Which Mac should I Get?

[AP90]

First off, let me start by saying I know Mac's are more expensive and people say you don't get as much bang for your buck with them over a PC. But we are an all Mac shop, and thats all I've used my whole life.

So anyways, Im looking to get another station that will be used for some light design stuff, processing PDFs, and running command workstation. Not a machine that needs tons of power, but I want it to be pretty snappy. I currently do everything on my Late 2009 Macbook pro with 8gb of ram. Were not wanting to spend a whole lot because its not a necessity, just more of a connivence thing. Theres pretty good deals on used 2012-2014 21.5" iMacs out there with i5 cores and 8gb of ram. The only thing that scares me is in some ram is not upgradable at all, and others its not exactly user friendly to do. Dont really want another macbook pro as I already have one and would enjoy a bigger screen. Theres some nice 2010 Mac Pro's floating around my area for $500ish with 20+gb's of RAM already installed and multiple HD's with an SSD as one. Im really leaning towards this and pairing it with a decent screen. Any downside to this other than they're 7 yrs old and could be falling out of OS updates? Personally I don't do every update that comes out with OS, so its not a biggie if I get stuck on Sierra or whatever the last one will be supported with them. Im still running Yosemite on my macbook pro anyways. So just wanted your opinions on what to go with. Thanks,

 

[gordo]

I use a mid 2012 15" MacBook Pro running Yosemite (as do a great many other folks). For me it's always been best to get a laptop for its size and portability. You can always buy a separate display if you need a larger one. Some may consider this a heresy but you can even use a TV as a display (I've used both Sony and LG). If I were in the market I'd probably buy a refurbished Mac from Apple since it comes with a warranty and has been brought up to Apple spec. My understanding is that a PC with a similar spec to a PC will cost about the same.

 

[Tim-Ellis]

Yes macs are expensive but they last. I'm on a mid 2010 17" Macbook Pro and I'll stick with it as long as it still goes. Even research by IBM shows that Macs are cheaper to run over time.

I always argue with my boss that laptops are too expensive if you are not mobile. He wants people to be able to hot desk. My choice would be a desktop mac and a screen that suits you. Modern macs out the box are too bright for print work.

If you want an older reconditioned MacBook then go for it. We have ordered a few and they were no better or worse than those we bought new. Max out the RAM and install an SSD. You'll be impressed. Make sure you know someone who can keep them running when they break down.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

All bad advice here. I'm a "computer expert". Buy a brand new MacBook Pro and max it out. You'll be stunned at how fast NVMe SSD drives are compared to HDD's. I would NEVER buy another computer again without bare minimum SATA SSD's. Bottom line is, nothing before 2015 is even worth looking at IMO. You'll save $$$$$$$$$$, I mean SERIOUS $$$$$$ with the amount of time you won't have to wait for a HDD to figure out which way is up. Also, i3's and i5's are for chumps. Get an i7 on every build. Never buy AMD. Here are items I recommend:

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MPTT2LL/A&step=config
https://i.imgur.com/lXBheE6.png

Non-Apple:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-ome...ojBXVjvf1fCPz8Aa6XAYloJ8wAfffTsQaAnM1EALw_wcB
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6R45FW5228

 

[gordo]

All bad advice here. I'm a "computer expert". Buy a brand new MacBook Pro and max it out. You'll be stunned at how fast NVMe SSD drives are compared to HDD's. I would NEVER buy another computer again without bare minimum SATA SSD's. Bottom line is, nothing before 2015 is even worth looking at IMO. You'll save $$$$$$$$$$, I mean SERIOUS $$$$$$ with the amount of time you won't have to wait for a HDD to figure out which way is up. Also, i3's and i5's are for chumps. Get an i7 on every build. Never buy AMD. Here are items I recommend:

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro?product=MPTT2LL/A&step=config
https://i.imgur.com/lXBheE6.png

Non-Apple:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-ome...ojBXVjvf1fCPz8Aa6XAYloJ8wAfffTsQaAnM1EALw_wcB
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6R45FW5228

The omen reviewed: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/hp-omen

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

The omen reviewed: https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/hp-omen

The only negatives are the sound and the screen is "hard to make out fissures"? It's an IPS panel for crying out loud. No offense, Gordo, but why on Earth would you listen to a mid-40's woman's review about a gaming laptop? She is the direct antithesis to the core gaming demographic. The 4.9 rating on Best Buy by 12 reviewers holds the same if not more weight than her review. Paired with 2 5-egg reviews on Newegg, is enough to warrant some praise.

 

[Puch]

Another perspective: you can get the 'Mac experience' at a PC price by embracing the Hackintosh idea. Sound like a joke at first, if you select the right parts you will end up having a very stable, powerful machine. A big bang for the buck. Also, no or minimum hassles with the walkthroughs and guides at tonymacx86.com. We use such beasts for more than five years in a serious production environment, without problems.

 

[Slammer]

For myself I have a Mac mini 2012 version by now running Sierra and it has been chugging along without any trouble at all since I bought it, I have a Benq monitor for the fine work and a Samsung TV for everything else, a Dell keyboard and a cheap mouse, I run Quark, InkScape and Affinity, although I find Affinity to be a bit slow and a resource hog on the mini unlike Affinity running on the 2009 i-mac I have at work.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

Another perspective: you can get the 'Mac experience' at a PC price by embracing the Hackintosh idea. Sound like a joke at first, if you select the right parts you will end up having a very stable, powerful machine. A big bang for the buck. Also, no or minimum hassles with the walkthroughs and guides at tonymacx86.com. We use such beasts for more than five years in a serious production environment, without problems.

A good suggestion but even those that consider themselves technically inclined can wind up having major issues getting the system off the ground.

 

[wonderings]

Personally I would go with a 4K iMac if it was not my main computer for work. You can get a nice 21" iMac for a reasonable price with an SSD which in my opinion is a must.

• 3.0GHz quad-core 7th-generation Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz
• 16GB 2400MHz DDR4
• 512GB SSD
• Radeon Pro 555 with 2GB video memory

$1,899.00

You could look in the Apple refurb store as well and find a good deal on a new computer with full Apple warranty for less then buying it from the normal Apple store
https://www.apple.com/shop/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/imac/27

You can get a 27 5K iMac for less then the above new iMac from Apple refurb.

 

[AP90]

Thanks for the input guys. Its nice to see theres still some of you guys out there running the older stuff. All of our other stations are mac mini's with upgraded RAM and HD's. The "boss" runs a nice 2015 MacBook Pro retina and its lightning quick and beautiful screen. Ive been leaning away from upgrading to a newer laptop, but maybe ill go for a newer Macbook pro and then link it to a bigger screen when at the office. I just figured already having 1 that works fine, why get another.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

Just actually placed an order for this guy a few moments ago:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1342756-REG/Apple_Z0TR_MNED47_BH_iMAC_i7_4_2_GHz.html

 

[AP90]

Just actually placed an order for this guy a few moments ago:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1342756-REG/Apple_Z0TR_MNED47_BH_iMAC_i7_4_2_GHz.html

Sure would be nice to just order one of those. Not really in the budget right now. Especially when the money basically comes straight out of your own pocket. You tend to just make due with what you have haha.

 

[wonderings]

Sure would be nice to just order one of those. Not really in the budget right now. Especially when the money basically comes straight out of your own pocket. You tend to just make due with what you have haha.

IF you order from Apple refurb store they can be had at a more reasonable price. The down side is once you go to a 5K screen everything else looks like garbage and you can't go back
[h=3]Refurbished 27-inch iMac 3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 with Retina 5K display
Originally released June 2017[/h] 27-inch (diagonal) Retina 5K display; 5120-by-2880 resolution with support for one billion colors
8GB of 2400MHz DDR4 memory
1TB Fusion Drive
FaceTime HD camera
Radeon Pro 575 with 4GB video memory
$1,699.00

That is with a full warranty from Apple.
RAM is a cheap and easy upgrade that takes less then 5 mins on your own.
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/...uad-core-Intel-Core-i5-with-Retina-5K-display

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

Sure would be nice to just order one of those. Not really in the budget right now. Especially when the money basically comes straight out of your own pocket. You tend to just make due with what you have haha.

Considering it's replacing a 2012 iMac 21.5", it's been needed to upgrade for a while. Super stoked. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

Perfect machine. Starts from completely off to having InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and Acrobat up within 35 seconds. 10/10 would purchase again.

 

[ChrisZ]

Buying mac now days is just waste of money considering PC you can get with the same money amount.
PC would be faster/more memory/more disc space and so on.
You can even install macos on PC if you like. MAC is nothing like PC with macos installed.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

Buying mac now days is just waste of money considering PC you can get with the same money amount.
PC would be faster/more memory/more disc space and so on.
You can even install macos on PC if you like. MAC is nothing like PC with macos installed.

Not true. Doing a Hacintosh is incredibly hard, and you have to buy extremely selective hardware. There are plenty of guides out there about it, but even following them to a tee you can have issues. Macs, even though I completely hate shelling out $3,000 for a computer, are worth the money. Where else are you going to buy a pre-made PC with a 5k monitor, a 512gb NVMe SSD (mind you this has 3,000 mb/s read rate, unlike a normal SATA SSD at ~550 mb/s or the earlier generation NVMe on the 2015 iMac that ran @ 1,500 mb/s), and a 7th gen i7? Please let me know, I am not aware of anything besides the Surface Studio, which boasts 6th gen i7 and a slightly worse GPU combined with a hybrid HDD for $3,500.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/d/surface-studio/8xcw9bbpvfv9/961H

Also, the client respects the iMac more than a Surface Pro if they ever sit down with your designer. You can't put a price tag on a client being impressed.

 

[gordo]

And then there's the issue of Windoze.

 

[Puch]

Also, the client respects the iMac more than a Surface Pro if they ever sit down with your designer. You can't put a price tag on a client being impressed.

That's a valid angle, too. I see many bureaus here who work on PCs or on Hackintoshes at the backoffice, but they're loaded with shiny new iMacs at the front. OS X still has more polish and elegance over Windows.