Mac value for money

Labarum · 14 Sep 2007 at 11:21

I have been looking longingly at a Mac laptop. A few years ago they looked reasonably priced next to a PC laptop, but now?

If I want a 15 screen I am in Macbook Pro territory, and they are looking very expensive compared to similar spec PC.

You pay a small premium for a Macmini or the latest iMac, but much as I would like a Mac Laptop, I don't think I can justify the extra cost.

I would probably continue to run Firefox, Thunderbird and Open Office (Neo Office on the Mac), and I would enjoy the interface and the fun bit with my digital camera. But I have to think carefully about this.

Am I missing something?

Labarum · 14 Sep 2007 at 12:30

Yes, my son could buy it for me through his imperial.ac address. but even with the discount they look expensive.

Labarum · 16 Sep 2007 at 12:42

Mohinder said:
I want to run dual monitors, but I don't have £1600+ to spend on a Mac Pro, and I'd rather not buy a G5 Power Mac on ebay. As it is I use my MB and an external monitor, but I'd rather have a desktop machine and 2 monitors - but I can't

Do I read this right? A MB has limited control over two monitors? No extended desktop? Even a basic Dell will do that.

I have a firm's Dell 630 connected to a 19" screen in extended mode - mind you I am driving it with an analogue output from the Dell and it's noticeably less sharp than it straight digital mode from my tower PC.

One of the reasons to get a Mac is the digital output and lack of "legacy ports" I don't want to use.

Labarum · 17 Sep 2007 at 15:29

But I think I am right in this: an iMac is a cheap route to a very quiet personal computer for a silent office a in the lounge as a media machine.

There are quiet boxes out there for Windows of Linux, but they are all pretty expensive. Can someone show some that are not?