Need a Mac Desktop recommendation

Hello...

I know nothing about Macs & am having problems running Adobe lightroom on my much older, outdated, 32 bit HP desktop with 4 gigs of ram & dual inel processors. I keep receiving a message stating that it is either not responding or not enough memory.

Someone once told me that I could purchase a really good used Mac for about the same price as a new PC but can't remember the name.

Can someone make a recommendation as to which model would be good that I may be able to purchase here in the USA for around $1,000 more or less?

Do Macs need a lot of memory to run their OS like pcs do? Any help would be appreciated. On http://www.usedmac.com they advertise a PowerMac G5 Quad Core 2.5GHz 2GB 250GB for $699.00 Does that sound like a good deal?

Thanks!

No, that's not a good deal, unless you have a need for old software. The G5 is not an intel processor so modern software won't run well (or at all) on it. You can't even run the current version of OS X on it.

You could buy a new imac for around your budget level, and get extra ram for it from someplace other than apple, like OWC (macsales.com) for much less than apple would charge. Apple also sells refurbs at good prices. Watch the refurb section in the apple store, but look for a current or last-year's model at the oldest.

I wouldn't recommend buying a G5 Mac these days (others may disagree). You're better of getting an intel based machine.

While I love my Mac... and my iPhone... and my iPad... why are you contemplating a shift to a Mac? If you're looking at 2nd hand gear then upgrading your PC "might" give you much better performance than spending $1000 on a used Mac.

Mac's hold their value really well, therefore that means there isn't always the amazing bargain to be had.

But as to Mac advice: A 24" iMac might do the trick:

http://completed.shop.ebay.com/i.html?rt=nc&LH_Complete=1&_nkw=imac%2024&_fln=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m283&_rdc=1

Just remember, that buying a Mac doesn't give you the best "bang for the buck" as buying / building your own PC. But what you're getting is a (opinions vary), much easier to use, stable and well thought out OS.

I have two machines, a beast of a PC and a Macbook Pro. I rarely use my PC these days, it's just so much nicer to use the Mac, even if CPU hungry tasks (like video encoding) take a little bit longer.

primalspy said:

Can someone make a recommendation as to which model would be good that I may be able to purchase here in the USA for around $1,000 more or less?

Click to expand...

Apple currently makes three types of desktops: Minis, iMacs, and Mac Pros. Of these, only the first two are likely to meet or come close to your price target.

primalspy said:

Do Macs need a lot of memory to run their OS like pcs do?

Click to expand...

As a rough guide, assume that you'll need the same amount of memory as on a PC.

primalspy said:

On http://www.usedmac.com they advertise a PowerMac G5 Quad Core 2.5GHz 2GB 250GB for $699.00 Does that sound like a good deal?

Click to expand...

Only if you're interested in obsolete Macs. The Mac has been through three microprocessor architectures. It started on Motorola 68K chips, then switched to PowerPC chips, and now is based on Intel chips.

The PowerMac G5 was a nice, fast machine (it was the Mac Pro of its day), but its day is done – except for people who already have a bunch of PowerPC software and who are looking for a machine to run it on. The current version of Mac OS X (10.6, Snow Leopard) will not run on a PowerPC-based Mac. Most major Mac commercial software does not support the PowerPC. And it is widely rumored that the next version of Mac OS X, Lion, will not even support the Rosetta translator as an optional install (so you won't be able to run your old Mac OS X / PowerPC software on a new Mac OS X / Intel system).

You should be able to run Lightroom fine with a core dual (?) PC and 4 Gb of memory. So, you may have other issues.

Apple G3/G4/G5 processor machines are obsolete; avoid.

To save $ and still have a new warranty and so on, the Apple refurb store is the way to go. Links below:

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac?mco=OTY2ODY3Nw

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals?mco=MTk1NTEwOTI

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC508LL/A?mco=MTkwMjE2MzY

You may be interested in the i3 iMac model from last year.

Consider 4 Gb of memory normal and add more (user serviceable) if necessary.

Lastly, if you can swing it, buy a new quad core i5 iMac for $1199. If you have any kids, you can also get an education discount ($100).

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/imac?mco=MTcyMTgwNTQ

primalspy said:

Can someone make a recommendation as to which model would be good that I may be able to purchase here in the USA for around $1,000 more or less?

Click to expand...

In the way of new desktop Macs, you might want to look at the entry-level 21.5" iMac. The Mini packs a lot of stuff into a little box, but Apple hasn't updated it yet with the new CPUs and high-speed Thunderbolt expansion ports that you'll find in the latest iMac and MacBook Pro models.

Tom_N said:

primalspy said:

Can someone make a recommendation as to which model would be good that I may be able to purchase here in the USA for around $1,000 more or less?

Click to expand...

In the way of new desktop Macs, you might want to look at the entry-level 21.5" iMac. The Mini packs a lot of stuff into a little box, but Apple hasn't updated it yet with the new CPUs and high-speed Thunderbolt expansion ports that you'll find in the latest iMac and MacBook Pro models.

Click to expand...

i will get the mini or imac, just forget the mac pro, they are expensive, and they are super expensive to fix after warrenty, and I have heard that Apple is going to ARM cpu within 3 years, so don't invest too much on anything expensive.

john said:

I have heard that Apple is going to ARM cpu within 3 years

Click to expand...

Why would they do that? Apple uses ARM CPUs in the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, where battery life is important, and computing power isn't as important. For Macs, computing power is important.

Tom_N said:

john said:

I have heard that Apple is going to ARM cpu within 3 years

Click to expand...

Why would they do that? Apple uses ARM CPUs in the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, where battery life is important, and computing power isn't as important. For Macs, computing power is important.

Click to expand...

Apparently that is what's going around the tech rumor mill currently. There may be legitimate reasons for ditching Intel on Mac laptops, not only in terms of battery life but heat as well.

That truly is "just a rumor". Yes, it's floating around, but with very little to back it up. You also have to figure in the fact that Intel is also working on much cooler, more efficient processors as well. I don't think anyone has a good handle on where Apple will be in 3 years.

I would second the choice of a 21.5 inch iMac, either the current generation or the generation before (3.06 ghz i3 processor). Either one from the Apple refurb store. Comes with full year warranty as new.

--
Only my opinion. It's worth what you paid for it. Your mileage may vary! ;-}

http://www.dougwigton.com/