Moe_Syzlak Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 I have a Dell desktop PC (originally came with Windows ME, but I upgraded to XP Pro) that I've had for almost 8 years now. It seems to be on its last legs. I basically use this PC for media (I run iTunes through an Airport Express to my home stereo) and surfing the Web. I.E. I don't use it for work (I have a laptop for that) and I am not a gamer. So it seems to me that a Mac might be more suited to my needs. I'd also like to START using this computer for basic home studio use, nothing fancy. My questions are these: a) if I have all my photos and music stored on an internal hard drive (in MP3 form) on my current Dell, will I be able to just swap that drive into a Mac or would that not work? If it isn't so simple to swap out, is there a not-so-simple way that would still make moving to Mac the smart thing to do or should I suck it up and stick with a Windows machine?c) Any suggestions on what models I should look at given my needs? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LCH Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 I recently retired my 2001 Dell laptop for a Mac laptop, for personal use. I don't plan to go back to a pc, ever. Apple provides good info about getting your files onto your new Mac. Here is some introductory info: http://www.apple.com/getamac/movetomac/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted April 23, 2008 Author Share Posted April 23, 2008 Cool thanks. That seems relatively straight forward. Soooo, that begs the question: which Mac? The Mac Pro is a LOT more expensive than I was thinking of shelling out. Starting at $2,800!?! Given my needs, could I get away with an older, used model? Any suggestions on which one I should look for? Where should I look? Ebay? I don't need (nor do I want to pay for) a monitor. I want to use my HDTV as a monitor as I do currently. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lamradio Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 Even though I'm a PC man, a MAC sounds like a good fit for what you do. Even though eventually, you'll run into something that you used to be able to do on a PC and you can't on a MAC.. But, just the fact that a new PC will come with Windows Vista is reason enough to get a MAC. Get a external USB hard drive to move your files.. Plus, it'll be a great place to back-up your data in the future. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted April 23, 2008 Author Share Posted April 23, 2008 Oh I've got all my music backed up to an external already ... and double backed up to DVDs as well. I spent so much time ripping the 2100+ CDs in collection that I never want to have to go through THAT again! I just wanted to be sure there wouldn't be a compatibility problem. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted April 23, 2008 Author Share Posted April 23, 2008 The Mac Mini actually looks like it would be perfect, except it lacks in the storage I'd need. I feel like I'd need at LEAST 500gb of internal. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted April 24, 2008 Author Share Posted April 24, 2008 Bump! Any more advice out there? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sly like a Foxwell Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 personally, my vote goes for pc, simply due to the wide variety of affordable parts. firm believer in building the machine, that way you have control over all the parts , adn can set it up to upgrade easily the last machine i built has a 750gb drive and 4gb of ram, and cost less than 800 to build Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LCH Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 You probably don't need a MacBook Pro. The MacBook with the black body may be good for you. Note that the MacBook Air does not have a CD/DVD drive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted April 24, 2008 Author Share Posted April 24, 2008 Yeah, I'm thinking desktop, not laptop simply for the lower price and the ease of expansion. I have a laptop for work, so if I need portability, I've got it. The Mac Mini doesn't seem to offer that expansion, so I think that is probably out. I dunno, maybe I will build a PC. While I hear that for media the Mac is a much more stable machine, the price for a Mac Pro (which I think I would need if I want expandibility) is WAY more than I want to spend. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sly like a Foxwell Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Yeah, I'm thinking desktop, not laptop simply for the lower price and the ease of expansion. I have a laptop for work, so if I need portability, I've got it. The Mac Mini doesn't seem to offer that expansion, so I think that is probably out. I dunno, maybe I will build a PC. While I hear that for media the Mac is a much more stable machine, the price for a Mac Pro (which I think I would need if I want expandibility) is WAY more than I want to spend. i just went past 3 tb storage ( mostly media) on my windows network, and have very few problems. pc's have virtually replaced tv's in my house. 5 machines currently on the network, adn all but one is xp pro. no way i could have afforded to get this crazy with macs Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VenusStopsTrain2 Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Since you already have a laptop, and aren't looking to go for another one, I'd definitely suggest a desktop Mac. (Here is a 20 inch monitor model...) * 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo * 1GB memory * 250GB hard drive1 * 8x double-layer SuperDrive * ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT with 128MB memory Ships: Within 24 hoursFree Shipping$1,199.00 yes they are available to get a normal mouse for..and i'd suggest going to either a local Apple store or Best Buy and just asking questions about them. Possibly make a list of questions you have...but the Apples are built for video/photography and music creation/editing. Also, play around on one and see how you feel about the set up. Plus you can always get an external hd later on if you wanted to add more storage. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
renic Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 make sure you're running at at least 7200 rpm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jnrjr79 Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Yeah, I'm thinking desktop, not laptop simply for the lower price and the ease of expansion. I have a laptop for work, so if I need portability, I've got it. The Mac Mini doesn't seem to offer that expansion, so I think that is probably out. I dunno, maybe I will build a PC. While I hear that for media the Mac is a much more stable machine, the price for a Mac Pro (which I think I would need if I want expandibility) is WAY more than I want to spend. I switched in 2001 and I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever go back. I don't want to start a Mac/PC flamewar, but for my purposes at least, you can pry my Mac(s) from my cold, dead hands. If I were in your situation, I would just buy a Mac Mini with a couple of large external hard drives. Unless you do a lot of graphic intensive stuff (gaming, serious video editing, etc.), it sounds like a Mac Pro would be overkill both in terms of capability and price. The Mac Pro, as its name suggests, is really a professional media person's machine. The Mac Mini is plenty for general email/web/Garageband/home movies, etc. The Mac Mini will also interface nicely with your HDTV (otherwise I'd suggest an iMac which is great bang for your buck). With the gobs of money you save from going from a Mac Pro to a Mac Mini, you can easily afford a couple of terabytes of external storage. I assume the reason you need significant storage space is a big music or video library. If that's so, there's no reason it can't be on external drives rather than internal ones. Anyway, that's how I'd go. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted April 29, 2008 Author Share Posted April 29, 2008 Thanks for the advice. I am leaning towards the the Mac Mini with external storage right now (as the previous poster suggested), but I still haven't had the chance to go the Apple store to ask some questions/look around. I hope to do that sometime this week. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lost highway Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 I run a part time studio. I use my computer to record on. Right around the same time my roomate got the new fangled Mac (G5 at the time I think.....) my neighbor helped me build a computer. He did have a tower to give me, but other than that we ordered parts off of some website. My three hundred dollar computer has the same specs as my roomies which I think was around two grand. I can change/upgrade my pc with cheap parts myself and not void the warranty cause there is none. Mac makes great stuff. It costs a great amount. PC is the classic American example of DIY. At work I use Mac, at home Windows/PC. Anyone who says one operating system is so superior to the other is bonkers. They are both so useable, everything is so findable, the only difference are some mild aesthetic features. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oceanman Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 My brother is in IT and I get shit for dirt cheap if not for free. Just got a sever for free, and droping in a new hard drive. It's actualy as small as a laptop. Man if you know some one or can find some one I say go PC and save yourself a shit ton of money just to have Mac on the box........it's really just a skeleton. I like windows anyways. I had to pay 15 bucks to have my Mac trashed, a G4 that was a piece of shit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted May 3, 2008 Author Share Posted May 3, 2008 So I will probably go to the Apple store this weekend and I thought VC could help me to not look (too) stupid. If I were to get a Mac, would I be able to watch BluRay DVDs through my stereo and my HDTV? Keep in mind I will be usi9ng my HDTV as the monitor. I use AirTunes to listen to music through my stereo now, but video doesn't go through Airtunes to my stereo. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VenusStopsTrain2 Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 At this time I don't believe Apple has added blu-ray software to their computers..but they are on board with the directors of blu-ray...they have been for the past 3 years, but apparently they are waiting for some better software programs to come out before they put it in their computers. Hope that helps. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share Posted May 4, 2008 Yup that's correct. I'm pretty sure I am going to go the Mac Mini with an external route. So one more question: anyone know about Firewire 400 capable external drives? I'm thinking about the Seagate Free Agent Pro 500GB. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jnrjr79 Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Yup that's correct. I'm pretty sure I am going to go the Mac Mini with an external route. So one more question: anyone know about Firewire 400 capable external drives? I'm thinking about the Seagate Free Agent Pro 500GB. I don't have any experience with Seagate drives. Have you tried CNET or other review sites? Some drives are much more durable than others, it seems. I have LaCie drives that I've had success with over the years. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted May 6, 2008 Author Share Posted May 6, 2008 I recently retired my 2001 Dell laptop for a Mac laptop, for personal use. I don't plan to go back to a pc, ever. Apple provides good info about getting your files onto your new Mac. Here is some introductory info: http://www.apple.com/getamac/movetomac/The "Genius Bar" wants to charge $100 to move my files for me. I don't think I need that, do I? Moving most files seems straightforward enough. I realize that there are programs I have on my PC that won't come with me to the Mac (Band In A Box, for example), too. But I have ton of Web sites bookmarked in IE on my PC. Is there an easy way to migrate those? I couldn't find anything at the site linked above. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sly like a Foxwell Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 Yup that's correct. I'm pretty sure I am going to go the Mac Mini with an external route. So one more question: anyone know about Firewire 400 capable external drives? I'm thinking about the Seagate Free Agent Pro 500GB. seagate drives are Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 First post from the Mac Mini. This is gonna take some getting used to. One thing that is perplexing me is the monitor connection. I have it hooked up as I did my Dell PC previously. That is, through the PC (VGA) input on my DLP HDTV. The color is very yellow. Does anyone know what could be causing that? ETA: Also, I like to view windows in full screen. Is there an easy way to expand screens (iTunes, Safari, Mail, etc.) to be full screen? Do I have expand them each time by dragging out the lower right hand corner? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Moe_Syzlak Posted May 8, 2008 Author Share Posted May 8, 2008 Hopefully this is my last question. Does anyone have a Mac with the Bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse? Mine comes unpaired/disconnected VERY frequently. At the least it is annoying t have the warning graphic flash on screen, but it reconnects fairly quickly. At worst, a few times per day, the Mac needs to be restarted to regain the connection. The Apple Support folks say that is not normal and I should take the MIni back, but before I do I'm hoping to find a quicker fix as I have already spent a LOT of time configuring and moving files. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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