you've listed. They did just upgrade it fairly recently, so I doubt you'd have to worry about it suddenly dropping in price a week after you buy it.

2. Keep the system and buy a Mac Mini (any update soon? I haven't seen any thread on this, maybe I'm just blind).

I wouldn't. I'd hate for you to compare your first mac experience to a kind of watered down machine. Don't get me wrong, it's a good computer, but probably not what you're looking for if you've got that kind of juice in your PC. Also, it's going to be as portable as that iBook you're looking at since you've got to lug around a monitor and keyboard/mouse.

3. Sell my current system and buy an iBook (portability is always a plus!).

Please post your opinion, and please excuse my English

Thanks in advance, storage!

I'm currently debating this one myself. If you're not in a hurry, you might wait until the end of the month after NECC where many folks here believe there may be an upgrade to the ibook. It's definitely due for one *fingers crossed*

You could always get virtualPC for your mac to run some of those windows applications until you've settled into OSX. It won't do any good for your games, but other apps I've had decent success with.

Btw your English is fine; better than some native speakers I've met

 

[storage]

Congratulations! I doubt you'll be disappointed with any mac you choose.



You might want to hang on to this as Macs aren't necesarily known for their gaming strengths. A least not the "i" series.



If you're not afraid to dive in, I'd say go for it. I believe it to be the best system of the ones you've listed. They did just upgrade it fairly recently, so I doubt you'd have to worry about it suddenly dropping in price a week after you buy it.



I wouldn't. I'd hate for you to compare your first mac experience to a kind of watered down machine. Don't get me wrong, it's a good computer, but probably not what you're looking for if you've got that kind of juice in your PC. Also, it's going to be as portable as that iBook you're looking at since you've got to lug around a monitor and keyboard/mouse.



I'm currently debating this one myself. If you're not in a hurry, you might wait until the end of the month after NECC where many folks here believe there may be an upgrade to the ibook. It's definitely due for one *fingers crossed*

You could always get virtualPC for your mac to run some of those windows applications until you've settled into OSX. It won't do any good for your games, but other apps I've had decent success with.

Btw your English is fine; better than some native speakers I've met

Thank you for all of your advice!

 

[hammackj]

you wont be able to play WoW with anything other than a PM, the ibook and mini wont be able to handle it.

I have played WoW on a 800mhz Ibook with like 300 something ram. It was functional enough to dual bot.

 

[Symtex]

Buy mine ? (can't blame a guy for trying. details in my signature)

 

[bug]

gaming...

I'd be wary about some of the computers people are claiming play games fine. They may work fine for them, but I kind of think some Mac users just have some very low standards for gaming (no offense, power to you for being satisfied with what you have).

I have 1.67 PB with an ati 9700 128 meg card, and only quite old games play well on it (Quake 3 is fine for example, but WoW is not).

Even on my dual 2.0 G5 with an x800 game performance is far below what I am used to. WoW is acceptable, but just barely. If I play on my gaming machine and then move over to the G5 it feels pretty sticky. I would think that the game performance of your current PC would pretty much crush even top end macs, and would certainly blow away any of the Macs you are considering buying.

If games are of no concern then sell your PC (the Mac is going to be much better it at everything else), but I don't know if gaming on your Mac is going to seem acceptable after getting used to your PC.

 

[storage]

Buy mine ? (can't blame a guy for trying. details in my signature)

No sorry, I want to experience the feeling of unpacking a new Mac Thanks anyway!

I have played WoW on a 800mhz Ibook with like 300 something ram. It was functional enough to dual bot.

I somehow can't really believe that, if it's true, then awesome!

I'd be wary about some of the computers people are claiming play games fine. They may work fine for them, but I kind of think some Mac users just have some very low standards for gaming (no offense, power to you for being satisfied with what you have).

I have 1.67 PB with an ati 9700 128 meg card, and only quite old games play well on it (Quake 3 is fine for example, but WoW is not).

Even on my dual 2.0 G5 with an x800 game performance is far below what I am used to. WoW is acceptable, but just barely. If I play on my gaming machine and then move over to the G5 it feels pretty sticky. I would think that the game performance of your current PC would pretty much crush even top end macs, and would certainly blow away any of the Macs you are considering buying.

If games are of no concern then sell your PC (the Mac is going to be much better it at everything else), but I don't know if gaming on your Mac is going to seem acceptable after getting used to your PC.

Gaming isn't a too big concern. I can get used to lower resolutions, shader settings, textures, drawing distance etc. The only thing I would like is to have a graphics card supporting the latest shaders (probably won't happen ), as I'm going to add shader functionality to my 2D game engine later (bloom effect etc).

Still can't decide what to buy! I guess I'll see after they update the iBook (hopefully soon ) and/or the Mac Mini. One thing is for sure though, I'm not buying another Windows based computer anytime soon (hopefully never again), I'm really tired of it (except gaming)!

Thank you everyone!


Edit: Sorry for excessive use of smilies.

 

[bug]

Gaming isn't a too big concern. I can get used to lower resolutions, shader settings, textures, drawing distance etc. The only thing I would like is to have a graphics card supporting the latest shaders (probably won't happen ), as I'm going to add shader functionality to my 2D game engine later (bloom effect etc).

If you don't care about having the settings maxed out, and you are using the box for developing your own stuff, then I'm sure it will be fine. I use my mac to develop games (using jogl in java) and it works great for that - its a perfect dev environment. ...so really my previous comments can probably safely be ignored. I just wanted to point out that pretty much no matter how much hardware you throw at it in mac land, it just isn't going to be a hard core gaming machine.

...and yes - the feeling of unpacking new mac hardware is really something. I think it beats new car smell