Core Solo okay for mom?

[machick]

Hi,
As I stated before, I'm fairly new in the Mac world and even more in the dark about this whole Intel thing - which is why I came to these message boards! My mom, who doesn't know a thing about computers, finally wants to purchase one and has asked me for advice. I would like to buy her a Mac Mini but am unsure of which to purchase - Core Solo or Core Duo?. I look at the posts on these boards and it seems as if many think that Core Solo sucks in comparison to Intel Core Duo.

I was wondering, though, would it be okay to get my mom the lower-end Mac Mini with the Core Solo if she wants to use it for mundane tasks (Excel, Word, Safari, etc.) but also wants to run Photoshop (when it comes out in universal form) and GarageBand (don't ask...)? Would Photoshop and Garageband even run okay on the Mini?

Any insight would be much appreciated!

[Ebby]

I've never used GarageBand, so I don't know about that, but Photoshop will run, just slower than other macs. It should be fine for simple edits since it doesn't sound like your mom will be using 16-bit images, 20 layers, blending effects, and image masks like some of us pro users do. Photoshop is one of those programs that can run quite well on a 333Mhz Beige G3 for small tasks, yet bring a Dual 2Ghz G5 to its knees if you need it to.

MS Office will run fine. The biggest weakness for the mini is CPU intensive 3D games. I won't go into details, but if you have the slightest notion to run Unreal Tournament, best get an iMac.

[GladToBeHere]

As a rule of thumb, the faster the processor at purchase, the greater the longevity. But, if a user only uses email, some word processing, minor photo stuff, it doesn't really matter as much. I have a number of old Macs-- one at 400 Mhz that runs things just fine.

If the extra $ isn't an option, get the duo. For a while, it'll probably be more than she needs, but in a few years' time, it could be a good thing.

[GladToBeHere]

Oh, and one more thing...

My mom (72 years old) got a Mac through me and initially said, "What am I going to do with this thing?" Now, she's surprisingly savvy on it, largely because the Mac is easy to use. You may want to consider that your mom will develop interests beyond her current interests because she'll find it easy to do so.

Heck, happened to me!

[machick]

Hey,
Thanks for the advice everyone. Gladtobehere, the possibility of her expanding interests is certainly something to think about since Macs are such great machines. If she can fork out the extra money, I will tell her that the Core Duo is probably best. I was hoping that, should she be limited in funds, that a Core Solo would work for her, and it sounds like it will!

Thanks again for the input, everyone!

[curiousuburb]

In order of most bang for the buck, her "extra cash" might be better spent on:

1) RAM
(though its cheaper to buy good 3rd party RAM from crucial/newegg/etc than pay Apple's premium). D.I.Y. installation guides are out there, but if you're not technically inclined, you might find a reseller who'll bump it up for you for little cost.

2) A nice DVI LCD monitor (ideally widescreen)
Your primary environment for daily computer use. Although sometimes you might throw the output to TV (especially with FrontRow), the bulk of a user's time is in front of the same set of pixels. Don't skimp on quality.

If the Core Duo is in your upgrade list, then you'll already be getting more drive space and a DL-SuperDrive capable of burning DVDs and anything below them on the optical hierarchy. If not, then those items might be additional options, but they could be added later as externals for less.

YMMV.

Best of luck either way.

[machick]

Hey,
That's a really good point you made, and it's one that's now on the top of my list of things to consider

Thanks!

[neiltc13]

You might get on better having a look round some stores to see if they're discounting the G5 iMacs. She'd get much, much better performance with Photoshop (why does a computer noob want PS anyway?) and a free monitor to boot.

[psmith2.0]

(why does a computer noob want PS anyway?)

We're all "noobs" at one point, aren't we? And many of us knew what we wanted to get into before we had our own computer. I know I did, from using Macs at school. I knew I wanted to get more into Photoshop, etc. So yeah, I was a green "noob"...but I desired those apps very much anyway.

Sure, she might want to start with Elements for $99 to get her feet wet...but plenty of noobs have ideas, goals, dreams or plans, just like any of us long-timers.

I second the idea about the iMac...

[Brave Ulysses]

Before January, all apple products but the PowerMac used single processors. Now that we have had the gift of dual core processors at the consumer product level everyone seems to have this misconception that a single core is no longer enough.

Strange.

An Intel Core Solo will do what you desire fine.

[turbulentfurball]

Before January, all apple products but the PowerMac used single processors. Now that we have had the gift of dual core processors at the consumer product level everyone seems to have this misconception that a single core is no longer enough.

Strange.

An Intel Core Solo will do what you desire fine.

Very very good point!

To further that point, A G4 would also do these tasks. Up until January every Mac had a PPC chip. Now Intel Macs have arrived it doesn't mean that the PPCs are not good enough for tasks such at Office/Photoshop etc.

[machick]

The reason my mom wants to run Photoshop is that, even though her children are in college and out of the house, she can't seem to shake her old ways of having to take pictures and scrapbook everything - she's always making us send her pictures out to my family by email and stuff like that. She may not be very computer savvy, but I have no doubt that, with time, she'll be able to figure out Photoshop. Besides, she needs a program she can grow into.

As for why she needs GarageBand...I'm still not clear on that one!

Anyway, the G5 iMac idea is a great one. I'll probably do some looking around this weekend to see what kind of deals I can get on one. I'm one of those people who were guilty of thinking that the PPC Macs are now somehow subpar, but coming to this forum always manages to bring me back to reality!

Thanks again, everyone! I really appreciate the advice.

[Dave]

As for why she needs GarageBand...I'm still not clear on that one!
It's cause she wants to start a Punk Rawk band. In her garage.

[curiousuburb]

If she's looking for a digital scrapbook, spend a few minutes showing her the latest iPhoto (http://www.apple.com/ilife/iphoto/) (v6 if iLife '06, if not v5). Or the quick tour (http://www.apple.com/ilife/quicktour/iphoto/).

iPhoto may be more than enough for the average digital photo collector who wants minor tweaks, nice print output, and shared albums/online slideshows. Gajillions of photos or a more demanding need to edit them, you go up the chain...

Elements is a great starter if she doesn't want high-end print output in CMYK or an overwhelming amount of options if she's still growing into it (whereas, from Elements she can always move up a grand to the full PhotoShop).

If she wants to play with painterly effects and just be creative, she might try something fun like the free tool ArtRage (http://www.artrage.com/artrage.html)

There are lots of fun tools in the OS and iLife... the fun starts cheaply and can get bigger and $$ with pro 3rd party tools.

Baby steps.