Buying my first Mac...help please

[.QQ.]

MacBook Pro Retina all the way, highly popular laptop for development. Fast, light and it can power two external monitors.

 

[PostmanPot]

MacBook Pro Retina all the way, highly popular laptop for development. Fast, light and it can power two external monitors.

Oh yes.

 

[Priapus]

I got a 21" iMac last year (The newer, tapered edge one). Fusion drive and 8GB of RAM. Absolutely love that machine. I also have a MBP which I use for work.

 

[Noseworthy]

arghhh. I just started my new job, I now have 3 macbook pros and a mac mini

 

[DarkDenim]

I haven't bought my 1st Mac yet but toying with the idea of a used late 2012 Mac Mini (R4000) + 27" Samsung LED Monitor (R4000) + 16GB RAM (R1500). Also have the option of buying a 2011 27" iMac (16GB RAM, 1TB HDD) for R10k. I really don't want a Macbook. WTB???

 

[Cassady]

I haven't bought my 1st Mac yet but toying with the idea of a used late 2012 Mac Mini (R4000) + 27" Samsung LED Monitor (R4000) + 16GB RAM (R1500). Also have the option of buying a 2011 27" iMac (16GB RAM, 1TB HDD) for R10k. I really don't want a Macbook. WTB???

Mac Mini from that era can be upgraded relatively easily. I have the 2.3 quad-core version, with 16gb ram, 1tb HDD, and a second slot available for an SSD. It's a great little machine, and can still pack a punch. Less to go wrong with as well, as you can always change out the external monitor.

Those iMac's are beautiful though, and the 27" is obviously a plus. Think it will largely depend on what you want to do with it though?

 

[DarkDenim]

Mac Mini from that era can be upgraded relatively easily. I have the 2.3 quad-core version, with 16gb ram, 1tb HDD, and a second slot available for an SSD. It's a great little machine, and can still pack a punch. Less to go wrong with as well, as you can always change out the external monitor.

Those iMac's are beautiful though, and the 27" is obviously a plus. Think it will largely depend on what you want to do with it though?

Mind says MM; heart says iMac.

Seller of the iMac just told me it's a 2012 model with 4GB of RAM. Not sure I want to mess around (upgrading RAM, etc) with that mammoth

 

[DarkDenim]

I haven't bought my 1st Mac yet but toying with the idea of a used late 2012 Mac Mini (R4000) + 27" Samsung LED Monitor (R4000) + 16GB RAM (R1500). Also have the option of buying a 2011 27" iMac (16GB RAM, 1TB HDD) for R10k. I really don't want a Macbook. WTB???

Ended up with the above setup without the memory and HDD upgrades. It wasn't cheap though...

Mac Mini Core i5, 4GB RAM (late 2012): R5000 (Used)
Samsung S27E390H: R3600 (New)
Apple keyboard: R600 (Used)
Apple Magic Mouse: R1000 (1 month old)

Total cost: R10200

I'm very happy with the setup. Will upgrade RAM to 8GB soon.

 

[Cassady]

Ended up with the above setup without the memory and HDD upgrades. It wasn't cheap though...

Mac Mini Core i5, 4GB RAM (late 2012): R5000 (Used)
Samsung S27E390H: R3600 (New)
Apple keyboard: R600 (Used)
Apple Magic Mouse: R1000 (1 month old)

Total cost: R10200

I'm very happy with the setup. Will upgrade RAM to 8GB soon.

Congrats!

 

[whatwhat]

FTFY.

Which one(s) do you own?

You need to stop drinking the Apple koolaid, you come across as being really ignorant and stupid
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2014/10/17/best-os-x-yosemite-features-skip-many-old-macs/

An old Apple device loses features even more than a Windows machine.

 

[PostmanPot]

You need to stop drinking the Apple koolaid, you come across as being really ignorant and stupid
http://www.gottabemobile.com/2014/10/17/best-os-x-yosemite-features-skip-many-old-macs/

An old Apple device loses features even more than a Windows machine.

The difference being that old Macs still work perfectly due to their exceptional build quality externally and internally, and efficiency of OS X with lesser RAM and CPU performance, comapred to Windows. Happy users who are unaffected by these limitations who have no need to upgrade. Not to mention the excellent parts availability when the need comes for new batteries etc.

 

[whatwhat]

The difference being that old Macs still work perfectly due to their exceptional build quality externally and internally, and efficiency of OS X with lesser RAM and CPU performance, comapred to Windows. Happy users who are unaffected by these limitations who have no need to upgrade. Not to mention the excellent parts availability when the need comes for new batteries etc.

You changing the goal posts again? I was addressing the fact that you said a 4 year old Windows machine wasn't a good buy. A 4 year Mac is also pretty crap as you get a limited subset of features from the OS.

So lets address your new points:
"Exceptional build quality": http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2015/02/20/apple-admits-gpu-design-flaw/1
Yeah, like the MacBook where the GPU removes itself from the motherboard, in both Macbook Pro and MacBook Pro with Retina.
This is similar to what MS had with the RROD, but MS came out immediately with repairs and extended warranty, Apple waited till the end.

"Excellent parts": You realize that a replacement battery costs R2000, and that from 2009 the unibody laptops have batteries that aren't user replaceable? Well, you can replace them but it generally involves taking the laptop apart first.


lol, stop being so serious about the electronics device in your pocket. Were you this brand blind with Blackberry as well?
It's just a laptop, or a phone, or a computer. lol.

 

[PostmanPot]

You changing the goal posts again? I was addressing the fact that you said a 4 year old Windows machine wasn't a good buy. A 4 year Mac is also pretty crap as you get a limited subset of features from the OS.

So lets address your new points:
"Exceptional build quality": http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2015/02/20/apple-admits-gpu-design-flaw/1
Yeah, like the MacBook where the GPU removes itself from the motherboard, in both Macbook Pro and MacBook Pro with Retina.
This is similar to what MS had with the RROD, but MS came out immediately with repairs and extended warranty, Apple waited till the end.

"Excellent parts": You realize that a replacement battery costs R2000, and that from 2009 the unibody laptops have batteries that aren't user replaceable? Well, you can replace them but it generally involves taking the laptop apart first.


lol, stop being so serious about the electronics device in your pocket. Were you this brand blind with Blackberry as well?
It's just a laptop, or a phone, or a computer. lol.

A 4 year old Mac is a much better buy, I cringe at the thought of buying a thick, heavy, plasticky, soiled Windows laptop with a **** keyboard and trackpad. A Mac is always a better buy unless specifically needing Windows or gaming performance etc., costs more of course. But they last longer and have much higher resale value and with OS X, lead to less frustration.

Yes, the quality is second to none.

User replaceable with the right tool/3-point driver (or just use pliers). R1,500, on par with Windows laptop batteries' price, but obviously lasts 2 - 3 times as long on a MacBook.

Never had a Blackberry, went from a Sony Ericsson K750i to iPhone 3GS.

 

[ahoudet]

I actually find that my MacBook struggles more with 4GB ram than my Windows laptop did.

Parts, especially consumables (battery, ac adapter) are cheaper on Windows based laptops in my experience.

A 4 year old Windows laptop can have similar build quality to a Mac... Check out the HP EliteBook range for example

I do love my Mac though and I don't think I'd go back to Windows anytime soon

 

[PostmanPot]

I actually find that my MacBook struggles more with 4GB ram than my Windows laptop did.

Parts, especially consumables (battery, ac adapter) are cheaper on Windows based laptops in my experience.

A 4 year old Windows laptop can have similar build quality to a Mac... Check out the HP EliteBook range for example

I do love my Mac though and I don't think I'd go back to Windows anytime soon

I can't say the same. Even Windows 7 with 4GB is a pain (brand new Dell Core i5 Broadwell laptops).

AC adapters are cheaper yes, but Apple ones simply last much longer due to the design (especially MagSafe) so the need to replace them is much less.

Nothing in my experience has Mac build quality, and the best that Windows laptops have to offer are similarly priced in any case. Then the keyboard still won't be as good, nor the trackpad, nor the screen, nor the battery life, etc.

 

[])ragon_\/oid]

I can't say the same. Even Windows 7 with 4GB is a pain (brand new Dell Core i5 Broadwell laptops).

AC adapters are cheaper yes, but Apple ones simply last much longer due to the design (especially MagSafe) so the need to replace them is much less.

Nothing in my experience has Mac build quality, and the best that Windows laptops have to offer are similarly priced in any case. Then the keyboard still won't be as good, nor the trackpad, nor the screen, nor the battery life, etc.

At 22k odd? At that pricing you get way better quality than an i5 Dell. One or two windows based laptops that was bad does not mean that all Windows based laptops are bad. You can put an SSD in any Windows based laptop these days. Most laptops can also do 8gb of ram. There is really not a big difference between a mac and a pc, except for the OS.

 

[PostmanPot]

At 22k odd? At that pricing you get way better quality than an i5 Dell. One or two windows based laptops that was bad does not mean that all Windows based laptops are bad. You can put an SSD in any Windows based laptop these days. Most laptops can also do 8gb of ram. There is really not a big difference between a mac and a pc, except for the OS.

No, I'm referring to Windows 7 with 4GB RAM (and Core i5), nothing about price.

But the laptops in question were R15,000 Dells (and many others).

There is a huge difference between the way Windows and OS X manages memory. Even old Macs with 2GB RAM are 'fast', because of OS X.

I swore by Windows for 95% of my life.

 

[vinodh]

At 22k odd? At that pricing you get way better quality than an i5 Dell. One or two windows based laptops that was bad does not mean that all Windows based laptops are bad. You can put an SSD in any Windows based laptop these days. Most laptops can also do 8gb of ram. There is really not a big difference between a mac and a pc, except for the OS.

I have an 11" MacBook Air now and would love to get a retina MacBook Pro one day. However, the new Dell XPS 13 is a beauty.