Advice for new Mac...
Well, my family's PC died last week, and we have found out it has irrepairable damage thanks to my father (for some reason he decided to clean it and actually dismantle the pieces of it, bending parts out of shape in the process; the pieces he broke aren't made anymore and cost as much as a new system to replace).
So, being the Macintosh fan of the family, I have successfully turned my father to Apple's line of Mac computers. However, we are torn between the Mac Mini and the iMac (we don't want a MacBook or MacBook Pro). The iMac is most appealing at the moment, since it comes with everything we need (screen, keyboard, mouse, etc) while the Mini does not; calculating how much it would cost to buy the Mini as well as the screen, keyboard and mouse, the iMac comes out a few hundred dollars cheaper (Australian dollars). However, the iMac still has the con of apparently having a lot of problems (or have these been fixed now?). Oh, and I was also wondering if the iMac comes with an inbuilt modem, or if you even need a modem to use the internet on it? Or would we have to invest in something like the Apple USB Modem too?
Any advice on whether or not to get the iMac or Mac Mini would be great
So, being the Macintosh fan of the family, I have successfully turned my father to Apple's line of Mac computers. However, we are torn between the Mac Mini and the iMac (we don't want a MacBook or MacBook Pro). The iMac is most appealing at the moment, since it comes with everything we need (screen, keyboard, mouse, etc) while the Mini does not; calculating how much it would cost to buy the Mini as well as the screen, keyboard and mouse, the iMac comes out a few hundred dollars cheaper (Australian dollars). However, the iMac still has the con of apparently having a lot of problems (or have these been fixed now?). Oh, and I was also wondering if the iMac comes with an inbuilt modem, or if you even need a modem to use the internet on it? Or would we have to invest in something like the Apple USB Modem too?
Any advice on whether or not to get the iMac or Mac Mini would be great
Comments
The iMac has not a built-in modem (56K) but it has built-in high-speed internet connectivity (wireless and wired). But if you need such a modem, in order to connect the iMac to the internet through a phone line, or send and receive fax, then Apple makes a USB modem that will work. At $50 it is a rather expensive piece of hardware. I don't know if there is an alternative solution by other manufacturers.
Considering your situation, my vote goes to the iMac. But what "a lot of problems" are you talking about? I am only aware of the freezing issue. Admittedly a serious one, but it seems that the last firmware update has fixed it. Just follow this discussion.
The iMac has not a built-in modem (56K) but it has built-in high-speed internet connectivity (wireless and wired). But if you need such a modem, in order to connect the iMac to the internet through a phone line, or send and receive fax, then Apple makes a USB modem that will work. At $50 it is a rather expensive piece of hardware. I don't know if there is an alternative solution by other manufacturers.
Thanks for the reply. Yeah, the major issue I'd heard about the iMac was the freezing issue; there was also something I'd read about a lot of the new iMacs having dead and stuck pixels, but I wouldn't know if it's a serious issue.
there was also something I'd read about a lot of the new iMacs having dead and stuck pixels, but I wouldn't know if it's a serious issue.
This is something to think about. Dead and stuck pixels is nothing new. But if you have got one or a few, your options depend on the local Apple policy since there is not a clear and general directive from Apple as far as I can tell.
If you are decided to buy an LCD-based computer, like the iMac, then you can ask to open it and boot it while you are in the store, and check it for dead pixels in place either by direct inspection or better with specialized software. For example, PiXel Check. That way you have the chance to get a good one. Probably the store personel would refuse to do that, although I don't see why (oh, one reason would be the nightmare to perfectly re-package the iMac if a dead pixel is found
(Australian dollars)
I think that's quite an important factor in the decision. From what I've heard, Apple's presence in Australia has been very poor and if you don't live near an Apple store then I'd be very wary of buying an iMac. What do you do if your screen breaks?
With a Mini, you can just go out and buy a new, cheap display. Not to mention the delivery of a Mini is much easier because of the size.
You can even use the display you already have on your PC.
The downside is that you get a slower machine with less storage, worse graphics, slower drive.
If it works out cheaper for the iMac and you have a good service facility near you that handles warranty repairs and you can put up with a glossy screen then the iMac would be the better option. Otherwise, get the Mini.
Highly recommended.
Oh, and they fixed the freezing issue with a recent update.
... 90% of the 20" versions have a messed up screen with a gradient on it...
What are the odds of you quoting a source for that statistic?
What are the odds of you quoting a source for that statistic?
LOOOOOL
but yeah. i got the 20inch imac, works fine. 100% amazing. the patch they released fixed all the freezing issues.
the modem is going to cost you extra no matter what computer you buy now. i dont believe they are standard on any mac right now.
I think that's quite an important factor in the decision. From what I've heard, Apple's presence in Australia has been very poor and if you don't live near an Apple store then I'd be very wary of buying an iMac. What do you do if your screen breaks?
With a Mini, you can just go out and buy a new, cheap display. Not to mention the delivery of a Mini is much easier because of the size.
You can even use the display you already have on your PC.
The downside is that you get a slower machine with less storage, worse graphics, slower drive.
If it works out cheaper for the iMac and you have a good service facility near you that handles warranty repairs and you can put up with a glossy screen then the iMac would be the better option. Otherwise, get the Mini.
So I can use my old PC display? *slaps forehead* stupid me! Now that I know that, the Mini would be a lot cheaper to get than the iMac, and you bring up a good point about having a service facility nearby; the only two stores that sells Macs in my state are over 300km away.
May I ask, when you say the Mini is a slower machine with worse graphics, is it hugely noticeable?
May I ask, when you say the Mini is a slower machine with worse graphics, is it hugely noticeable?
If you are going to use anything stressing the graphics chip, then yes, the difference can be enormous. See for example these benchmarks. Don't forget that the new iMacs have a faster GPU than the Radeon 1600 in the tests. For simple everyday tasks, you will feel more the impact of the slower hard drive than the graphics.
May I ask, when you say the Mini is a slower machine with worse graphics, is it hugely noticeable?
For graphics it will be noticeable but the lowest end iMac only has the Radeon HD 2400XT, which is not the same as the X1600.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/ATI-Mob...XT.3772.0.html
The Mini still has GMA 950 but to compare performance, you couldn't play FEAR on either one. Here is a list of card benchmarks:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-G...00.2176.0.html
The lowest iMac one is close to the Radeon X1400. So:
Mini - GMA 950 = 170 points
Macbook X3100 = 560 points
lowest iMac HD 2400 XT = 900 points
So Macbook is about 3 times faster than the Mini for graphics and the iMac is about 5 times faster. The X1600 in the old iMacs is at least 10 times faster. The CPUs are roughly the same across the board.
You can do some casual gaming on a Mini - it is possible to play Half-life 2 on it but it's only just usable for 3D. Basic things like Core animation and the interface effects work as you'd expect. General software works pretty well though as the processors are still fast so for video encoding, internet, office documents, email, Photoshop it will feel pretty much the same.
What you can do is buy a Mini every year though because they are so cheap. For example, I can buy a Mini for £400 one year and sell it the next for £300 and get the new model. In theory that would work if Apple weren't so keen on keeping the Mini with as low spec as they can manage. Every other machine is on Santa Rosa but not the Mini. It was also the last to get Core 2 Duo. It's as if they want to put people off buying it but of course that works out better for them because if you have to get a repair outside of warranty on an iMac, the display repair costs half the price of the machine. Not to mention the new one has to be opened by taking the screen out so for a hard drive repair or upgrade, you'll have to take it to a service center, which is ludicrous.
The Mini isn't much better for upgrading but at least it's cheap and you can have whatever screen you like. I have a Mini and I know people with the iMac. I do suffer from the lower graphics capability and hard drive but I'd still take it any day over an iMac. I don't give in to being pressured into buying a computer I don't want. If Apple want to keep crippling the Mini or god forbid discontinue it then I will simply take my business elsewhere. They are trying to force the world into their own naive view that all-in-ones (AIOs) are the way it should be and it's just not practical.
The people I know who bought an iMac paid £1500 for theirs. I paid £400 for my Mini and since it's just a home machine, I get on pretty well with it. I can even do some of my work at home that I would do on a quad workstation at work and it can keep up and most of what I do would see little improvement on an iMac as it's all CPU-based rendering of some sort. Two of the people I know with iMacs have dead pixels on their displays too and they are designers so it really bugs them but they won't send their whole machine back for a minor problem like that so they just have to live with it.
One thing to keep in mind is the Macworld event in January. There should be new hardware out then. Given past events, I doubt it will have what people are hoping for but you never know. A revamped Mac Pro line would still be a bit pricey even if it did have a lower end model and an ultra-portable is of little use so the choice would likely still come down to a Mini or iMac.
Software
* Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard (includes Time Machine, Quick Look, Spaces, Spotlight, Dashboard, Mail, iChat AV, Safari, Address Book, QuickTime, iCal, DVD Player, Xcode, Developer Tools)
* iLife ’08 (includes iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, iWeb, GarageBand), Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Test Drive, iWork (30-day trial), and Apple Hardware Test
* Front Row
I have another question, what is the software that comes with the Mac Mini and iMac (eg: iLife, etc)?
My Mini came with iLife 08 and and the Office 2004 Test Drive, and and an iWorks 08 trial.
I updated iWorks, as I got a copy from work - it's OK, but I haven't delved too much into it.
It didn't come with the Leopard update disc, which was a surprise, as I figured it would've been included automatically, so I wil have to back to Apple Store to ask for it.