To Cube Or Not To Cube

[cmvsm]

I want to get rid of this last PC in the house and replace with an Apple. However, I blew the wad on the dual 2.0, so I can't go balls to the wall on this one. Plus, my wife is no where near a power user (internet and very minor gaming), and she will be the one who uses it the most.

I looked at the Mac Mini, and with an off brand monitor, I'm still looking at about $800 bucks on the low side. So I started looking at some of the G4 cubes and really like the style and price. I can get a 500Mhz cube and 15" Cinema for around $500 bucks.

Or, I can get an 800Mhz, previous gen iMac for around the same ($500-$600 bucks) with the 17" monitor attached. I like its looks as well, but not sure about the attached monitor thing in terms of servicing.

I'd like to run OS X on whatever I get. I haven't owned a G4 before (500Mhz to 800Mhz system), so I'm not sure how well it will play with OS X, or what the better deal will be.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[Platform]

I would go for the cube
becasue then you don't have the display attached to it so whenever you upgrade you still have a dusplay to go with it

And to me i like the cube's design a lot and I also like the last gen LCD from apple

 

[Daveway]

I would go with the mini because it is newer technology. Stay with the mini and get a cheap lcd.

mini= $500
lcd= $200
total= $700+

 

[Flowbee]

I love my Cube (G4/450) and it runs OS X quite well. However, It's definitely feeling the strain when running some recent apps (like GarageBand). Even minor gaming makes it choke (unless you're just talking solitaire and mahjong). I would recommend the mini. For a couple hundred dollars more, it'll last you much longer than either of the other two systems you're looking at. (And it comes with a one year warranty, something you won't get with either of the others.)

 

[tersono]

I had a cube for quite a while - it's a sweet little machine, but getting old now.

Frankly I think you'd do better with a Mini - it'll offer similar performance to a processor-upgraded cube for about the price you'd pay for a stock 450. In the medium term, it's also likely to be more reliable, as many cubes are now beginning to suffer problems related to heat-ageing.

 

[clayj]

If you want something functional, go with the Mac mini. If you want something that primarily looks cool, the Cube would be nice, but the Mac mini is no slouch in that department. (Note to Apple: How about a Mac mini with a transparent casing, a la the Cube?)

 

[miloblithe]

Like everyone else, I'd vote for the mini. It's got significantlly higher specs, and it's new.

 

[Jo-Kun]

(Note to Apple: How about a Mac mini with a transparent casing, a la the Cube?)

will not happen, everything is White or Al now...