Help me and my family decide on a new machine to buy

[viperGTS]

Ok, so recently, our PC hard drive has started to fail on us. we keep getting "windows had a hard disk error" and whatnot. this is our 2nd pc that has failed on us, so we were wondering if we should switch to a mac mini? we mainly used it for heavy web usage (farmville, online banking, online shopping, social networking, flash gaming), iTunes, and viewing photos.
so me, being the most technologically aware member of the family, brought up the idea of getting a mac mini. would it suit our needs? apparently Mac OS X is almost completely virus resistant, but i dont think it is. also will the mini be supported by Lion since it runs on a C2D?
also, i think my display might not work on it. its an HP display (im not sure the output it uses) so might we be able to use it? we have a USB mouse but we will need to buy a new keyboard.
we were thinking a mac mini vs http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Factory-Refurbished+Pavilion+Slimline+Desktop+/+AMD+Sempron%26%23153%3B+Processor+/+3GB+Memory+/+320GB+Hard+Drive/1403295.p?id=1218255563471&skuId=1403295 - this.
which one is better suited for our family? please help me decide!

 

[MacMini2009]

The current Mac Mini model will be perfect for your needs. I play Cityville all the time on my Mac Mini and it runs great. I am not sure about Lion, but it will most likely be compatible with C2D processors. Probably the only way to get a virus on a Mac is when you download a program. Before you download a program, your Mac asks you to type in your password like a precaution if you really want to install this program. If you display has VGA (blue output), DVI (white output), or HDMI (thin black output), it will be compatible. The Mac Mini comes with a HDMI to DVI adapter so if your monitor has DVI or HDMI, you will be fine. If your monitor is VGA only, you will need to buy a separate adapter from Apple.

 

[viperGTS]

The current Mac Mini model will be perfect for your needs. I play Cityville all the time on my Mac Mini and it runs great. I am not sure about Lion, but it will most likely be compatible with C2D processors. Probably the only way to get a virus on a Mac is when you download a program. Before you download a program, your Mac asks you to type in your password like a precaution if you really want to install this program. If you display has VGA (blue output), DVI (white output), or HDMI (thin black output), it will be compatible. The Mac Mini comes with a HDMI to DVI adapter so if your monitor has DVI or HDMI, you will be fine. If your monitor is VGA only, you will need to buy a separate adapter from Apple.

I believe my display is blue, so ill buy the VGA adapter (ill check before i do). should i get any extra RAM (obviously not from apple, WAY to expensive from them) or is 2 GB fine? and will the extra $400 + be worth it over the $300 machine i mentioned?
also, i very much appreciate your response. thank you

 

[viperGTS]

I believe my display is blue, so ill buy the VGA adapter (ill check before i do). should i get any extra RAM (obviously not from apple, WAY to expensive from them) or is 2 GB fine? and will the extra $400 + be worth it over the $300 machine i mentioned?
also, i very much appreciate your response. thank you

anyone?

 

[tom vilsack]

dont buy the hp...it's a sempron cpu (slowwwww)

with the mini...2gb should be ok for what you want to do...but with all osx...more ram the better

 

[yrh0413]

I believe my display is blue, so ill buy the VGA adapter (ill check before i do). should i get any extra RAM (obviously not from apple, WAY to expensive from them) or is 2 GB fine? and will the extra $400 + be worth it over the $300 machine i mentioned?
also, i very much appreciate your response. thank you

I know where you coming from... I just got my first Apple desktop (mac mini server) and i have been asking myself the same question prior to my purchase. Macs are expensive especially when you're coming from Windows platform... We tend to do our own calculations on all the parts and components, and most of the time Macs are tagged with "apple tax".

To be really honest, Snow Leopard and Win7 are comparable. Both are equally fast, and both are decent platforms to work with. It all boils down to your preference. For me I got my Mac because i want to pickup something new, and I'm happy to use a Windows machine if you throw me one.

Don't think about "worth it", just treat it as a different user experience.

 

[bearcatrp]

Get a mini. You will be happy for years. Suggest at least 4gb memory though. You can use any keyboard, mouse and monitor. But you would want to get a Mac keyboard as you can learn and use keyboard short cuts. I use OS X exclusively for on line banking. No way would I trust anything Microsoft. Once you get it, set it up properly (security wise) and you shouldn't have any problems at all. The 2.4 should be good for you. I always go as big as I can so grabbed the 2.66. Also maxed my ram to 8gb from OWC. Go for the mini.

 

[Rapscallion]

Consider a refurb mini and save $100.00 or so...I know that you may think "its not new" but its checked over and has the same warrenty and sometimes comes with bonus add on's; I purchased a base mini and got 2x2gb ram upgrade free. My mini works great and looks brand new, no complaints at all.

 

[viperGTS]

Consider a refurb mini and save $100.00 or so...I know that you may think "its not new" but its checked over and has the same warrenty and sometimes comes with bonus add on's; I purchased a base mini and got 2x2gb ram upgrade free. My mini works great and looks brand new, no complaints at all.

Just checked on the apple website and there are no refurbs available
we are most likely going to purchase it through amazon as they dont add tax to the final price. However if they really are $100 off i will check when the time has come to finally purchase it.
I appreciate everyone's responses, thank you very much!
hopefully we will be comfortable with the transition from Windows to Mac OS X. it must be a whole new world in computing i assume

 

[bearcatrp]

The returns are a great deal. Comes with same warranty as new. Bought 2 Mac pro's this way. Never an issue. The minis go fast so suggest you have your credit card ready and check about every hour. I just wish apple would come out with a quad core mini. Maybe when sandy bridge comes out, apple will put one in it. The minis are great computers.

 

[Rapscallion]

Well if you act fast 2 of the non server type 2010 mini's just got added today, one 2.4 and one 2.66, hope you see this in time.

 

[viperGTS]

Well if you act fast 2 of the non server type 2010 mini's just got added today, one 2.4 and one 2.66, hope you see this in time.

yeah i saw it, the 2.4 GHz one is still available at the time i wrote this post. unfortunately we arent purchasing until late january or early february. thank you though! i will check periodically

 

[talmy]

Here's an alternative view to

Ok, so recently, our PC hard drive has started to fail on us. we keep getting "windows had a hard disk error" and whatnot. this is our 2nd pc that has failed on us, so we were wondering if we should switch to a mac mini? we mainly used it for heavy web usage (farmville, online banking, online shopping, social networking, flash gaming), iTunes, and viewing photos.

If it is just the hard drive failing, you can easily replace the drive yourself (providing you have media to install the OS) for well under $100. No reason to buy a new computer for what is essentially light (for the system) use. A new computer won't do web, iTunes or photo viewing any better.

 

[viperGTS]

Here's an alternative view to



If it is just the hard drive failing, you can easily replace the drive yourself (providing you have media to install the OS) for well under $100. No reason to buy a new computer for what is essentially light (for the system) use. A new computer won't do web, iTunes or photo viewing any better.

we were going to copy all of the files to a portable hard drive. the reason i considered a mac is because they might last a lot longer than a windows based PC. and we dont have any vista install CDs to install it again.

on another note: i hope you all have a safe and happy mew year!