What Mac should I buy now for around £1,000 new or old

[LGster]

Hello! To cut a long story short I’m going to get some funding to buy a Mac, and need to buy it as soon as I get the money, which will be next week. However, I need advice about what to buy. I work in audio, graphic design and do a bit of video, so need something with some decent power but that's around the £1,000 mark.

I'm sort of asking two questions here:
1. What would you buy now which would suit my requirements and would last?
2. What would do me for the moment and hold its price until the new MacBook Pro/iMac comes out?

I'm considering all options: MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac Mini... just feel confused by all the options so thought I'd get your views on it!

Thank you all!

 

[ruka.snow]

Mac mini gives the most bang for buck and you can give it more RAM later. A iMac for the £1000 is mostly money spent on screen and they don't have built in SSD's as standard.

 

[LGster]

Mac mini gives the most bang for buck and you can give it more RAM later. A iMac for the £1000 is mostly money spent on screen and they don't have built in SSD's as standard.

Yeah I have been considering the Mac Mini. What config of Mac Mini would you recommend for my needs/price range? Will I be ok without an eGPU as I don't want to go down that route?

 

[Fishrrman]

One more vote for the Mini.

Don't worry about an eGPU. Not yet.
Your concerns are processor, drive size, RAM.

I'd suggest at least the i5 CPU. i7 is best, but if you have limited funds, you may want to put them towards the drive and RAM instead.

Get at least the 256gb SSD. 512gbSSD is better.

The base level of RAM is 8gb.
These days, that's getting to be "towards the low end", because 1.5gb of the Mini's RAM is gobbled up by the integrated GPU.

I got mine with 16gb installed from the factory. I didn't want to have to open it up, as installing RAM into the 2018 Mini is something of a job and it's all too easy to break something while doing it.

Final thought:
If money is an issue, consider buying from the Apple Refurbished page (that's what I did).
Be aware that you have to keep monitoring it continuously, visit at least 3-4 times a day.
And if the configuration you want shows up, be ready to jump on it, because it won't be there very long!

 

[hobowankenobi]

If you go used, look for a Mini with a SSD, or a good price on one with an HD and budget to install your own SSD and RAM (if you are handy and up for it.)

Here is the 2014 drive replacement process.

If you don't want to be bothered or challenged with the upgrade surgery...then yes, shop for a Mini with a SSD and 16GB of RAM to get the longest usable life.

If it were me, I would go SSD regardless of size for the OS, and add external storage or a NAS.

No matter which model Mac...only SSD is acceptable now. Any HD as a boot drive will be frustrating and (for most folks) unacceptable performance from about 10.13 and newer OSes. Apple has been steadily optimizing the OS and file system for Solid State storage for years. Honestly...they should not even sell Macs with HDs as the primary boot drive anymore.

 

[LGster]

Thank you both so much! I'm definitely going to get at least 16GB of ram and may upgrade at a later date. How much difference will the i5 vs i7 make?

 

[The_Interloper]

Amazon UK currently has the “new” Mac mini with 6-core i5 and 512gb SSD for £1051, almost £50 off. That’s a decent saving that could be put towards, say, 16gb RAM (a TimeTec 16gb kit on Amazon is currently £57).

 

[ruka.snow]

Yeah I have been considering the Mac Mini. What config of Mac Mini would you recommend for my needs/price range? Will I be ok without an eGPU as I don't want to go down that route?

I use the i5 and my fiancé used the i3 and we have i7 at work. Honestly the i3 is really strong in these things and all of them are silent. For RAM, as much as you can afford. The 8GB base spec is all but pointless, but you might not need the 64 GB+ I crave. Good thing with a bit of patience you can upgrade the wee hing. I haven't hit a need for a eGPU yet, but it is on my agenda for games... or a PS5.


Also I got mine from Very for £100-£200 less than Apple want for it and on BNPL 12 months at 0%. If you will pay them on time it is a good way to buy it. I have just been throwing a £100 a month onto the 'specific' balance and am currently due them the last £100 on payday.

 

[Spock]

Going to give another vote for the Mac mini and you definitely want to stay away from buying a new iMac at this point with strong rumors pointing to a new release soon.