My first mac, suggestions?

[rtb]

I am new here, and new to mac world (does having a ipod count?).

I am wanting to get a mac because I will soon be working with macs in the IT field and want a machine to use at home to get a better feel of the OS and hardware.

I would really like to trade my laptop for a Mac mini on this forum or some other place.

Are the mac minis good? I am not looking for a power house machine, just a decent machine.

If anyone is interested in trading let me know. The laptop is a IBM x30, 512Megs of ram, wireless-b, 1.2ghz, and a docking station with a cd-rw/dvd rom drive. Hard drive is 40Gigs I believe.

 

[mad jew]

You can't trade here until you have 100 posts under your belt or in your pocket or up your nose or being clutched by your wife. As for the mini being good enough, that depends on what you want to use it for. I reckon the mini is fine for most users but the iMac offers more disk space and graphical grunt if that's needed.

Welcome to Macs.

 

[fivetoadsloth]

themac minis are nice but they will probably be updated soon. Id say eaither wai for the upgrade, get one refurbished or on ebay, or splurge and get a iMac (once that is upgraded) or if you want to stay with a portable the macbook would be a good machine. but for all purposes the macmini is a good machine, it was my first real mac i had used one but never had the money to buy one.

 

[Fotograffiti]

I say if at all possible for your first machine, I would go with an iMac. It has better reliability than the notebooks right now, and won't leave you wanting for more power like the Mac Mini could. I bought a 20 inch Imac and have had nothing but good things to say about it. It will be perfectly capable for whatever I need for quite awhile. My brother got a mac mini and it has worked ok for him although he could definitely use something with a little more power. We also had trouble hooking it up to a regular CRT monitor (wavy lines) but it works fine with the Samsung flat panel he got for it. If you absolutely need portability then a notebook is the way to go but if not I would definitely go with an iMac.

 

[FFTT]

Adding to the choir

Go for a 17" iMac Core Duo with at least 1 GB RAM

If your budget is tight, it's perfectly fine to go for a Core Duo iMac
refurb.

Since you're getting into IT, the Core Duo iMac will allow you to
run Mac OSX, Windows or Linux.

You can't go wrong and you'll be way ahead of all those MS Certified chaps who only know Windows.

 

[miles01110]

I also like the iMac- it's a solid computer for all-around use.

 

[netdog]

The Mini is definitely a very nice machine. The 20" iMac is fantastic.

Get 2GB of RAM for sure. Also wait to see what is announced before or at the outset of the Apple Expo in Paris on September 12th. Both the Mini and the iMac may receive updates, very probably to 64-bit Core 2 chips, and I would guess that they will be the same price as the current lineup.

 

[thworple]

Just my 2 pence worth - Mac Minis are lovely little creatures, and with an impending update, well worth the small wad of cash! Bought one for my Mum after convincing her to switch, and she loves the little blighter!

 

[lasuther]

If you have a laptop now, I would recommend sticking with one. The MacBook is a great machine and not to expensive. If you really want a desktop, the iMac 17" is worth the upgrade from the mini.

 

[prady16]

If you are looking for a notebook, buy the MacBook Pro and not the MacBook. The performance is much better (separate graphics card) and you get a bigger screen.

If you do not mind a desktop, you should go in the for base model of iMac. Also, get a good quality USB TV Tuner and your iMac should function as both a computer as well as a TV! All this for just about $1400 is not bad at all!

 

[CrackedButter]

Mine.