[.Hack]

ok, I know ya'll might be biased here, but I really need an honest opinion. Ok, we just got small card in the mail from dell giving us an offer on a $632 dell inspirion... but on the other hand, I could get a mac mini, but I don't have the money for a monitor (and i don't have an extra one to use here at home... ). So what would ya'll do? Go for the dell laptop, and wait to get a mac? Or should I just go for the mac? My reasons for hesitating are that I think it might be best to hold out on the mac until I become a senior or leave for college, the dell could suffice for a while... I dunno, what would ya'll do? (Luca, you might be able to help )

[Paul]

what are you planning on doing with the computer.

[usurp]

the question is more like Mac or Windows and to that I would say Mac for sure.

[.Hack]

It'd mostly be for school work (i.e. reasearch papers, presentations, etc...), instant messaging, and internet surfing. Nothing heavy... but I've really been wanting my own computer for a long time, and a mac would be great (I REALLY have been wanting a mac), but I can totally see how it wouldn't suit my needs until college (I wanna persue a career in graphics design). So I'm just kinda torn on my decision.

[Brad]

Papers, IM, and web surfing? You sound like the perfect candidate for a new Mac.

How old are you? How many more years do you have until college? You could always pick one up now, eBay it later, and grab a newer one just before college.

[wuf]

i would go ahead and get the mac too......you don't have to buy a pricey apple cinema display to use with a mini.....you CAN find cheap monitors out there......CRT's are bigger, bulkier and heavier than flatscreens, but you can find them pretty cheap.......

my 2 cents....

-wuf

[p-trick]

I wouldn't go with Dell unless you're prepared to go the Linux-way...

Mac is just the best way to get a unix-based system.

[.Hack]

I want clear up a possible misunderstanding really quick! I know the mac mini wouldn't suffice for a graphics design job (right!?). My plan would either to be, get the dell and then buy a powerbook for college, or buy a mini and then buy a powerbook for college. The mini would be my first mac but if I was to buy a cheap monitor, it'd probably be around oh, say $700 (if that's wrong, correct me). And the only reason I'm even considering this dell laptop is b/c it's so cheap ($632) compared to some other deals we've been looking at recently... I'm only a freshman (I know that thinking of college at this age might seem cheesy, but I'm a spaz like that lol) and I know that I couldn't use a powerbook now, and the mac mini would be great. It'd just cost a bit more than the laptop... Am I making any sense lol, I feel like I'm rambling! Anyways, any more suggestions?

[Paul]

wait... this is a $650 dell LAPTOP?!
save your money.

[Quagmire]

Save Money and get eMac. Comes with moniter, kb, and mouse. Only thing you need to add is 256 MB of more ram and ae if you have wireless.

[ast3r3x]

Just a note in high school I used my powerbook the last two years I was there, and my 'powerpoints' with Keynote were UN-BEATABLE.

Having such a good looking presentation often helps the grade.

If you get a mini, you'd have to get RAM and a monitor.

[.Hack]

Originally Posted by ast3r3x Just a note in high school I used my powerbook the last two years I was there, and my 'powerpoints' with Keynote were UN-BEATABLE. Having such a good looking presentation often helps the grade. If you get a mini, you'd have to get RAM and a monitor.

Well the powerbook will have to be bought w/ my own money (parentals rule) but they're willing to buy me this dell, but I haven't even told them about the mini yet... So the reason I'm not going to get a powerbook is b/c it's WAY outta my price range at the moment . And the whole RAM and monitor part is what I'm worried about, I don't want my parents to be all "well then it will be more expensive, yada yada yada..."

[HHogan]

Why not buy a used PB with Applecare still on it ?

[Brad]

Originally Posted by .Hack I want clear up a possible misunderstanding really quick! I know the mac mini wouldn't suffice for a graphics design job (right!?).

Why do you say that? If my almost five-year-old desktop G4 can handle Photoshop, et al. just fine, so should the Mac mini (if not better).

The Mac mini is not a bad computer. Sure, it's underpowered next to the G5 towers, but those G5s are workhorse beasts!

I'm only a freshman (I know that thinking of college at this age might seem cheesy, but I'm a spaz like that lol) and I know that I couldn't use a powerbook now

Hey! There's nothing wrong with looking ahead; that's a good thing! Most kids your age can't see past next Tuesday or at least don't see the relative importance of anything past next Tuesday.

I still say get the Mac.

Well the powerbook will have to be bought w/ my own money (parentals rule) but they're willing to buy me this dell, but I haven't even told them about the mini yet... So the reason I'm not going to get a powerbook is b/c it's WAY outta my price range at the moment

If you really want a notebook, have you considered the iBooks? The Mac mini is basically the iBook without a screen, keyboard, and battery. Sure, it's going to cost you a lot more, but that's the price for portability.

If even the iBook is out of your price range, I'd still say get the Mac mini. You won't be using a notebook much in high school unless you're attending a really cutting edge high school anyway. Wireless internet? Not likely. Online lecture notes? Not likely. Unless you're faster and more proficient at typing than writing, the notebook would be pretty pointless in class.

[Ryan]

I'm a high school freshman also, so maybe the route I took might suit you.

I got a refurbished 12" Powerbook from Apple. Sure, it wasn't the fastest, but I would rather have the Superdrive and wireless than and extra 150Mhz. Right now, Apple has a 1Ghz iBook G4 refurb on their website for $800. They have a 1.25Ghz eMac refurb for $650. Or even a refurb eMac with a Superdrive and 80 gig HDD for $700.

Check that out. They have some good deals.

[stoo]

Unless you're faster and more proficient at typing than writing, the notebook would be pretty pointless in class.

Plus the RATTLOR effect would be quite irritating.

[Zodiac]

Get the mini. I predict that several problems will happen with the laptop.

Macs are better in a way that cannot even be expressed unless you have your own.

[FallenFromTheTree]

I would recommend either a Mac mini with a 17"WS monitor or an iBook.
(check the Apple Store RED TAG sales)

Either one will hold you quite well til you're ready for college.

[ALDER259]

I say go with the mini.

[judeobscure]

On the floor next to me lie 3 dead Dell's all purchased within the past 7 years. This past September the last of the Dell's died. I was all set to buy another when I caught sight of a grape iMac at a tag sale. The price was right, and so was the timing so I bought the iMac. The iMac is far from lightning fast but it is reliable and I expect that the new Mac mini I am using now will be just as reliable. Dell? What the hell was I thinking?!

[Kyros]

Cheap pc laptops look good on paper, but the quality is sickening.

Photoshopping should be fine on the mini. No really intensive work, but I can do a lot more than you would expect with photoshop on my 450 mHz cube. The mini is 3 times as fast, so I'm sure it will be quite impressive. If you can afford it, a cheap external 7200 RPM firewire drive would also get around the slow HD problem, but that's a problem the Dell would also have.

[curiousuburb]

Don't just count the box cost, consider the software each machine ships with...

The Mini has iLife and a trial version of Office for 30 days, but iWork is only $79.
It has an actual graphics chip with 32MB of VRAM for limited gaming if you want.
If you save and go for the superdrive version, you have all you need to make DVDs.

The Dell probably doesn't ship with anything comparable in terms of iLife,
likely has no FireWire, no DVI-out, no DVD burning option, shared system RAM for graphics (no GPU)...
but you do get instant availability to more than 71,000 viruses with the Dell... bundled at times.

Mac over Win for OS stability/security, anytime... the Dell is a fool's bargain.

A cheap 17" CRT can be found for your Mini for under a Benjamin, (better WS Flat monitor later)
but OS X's productivity and peace of mind can't be bought for the Dell at any price.

[Wraven]

.Hack,
I second curiousuburb's points. My Mac mini is a sweet machine (now that I added a SuperDrive to it). Photoshop SHOULD run fine on it, because I have used the Hell out of iMovie and iDVD the last 3 days since I got it back from getting it upgraded, and it has handled those programs like a champ (again, hard drive being the limiting factor, but you can always get a fast FireWire drive). Make sure to upgrade to 1GB of RAM - trust me on this.

[admactanium]

Originally Posted by .Hack I want clear up a possible misunderstanding really quick! I know the mac mini wouldn't suffice for a graphics design job (right!?).

so many people seem to underestimate the power of these machines because they're the "bottom of the line." i've done so many graphics projects on my old 1Ghz Ti powerbook i can't even count them all.

i've retouched all the images in a many-multi-million dollar multi-page wall street journal insert on that powerbook. i've also edited movies and done after effects visuals for corporate videos.

i probably can't even figure the multiple of times i've earned on that powerbook compared to its purchase price. probably something close to 20x.

[torifile]

What decent dell laptop can you get for $600? The one you get offered doesn't qualify. There are no decent laptops cheaper than the iBook.

[.Hack]

Originally Posted by torifile What decent dell laptop can you get for $600? The one you get offered doesn't qualify. There are no decent laptops cheaper than the iBook.

I'd say that this dell is decent, I'm a windows user, and although I'm not a huge fan of windows, I can tolerate it. We already have a dell, and it has performed quite well. That's why I call it decent... but compared to the iBook, dell has a loooong way to go!

[torifile]

Originally Posted by .Hack I'd say that this dell is decent, I'm a windows user, and although I'm not a huge fan of windows, I can tolerate it. We already have a dell, and it has performed quite well. That's why I call it decent... but compared to the iBook, dell has a loooong way to go!

How much does it weigh? VRAM? HD size? Battery life? Available ports? Wireless?

No bargain basement PC laptop could be considered decent, IMHO. Forget the fact that it uses windows.

[Luca]

This is turning from a purchasing advice thread to a petty debate on the meaning of the word "decent." Torifile is saying that "decent" is a synonym for "good," while .Hack must think that "decent" means "good enough." There's a big difference.

[ASZ993]

Originally Posted by torifile How much does it weigh? VRAM? HD size? Battery life? Available ports? Wireless? No bargain basement PC laptop could be considered decent, IMHO. Forget the fact that it uses windows.

I looked on Dell's website: There is no wireless, uses shared VRAM, has only USB, VGA, modem, and Ethernet ports

• 2.2Ghz Celeron
• 15" XGA screen
• 256 MB RAM
• 40GB HD
• CD burner/DVD-ROM combo drive
• WordPerfect software and Money

You really wouldn't want the Dell laptop, now that we have some specifics.
What's your budget for this machine, .Hack?

[torifile]

Originally Posted by Luca This is turning from a purchasing advice thread to a petty debate on the meaning of the word "decent." Torifile is saying that "decent" is a synonym for "good," while .Hack must think that "decent" means "good enough." There's a big difference.

It's not petty at all. If I were to give advice to someone, I'd want them to be sure what they were getting was worth getting. It's not just about getting a "decent" price.