computer. Except I'm not sure what's a good buy, and what I should shell out for because it's truly top-quality. I'm seriously considering the mac mini, because it's tiny, easily as capable as my current desktop, and cheap ($500-700), but I'm not sure if the graphics card is up to snuff. It's got a Radeon 9200, but only 32 megs of ram for it. I can upgrade system ram to 512megs or 1gig, so will that help a little? Or is it just cheaper and better to get one built from scratch? I can only really afford about $1200 on a system (if that). I've got an XBox for games, so I don't need a gaming computer. I'd be happy if it can do video editing without having an aneurysm, and is reliable enough not to need a call to the repair guy every few months. I know some of you will tell me to post this on easy-tek, but hey, it's empty over there right now, and there's a computer section in this forum anyway. So there.
Undergrad? Are you moving into a dorm? Space is going to be at a premium. Consider a laptop. A full desktop replacement: expensive and heavy but powerful and still moveable. A "compact" laptop: cheap(er), light. Not as much in terms of computing power.
That's exactly it, though: if I get the mac mini, the whole 'computer' part is 6.5"x6.5"x2", and is compatible with vga and dvi monitors. Keyboards mice and speakers are small compared to the monitor. A laptop would be attractive, except a good one starts at around $1200-1500, and that's too rich for my blood. I'm still not sure about my actual housing arrangement, since all it said in my acceptance package was 'non-dorm'. That could be damn near anything. Except a dorm. I'll do more looking as the months progress. Maybe apple will beef up its graphics card on the mini.
hmm, if you're thinking cheap, than go with a wintel box. You can still get a generic pc box for much cheaper than a mini. you can probably spend extra on a good mini-atx case and end up with the same footprint as a mini for a cheaper price (unless you're specifically looking for OS X). I got an el cheapo laptop two years ago, and while it wasn't as trouble free, it prooved to be a good investment. Also look at Apple educationial discounts. You can get an iBook for 999 canadian here, which means that you should be able to get one for 700-ish? The performance won't be there but the portability (taking it to class, studying in the library) - will.
We will indeed But which would you prefer? Advice from people whos speciality is MA, or advice from people whos speciality is computers? pssst, go to easy-tek
Good thing I already did make a post to this effect. You know what they say about eggs and baskets, I guess.
Whatever you get make sure it has RAM....RAM is the most important in my opinion...also make sure it is not shared....seperate video RAM is much better. I would try to get 512 system ram with 128 video RAM if you can manage it on that budget.
I agree. From what I've read, I shouldn't even bother with OS X if I have less than 512mb. Whether for a mac or pc, I'd like to try for about a gigabyte of ram, and at least 64mb of dedicated graphics ram.
Seriously, Unless you really got your heart set on it try and avoid a mac. They are reliable and all, but way unsupported compared to a pc. Try to get yourself a half descent pc for about $400 and then if anything needs upgrading itll only cost you like $100 for a new CPU or GFX card. And you got all the video software you need in a shop. If you bought a mac youd have to search that much harder to get the same software just saying "mac compatible" on it. I would suggest building your own if you know what your doing. Im in UK so im not sure about prices over there but you could build yourself a kick-ass pc for around $500 that wont go out of date anytime soon. And that leaves money for all your software and stuff. Have a think on it. Its nice to make friends with the guys at the pc store too.
I will consider it. Hopefully, I'll have a small amount of financial aid coming, so I'll use part or all of that on a computer. I'm gonna go to the local apple store on saturday to try one out first hand. Actually using one will pretty much determine if I want to buy one or not.
