Thinking about which Mac to buy..

[TheGizmo]

Looking for some help in deciding what mac to get. My budget is ~900 tops.. I DO NOT need a monitor (as I'm going to hook it up to my projector at 1024x768 resolution)..

I'm not looking for a notebook either, so I guess I am limited to a Mac Mini or a Mac Pro.. are there any other desktop options?

Is there is refurbished site on apple.com that I am missing somewhere? Refurb should be ok for me.

Browsing their site thats all that I could find, and it seems that the Mac Pro is far out of my price range as I can't find any that utilize the core 2 duo, I can only find the xeon ones on their site.

With the Mac Mini I have some questions... how hard is it to get inside there and add my 750gb seagate drive from my PC? I also want to upgrade the RAM on my own since it would be much more cost effective (can I use any DDR2 RAM or does it have to be specifically compatible?). I have built over 100 PC's before, but considering this is a "mini" and probably crammed together with not much space around to work with I was wondering if its difficult at all.

all I need is a core 2 duo (maybe 1.8ghz) and 2gb ram, with a very good sound card and a decent video card, with whatever hdd b/c I'm going to put my 750gb seagate SATA drive from my PC in (this will work right?)

Or should I just get an iMac and forget about the monitor part and just use the external monitor hookup to my projector. (This just doesn't seem cost effective since I would make no use of the integrated monitor.


My basic use of this mac will be: to learn leopard, and other random mac things. To use it with my m-audio trigger finger (drum pad midi machine) to use with Reason or Abelton Live software. Other than that a good ammount of video converting from divx to h264 (for both hd video cam editing, as well as converting video files I have to work with my iPhone.

So yea as you can see I'm lost and I would appreciate any help possible. Kaido, I know you are the man so I'm gonna PM you all this to see what you think.. that is if you have the time to look over it, or perhaps you would suggest for me to build a hackintosh.

I am very familiar with drivers and putting hardware together for PC's but this is my first Mac experience.

Thank you Everyone

edit: got mac mini

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: TheGizmo
Looking for some help in deciding what mac to get. My budget is ~900 tops.. I DO NOT need a monitor (as I'm going to hook it up to my projector at 1024x768 resolution)..

I'm not looking for a notebook either, so I guess I am limited to a Mac Mini or a Mac Pro.. are there any other desktop options?

Is there is refurbished site on apple.com that I am missing somewhere? Refurb should be ok for me.

Browsing their site thats all that I could find, and it seems that the Mac Pro is far out of my price range as I can't find any that utilize the core 2 duo, I can only find the xeon ones on their site.

With the Mac Mini I have some questions... how hard is it to get inside there and add my 750gb seagate drive from my PC? I also want to upgrade the RAM on my own since it would be much more cost effective (can I use any DDR2 RAM or does it have to be specifically compatible?). I have built over 100 PC's before, but considering this is a "mini" and probably crammed together with not much space around to work with I was wondering if its difficult at all.

all I need is a core 2 duo (maybe 1.8ghz) and 2gb ram, with a very good sound card and a decent video card, with whatever hdd b/c I'm going to put my 750gb seagate SATA drive from my PC in (this will work right?)

Or should I just get an iMac and forget about the monitor part and just use the external monitor hookup to my projector. (This just doesn't seem cost effective since I would make no use of the integrated monitor.


My basic use of this mac will be: to learn leopard, and other random mac things. To use it with my m-audio trigger finger (drum pad midi machine) to use with Reason or Abelton Live software. Other than that a good ammount of video converting from divx to h264 (for both hd video cam editing, as well as converting video files I have to work with my iPhone.

So yea as you can see I'm lost and I would appreciate any help possible. Kaido, I know you are the man so I'm gonna PM you all this to see what you think.. that is if you have the time to look over it, or perhaps you would suggest for me to build a hackintosh.

I am very familiar with drivers and putting hardware together for PC's but this is my first Mac experience.

Thank you Everyone

The Mini uses laptop hardware, so no go on the 750. However, any old DDR2-667 SODIMMs should get the job done RAM wise.

As for the Mac Pro, there is no Core 2 Duo option. It only comes with the Xeon processor since it is a workstation.

You are probably best off with either an iMac, or a refurbed MacBook (advantage here is that you can then, if you want to, unplug it and you know... take it places)

 

[alevasseur14]

You could also throw the 750 into an external enclosure and hook it up via Firewire. You won't be able to do anything with a soundcard either. Maaaaaaybe a USB solution?

In terms of an all-internal machine... I think you'll have to go Hackintosh. Something to think about.

 

[TheGizmo]

Originally posted by: alevasseur14
You could also throw the 750 into an external enclosure and hook it up via Firewire. You won't be able to do anything with a soundcard either. Maaaaaaybe a USB solution?

In terms of an all-internal machine... I think you'll have to go Hackintosh. Something to think about.

Will the 750 gig in the enclosure be faster to boot from than the internal 5400 rpm drive or is that going to be slower since its firewire and not connected directly thru ide/sata?

How stable are the Hackintosh's? I was thinking DFI Lanpart mobo with a core2duo and whatever compatible video card. Are there always stability issues or other issues with updates and whatnot? I am efficient in setting drives and whatnot for linux and windows but I've never really messed ith Mac's before. I'd much rather go the hackintosh route, so I can get a higher quality sound/video card than the mac mini...but as the same time I'm worried about stability

 

[umrigar]

Refurbished iMac; or the top-speed Mini (2.0 GHz, superdrive) is under $800 refurbished.
http://macreviewzone.com/html/...dware/php/mac_mini.php

I think you'd be happier with an iMac, since it uses a full size hard drive, supports more RAM (which is MUCH easier to install)
http://macreviewzone.com/html/...rdware/php/imac_co.php

The sub-$900 iMacs aren't always in stock, but you can find them.
Certified pre-owned Core 2 Duo iMac here for $850, but it doesn't have the full year warranty.
http://www.powermax.com/parts/code/PM_CU_IM_IN

Have patience, check the Apple site early in the morning for the previous generation models (white plastic).

With the mini, you could put the 750 GB drive into an enclosure (Firewire or USB) and go that route.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/

 

[TheGizmo]

nm

 

[spikespiegal]

As for the Mac Pro, there is no Core 2 Duo option. It only comes with the Xeon processor since it is a workstation.

Apple needs to get a clue and introduce a mid level tower between the iMac and over-priced, Xeon based Mac Pro. Something based on the Q6600 would be perfect.

"Since it's a workstation" sounds like a marketing thing since nobody on the PC / Windows side wants to waste money with Xeons on their desktops.

 

[Kmax82]

Originally posted by: spikespiegal

As for the Mac Pro, there is no Core 2 Duo option. It only comes with the Xeon processor since it is a workstation.

Apple needs to get a clue and introduce a mid level tower between the iMac and over-priced, Xeon based Mac Pro. Something based on the Q6600 would be perfect.

"Since it's a workstation" sounds like a marketing thing since nobody on the PC / Windows side wants to waste money with Xeons on their desktops.

Yes.. if they would come out with something like this, I would be quite pleased!

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: spikespiegal

As for the Mac Pro, there is no Core 2 Duo option. It only comes with the Xeon processor since it is a workstation.

Apple needs to get a clue and introduce a mid level tower between the iMac and over-priced, Xeon based Mac Pro. Something based on the Q6600 would be perfect.

"Since it's a workstation" sounds like a marketing thing since nobody on the PC / Windows side wants to waste money with Xeons on their desktops.

I am sure that plenty would like to 'waste' money with Xeons in their desktops actually.

Also, calling the Mac Pro over-priced is simply displaying your ignorance, and if you come in here with a price sheet for a system running a Core 2 Duo, I will kick you right in the face.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: spikespiegal

As for the Mac Pro, there is no Core 2 Duo option. It only comes with the Xeon processor since it is a workstation.

Apple needs to get a clue and introduce a mid level tower between the iMac and over-priced, Xeon based Mac Pro. Something based on the Q6600 would be perfect.

"Since it's a workstation" sounds like a marketing thing since nobody on the PC / Windows side wants to waste money with Xeons on their desktops.

Apple doesn't need to get a clue about anything. If they introduced it, as much as I want it, I would fear Apple would grow too fast, too quick.

And as Stu said, the Mac Pro is not overpriced, when properly compared. It may be more expensive, but that's nothing new. It has always been geared toward high end professionals, and enthusiasts that can shell out the dough.

 

[Pabster]

The Mini is a fantastic choice for getting started in the Mac world. Or just as a second box for "testing" :laugh:

I'm really enjoying my 24" iMac but my Mini still gets some use.