04-14-2006, 01:14 PM

Hello -
I am a 16 year old HS student. I have an old iMac and G4, both of which, have such issues, they are not worth using. I spend all my computer time on my dad's PC (ahhh!). I want a computer I can use for fun, as well as schoolwork, and projects, such as video editing, and photoshop.
I have $500 dollars to spend at will, along with some money I've earned. With student discount, a base mini with superdrive combo will only cost me $630.
At the moment it seems like a good idea. Does anyone have any input as to reasons why or why not I should purchase a mini, as well as any tips for buying one (such as a certain option I might want to consider).
Thank you very much.
-Brady

04-14-2006, 02:14 PM

I dont think high school students get discounts on apple products, just college students and faculty of both colleges and high schools.

04-14-2006, 02:53 PM

Originally Posted by playm0de

I dont think high school students get discounts on apple products, just college students and faculty of both colleges and high schools.

my friend in HS gets discounts on his, and if not my bro is in college, so I can have him order it. But, that is besides the point, I'm more looking for input on a purchase.

04-14-2006, 05:29 PM

i love my mini, but it is maxed out so it is a bit above what you have to spend.

i am not sure the core solo is stong enough to run Photoshop or video editing software well, but i could be very wrong here. plus you would definately need to upgrade the ram to at least 1GB.

i know my core duo, with upgraded ram, tackles Photoshop pretty easily, even if it is not in binary yet.

04-14-2006, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by scooter

i am not sure the core solo is stong enough to run Photoshop or video editing software well, but i could be very wrong here. plus you would definately need to upgrade the ram to at least 1GB.

I used to run Photoshop and such on a 1 Ghz PowerPC eMac with 512 MB of RAM just fine.
There is no reason why a core solo Mini couldn't do the same.
:black:

04-14-2006, 05:43 PM

I myself is a new mac user and it's only been about half a year since I started using macs, so I'll tell you what I hear from others.

I hear mac mini is not as great of a deal as the price tag may suggest, because you'll still be spending money on all the other hardwares like keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Not that mac mini isn't cheap on its own, but do consider those extra things you need to buy when calculating the price.

However, if you have all those things already, then I think nothing should stop you from investing in a new mac, because macs are great. If you're only looking for a desktop, AND you don't particularly want to save up a little more for something more expensive, then your choice is pretty much limited to mini (rather than an iMac).

But the new mini are equipped with Intel chip and I think the price is fair. I'm sure you'll enjoy it as a computer to use for school work and for fun.

Several things to keep in mind before making the purchase are:
-iBooks with Intel chips may come out soon (again, if you're not limiting yourself to desktop)
-You mentioned Photoshop, but remember that Photoshop CS2 does not, and will not, run natively on Intel machines. That means, your new mac mini won't be your best pal for photoshopping until CS3 comes out next year.
-Since macs only recently started using Intel chips, there are a few unfortunate people having problem with their machines. Is it because of the transition to Intel, or were they just plain unlucky? I don't know, but I for one is such unlucky person with my Intel iMac acting weird (though it's working great for the most part).
-If you're not in a rush to buy a computer, you could wait until 2007 (I know I don't have such patience) when Adobe CS3, new Mac OS, Windows Vista and all the other things come out, so you can step back and decide for yourself what suits your needs the most. And by then, Intel Macs would be so much more supported.

That's just my personal opinion. Correct me if I'm utterly wrong.

04-15-2006, 01:52 AM

no, you have very valid points. thanks everyone for the input, I will try to respond to them all.
As for it being a desktop, I am definately not limiting myself to a desktop, but I am limiting myself to a (relatively) low price.

I'd also like to get the computer soon, as I will be getting a new comp. when I got to college (2 years), and have lots of fun projects I would like to do with friends this summer.

As far as not running photoshop and whatnot too fast.....I'm coming straight from a 5 year old or so iMac. This thing was very slow, I'd run Photoshop CS on it, despite it only having around 300mb of ram. And it worked fine. I'm not used to uber-fast and new computers, so really anything new will work beautifully and speedily to me, I would assume.

I am a little scared about buying such a new product, but I will just have to cross my fingers, and hope for the best.

thanks one and all for the responses.....

04-15-2006, 06:55 AM

i am not sure the core solo is stong enough to run Photoshop or video editing software well, but i could be very wrong here. plus you would definately need to upgrade the ram to at least 1GB.

As you can see form my system specs on the side, I'm running a G4 mini with 512mb RAM and I do photoshop and video editing all the time. While it definitely isn't the fastest thing around it is more than capable of the job at hand. Something I have found on forums like this (more the people) is that when you move up to more RAM it usually become the default for what people think a machine should run, anything below that is unacceptable.

I know, I have a PC 1GB or RAM and I usually forget that it can run fine with only half or a quarter the memory but I kept of forgetting this fact. 512MB will be fine, more will be great but isn't required it is very workable with that amount.

04-15-2006, 02:13 PM

Yes I'd agree with that, and as I will be making a jump UP in ram, as opposed to down, I don't think it should be an issue with me.....

04-15-2006, 04:25 PM

If your in need of space, then Get the eMac G4 1.42ghz or the mac mini G4, during reviews it was still better then the intel mac, since the g4 mini has its own video card with 32 Dedicated VRAM for it. and its great on performance and games for an entry level mac. Online (ebay....apple.com) you can get one for $500 easily. the eMac will be the same specs as the high end g4 mini but for around 600. I love my mini....best $500 id ever spent

04-15-2006, 06:06 PM

thanks for the advice. it appears we have similar interests...ipod minis, mac minis, calvin and hobbes, mazda protoges, haha.

anyways, I forgot to mention, it should be noted I have a 160gb external harddrive.

04-16-2006, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by Bradyk2

Hello -
I am a 16 year old HS student. I have an old iMac and G4, both of which, have such issues, they are not worth using. I spend all my computer time on my dad's PC (ahhh!). I want a computer I can use for fun, as well as schoolwork, and projects, such as video editing, and photoshop.
I have $500 dollars to spend at will, along with some money I've earned. With student discount, a base mini with superdrive combo will only cost me $630.
At the moment it seems like a good idea. Does anyone have any input as to reasons why or why not I should purchase a mini, as well as any tips for buying one (such as a certain option I might want to consider).
Thank you very much.
-Brady

Yeah, that sounds good. Later you can add up to 2 gigs of ram and up to a 2.16ghz Core Duo processor, so there's plenty of upgradability for keeping it for a long time. You mentioned you have an external hard drive; is it Firewire? If so you can use that as a boot drive to speed things up.

04-16-2006, 04:12 PM

Well I think that the Mac Mini is a great investment, especially if you have a screen, keyboard, and mouse. The Intel Solo will do everything that you would need to have done (I think). Why would Apple give you all these great Apps if you couldn't use them i.e. iMovie. The Mac Mini will do everything on your list.

04-16-2006, 04:37 PM

Yes, I think so too, so thank you for the advice and tips.
As far as the external harddrive, I'm pretty sure it is firewire, although I'm not positive....

Another question (thanks for all the help, one and all). My dad is convinced that I don't need a mini, the G4 should suit my needs fine. It is about 3 years old or so, maybe 4?

At the moment it is extremely slow. it crashes on my very frequently, quite often while trying to boot up, and yesterday it took it about 20 minutes to log in. I can't run any of the programs I want on it, because it is OS 10.1.
It has a 10 and an 8 gb harddrive (I think, something like that), both of which are nearly maxed ouyt with stuff I have nowhere to store. He is convinced that this computer should run phot and video editing, etc. as that was what it was originally designed for. However, he ran it with photoshop 5, and some simple editing programs, not 8.0 CS, iMovie, iDVD, etc. etc.

So my question is also if I should try to stick with the G4, and also if it is even worth putting in the money for bigger harddrives, a new OS, etc.

thanks again.

04-16-2006, 06:45 PM

maybe I havent read close enough but I havent seen you specify what g4 you have. Do you mean the g4 mini?