PC craashed, First Mac... questions?!?!

[00bolt]

Ill try and make this short and sweet. My PC died last night. When I got home, it was off (which i rarely ever turn off) so I tried to turn it on, and it just wont turn on. like its not getting power. So I think it may just be the power supply? Hoping the hard drives inside arent toast. (any thoughts on how to diagnose this would be great)


Since I do not play on a computer much at home anymore, I just want to get something simple. I dont need a big fancy gaming computer or anything with a giagantic hard drive, etc. Basically all I want is a computer to surf the net, pay bills and store photos and videos (and maybe a little editing with Lightroom or something)

my son wants me to get an apple. so i came across the imac minis and thought maybe I could grab one of them cheaper on ebay. Again, I dont need anything real fancy, so was hoping to keep this cheap. So my question is, if i look for an imac mini, what are the minimum specs I should look for that would run Lightroom without too much trouble? I assume any version would surf the internet fine. Also, id like it to be capable of having the newest OS on it. and if i could somehow have it to run box Mac OS and Windows, that would be ideal.

Thank you ahead of time.

[CexMashean]

I would be so disappointed in my son if he wanted a apple/mac.


With that said:

Photoshop Lightroom 5 system requirements and language versions

$300 or less: Windows
Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon 64 processor*
Microsoft Windows 7 with Service Pack 1, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1
2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
2 GB of available hard-disk space; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on removable flash storage devices)
1024 x 768 display
DirectX 10-capable or later video adapter
Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, membership validation, and access to online services.†


$800 or more: Mac OS
Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
Mac OS X Server v10.7, v10.8 or v10.9
2 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended)
2 GB of available hard-disk space; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on removable flash storage devices).
1024 x 768 display
Internet connection and registration are necessary for required software activation, membership validation, and access to online services.†

[00bolt]

sorry im not good with hardware... so would this processor work? I found one reasonable price with this processor, and I could upgrade the memory and OS myself.

"Processor: 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo (T7200)- upgraded processor"

[Josh.0]

2.0 core 2 is a little older but will get the job done

[Hmbre97]

Save your money and get a PC. Macs have their place but you're not gaining anything over a PC for what you're wanting to do.

[jw33]

[abecx]

iMac mini's are too slow. I had one for a week before I took it back.

I would recommend getting a macbook pro and plugging up a desktop monitor/keyboard/mouse to it instead of a full fledged desktop machine, that is if you're planning on going the Mac route. I would not go the Apple route unless you plan on investing in the other devices as well. The eco system is worth it, but not piecemeal.

Also, I don't know why people still have an "Us vs. Them" mentality when it comes to operating systems. I have 2 mac's (air and pro), 2 iPads, 2 iPhones, and a time capsule, 1 Linux, 1 FreeBSD, and 2 windows machines. My primary machine is a MacBook Pro and I get more work done now than I ever did with other operating systems but you don't see me shitting on Linux or Windows.

[racrguy]

Core 2 duo? Gross!

[talisman]

Also, I don't know why people still have an "Us vs. Them" mentality when it comes to operating systems. I have 2 mac's (air and pro), 2 iPads, 2 iPhones, and a time capsule, 1 Linux, 1 FreeBSD, and 2 windows machines. My primary machine is a MacBook Pro and I get more work done now than I ever did with other operating systems but you don't see me shitting on Linux or Windows.

Because people are fucking morons and need some brand they don't even have anything to do with to latch on to and pretend they're part of something and whatever illy perceived "superiority" that comes with it. It's the same thing with the Chevy vs Ford people, and the same thing with people who get into fist fights at sporting events. The world is full of easily led automatons.

[Mach1]

I got a mac

[CexMashean]

The price of an apple product for what you get in terms of performance is my main reason. The second reason is their attempt to lock you in to their ecosystem.

[abecx]

The price of an apple product for what you get in terms of performance is my main reason. The second reason is their attempt to lock you in to their ecosystem.

While I respect and understand your argument, I feel it is a bit dated.

To me, its like buying a Fox Body mustang and saying you're going to install $10k in performance parts just so you can destroy a stock LS1, but still not have the luxury and comforts of something built in the last decade. Do you really need 750RWHP to browse the web and play counter strike?

Simply put I view the argument as usability and time. I get paid a lot of money, so I don't want to be dicking around with Windows settings, updates, all that crap as even just wasting 6 hours a month on it costs me more than what I would have paid buying something I don't have to bullshit on. I also don't want my girlfriend bothering me with bullshit, so I got her one too.

I just hate the whole ad infinitum argument of PC vs Mac vs Linux vs iOs vs Console vs Android. The cycles comes off as a circle jerk of people that want to sound smart because they have no other area in their life in which they can be intellectually dominant in, while in reality all they are doing is regurgitating superfluous rhetoric because they figured out how to build a computer last weekend.

Another simpler example is vegans. You sound like a fucking vegan when droning out unsolicited opinions.



Also, to OP, you can run virtual box if you need to do anything in Windows.

[CexMashean]

I get paid a lot of money,

To those of us that don't, the "outdated" argument is valid.

Show me a box new $400 mac that will run battlefield 4 on high settings, as opposed to me building one. That is what matters to me.

[abecx]

To those of us that don't, the "outdated" argument is valid.

Show me a box new $400 mac that will run battlefield 4 on high settings, as opposed to me building one. That is what matters to me.

That is not what the original person was asking for, which was the entire point of my diatribe.

Also, I can't show you a mac that would do that. Hell, don't think even my $2800 laptop ( i didn't buy it, my company did ) could pull that off, is there a demo I can download and try?

[talisman]

To those of us that don't, the "outdated" argument is valid.

Show me a box new $400 mac that will run battlefield 4 on high settings, as opposed to me building one. That is what matters to me.

And now we degrade into the "everyone who uses a computer must be using it for the same things I do" argument.