i am thinking of getting one for a christmas present to myself, and i want the cheapest one. i only do a little gaming, mostly small ones, and do a LOT of internet.
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is the mac mini a good buy?
- Thread starter fatandlazy11
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fatandlazy11 said:
For your stated uses, a 1.5GHz Core Solo Mac Mini would be a good buy fatandlazy11.
Just be sure to upgrade the Mac Mini with at least 1GB of RAM. Or go all out to 2GB (just be sure to buy 3rd party, such as http://www.datamem.com).
If you have a monitor already, the Mini Core Solo would probably do ya fine. If you don't, and are eligible for the education discount, you might want to check out the $899 iMac Apple just released.
yes, i already have a monitor and keyboard, although i am going to have to buy a USB mouse. (Unless i use the "puck" mouse with the 2 inch cord that came with my original imac) I am not eligible for a education discount, so i guess the intel core solo will do. Thanks!
fatandlazy11 said:
Do yourself a favor and buy yourself a nice USB mouse, don't force yourself to suffer using those "puck" mice.
I highly recommend the MX series of mice from logitech. I have a Logitech MX500 and I love it. That said it, and my keyboard, are soon to be replaced with this-
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E204LY/ref=nosim/104-5469725-3156756?n=172282
In my opinion, no. I qualify for an EDU discount, so that throws it off a bit (though you can always order online and not have to show ID), but between the difficulty of adding RAM myself, the features (included screen even if you don't need it, graphics card, faster processor) and the hard drive, the iMac is a much better deal than a Mini. The lowest-end MacBook is also a viable option.
By small games, what do you mean?
By small games, what do you mean?
milozauckerman said:
The iMac is a better buy in my opinion. But if you already have a LCD, a mouse, keyboard, and speakers, then the Mac Mini becomes a viable option (especially if on a budget or you just need a computer for mainly basic tasks such as the internet).
By small games, I mean, stuff like games from the late 90's to now. And sometimes the classics, like freeware you can downloaad of the web
I think the mini, even the solo model, is probably a good choice for you, but two things:
1) Do yourself a favor and spend the extra $100 to order it with 1GB from Apple, or if you have someone you know who's very handy with computers, have them install more RAM for you later (it's only really a good deal to buy the RAM yourself if you are going to the full 2GB). I say "very handy" because I just put RAM in one, and it is NOT easy--they're extremely tightly packed, and you wouldn't want a novice (or somebody who wasn't VERY careful) poking around in there.
2) Remeber that if you ever plan on burning DVDs it's a relatively modest $50 to upgrade to the DVD burner on the Solo model, and again based on the upgrade hassle, I'd recommend just buying it preinstalled.
1) Do yourself a favor and spend the extra $100 to order it with 1GB from Apple, or if you have someone you know who's very handy with computers, have them install more RAM for you later (it's only really a good deal to buy the RAM yourself if you are going to the full 2GB). I say "very handy" because I just put RAM in one, and it is NOT easy--they're extremely tightly packed, and you wouldn't want a novice (or somebody who wasn't VERY careful) poking around in there.
2) Remeber that if you ever plan on burning DVDs it's a relatively modest $50 to upgrade to the DVD burner on the Solo model, and again based on the upgrade hassle, I'd recommend just buying it preinstalled.