Which Mac Should I get

[brenton]

Okay everybody, I am tired of the never ending problems of windows. sure. it looks cool sometimes. But just if it would work. But Mac Looks Alot better. Here is what I think of each Mac Hardware

Ibook - Not Very Interested in a Laptop - atleast YET. I would rather get a desktop.
Yes Or No = No

PowerBook - Read Above
Yes Or No = No

Mac Mini - This is the one I was thinking about. I was wanting to get the $600.00 because 40 gigs isnt enough even though I have a 30 gig Ipod Photo. I could use that as a hardrive but wouldnt it be better just to get the bigger drive.
Yes Or No = Yes

Emac - This one is nice. but it weighs 50 pounds and is huge and may not fit on my desk. and education mac makes me really not to interested in it
Yes Or No = Maybe

Imac - This thing is sexy. but its similar in specs to the mini except for the G5 processor on the Imac. This may be a choice. but it cost alot
Yes Or No = Yes

Power Mac - this thing cost to much. and is alittle to big.
Yes Or No = No

So please help me choose thankyou fellow macrumors members

 

[7254278]

I vote iMac because the G5 is noticeably faster then the G4 in the mini, the iMac also has a faster hard drive making it more responsive, it has 2 ram slots making it more future proof and expandable and the graphics card is better. If I were you I would wait because iMacs are due for updates anytime now.

 

[Lacero]

It would help to know what you plan on using it for?

 

[wdlove]

From what you have written, it seems that cost might be an issue. You should try to get the best that you can afford. G5 is the latest technology. So if at all possible you should try for the iMac G5, there may be a Rev. B out by June. With the Mac mini you would need a monitor, unless you already have a good one. Just some thoughts, will se what you think.

 

[Bonsaichop]

Mac Mini - This is the one I was thinking about. I was wanting to get the $600.00 because 40 gigs isnt enough even though I have a 30 gig Ipod Photo. I could use that as a hardrive but wouldnt it be better just to get the bigger drive.
Yes Or No = Yes

Mac mini is cool, however a laptop hdd will slow things down and remember that the 9200 in it does not have core image support.

Emac - This one is nice. but it weighs 50 pounds and is huge and may not fit on my desk. and education mac makes me really not to interested in it
Yes Or No = Maybe

Don't diss it because its an education mac, these things do pack a bit of punch, more than the mac mini probably would. However the video card is a radeon 9200, you do have a faster hdd, and better ram expandability (i think, dont quote me on it).

Imac - This thing is sexy. but its similar in specs to the mini except for the G5 processor on the Imac. This may be a choice. but it cost alot
Yes Or No = Yes

Awesome machine, im currenty doing an education rollout of these installing 25-30 computers a day and i love them. However the price is a fiar bit higher, you have good ram expandability, sata hdd support, and a fx5200 which will let you use core graphics in the new release of tiger (10.4) whenever the hell that comes out.


All in all, it depends on what you want to use your mac for, I have a g4 (gigabit) 733 @ 840mhz, 1gig ram and a radeon 9800xt. However I still have a p4 3.2ghz machine next to me for alot of things, i.e. games, burning data, downloading etc. It all depends on what you want to use it for.

 

[brenton]

Yes

Well, money is sort of an Issue. Im 13 and my dad will buy me a mac when me move into our new million dollar house on a golfcourse in about a month. Yes. I have a dell 1700FP I could use with the mini and I would get a mac keyboard and a Logitech Mouse. And If the mini runs anything like the Emac then its good enough for me.

I will be using it for Mostly Email, Web, Appleworks,Ilife, and Possibly photoshop

 

[Bonsaichop]

Well, money is sort of an Issue. Im 13 and my dad will buy me a mac when me move into our new million dollar house on a golfcourse in about a month. Yes. I have a dell 1700FP I could use with the mini and I would get a mac keyboard and a Logitech Mouse. And If the mini runs anything like the Emac then its good enough for me.

I will be using it for Mostly Email, Web, Appleworks,Ilife, and *Cough*Limewire*Cough and Possibly photoshop

get a mac mini, then get your dad to give me a mac mini too.

But seriously thats all you want, order one of those, and order a 512mb stick from <insert your favourite dodgey cheap computer store in here> and get the apple techs to install it. You'll be cheering all the way to <insert your favourite comical place here>

 

[brenton]

get a mac mini, then get your dad to give me a mac mini too.

But seriously thats all you want, order one of those, and order a 512mb stick from <insert your favourite dodgey cheap computer store in here> and get the apple techs to install it. You'll be cheering all the way to <insert your favourite comical place here>

But will I NEED a 512 what does higher ram do anyways. and When I used a Emac with 256 it worked just fine

 

[zap2]

imac g5

imac g5 is not like the mac mini

imac-2 ram slots / mac mini-one ram slot

imac-g5 chip / mac mini g4 chip

imac-comes w/ keyboard and mouse / mac mini -no keyboard or mouse

imac screen-all in one / mac mini- no screen

imac-1.6 or 1.8 ghz / mac mini-1.25 or 1.42ghz

imac-last long / mac mini-need to upgrade faster

imac- more cash / mac mini-cheaper with keyboard,mouse,screen

 

[zap2]

not to be rude

but if your moving in to a million dollar home then one would think that one has 2000$ to spend on a computer ????
not to be rude ...if you do not want to answer i understand ones money is ones own bussiness

 

[superbovine]

not to be rude

but if your moving in to a million dollar home then one would think that one has 2000$ to spend on a computer ????
not to be rude ...if you do not want to answer i understand ones money is ones own bussiness

perhaps his father doesn't want to spoil him too much, or want his father wants teach him just because you have the money, doesn't mean you have spend it. it could though, that his father knows that if he bought a $2000 computer he really wouldn't use it, and it would be a waste of money.

 

[Abstract]

But the way Brenton said it, it sounds like "Is money an issue" was a stupid question in his situation? Sounds like he meant, "Yes, money is a concern. My dad will only get me one after we move into our $Million$ home." I can definitely see the confusion concerning money.

 

[panphage]

But the way Brenton said it, it sounds like "Is money an issue" was a stupid question in his situation? Sounds like he meant, "Yes, money is a concern. My dad will only get me one after we move into our $Million$ home." I can definitely see the confusion concerning money.

Well, maybe Dad doesn't have a lot left over for computers after spending a mill on a house.

But I recommend the 20" iMac. It's amazing. Huge, beautiful screen. Way, faster than the mini with that slow hard drive and no "doubling" on the ddr and 167 bus. Plus it's just purty.

 

[James_C]

I would suggest that the Mac Mini would be fine for your suggested needs. The iMac would be another option, it would be quicker but not dramatically so. Like others have suggested, up the RAM to 512MB, it will make the OS much more responsive, which is particularly important in the mini as it has a relatively slow hard disk.

 

[Maedus]

Well, moving into their new home could be leaving them financially tight. You know, the dream home that you've always wanted but was just out of reach and took quite a bit of money wrangling to finally get it within his grasp. Possibly Brenton's dad has a little extra money from the loan to spend on furniture and what not and has designated some of it for a new computer. Whatever it is, it sounds like Brenton's excited about his new home and all I have to say is, Congrats Brenton on future home and computer and I hope both are sweet for a long time to come.

And just as I'm about to hit submit, I look down at previous posts to see somebody has already posted my sentiments before I had finished reading the thread. Oh well, least the congrats is still pertinent.

 

[Bonsaichop]

But will I NEED a 512 what does higher ram do anyways. and When I used a Emac with 256 it worked just fine

getting back on track..


It depends on what you are going to do, I ususally have multiple applications open (dreamweaver, fireworks, photoshop, firefox, itunes, amsn, mail) and i find that the 900mb of ram in my mac tends to fill up pretty quickly.

If you are going to use 1 application at a time, then 256 is fine, but as soon as you open the pandora's box of photoshop, you'll need alot more.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Get the 1.25 GHz mini, with the 512 MB RAM, 80 GB HD and Superdrive upgrade, but no wireless stuff, and get an Apple Keyboard and (any) optical scrollwheel USB-mouse, like you said, should come in at ~$750 (~$650 without the Superdrive), or add another $50 and go for the 1.42 GHz model, at ~$800/$700 with/without Superdrive. Use the Dell screen.

Then a year from now, or so, you can upgrade the mini, to another mini if you're overall satisfied with performance, or go for a PowerMac if you feel you need LOTS of more power (and have a higher budget ).

 

[BillHarrison]

Get the 1.25 GHz mini, with the 512 MB RAM, 80 GB HD and Superdrive upgrade, but no wireless stuff, and get an Apple Keyboard and (any) optical scrollwheel USB-mouse, like you said, should come in at ~$750 (~$650 without the Superdrive), or add another $50 and go for the 1.42 GHz model, at ~$800/$700 with/without Superdrive. Use the Dell screen.

Then a year from now, or so, you can upgrade the mini, to another mini if you're overall satisfied with performance, or go for a PowerMac if you feel you need LOTS of more power (and have a higher budget ).

Could not have said it better myself

With the "cost of ownership" of any new pc being about 2-300 bucks a year, you can basically get a new mini every year, for only the depriciation cost. If you like to upgrade often (like me!) then this will be less costly than trying to run with a new dual G5 every year.

Buy the mini now, use it until the new one is in the pipe, then sell it for 2 or 300 dollars. Drop another 2-3 hundred, and have the newest system. Trust me, this is much cheaper than the usual method, which is dumping a much higher priced system and taking a bigger hit (3-5 hundred loss after a year) of depreciation.

Of course, price no object, a dual G5 is the only way to go.

But moving into a million dollar house doesn't mean much money wise. I know many who live in "mansions" yet shop at save-a-lot because there is not much left after Mortgage / Hummer / Etc. bills - I prefer to live in a more pedestrian world, but have nice toys.... But to each their own!

 

[brenton]

I have decided that I will get a 80 gig mac mini

We didnt need any loans, My dad owns a air conditioning company. but what I hate about my house is the stupid marble on the floor. It bothers me.

I still am not sure which I will get. I will probaly end up getting a mini. but the Imac looks nice and is G5. But what Im wondering is when Mac mini and Emac will get G5.

So how much would a mini with 80 gigs and a 512 stick cost anyway.

 

[Bear]

I still am not sure which I will get. I will probaly end up getting a mini. but the Imac looks nice and is G5. But what Im wondering is when Mac mini and Emac will get G5.

Nobody really knows what the fate of the eMac is. It is long past when it should have seen an update. As for the MacMini, it will be sometime after the PowerBook has a G5. And in truth, a G4 and a G5 at the same clock speed have close to the same performance for many applications. (Yes there are some memory intensive ones that the G5 will win hands down, but we're talking the average user here.)

So how much would a mini with 80 gigs and a 512 stick cost anyway.

You might want to go for the faster MacMini which comes standard with the 80GB disk. The price is about $680 + sales tax for that configuration (1.42GHz, 512MB, 80GB disk). The other decisions you need to make are do you want a SuperDrive or just a ComboDrive and do you want the wireless (802.11g and/pr bluetooth) as these options are least expensive when built in to your original order. Also, do you want a keyboard and mouse with it or do you have ones you can use?

Go to the Apple Store and configure a MacMini the way you want it to see the actual price.

 

[brenton]

Question

Thanks guys, but would it be possible to run 3 programs with a 256 or would I need a 512

I mean internet Itunes and one other application ( Appleworks, Ilife, ETC)

 

[Bear]

Thanks guys, but would it be possible to run 3 programs with a 256 or would I need a 512

I mean internet Itunes and one other application ( Appleworks, Ilife, ETC)

iLife is a set of applications, you would in general be better off with the 512MB.

 

[Platform]

Thanks guys, but would it be possible to run 3 programs with a 256 or would I need a 512

I mean internet Itunes and one other application ( Appleworks, Ilife, ETC)

Yes but everything benefits for more RAM... RAM = Faster Mac with better life