More Apple v. PC - specific question

Here's the deal: I have about $1300 +- $100 to spend on a complete system. I want a good screen for photo editing (19"?) and the power to run CS2 and Bridge smoothly (1gig+ ram). Also, my work requires Cytrix to run Windows programs from home. SO, WWMD?

I am interested in a Mac, but it looks like my only bet is a Mac mini (1.5 or 1.6 Ghz?), with RAM upgrade from RamJet and maybe a third-party monitor. But then can I run Parallel or some program for the PC aps? Is this really that much better for photos? Can I get a decent 19 flat monitor for around $300?

Or should I just drop $1400 on a smokin' Dell desktop with the ultrabright screen and stay out of mac land for another few years?

Thoughts?

Its over your price range by a bit, but if you're working with large images or other oversized files, I'd try to put some extra scratch together and get this machine

Thats the level you want to be on for photo editing and CS2 if possible, esspecially if you think there is any chance you might be interested in dabbling in some video in the future. The mini would work (they are impressive little machines), but will bog down with extra large files and a lot of open programs. As will an ibook or anything else in that range. Although the PC is cheaper, you're too close to affording a serious MAC to not make the switch.

intelMini is a good choice,if you dont need/want a intel iMac type of headset.
To Mini you can change the processor to a merom (from core duo to core 2 duo) if you are tech savy to try that,upping the performance quite a bit.
But,i guess,you would have to be a bit freakish to do that...

Or.
iMac should be quite close to your price range,eh? That could be the deal for you. Get the box now,and get the extra memory few weeks later when you have the money.Parallels for running windows costs you some bucks on the top of that.But that should be "the" program for windows aps,at least is seems to be more popular than bootcamp around here.




Aaaaaand you apparently can get some very good deals from apple´s Refufb page,so that could be worthwile to check out?

Ty, Bossass's machine is def. tempting - but unfortunately I won't have the $$ until mid-Sept. or early-Oct. so I am thinking it will be gone. But if it's still around, who knows.

Meat - merom? Ummm, that probably won't happen (seeing as I have no idea what you are talking about).

The iMac looks cool but I like the idea of controlling the monitor quality - how are iMac monitors?

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Originally Posted by yesIsaidyes

Ty, Bossass's machine is def. tempting - but unfortunately I won't have the $$ until mid-Sept. or early-Oct. so I am thinking it will be gone. But if it's still around, who knows.

Meat - merom? Ummm, that probably won't happen (seeing as I have no idea what you are talking about).

The iMac looks cool but I like the idea of controlling the monitor quality - how are iMac monitors?

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Apple monitors are generally top notch.

If you won't have the $$$ until Sept or Oct you may not have to worry about Merom. Cause more than likely you'll get one anyway at that point. ;)

/\/\/\ So I take there are going to be some big changes in the next couple of months? Ok, waiting...

maybe bossass's system will be worth even less by then... :)

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Originally Posted by yesIsaidyes

/\/\/\ So I take there are going to be some big changes in the next couple of months? Ok, waiting...

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They'll be migrating from 32-bit to 64-bit processors accross the board. The ManMini and Mac Book might be an exception to this for a while. But the iMac and MacBook Pro should go 64bit in the next 1-2 months.

For most people 32-bit to 64-bit isn't a big deal right now or for the next year or so; but it's nice to have.

The main reason to wait for Apple to transition from Yonah (32) to Merom (64) is because you'll get a nice little performance increase in Merom. The 64 bitness is just gravy in case you end up needing it down the line.

Another reason to wait is because the iMac might get Conroe instead of Merom. Conroe's a kickass processor.

That said, bossas' machine is pretty damn nice and won't be obsolete for a while. Very tempting...very tempting...

Recent intelmac convert here, running bootcamp dualbooting.

How about a 20" Imac for what ya wanna do?

http://www.zestuff.com/images/d_71.jpg

Yes,

Fuck the Dell desktop. Go apple, you will not be sorry. I'd steer clear of the minis, but an iMac would be a great option for you. Here's what you do. Get a iMac 17". The price is $1299. Do you got to school? Order it online to AK (free shipping), through an education website. $100 off. So, $1199. Also, through Sept 14 you can get a free ipod nano 2gb (after rebate). Get the ipod and keep it, or sell it for like $170 on craigslist or ebay and put that towards the computer.

The new iMacs have DVI out. So with a $19 adapter (mini-dvi to dvi), you can hook up another moniter. Hold off until you have a bit more money, or right now you can get a Dell**** 20 inch widescreen for about $367 shipped. A second moniter on the iMac acts in an extended desktop mode. So you would have two work spaces (ie. your internet open on the iMac and your photoshop open on the monitor, it works really slick).

*****These are the only good thing Dell makes. The LCDs in the widescreen 20" and 24" and 30" Dells are EXACTLY the same LG LCDs as in the Apple Cinema displays. While they don't look quite as good, they are significantly cheaper AND have more hookup options. Apple is DVI only. Dell is DVI, VGA, Component. So, you can hook up a DVD player or Playstation or TV tuner to the Dell as well as the computer and cycle through imputs with the push of a button.

Look at dealmac.com for good deals on these: (notice the good deal on the Samsung below. EDIT: You can get a good 19" flat LCD for $200ish very easy, search dealmac)

http://dealmac.com/deals/Dell-Ultra-...ed/129234.html

Article on Dell vs. Apple Displays:

http://www.anandtech.com/displays/sh...spx?i=2400&p=2

Also, look at the Sale section for refurbs on Macs on apples website.

www.store.apple.com (click on red "save" tag--no imacs currently)

^ Listen to this man.

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Originally Posted by bossass

*****These are the only good thing Dell makes. The LCDs in the widescreen 20" and 24" and 30" Dells are EXACTLY the same LG LCDs as in the Apple Cinema displays.

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Actually they are not exactly the same..

Apparently they have the same panels,but apple uses a bit different backlighting,thus resulting in a tad different kind of picture.
None the less,they can be considered as same kind of panels for most users.
And the dells have way better variety of connectors in their displays compared to apple.
So for better bang for a buck,dell.

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Originally Posted by Meathelmet

Actually they are not exactly the same..

Apparently they have the same panels,but apple uses a bit different backlighting,thus resulting in a tad different kind of picture.
None the less,they can be considered as same kind of panels for most users.
And the dells have way better variety of connectors in their displays compared to apple.
So for better bang for a buck,dell.

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Right, there are some slight picture differences. The article I linked above rates the Dell comparable or better in most categories except a couple. I actually have a cinema display, but I think if I buy again it will be the dell. And $370 vs $699 (or even $599 with student discount) is a no-brainer. You can almost get two for the same price.

Fuck getting a mac, and fuck dell. Take advantage of the fact that with PCs you can put your own system together. Here's a good start:

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/guides/...le.php/3607756

but since you have a few hundred dollars more to spend you could put together something even better. Be a man, build your own.

now i feel stupid for having just bought a macbook pro. fack me.

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Originally Posted by seldon

now i feel stupid for having just bought a macbook pro. fack me.

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Why, that's a great machine?

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Originally Posted by Big Blue

Fuck getting a mac, and fuck dell. Take advantage of the fact that with PCs you can put your own system together. Here's a good start:

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/guides/...le.php/3607756

but since you have a few hundred dollars more to spend you could put together something even better. Be a man, build your own.

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Good idea. Then you can deal with a handful of companies for customer service when shit goes wrong-which it will-instead of one. ;)

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Originally Posted by bossass

Why, that's a great machine?

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I don't know - I certainly don't need the 64-bit machine for anything I do (web browsing, aim, outlook, occaisonal counter-strike) but I still feel dumb for having bought a computer 20 days before a better one for the same price comes out. eh, such is life.

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Originally Posted by seldon

I don't know - I certainly don't need the 64-bit machine for anything I do (web browsing, aim, outlook, occaisonal counter-strike) but I still feel dumb for having bought a computer 20 days before a better one for the same price comes out. eh, such is life.

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Don't feel dumb. You'll get plenty of life out of that machine.

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Originally Posted by Big Blue

but since you have a few hundred dollars more to spend you could put together something even better. Be a man, build your own.

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Actually, in the case of a MacPro Apple's volume discounts with its suppliers negate the normal price advantage of a homebuilt machine. The MacPro is downright cheap. Not to mention, a homebuilt machine can't run OS X.

check out the westinghouse 19" flat sceen @ bestbuy, currently 229.99. my buddy got one and it's very nice , not hd but still good. might not work out for photo and video if you want high quality, but killer price for 19"

I'm running parallels on a MacBookPro and it rocks. I can't think of a reason to mess w/bootcamp. Bootcamp requires a Windows XP SP2 install CD whereas for $80 you get parallels which can run any old version of Windows you have laying around.

But in terms of Citrix - that works pretty damn well in Firefox for OS X.

Given what you're looking for and what others here have said - I think the iMac is the cleanest solution for you. I've bought 3 macs from the Apple Sale refurb page and always saved good money and gotten a great machine. Check it out.

Buy a dell? Build your own? Fuck that. Would you pay $ for a headache?

I am thinking iMac now - turns out the 17" has pretty much the same visible pixels as a Dell 19" screen and the IQ is better (plus so is the graphics card). I ran a comparison between the iMac 20" (which is a big screen compared to the Dell 20") and a comparable Dell and the Dell only beats it by like $100. So iMac is looking better and better.

Rick - is Citrix a web-based program? I know nothing about it except that I need it and the firm I am going to work for does lots of MSFT work so I assumed its a DOS based program. Am I wrong?

this is how citrix is described to me:
http://www.citrix.com/site/resources...Platform_c.jpg
:rolleyes:
and I'm like, "Can I get a Mac or what?"

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Originally Posted by danhikeski

check out the westinghouse 19" flat sceen @ bestbuy, currently 229.99. my buddy got one and it's very nice , not hd but still good. might not work out for photo and video if you want high quality, but killer price for 19"

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Do yourself a favor and make sure it's a widescreen. So much easier for having multiple windows open, there's a Samsung 20" available VGA/DVI for $270. Search dealmac.com for it.

Citrix has come in many flavors over the years but most of the recent incarnations deliver either a desktop (a windows desktop for example) or an application via a web browser. Citrix does the job of basicly delivering an interface to you that let's your control a virtual windows desktop or application interface on some server somewhere. Check with your new employer but this is most likely the case.

My wife works at a hospital and she has access to her work email and some other apps from home using citrix. She logs in from the mac using Firefox and then is able to access a virtual desktop that is delivered by Safari or firefox...