Thinking of switching from a PC to an iMac...need help

[Bogie]

I've used Mac's before and have really enjoyed the experience, but last year I kind of got it in my head to get into 3D animation and so I sold my macbook and built my own PC. Now I intend to keep my software (maya 8 and ZBrush 3) but I have a list of questions I was hoping someone might be able to help me with.

First, how much do you suppose I could get for this computer either on the marketplace here or on eBay? And I'd probably be willing to sell the monitor and tower separately but I'd prefer they went together. I may even decide to just sell the tower and get a mac mini to hook up into the Dell for now.

Lain Li V600b case
Asus p5W DH deluxe mobo with wifi
4 gigs 800mhz RAM
e6400 core 2 duo
EVGA 7900GS
Seagate 320 gig HD
PC Power and Cooling Silencer 600 Power Supply
Vista 64 bit OS
24" Dell monitor


Second, I've never transfered files from a PC to a mac before. Is it pretty simple to do? I have a cat 5 cable sitting around. Do I need anything else?

Lastly, suppose I did go the mac mini route. That would be plenty powerful enough to work at full res on the Dell 24", yeah?

Thanks!

 

[Ladybug]

Welcome to the forum, and grats on your decision to switch. I really don't know how much you could get for your system. Probably best to compare your system with some used computers from other sites..sorry.

Transferring your files..try this link http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304721 Also check out http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/ .

If you seriously want to do 3D animation, I think your best bet is to go with the either the iMac or a Mac Pro. I don't think the mini is going to be beefy enough to handle what you want to do on it, at least not to any degree that you'd be happy with because it only has onboard video. Which functions just fine for most everyday things otherwise.