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Mac Mini right for me? - 2006/10/17 09:09Hello there. I am a graphic design student and need to be working on a Mac. Unfortunately the Mac Mini is the only one that is in my price range. I would need it to run the entire Adobe Creative Suite, and I'd use it for word processing. About the only other thing I'd do is browse the internet with it.
I know it theoretically will do this, but what about realistically? Obviously I'd upgrade the ram to at least 1gb, but should I spring for the 1.83 processor over the 1.6? And... if it's a core duo doesn't that mean it's actually double that amount? If so, that's a huge improvement over my Windows machine that I currently run the Adobe CS on. That machine is 4 years old now and it has held up fine. I just need to migrate to the Mac OS. I'm thinking I would use it for a couple of years to finish school and then buy a bigger machine.
Any thoughts/information would be greatly appreciated.
-Chris
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krowmagnum
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Posts: 948
Re:Mac Mini right for me? - 2006/10/17 12:04The Mac Mini will run CS but CS is not optimized for the Intel chips yet so a G4 or G5 would be a better choice at the moment.
You do not have to buy new......
There are some good deals on used G4 towers that are in the same price range as the Mini. You could get a used G4 tower and it would be upgradable unlike the Mini. I had a Single Core Mini and it was a nice little Mac but it is not made for production work. And installing RAM was a total PIA so make sure you have it done if/when you buy it.
A used G4 Mac is still a very viable machine for production and they last a long time. Don't be afraid to buy a used Mac if that is what fits your budget. I'm using a 7 year old Mac to do a lot of my production work. It's a slower than a G5 but it gets the job done and I didn't go broke buying it.
When you actually make money in in the graphic Design field (good luck) you can buy a nice new Intel Mac Pro but until then you may want to keep things reasonable. And in my opinion any Mac is an improvement over a Windoze machine.
Post edited by: krowmagnum, at: 2006/10/19 04:21
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chrisbutts
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Posts: 3
Re:Mac Mini right for me? - 2006/10/17 13:33Thanks for the reply!
The only reason I'm considering the new Intel based Mac Mini is because my Adobe CS is for Windows. I can't afford to purchase the software again, and it won't run on the G4. The software runs about the same on either machine. I just feel the need to get used to working on a Mac platform. Most design jobs out there use Macs and I'd like to feel more comfortable working with that OS instead of Windows.
I actually have a old G4 tower someone gave me. I think it's a single 400 processor, but once again, the software won't work on it. It has the Adobe CS on it but it's CS not CS2 wich I have for the PC, and it's what we use at school.
Maybe I should save my money and just play around with the old G4 and the Mac OS, and keep using the PC for production work. I guess I'm just itching for someting new.
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Cacicedo
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Posts: 374
Re:Mac Mini right for me? - 2006/10/17 19:36If you're going to ber running it on Windows, then you won't be getting any exposure to OS X, so there's really no point, especially if you already have a G4 tower that'll let you get the exposure to the Mac that you say you want. Save up your money till you can make the transition completely.
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