Thinking about a new Mac...
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If you don't need the portability, I'd not get a notebook. The Mac Mini or iMac give you more bang for the buck: better performance, longer lifetime (upgrades), more repair options, more connectors. The iMac also gives you a very clean look with minimal set of visible cables.
@Klaus I have a 27" iMac (2014) now which I love.
The reason for the upgrade is that D2 is using a hand-me-down 27" iMac from 2011. It's getting long in the tooth and the internal hard drive (which had a recall that she never took care of and now is out of date) has died. I want to hand mine down to her.
If it weren't for that issue, I'd stay with what I have.
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If I ever do buy another Mac, it will be a MacMini. Loaded with memory and SSD and you have a very compact and capable machine.
@mark said in Thinking about a new Mac...:
If I ever do buy another Mac, it will be a MacMini. Loaded with memory and SSD and you have a very compact and capable machine.
If you're going to hook it up to a reasonable monitor (27" or larger) there's no advantage to compactness, is there? And, you have more cables.
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@mark said in Thinking about a new Mac...:
If I ever do buy another Mac, it will be a MacMini. Loaded with memory and SSD and you have a very compact and capable machine.
If you're going to hook it up to a reasonable monitor (27" or larger) there's no advantage to compactness, is there? And, you have more cables.
@George-K said in Thinking about a new Mac...:
@mark said in Thinking about a new Mac...:
MacMini.
And, you have more cables.
Hmm ... wonder when Apple will make the MacMini take power input via USB-C too. The power cable is the only "extra cable" required by the MacMini today over a MacBook Air. The MacMini also gives you most of the legacy ports you want.
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Looking at prices for various options here.
I'm looking at 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.
If I go with the Mini or the Air, I'll have to spring for a monitor and a webcam (I'd keep my keyboard and mouse):
The price for the iMac is for this year's Intel version with an i5 processor, I assume that when Apple releases a new iMac this year, as is rumored, it'll be priced pretty similarly. Looks like the MacBook Air gives the same features as the iMac for a better price, even after all the add-ons.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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I may buy a new iMac when it is released with a new ARM chip (not the current one; I want more than 16GB of RAM).
@klaus said in Thinking about a new Mac...:
I may buy a new iMac when it is released with a new ARM chip (not the current one; I want more than 16GB of RAM).
I've seen videos of performance with only 8 gigs of RAM on a MacBook Air. For the stuff that I do, 8 is probably adequate, and 16 is overkill, considering the videos I've watched. But...
Link to videoThe other thing is that rumors say that the new iteration of iMac will be a 24" model. I really, really don't want a smaller screen than I have now. That's a big deal for me with my aging eyes.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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Looking at prices for various options here.
I'm looking at 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.
If I go with the Mini or the Air, I'll have to spring for a monitor and a webcam (I'd keep my keyboard and mouse):
The price for the iMac is for this year's Intel version with an i5 processor, I assume that when Apple releases a new iMac this year, as is rumored, it'll be priced pretty similarly. Looks like the MacBook Air gives the same features as the iMac for a better price, even after all the add-ons.
@george-k said in Thinking about a new Mac...:
I'm looking at 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.
That's what I have.
I just bought a webcam this week, delivered xmas eve. It's sitting in the box still by my desk.
Up to now I've been using my iPad for zoom calls.
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@george-k said in Thinking about a new Mac...:
I'm looking at 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.
That's what I have.
I just bought a webcam this week, delivered xmas eve. It's sitting in the box still by my desk.
Up to now I've been using my iPad for zoom calls.
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@klaus said in Thinking about a new Mac...:
I may buy a new iMac when it is released with a new ARM chip (not the current one; I want more than 16GB of RAM).
I've seen videos of performance with only 8 gigs of RAM on a MacBook Air. For the stuff that I do, 8 is probably adequate, and 16 is overkill, considering the videos I've watched. But...
Link to videoThe other thing is that rumors say that the new iteration of iMac will be a 24" model. I really, really don't want a smaller screen than I have now. That's a big deal for me with my aging eyes.
@george-k said in Thinking about a new Mac...:
The other thing is that rumors say that the new iteration of iMac will be a 24" model. I really, really don't want a smaller screen than I have now.
True, I also want a 27". If they don't sell a 27" iMac anymore, I'll maybe go for a Mac Mini with external display.
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@george-k said in Thinking about a new Mac...:
The other thing is that rumors say that the new iteration of iMac will be a 24" model. I really, really don't want a smaller screen than I have now.
True, I also want a 27". If they don't sell a 27" iMac anymore, I'll maybe go for a Mac Mini with external display.
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You forgot the vegan leather desk mat.
vegan leather
That is a new one on me
image url) -
@george-k said in Thinking about a new Mac...:
@jon-nyc how big is that monitor you have?
24".
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/HMUA2VC/A/lg-ultrafine-4k-display
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Funny I decry the creeping screen sizes. I remember being disappointed when they phased out the 21" iMac and I had to buy a 24. Equally when they kept making phones bigger.
Yeah its easier to read. But I have to carry my phone.
I guess I could live with a 27" monitor. Just seems so extreme. I'm right here, sitting in front of it.
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Funny I decry the creeping screen sizes. I remember being disappointed when they phased out the 21" iMac and I had to buy a 24. Equally when they kept making phones bigger.
Yeah its easier to read. But I have to carry my phone.
I guess I could live with a 27" monitor. Just seems so extreme. I'm right here, sitting in front of it.
@jon-nyc that monitor is pricey! The 27" runs even more, LOL.
Perhaps I'll have to reconsider my analysis of "break-even."
@mark what kind of monitor are you using? My needs are pretty simple, and my eyes are pretty shitty.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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It takes only 3~4 years for Apple to drop support for PowerPC from the time it launched its first Intel Mac. If you plan on keep using your Macs for more than, say, 5 years and plan to keep updating its OS, you pretty much need to go with the Apple silicon now for any new Mac you get. Good luck.
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It looks like there's a significant difference between the 7-core GPU and the 8-core GPU in the MacBook Air.
About $250 difference.
For someone like me, whose needs are pretty basic, is it worth the premium in price?
Note: The price difference doesn't account for the SSD storage difference.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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