Purchase Advice

[Philgr]

I currently have an aging PC and it time for replacment

What i dont know is which new mac to get,

i currently own a PPC Mini and love it, but i really want something with a bit more go, the mini is use for playing music and surfing the net only, if i want to do any work or photoshop i return to my aging PC and it drives me nuts,

So which machine, my usage is, basic photoshop, Loads of Excel, Word, powerpoint, occasional games, etc..

Common sense says a Imac, but the Mac Pro looks soooo tempting (and expensive )

Also sitting im my old PC are 2 * 78 gig SATA raptors and 2* 160 gig SATA Spinpoints which i know are not worth a great deal now but i would like to use them somehow.

If i got a Imac can i hook up my existing 20'' monitor to have 2 screens ?

 

[slackersonly]

For me this decision boils down to portability.
If you need a top line mac that can go with you frequently, get the mbp.
If not, save a good amount of $$ and get an iMac.
Consider refurbs.

 

[Makosuke]

If i got a Imac can i hook up my existing 20'' monitor to have 2 screens ?

Yes, you can.

Getting use out of those Raptors on an iMac is going to be somewhat harder, but you don't exactly sound like someone in serious need of a MacPro. Still, if you've got the cash, you can always RAID 0 (or 1) the two Raptors in it as a monster boot drive, which if nothing else would be pretty darned cool.