New Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
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Here is the deal... Im going to the Apple store in Mayfair Mall ( in Wawautosa) ...It'll be the first time i get to use a mac...well besides some old old old apple from the early 90's, or PearPC, or VNC...... Pear PC and VNC have shown me that osx is friggin amazing..
Right now I have a little over 200... my grandpa said he will match what ever i save up as a loan, Mind you im 14. I'm thinking of getting a mac mini... Yes there are probably goign to be new ones soon..Ill get the new one then if its not a media center or more expensive.... I really dont want to spend 1300 on a computer....(iMac) I like running dual monitors but i can live without tht..I'm thinking of getting a KVM swithc for my keyboard and mouse..So i can do with out dual monitors... But..Would a powermac g4 be better?! More expansion! I want to use iLife to its fullest..I mostly browse the net and IM...Listen to music... I occasionaly play around with photoshop.... I mean Im wanting to keep my windows box ... So really i could use the windows box for like intensive stuff..Converting video.... I'm just fed up with windows.. I mean i dont have any major problems...Its just boring.. IT looks like a 5 year old designed the GUI.. I want something that looks nice.. Please help me out..IM going insane debating on which mac to get! |
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Sounds like you indeed want a Mac mini. You haven't given any reason of why you would want or expansion capabilities.
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New Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
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Only thing i can think of though is line in..... I play guitar and it would be pretty fun to play with garageband.....I can always get a stackable usb hub/ external hard drive...
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I don't think you're going to have much fun recording guitar with line in. You'll want a USB-based adapter instead.
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
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griffin iMic?
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Los Angeles
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The Mac mini is probably your only choice you have since you don't want to spend a lot of money on a computer. Since you're using your computer for basic tasks, the mini should be great for what you want to do unless you want to play 720p or 1080p high definition Quicktime video content.
It is wise to wait until MWSF. By then, more info will be given regarding the path Apple will take with Intel. Then, you can make a more informed purchase decision. When comparing the resale value of PowerMac G4s against the price of a new mini, the practical advantages of a PowerMac are few: * max of 2GB RAM on the G4 vs. 1GB on the mini; * the ability to easily increase internal hard drive capacity; * the ability to upgrade the video card vs. no upgrade possible on the mini; * built-in modem on the G4 vs. no built-in modem on the mid and upper-end minis currently shipping; (the low-end mini has a built-in modem, but a USB modem has to be used on the others; its reliability is questionable) * PCI expansion slots on the G4 vs. no slots on the mini I may have missed other things to consider, but those points are the major items to consider. If any of those things are critical to you, look into a PowerMac. Keep in mind you'll probably end up paying more for a system that won't perform any better than a new mini in terms of processor and system bus speeds. One other thing to consider -- the PowerMac G4 and mini use a 32-bit processor. Consumer-level computers and operating systems are moving to 64-bit performance. If the mini is upgraded, it will receive an Intel chip, most likely with EM64T enabled. That will give you 64-bit capability in a value package. OS X 10.4 is great, but consider this -- OS 11 will be a reality one day. You are 14. Your desire to do more with your computer will grow as you get older. With the Intel processor, you'll get more life out of the computer before you'll have to replace it due to a change in your computing needs. |
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Selfish Heathen
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
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DON'T FALL FOR THE HYPE. The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting. |
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New Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
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I hate to disagree with BRAD, but I think the 64-bit cpu's do make a difference if for no other reason than their dual-core nature...I set my professor up last summer with a 4800 dual core, uh IBM (yeah yeah I know), with 2 gig's mem, dual NVDIA ultra's and raid 0 raptors and that thing runs circles around a G4 with equivalent memory.
To the dude that orignially posted...why not LEASE a mac. I really don't think you have enough to really get something good so why not just rent it...your school may also have discount programs (AKA the eMAC!!!), which is not that expensive and will do what you need. The one thing I do agree with Brad on is the memory issue...why drop $700-800 on a MACmini if it moves like a snail??? If you know how to install more memory, then shop around and definitely boost WHATEVER mac you buy with more mem. Peace:smokey: |
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Mac not MAC.
Brad not BRAD. You've got caps lock problems. |
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Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
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32+32=64
See, Yonah is 64 bit |
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Selfish Heathen
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
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Anandtech's initial tests have shown a dual-core Yonah (which is 32-bit) to be effectively as fast as the Athlon X2 at equivalent clock speed on the vast majority of tests. And the 64-bit X2 and has an on-die memory controller - something that the Yonah does not have. http://anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/sho...spx?i=2648&p=1 The things affecting general everyday CPU performance are just about everything else dealing with the CPU architecture. Pipeline length, # of integer and FP units, vector optimizations, OOE, branch prediction, etc. Take your pick. Quote:
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Edit: I blame watching the UF/Iowa game for my late reply... Go Gators! Edit 2: Oh crap! Sorry for the off-topic post. To the OP: Mac mini sounds like a good choice. You have your PC for heavy-duty chores if need be, so go with the mini which should do everything you've listed. Doesn't sound like you need the expansion capability of a PM. |
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Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
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Just while were at the 64 bit thing:
Would it have any advantages with future software? I can't imagine Word ever benefiting from it, but how about some of the "under the hood" parts of OS X or more CPU intensive apps? |
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Los Angeles
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But what you have to remember is that double the bits does not mean *double the speed*, it just means double the bits. So certain individual *large data* operations will be more effecient. In the most basic sense adding two huge integer numbers together can now be done twice as fast, and adding two *massive* floating point numbers together can be done faster... Also data can in theory be moved around faster.. But that does rely on the architecture supporting it... I am trying to remember which machine I worked on many moons ago that had 16 bit capabilities on chip, but only 8 in and out of the chip.. Making a farse of the whole thing as every other byte (in effect) had to queue up to get in and out of the processor! (EDIT: It's also worth bearing in mind that double-the-cores does not mean double the speed, for some similar reasons.. They may have to share certain parts of the on-chip architecture, as well as the data / address highways in and out of the processor unit - and that may or may not be done very effeciently depending on cost and manufacturing constraints....) 'Remember, measure life by the moments that take your breath away, not by how many breaths you take' Extreme Sports Cafe | ESC's blog | scratt's blog | @thescratt Last edited by scratt : 2006-01-04 at 04:43. |
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Los Angeles
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ಠ_ರೃ
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
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I think you simply aren't quite sure of what you're talking about and you need to realize that. Brad is scarily knowledgeable about these things and it's not easy to win an argument with him. 64-bit might matter more to consumers as RAM prices continue to fall and larger modules become available. Right now, getting over 4 GB of RAM is rather expensive and it's also difficult or impossible to do with most systems (since there are few consumer-oriented motherboards that have more than 4 RAM slots). 2 GB modules are emerging, but they cost a lot more than a pair of 1 GB modules so they will take a little while to catch on. Once you can get 4 GB modules for a reasonable price and 8 GB modules at a premium (basically 4x today's situation), that'll pave the way for greatly increased performance. If you have that much RAM you can put a lot more things in cache, so maybe programmers (especially OS programmers) will be able to greatly increase performance for people who have tons of RAM. For that sort of thing, a 64-bit processor is necessary, but at the moment they're only useful for a few select applications that can actually use more than 4 GB of RAM. |
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Here's a handy link (from a Windoze site no less!!)...
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The-difference-between-64-and-32-bit-processors Probably the last processor you’ll have to buy for many years to come. However, the above statement I do not agree with.. By the time all the things Luca has talked about have come to fruition, and OSs have been brought up to speed to take advantage of 64 bit processors I think that some of us with our original G5s may find that our hardware, and main processors are actually a little too old to take advantage of all the new stuff coming out... There is just too much developement, at too faster pace, and now too many possible chip sets to support.. The Intel switch is going to complicate that for a start.. So 64 bit Intel may be worth doing, but I am not sure how long the PPC G5s will be supported fully. So we'll still end up having to upgrade either machine, or by buying some of the G4 style speed-up-your-mac bolt on goodies... 'Remember, measure life by the moments that take your breath away, not by how many breaths you take' Extreme Sports Cafe | ESC's blog | scratt's blog | @thescratt Last edited by scratt : 2006-01-04 at 07:46. |
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That article is very incomplete. It doesn't explain at all that the true performance benefit of running applications in 64-bit mode on an x64 (AMD64/EM64T) CPU has nothing to do with being 64-bit, but with more registers being available.
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'Remember, measure life by the moments that take your breath away, not by how many breaths you take' Extreme Sports Cafe | ESC's blog | scratt's blog | @thescratt |
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Formerly Roboman, still
awesome Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
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Back on topic...
Go for the Mac mini, kid. It's crazy small and you'll love it. I wish Apple made the Mac mini when I was your age, when I first wanted a Mac. I actually just got my first Mac (an iMac) in November. After falling in love with every iMac iteration thus far, it had to be my first Mac...even though I'm sure I'll regret not waiting if an Intel iBook shows up next week. and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong |
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Veteran Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
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