About to switch, advice appreciated

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hi, looking for some advice if anyone can help, had my fill with windows basically, and it's time to make the change to mac

we have seen these on ebay, the seller feedback is great but we're unsure of the spec and whether it will be good for us.

our current computer is browsing, watching netfix and email plus general browsing and watching DVD, just regular use, so would this unit I have supplied the link to below do the trick for us?, and on a side note, we have an external hard drive too which we can use along side the mac

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/APPLE-IMA...EMITE-DVDRW-/111736460959?hash=item1a0403169f

any advice and opinions would be welcomed and very much appreciated

thanks

Dave
 
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Delta, B.C., Canada, eh?
Your Mac's Specs
Late 2012 Mac Mini i5, macOS 10.15.4, iPhone 11 Pro Max, PowerBook G4, iMac G3/4/5
That's the same machine I bought for my mom recently. It's performs reasonably, but Netflix and YouTube performance isn't perfect, but passable.
 
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I used my windows pc for the same stuff you do. I purchase a 13" MacBook Air, 4 gig ram and a 256 gig flash drive. It is way better the the Windows machine. I use HBO go and Amazon Prime to stream video. It works great.
 
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It looks like that machine would work well for your purposes. Just a quick note, though - I always prefer pictures of the actual equipment being sold instead of just slick product pictures from a company website.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
Silver M1 iMac 512/16/8/8 macOS 11.6
It is NEVER 5.32Ghz, but a dual 2.66Ghz and will always work at that processing speed. The 2.66Ghz was first introduced in 2008 and continued in 2009 models so it is ageing. The 320GB hard drive is not massive by today's standards, and the 8GB of memory is respectable. If it were me I would be looking for a later, faster model, a 2012 iMac with say the 2.9GHz i5 CPU's and much, much better graphics. A few quid extra invested now will see the iMac running a few more years than the 2008/2009 model.
 
C

chas_m

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It's also LAUGHABLY overpriced for a machine that old.

Since you're getting your first Mac, get one that is sure to give you a good experience. I'd suggest looking at Apple's refurbished pages, particularly since those machines are sold under warranty, and are not so old. You'll get far better performance that will last you far longer than a machine near the end of its life cycle.
 

Rod


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2021 M1 MacBook Pro 14" macOS 14.4.1, Mid 2010MacBook 13" iPhone 13 Pro max, iPad 6, Apple Watch SE.
Yes the 2012 model will have much better graphics so if you are particularly interested in visual media I too would go for a later model with the 2.9 Ghz i5 processor. I think that you will get better connectivity running Yosemite and with El Capitan about to be released I'd go for the latest model I could afford.
 
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27" iMac, 13 MacBook Pro, 11" MacBook Air, 64G iPad, iPhone 4
My wife's white MacBook failed recently and the Apple Store found it needed a new mainboard. She went for a new machine for two reasons. First the cost was over half the cost of getting a shiny new MacBook Air and second. She was told that if it failed again for any reason Apple would not repair it as it was about the become obsolete as far as they were concerned. The "genius" was honest enough to say he could not recommend fixing it other than maybe finding a working mainboard on eBay.

Just making the point that buying an old machine could prove to be a false economy.
 
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Anything not an "i" chip won't last much longer. And frankly, I'd only consider an i5 or an i7. For your intended use an i5 with more RAM would suffice. You can bump to 16 GB fairly cheap. You get an i5 with 16 GB RAM and you'll be good for some years.

I have an "early 2011" MacBook Pro / 2.2 GHz i7 / 16 GB RAM which I am often using when my son-in-law is around with one of his latest model MBAirs or Pros (he "needs" them for work - actually, he does). I am always amazed at how well my old beast keeps up (also I do have a Crucial SSD drive).

And while you didn't ask for any here are some links I've given for family and friends when they inevitably switch.

David A Cox youtube videos / start with?
https://www.youtube.com/user/TechTalkAmerica

from Apple support itself On Windows I did ______. On Mac do ________.
Switch Basics: On Windows, I used to... - Apple Support

simple, lengthy chart: in Windows ______ / in Mac _______
Switch to Mac: Translating Windows to OS X | Macworld

comparing uses in a bit more in-depth
Some General Tips for Switch to Mac From Windows - Walt Mossberg - Personal Technology - AllThingsD

probably too basic for you, but in case not ...
How to Switch from Windows to Mac OS X: 6 Steps (with Pictures)

from lynda.com - one of the best sources for video training on just about anything. this is free and just a snip, but the text has some very good stuff
http://www.lynda.com/articles/how-to-switch-from-windows-to-mac

basic terminology comparisons (translations)
http://www.imore.com/switching-mac-converting-windows-terminology-mac
 

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