The $1500 Challenge

Ok, I bought an iBook a couple months ago and though I love the little bugger I feel it just doesn't have enough grunt for all I want to do.

So, I'm going to buy another mac, a desktop this time. I've setup certain parameters I have to work within and wondering what the best option folks here can come up with. It goes something like this :

$1500 max, before shipping costs
Requirements :
1GB RAM minimum
60GB HDD mimimum
Combo drive minimum (I have external DVD-RW)
64MB VRAM minimum
Airport or Airport Extreme

I don't care about the type or number of slots it has, but if its in a case and doesnt have video built in it at least needs an AGP slot.

Some things I already have : 2GB in PC2700 DDR RAM (from a PC). Won't work in most PowerMacs I think, except the 1.6. USB Mouse, keyboard; LCD monitor; speakers. External DVD-RW that works via USB 2.0. External 120GB 7200RPM drive, via USB 2.0

Disk space is not a major issue, nor is a combo vs superdrive. I want something that will effectively run current software for 2+ years.

Let's see what folks come up with.

A base 1.8ghz iMac 17" with an upgrade to 1gb ram gets you that for $1425. If you were ok with 32mb vram, a decked out 1.42ghz Mac Mini would get you there for about $400 less, just without the keyboard, mouse or screen/monitor (which you already have).

Those both sound like good options. Have you tried decking out an eMac?

It will come down to personal prefrence; you will be able to customize a Mac mini, iMac, or eMac in that price range w/ those specs. But, how much do you want to save, cash wise? And which configuration will you be most comfortable with? Those are the most important things to consider.

djlee12 said:

Those both sound like good options. Have you tried decking out an eMac?

It will come down to personal prefrence; you will be able to customize a Mac mini, iMac, or eMac in that price range w/ those specs. But, how much do you want to save, cash wise? And which configuration will you be most comfortable with? Those are the most important things to consider.

Click to expand...

I've looked at current boxes and the only ones that really fit the bill are the iMac and eMac as were suggested.

The base PowerMac would would go over my price range. However, I could get a smalldog refurb PowerMac G5 and fit easily in my price range :
System PowerMac G5 1.6Ghz 1179
#CPUs 1
RAM 256MB 2GB
GPU GF5200 Ultra 64MB
HDD 80GB
Superdrive? Y
Combo? N
Airport N
Airport Extreme N
Vendor Smalldog Refurb

I can use my PC2700 in the old G5 1.6 PowerMac. It's starting to look like the best deal for me right now. I've also looked at getting an older PowerMac G4, which can be had for about $300, and upgrading it with the Sonnet or Gigatech upgrades. With the upgrade, I would wind up with a dual G4/1.6 for about $1100 plus RAM costs, probably wind up at around $1200. Basically, same price range as the G5 1.6 That would leave me $300 for other stuff on both machines, which would probably go into an ATI 9800Pro.

Still looking though, might be a better deal out there. I tend to shy away from the iMac and eMac due to lack of upgradability. However, it's my understanding the PowerMacs will not be CPU upgradable either so that really only leaves the upgradable GPU as their main advantage.

-Lonerider

u could get an old imac for cheap

Any chance for an educational discount?

Why would he want a mac mini if he is not satified with his iBook. They have basically thee same specs...

i would look for a G4 Quicksilver Dual Processor like this one and just up grade the HD and the Ram there are good prices at www.newegg.com i used one to video edit for ever and it never let me down. it should suply the kick that you are look for

Summary

• 1GB SDRAM DDR333 - 2 DIMMs
• 160GB Ultra ATA drive
• Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
• Internal Bluetooth Module + AirPort Extreme Card
• Apple Keyboard & Mouse + Mac OS - U.S. English
• 17-inch flat CRT display
• 1.42GHz PowerPC G4
• ATI Radeon 9600 w/ 64MB DDR video memory
• 56K internal modem
• Integrated stereo speakers
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Subtotal $1,123.00

The above appears to be a decently cofigured eMac for htose who are interested.

Old thread but thought I'd mention..

I opted for an eMac. 1.42 combo version, put a pair of 512meg dimms I already had in it (1gig total) and an airport extreme. Hooked up my external 120GB hdd, and dvd-rw. Total cost was about $950 (including tax).

It's noticably faster than my 1.2Ghz iBook. Quite a bit more oomph out of this machine that I thought it would have. I was trying to compare to an iMac in the store, and while the iMac was certainly faster on the graphics side the eMac actually opened up applications faster, sometimes a lot faster. Might have just been that iMac, but this is a solid computer if anyone is wondering, it won't disappoint.

-Lonerider