What Apple Should Do...

[alexsd123]

They need to create a desktop between the Mac Mini and the Mac Pro.

There is an 1800 dollar difference between the two bottom line models which is really not acceptable.

The all in one computers are great for some people but others already own a keyboard, mouse, and monitor.

My "suggestion" (I guess you could call it) is to create a model that is in the $1,000 that includes a an i5-i7 processor and the 5670-5750 GPU. It would only include the tower - no keyboard, mouse, or monitor.

This could be a huge opening to people looking into switching to Macs, especially gamers (a big % of users).

Am I the only one that would be interested in this? An affordable *legit* Macintosh tower?

[CrimsonRequiem]

iMac? Minus the tower...

[bobtomay]

You're not the only one. All of us old hardware enthusiasts would like to see it. But, not gonna happen.

They couldn't sell many all-in-one machines (iMacs) if they did that. That's bound to be a big reason they've been making the iMac as the primary desktop for all these years. Plus it would put them more in direct competition with all the othe PC manufacturers out there. And there goes the profit margin.

Just go check Dell's sales figures (and others) for their all-in-one boxes vs the stand alone box.

Don't ever see Apple entering an existing market without the belief that the device has some compelling reason that would cause folks to choose it over the competitors. What would that be with a regular old stand alone box? It'd also have their end users frustrated, because now there would be a box with standardized parts, but you still wouldn"t be able to go pick a part off the shelf because you would also need all the myriads of hardware manufacturers on board creating drivers for OS X. It'd be a nightmare.

[chas_m]

Here's a few reasons why it's quite unlikely that Apple will ever grant your wish:

1. Apple has no relationship with, and does not want a relationship with, the "tinkerer/modder" market. Yes, Mac Pros can be upgraded, but their price point and marketing is all about serious professionals who upgrade for business purposes, not hobbyists who are just trying to "hotrod" their Macs. Apple does not want those types of people as customers; they are very high-maintenance and low-profit.

2. A mini-tower mainly appeals to people who want a Mac Pro but are cheap. If they brought out such a mini-tower, the FIRST THING everyone on the planet would say is "but I can buy a similar Windows box / build my own box for (insert dramatically and unrealistically lower figure here)." Yeah, Apple really needs THAT grief ...

3. In point of fact, Apple has once before tried to bring out a mini-tower ... a compact but full-powered desktop computer that you could open up and fool with the innards. It was called the G4 Cube.

4. Apple believe the iMac is a vastly superior product and a vastly superior VALUE compared to a mini-tower, and they are correct.

[the8thark]

I think another reason why they go all in one (imac) over a mini tower. Because their ethos is simplicity in design. Seriously with a wireless keyboard and mouse it's like 1 cable for your imac. The power cord.

It goes back to the early days of the internet Mac. Yeah I believe the i is for internet. Jobs and Co bragged with the imac you could get from new unopened imac box to surfing on the internet with your internet in under 10 mins. No anti virus or bloat trial ware to worry about. No individual parts to check and see if they're working (like you're always doing with a tower). It's really just plug and play. The ultimate in simplicity of design.

And it's a well known fact that there's not much Apple could do to make me not buy their products. I'm very loyal to them. But if they discontinued the imac and replaced it only with a mini tower, I'd almost not go back to Apple. I like all in ones. I have never own a computer screen. Cause all of my computers have been all in ones and came with a screen.

If the mini tower + screen cost the same as an imac I just might get one (if the imacs are discontinued ever). People with towers just forget, not everyone has a spare screen lying around.

[Village Idiot]

So if you want to use a nice 30" screen or multiple monitors, you either have to buy a Mac Pro, a Macbook Pro which will run extremely hot and even shut down if you do so much as attempt to use anything that requires a graphics card, or go pretty much any Wintel setup that has a GPU that will support dual link DVI operation.

They lost my money on that one.

[the8thark]

And how many people need a 30 inch monitor? All of the average users certainly do not. I'm on a 17 inch monitor now and it does the job just fine. And 27 inch of the imacs is close enough to 30 inch anyways.

[schweb]

So if you want to use a nice 30" screen or multiple monitors, you either have to buy a Mac Pro, a Macbook Pro

I think that's the point.

Your use case doesn't really apply to the average user and a power user with the need to multiple large monitors is going to need/want/be able to afford a higher end prosumer or pro machine.

[Chris H.]

I say there is nothing wrong with having a few extra keyboards and mice lying around. You never know.

As for slotting the $1800 price difference between the Mac mini and the Mac Pro…Apple's All-in-One iMac fits the bill.

That extra monitor does come in handy when you're trying to do things at once (like research a paper and at the same time type it up).

[XJ-linux]

It will never happen. The game will not change.

[iggibar]

Why would you want a tower that does less than the Mac Pro, when the mac mini has the ability to do so much from such a small package, for hundreds less? The mac mini is a great unit? Also, a $1000 dollar "tower" from them is probably not possible assuming it's as you described. To be honest, it would be nice for there to be one, but I'm not sure if there's a big enough reason for them to make one.

[antman2x2]

Well I bought myself a MacBook pro months ago to go along with my custom built gaming pc.

I ended up falling in love with the Mac OS software and the pure quality that it truly is. But now.... I want more >

I want an apple desktop with some pretty good graphics power. I don't need the fanciest graphics card.

Now I know theres the iMac but I don't want an all in one, I have my 32 inch monitor wall mounted above my desk, it would never work.

Than there's the Mac mini, for me...... Not enough power....

Mac pro.... Just no. Way too much power and too heavy on a 16 year olds wallet.

What bothers me is this, where the **** is the consumer desktop. I really don't see the iMac as a consumer desktop. Why isn't there a desktop that won't run me $2600 or isn't an all in one?

I love apple but I really don't get it...

[CrimsonRequiem]

Mac for me is pretty much my every day computer. It's not my everything computer though.

If you game stick to your console and your Windows Gaming Rig. You will save yourself a lot of grief.

[TattooedMac]

No ...

[bobtomay]

Note: Merged duplicate threads.