New Mac..Need Suggestions
So I recently stopped smoking at the beginning of the month for various reasons, and one of my goals to finally kick this for good was to put the money I would have spent on smoking towards a goal. I have always wanted to purchase a Mac, and now this is my chance to set a goal. I am planning by June to make my purchase, but I am really unsure of the route to take.
I’m setting a budget of $1,200 dollars (give or take) for this purchase. I am not sure which route to take, Mac Mini, Macbook Pro, or the base iMac. I currently have a laptop (single 2.0Ghz, 2GB RAM, 100GB hard drive running Windows 7), but I am not sure if I should purchase another laptop or move towards a desktop (iMac).
I like the idea of getting another laptop but I’m not sure if I would like going from a 17″ display down to a 13″ model. The iMac does have a 21″ display however I am tied to a desk. Steve mentioned tonight that he had some display issues with his iMac, so I am worried now if I purchase a iMac and have display issues, then basically without having to pay a lot of money the PC could be shot. On the other hand if I go the iMac route, I still will have my Dell laptop to use throughout the house, however I am not sure if that will end up getting more use than a Macbook or Macbook Pro.
Here is what I plan on using the new PC for, and maybe your suggestions will help me out.
- Web Browsing
- Listening to Music (iTunes)
- I’d like to work more with photos than what I am now, (editing, general playing around)
- Chat
What should I be looking for long term wise? Would a MacBook Pro be the better route due to adding more memory / hard drive size? Please bring the comments along. This will be my first Mac purchase, and I’d hate to be unhappy after a few months.
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John works in the public IT sector focusing on network security, system admin/monitoring, and has knowledge in many programming languages. | Follow John on 
John, that is some great motivation! If I can help you, let me know…I am great at giving motivation. LOL
Good luck!
John, I’d encourage you to check out Apple’s refurbished models—they come with AppleCare for 90 days (you can purchase the full three year coverage if you want, and I recommend it generally) and you can sometimes get some great deals. Today, for example, http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB950LL/A?mco=MTU0MzQ1NTg would get you a 21.5-inch 3.06 GHz iMac with 4 GB RAM for $999. The stock changes regularly, but the model I listed was 16% off and that’s a pretty common discount. I’ve purchased dozens of refurbished Macs for family, work, and myself and haven’t seen any greater incidence of problems with them than with “brand new” machines.
Thanks David and Kat. If you could would you please vote on the poll at the top. I’m not sure which direction to go.
Laptops are nearly as powerful as desktops now — at a premium price, of course. If portability matters at all, consider a MacBook Pro. I have the 2.8 GHz 15″ model and love it.
Otherwise, the new 20″ iMacs are fantastic machines.
If you want to run Windows, no problem – either use Boot Camp or get one of the virtualization apps (Parallels, VMWare Fusion or several other less well known options).
I quit smoking over 10 years ago, so I hope you meet your goal and more. Tied to a desk and working with photos, a desktop with a larger screen is the way to go. Most of the iMac screen issues seem to be with the high-end 27″ iMacs with multi-core processors. I think it’s a coin toss between the mini and the base iMac. The new iMac screens are beautiful, and the iMac is probably a little faster, and easier to upgrade(up to 16GB of ram!). The Mini allows you to get any monitor you want, and if something goes wrong with the screen, you’re not out the entire computer while it gets serviced. The iMac includes a keyboard and mouse. If you’re willing to spend more, I would get an iMac with the upgraded video card and faster processor.