Making the switch. Need advice…

[devin_c_co]

I’m looking into making the switch from the dark side (Windows) to the light side (Mac). I need some help deciding what to purchase as I am new to the Mac world. I am basically going to be using the machine for some photo editing, mp3 ripping, DVD ripping/burning, web surfing, word processing, etc. Nothing too major, but looking for the best bang for the buck. I am also looking at getting a 17” or 19” LCD soon as well (you’ll see where this comes in). Here are the choices that I am looking at. I want something that has some decent HP that will last me a good couple of years. I still will need access to my Windows PC for work, and the wife. I was thinking that if I go with one of the iMac’s, then I could RDP into my windows box and then I’d have my windows PC. With this setup I wouldn’t have to buy a LCD. But if something were to happen with the iMac or the windows PC, then I’d have to haul out my monitor, keyboard, etc. Kind of a pain. Then I started looking at the mini’s and getting a 17” or 19” LCD and finding a switch box to flip between machines. Then I stumbled upon the dual G4 setup (see below). So as you can see I have quite a few choices and all are pretty decent I think. So if someone can please HELP!!!


Refurbished iMac G5 1.8GHz/ 256MB/ 80GB/ SuperDrive/ 56K/ 17-inch from the apple store. I’ll upgrade the RAM after I get it, probably to 1GB. Price is $799.

Or…

Refurbished iMac G5 1.8GHz/ 256MB/ 160GB/ SuperDrive/ 56K/ 20-inch. Again, I’ll upgrade the RAM after I get it. Probably to at least 1GB. Price is $1149

Or…

Refurbished iMac G5 20-inch 2GHz SuperDrive / 512MB / 250GB. Again, upgrading the memory. Price is $1249

Or…

Dual 1.0GHz G4 / 2GBRAM / (2) 250GB Seagate HD’s / Superdrive & Combo drive / Radeon 9800 video card / Lot’s of software pre-installed. Price is $1000 (It’s used)

Or…

A Mac Mini of some kind and upgrade the RAM to 1GB. Price $450 to $600.

 

[Jabjabs]

Personally I would go for the iMac 20" 1.8Ghz machine, $100 less than the 2Ghz and twice the RAM.

 

[Kokopelli]

Hmm... Tough choices here. I would go for either one of the 20" iMac G5s or a DualCore mini with a good 19" LCD.

Most 19" LCDs will have botha DVI and a VGA connector. Connect both your computers to the LCD and tuck away the keyboard for the Windows box. You would still have 2 keyboards and mice but set up right you should only have to pull out the windows keyboard when something goes wrong.

 

[devin_c_co]

Personally I would go for the iMac 20" 1.8Ghz machine, $100 less than the 2Ghz and twice the RAM.

$100 less and twice the RAM? Umm... Not sure what you're saying. For $100 I get a faster processor, twice the RAM and bigger HD.

 

[fearlessfreap24]

i would go with the 20" with the larger hdd. if you need a modem, you can get a usb one.

 

[Texasmeat]

.......

If I were you, I would definately save up $400 and use the education discount through apple's online store and buy an iMac core duo 20". I got mine for $1637 including tax and shipping. They have never verified anything with me (although I happen to actually be in school). I know others that take advantage of the education discount even though they arent in school. I know if you have kids in school that counts as well. The g5 is unfortunately a dying architecture which I feel will be phased out of Apple as soon as they can sweep it under the rug without pissing too many people off. The intel imac is also able to dual boot windows xp completely natively so it's a no-brainer. When you need windows, boot into windows. When you need mac, boot into mac. At least this way you're not limiting yourself to a single operating system.No matter what mac enthusiasts think, mac users still need windows sometimes. Having said that, the core duo is also a heck of alot faster machine that will stay current much longer than the g5. The dual G4 machines are worthless. At the time, even a cheap ***** dell came with usb 2.0!The G4's have a slower bus speed, slower system performance, slower ram, slower disk speed (no SATA without pci expansion card), no usb 2.0, slow video bus etc etc. If you're in the market for a machine in that price range, the G4 wouldnt even enter the equation if it were me. A $1000+ computer is a serious investment that you'll want to get the most out of your investment so that it takes care of your needs for as long as possible.

 

[Jabjabs]

$100 less and twice the RAM? Umm... Not sure what you're saying. For $100 I get a faster processor, twice the RAM and bigger HD.

Eep! Misread, go with the 2Ghz then.

 

[playm0de]

Go with a maxed out dual core mini.