Should I go Apple?

[LaRoza]

Mac Minis aren't really that bad for the hardware they have (I'd think).

How much can I add? I want the ability to add drives, burners, fans, the works.

A small throw away, non upgradable computer is useless to me. My computer is barely large enough for what I have.

If I am going to have a computer (that I am not going to carry around), I want a case large enough for my hardware, and future additions.

If I want a computer small enough to carry around, I'll get a ThinkPad. (I already have one though)

[Darkness3477]

Private Void: I really do like the look and feel of Mac OSX and some of the programs it comes with are really quite exceptional. That being said, the programs available for Linux are exceptional too.

I'm probably just going to build my own. I have the basic set up done, I just need to do a bit of research on what motherboard to get (Quite a limited choice, actually) and the case.

I've decided on getting Q6600 and two GPU's. Probably from the Geforce 8800 series. If I can manage, I'll probably get two cpu's just so I can say I have two 8 cores I'm not sure about how much ram I actually need. But, seeing as I'll want to have vista running (games, and my Tafe course requires windows. :/) I'll probably go 4gigs. That should make me a computer that's completely 'future proof' and able to run Crysis quite well.

Thanks for the help. Unless I can find a mac that's quite cheap on ebay, I'll just build my own.

[cprofitt]

I've decided on getting Q6600 and two GPU's. Probably from the Geforce 8800 series. If I can manage, I'll probably get two cpu's just so I can say I have two 8 cores I'm not sure about how much ram I actually need. But, seeing as I'll want to have vista running (games, and my Tafe course requires windows. :/) I'll probably go 4gigs. That should make me a computer that's completely 'future proof' and able to run Crysis quite well.

Thanks for the help. Unless I can find a mac that's quite cheap on ebay, I'll just build my own.

Ram is dirt cheap right now... if your motherboard will support it I would go with 8gb of ram instead of 4. This will allow you to run some nice VM machines (or Virtual Box) if you want too.

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820146692

With two GPUs make sure you get a very good PSU.

[Darkness3477]

Yeah, at the moment I'm just putting together a wish list of everything I would like. When I'm done, me and a friend will go over and look at what's actually feasible. Also, 8gb does sound lovely.

The only thing I'm worried about is cooling. Where I live it gets extremely hot in summer so heating is definately a big issue.

Another thing my friend pointed out, is I'll have to do some research on how much I can overclock the cpu's... it really does seem interesting the things I can do with a computer like this.

[hanzomon4]

Apples notebooks are great and if you want a general purpose computer the imacs seem to be pretty good. However for what you want if you can build your own do it. You won't get OSX, but really unless you're an art school student and need specific apps you can find comparable/better OSS apps for gnu/linux. OSX reminds me of a good linux distro with **** poor package management and more transparent X11/compiz.

[Cew27]

8 gig of ram will cost alot! if you want decent stuff, 4 gig is more than you will need
also i was fiddling with a 24" imac yesterday and while it does look kool it just isnt worth it for the price, intel core 2 duo 2.4ghz, 1 gig of ram and a pretty standard resolution for £1200!?!?
a dell with the same specs running linux will only set you back 500

[iamhugeinjapan]

Does that 500 include a 24" monitor, decent webcam, firewire and internal bluetooth/wireless?

[blackbinary]

I'd build your own. I built my current system a year ago for just over 2000$. I saw a similar, in fact inferior build by dell for 3500$+, so that should give you some idea on the money you'll spend. Plus you can do things like spend more on your processor and cheap out on a low-size harddrive then upgrade later, whereas with a mac they have to balance these things, meaning less bang for your buck.

Also, you can choose your case. Which is really really nice. I've got a nice case, its between a mid and fulltower, and has alot of room to fiddle around inside. By picking your own case, you can make it fit your style, you can make sure it has good ventilation, and you can add whatever you want to the computer without a worry.

Also, manufacuters tend to skimp on your motherboard, so if you want a nice motherboard packed full of features (mine still has a serial port for example), then you'll want to make your own.

Personally, I find macs to be far too expensive for what your getting, though I suppose if you really wanted one and didn't have the knowledge to put a computer together, then buy one.

For me, i find that mac just doesnt have enough support from the mainstream. Linux is the same way with videogames, but atleast its free so I can just dualboot with XP, and wine helps alot too.

[cprofitt]

8 gig of ram will cost alot! if you want decent stuff, 4 gig is more than you will need
also i was fiddling with a 24" imac yesterday and while it does look kool it just isnt worth it for the price, intel core 2 duo 2.4ghz, 1 gig of ram and a pretty standard resolution for £1200!?!?
a dell with the same specs running linux will only set you back 500

8gb of ram will run around $200 US -- that is not expensive.

The link I gave is to Mushkin ram which is very good.

Here are some prices for some other brands:

G.Skill $89.99 for a 4GB pair (2x2gb)
Corsair $114 for a 4GB pair (2x2gb)
OCZ $103 for a 4GB pair (2x2gb)
GEIL $93.99 for a 4GB pair (2x2gb)

Given a $3000 budget that the poster gave $200 on ram in not bad. A little under a year ago I had to pay $179 for a 2GB pair and then three months later an additional 2GB was $79.99 so RAM has come way down in price since then. For less money than I spent last spring/summer to get 4GB you can now get 8GB of memory.

[Darkness3477]

Yeah, I've had a look around and RAM is quite a bit cheaper than what I thought it would be, which is a definite plus.

Also, the $3000 budget is in australian, but America's dollar is worth too much more than the Aus's at the moment.

I've come to the conclusion that I'd derely love two Q6600's in my computer, but finding a mother board that can support that might be hard. I know the skulltrail does, but it doesn't appear to be released yet. How annoying.

I've also decided I might not get two gpu's. I enjoy gaming, but I'd rather buy a nice set of speakers to go with the computer than fork out more money on a gpu.

The only thing left to do is go away for the work, then come back and make it. =]