[pkatzman]

Well, I posted a month or two ago about my decision to either buy a Mac mini or wait until MWSF for whatever possible Mactels. Now, however, the situation is a little more complicated.

Over the holidays, I came into a little money. Long story short, I have enough to get one of the new 17" iMacs. Now, I want a computer that will easily last me until college (hopefully I can get a lapotp as a graduation present.) I'll be doing the standard stuff like spreadsheets, text documents, maybe presentations, music management, photo organization, etc. However, I also want to do some music recording/manipulation, video converting, light video editing and maybe website creation/management.

I know an iMac can handle this stuff, as well as a mini (although not as well or quickly). The question in my mind is whether to save money or make sure I have a computer I'll be satisfied with for 2 1/2 years. Right now, I'm leaning towards the latter.

Any advice is appreciated.

EDIT: Also, is it worth it for the $75 upgrade to the 250GB hard drive? Right now I've got an extra internal 120 that I use with my PeeCee and it's almost full of videos (both source and converted for watching on my Palm) and iTunes music. Maybe I should just put it in an enclosure and use that too?

[PB PM]

If your going for the iMac, I'd say its safe to get one now without worrying about a new one coming out in a few weeks. The Mac Mini, although silently upgraded a few months ago, may well be updated again in early January, possibly making it more attractive than the iMac, for those who don't have a lot of cash to throw around.

[pkatzman]

Thanks, but that wasn't really my concern. The only redeeming features (to me) of the mini are it's portability (it'd be nice to be able to bring my video library to someone's house) and the price. Only problem is, I think I might find myself dissatisfied with it in a year or so.

Also, waiting until MWSF isn't an option now. I'm about ready to take an axe to my Dell...

[MCQ]

Seriously? You can't wait 2-3 weeks?

[PB PM]

Hold on, it may be a painful death for the Dell, but you may thank yourself for waiting if a great Intel based Mac Mini comes out.

[pkatzman]

Originally Posted by MCQ Seriously? You can't wait 2-3 weeks?

I'd much prefer not to, as school starts back in less than 2 weeks, and I have a lot more time now to transition everything over than I will then. Plus, they won't necessarily be available and shipping by then, if they are announced.

Originally Posted by PB PM Hold on, it may be a painful death for the Dell, but you may thank yourself for waiting if a great Intel based Mac Mini comes out.

Well, it'll be a painful death either way for my Black Box From Hell™. Again, you assume a Intel Mini is announced. And shipping. And I can get an order in through all the traffic on the Apple website. And it has minor or no problems for what might essentially be a Rev. A device. And I don't take an axe to my BBFH™ first.

On the other hand, I just reinstalled XP (yes, the OS From Hell™) so maybe I could cope for a bit.

That said, it's hard to resist the iMac: I need a new monitor (definitely LCD, and the ones in the iMacs are good, I've heard), mouse, keyboard and was considering getting a webcam. How nice, the iMac has all of those.

Urgh, you guys are making this hard for me. But in a good way.

[daMACdaddy]

If you're in High school I would definitely get the iMAC; you can video conference with all the hunnies...f*ck that work sh*t, really.

[FFL]

In your situation, I'd go ahead and get the iMac with the HD upgrade.

Buy a 3rd party RAM upgrade.

Enjoy the next 3+ years with a great machine.

[pkatzman]

Originally Posted by FFL In your situation, I'd go ahead and get the iMac with the HD upgrade. Buy a 3rd party RAM upgrade. Enjoy the next 3+ years with a great machine.

Thanks, but now there's another complication. It would be nice to have a laptop to be able to take all my files, etc. between parents' houses, so I think I'm gonna wait until MWSF. Should be fun.