What to do..

syke

syke

syke

Soldato
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18 Feb 2006
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Ive been thinking of getting a Mac for quite a while ago, and a year ago i opted not to get a macbook pro, which looking back was a good and bad idea, now im wanting a mac, more and more.

Im not sure whether to spend £600+ on the likes of a macbook, or a macbook pro for even more.

However i was thinking of getting perhaps a mac mini, or an eMac, to get used to Mac's etc, as they are getting cheaper and cheaper.

Would you get a bit extra, and get an iMac, or get an eMac or a Mac Mini?

Dont really need a laptop, as i have an Asus Eee and a HP DV2000, so preferably a desktop of somesort.

So, eMac, Mac Mini, iMac (maybe), or something different.

Help me decide how to (or whether to) spend my money!

Thanks :).
 
To get introduced into the Mac world a Mac Mini is a good idea.

Although if you want to get the full potential from OS X, save a bit more and get the lower spec iMac or a MacBook.

Don't forget you can get education discount as (iirc) you are a student?
 
Yes i am a student, looking at about £370 for a Mac Mini, however i could talk to a mate who works for Apple, for store discount.

Would it be worth getting an older eMac or one of the G4's etc?

Been looking around and seen some of the older iMac's and eMac's etc, along with some of the old desktop ones.

The Mac Mini is the most ideal, as it can sit nicely on the desk, but the cheapest one isnt the best spec for the money, so i guess i could get one of the older models, for even cheaper.

I think the basic macbook is out of price, and not much point with 2 laptops already.

One of my teachers has an old iMac (i think) that just sits in his room, doing nothing that i could ask about if needed, heh.

Congrats on the UB btw, Justin.
 
If you don't need a laptop, don't buy the MacBook. I was in the situation where I wanted a Mac, but also wanted a laptop, so it was the logical choice. If not, it'd have been the Mac Mini for me. However, I'm now considering an iMac to use as my main machine because I like it that much... :p

I've been turned!
 
gumbald said:
If you don't need a laptop, don't buy the MacBook. I was in the situation where I wanted a Mac, but also wanted a laptop, so it was the logical choice. If not, it'd have been the Mac Mini for me. However, I'm now considering an iMac to use as my main machine because I like it that much... :p

I've been turned!
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Thats what im worried about, my uncle got a MBP, then an iMac, now getting a Mac Pro.

Having two normal laptops is why im looking towards a mac mini or an eMac or something similar, just not sure whether to get the newer technology, or go for a cheaper alternative,

The Mac Mini is most ideal, but the overall look of the iMacs and eMacs are appealing, being Macs :p.

The Mac Mini's good for general use and playing films etc? I think the basic model would need a few adjustments to my needs, but if second hand, i think it would be fine.
 
Try to get something with an Intel chip. A g5, g4 or older may put you off OS X all together.

Mac Mini will suit your needs fine, I'd say go for one of them. Excellent way of getting into Macs.

Also, they keep there value very well so you'll have no problem making money back when you come to sell it in the future.

syke said:
Congrats on the UB btw, Justin.
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Thanks man :)
 
And before I hit the hay..

I'd recommend getting at least 2GB RAM, OS X loves RAM. And if you go for the mini, remember the base spec has a combo drive and not a superdrive.
 
Would it be worth looking at the older gen Mac Mini's, or try get one of the Core Duo/Core2Duo's?

I take it, its easy enough to add RAM yourself?

Mac Mini looks to fit the bill, will see what sort of price im looking at for the spec i want, brand new that is.

From Apple it looks like its +£56 for 2GB of RAM, i would like the wireless keyboard/mouse, but will buy that later on i think. Would you but the RAM separately? Also tempted by 120gb HDD too.

For the standard SuperDrive version, its £468.83, thats the 2ghz C2D, 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, SuperDrive, and on top of that it will be maybe £500 for the 2GB?

May look at an older version.
 
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gumbald said:
Buy the RAM separately, 2gb for my MB cost me £28.
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Thought it would be a lot cheaper.

Would you say its worth paying more for the C2D, or save a bit and get one of the older G4's? I think the base Mac Mini would be OK, but the SuperDrive would be better to have, as it comes with a faster processor, and hard drive is larger.
 
Its definitley worth paying extra for the C2D processors. They will kick the ass of the G5s and G4s any day!

The base spec will be fine. Would you really need a superdrive and extra hdd storage? And the increase in processor speed is small.

Edit: also, if you can go to an Apple Store to have a play on both specs that would be great so you can compare them.
 
Justin said:
Its definitley worth paying extra for the C2D processors. They will kick the ass of the G5s and G4s any day!

The base spec will be fine. Would you really need a superdrive and extra hdd storage? And the increase in processor speed is small.
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I suppose, i guess the extra HDD is helpful, but i suppose it wont 100% needed.

Id say £400 is about what id pay maximum for the Mac Mini, to be honest, as id need 2GB RAM and perhaps a wireless apple keyboard/mouse (i want them :p).

I have an external DVD RW and HDD, so i guess the base spec is fine.

I see they come with what looks to be 4 USB's, which is helpful too.

Any must have other parts needed, that you'd say to get with a Mac Mini? Except the monitor etc :p.

My friend works for an Apple Store, so i may even talk to him to see if he can get one on his discount too (believed to be 23%). Ive had a go on the base spec, and it seems fine, tbh it would be used for browsing, getting used to Mac and playing videos through the TV. Which is the most attractive thing about the Mac Mini, it doesnt take up my whole desk with the size of it, heh.

At retail price, it could be as cheap as £300, or around £350ish, which is a good price.
 
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Since buying a Mac not so long ago I've loved it and not regretted it one bit!

I thought about getting the entry level iMac 20" but ended up going through HE store and getting the base level 24" iMac, I'm loving it and can't recommend the iMac's highly enough!

Just bought 4GB of memory to go in the beast to so if you can afford it, definitely go for the iMac, unless you need to be moving around loads :)
 
SentineL-X said:
Since buying a Mac not so long ago I've loved it and not regretted it one bit!

I thought about getting the entry level iMac 20" but ended up going through HE store and getting the base level 24" iMac, I'm loving it and can't recommend the iMac's highly enough!

Just bought 4GB of memory to go in the beast to so if you can afford it, definitely go for the iMac, unless you need to be moving around loads :)
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Swaying towards the Mac Mini to be honest, dont really want 3+ screens in my room really, mac mini is most ideal, small, good looking and quiet :). Quite a bit cheaper too.
 
EVH said:
The Mac Mini is a lovely little media centre / file server when configured properly.

Get some external storage hooked up and you're sorted :)
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Yeah, thats part of the reason for it too :).

Any other Mac's worth looking at apart the Mac Mini?
 
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