new mac debate

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maxedoutcc

Gawd
Joined
Jan 26, 2001
Messages
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okay so im torn on which mac to buy. I plan on basicalyl using the mac just for the iLife suite and BASIC video compilation. No fancy 3d or anything like that.

the misses won't let me get the mac mini AND the 20" apple cinema display so i'm stuck having to use the dell 19" CRT that I currently have with the mac.

so my question to you is, should I find a nice imac 64 on ebay or should i just get the mac mini and deal with the crt for now?

or for that matter is there any place to pick up a refurb or a nice used apple cinema display?
 
yeah it sounds like refurbs would be the way to go. unless you just man up and buy a new one!
 
my concern with the imac 65 is it doesnt really appeal to me. I find it bulky and ugly and with the exception of the beautiful imac g4 I don't particulalry want to buy an all in one unit.
 
maxedoutcc said:
my concern with the imac 65 is it doesnt really appeal to me. I find it bulky and ugly and with the exception of the beautiful imac g4 I don't particulalry want to buy an all in one unit.
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Why not want a Mac all in one unit? That's a great selling point of it.
 
If you don't like the design of the G5 iMacs, then you must hate LCD displays or something because all you see is the display.

IMHO, the "lamp shade" style G4's were the bulky ones.
 
I say that if you have the money-then buy the Mini and the display....there's gotta be some reason the misses won't let you get both...are you saving this money up for something "special"? Are you saving money for any reason? Well, if not, talk to her, tell her it's what you want to get, and get it!
 
the all in one unit problem im concerned with is if something breaks. some of my co workers know how to dismantle a mac mini and in that case it would be easier to replace something if it broke. If it were an iMac and the screen died I would be up a creek. If the mini dies then I can just replace the mini and not throw a perfectly good monitor away ya know.

as for the misses, well even though i've shown her in store how much better the cinema displays are she doesn't see justifying $800 for a monitor. I know that if I REALLY wanted to get it I could but I would rather have her on my side. and truthfully I dont NEED the hd monitor its just a luxury.
 
just buy a new imac g5. Since the new ones have been announced, apple revised the pricing on the "old" ones, the entry level 17" is now $999 IIRC.
 
bahula03 said:
just buy a new imac g5. Since the new ones have been announced, apple revised the pricing on the "old" ones, the entry level 17" is now $999 IIRC.
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see above post...
 
maxedoutcc said:
the all in one unit problem im concerned with is if something breaks. some of my co workers know how to dismantle a mac mini and in that case it would be easier to replace something if it broke. If it were an iMac and the screen died I would be up a creek. If the mini dies then I can just replace the mini and not throw a perfectly good monitor away ya know.
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Dude, all macs come with a one year warranty which can be extended, and, unlike the Mini, a putty knife isn't needed to pry your way into an iMac, just loosen three screws, lift, and you're in.

as for the misses, well even though i've shown her in store how much better the cinema displays are she doesn't see justifying $800 for a monitor. I know that if I REALLY wanted to get it I could but I would rather have her on my side. and truthfully I dont NEED the hd monitor its just a luxury.
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There are four displays available from Apple that hold the prestigious SWOP certification, and the 20" iMac is one of them.
 
Tomahawk said:
Dude, all macs come with a one year warranty which can be extended, and, unlike the Mini, a putty knife isn't needed to pry your way into an iMac, just loosen three screws, lift, and you're in..
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This still doesn't address the issue of if something breaks. If the iMac dies after the warranty period I still may end up with a dead system and a good lcd.
 
a) if you get applecare, you're getting 3 years of parts/labor and tech support...do you plan to keep the computer much longer than that? or expect a mini to be useful beyond 3 years?

b) have you ever opened or seen an open flat panel imac? if not, here's a picture;

openback.jpg


you can see the 3 holes for screws on the bottom edge...that's all it takes to open it up, and every part in there is available to be repaired or tinkered with.


Those things aside, the imac is going to worlds faster than the mini.
 
maxedoutcc said:
This still doesn't address the issue of if something breaks. If the iMac dies after the warranty period I still may end up with a dead system and a good lcd.
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Using that same logic, you could end up with both a dead Cinema display and a worthless Mini in three years.

My advice is to buy whatever it is you want, then immediately sell it to help pay for your next upgrade. rinse, repeat
 
I have an iBook and love the little thing. It is always here, never is dead... never have to or want to work on it like my PC. <3

I am waiting for the Intel Macs next year for a PowerBook Upgrade... My suggestion to you right now however is get one of the New iMacs that just came out. they look pretty :)
 
DigitalEdge said:
Im Waiting for the intel macs june 20th 06
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If you already have a Mac then waiting is no big deal, but if you need a Mac now you might as well get one now. The software you buy now will still work on the Intel Macs too.

I'm a new Mac convert and I can believe all the hell I used to go through on my PC.

iMac are beautiful machines too, especially the 20" models.

Good Luck.
 
I would get the new iMac. Its quite a bit faster than the mac mini and the screens are gorgeous. The iMac will last you longer if you keep your systems a long time.

As stated already, they aren't difficult to work on either. If you are really worried about it breaking, get applecare. With my experience, the phone tech support is better than the "genius" bar, but I digress.
 
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