Buying advice for MacMini

I will be buying a new Intel Mac soon and cant work out between iMac, Macbook or Mini and looking for advice.
I am currently using a Mac Power PC tower, 7 years old for design work. It has a top end NVIDIA graphics card installed and maximum RAM used with an expensive Dell 24" Ultra display.
Use is for Photoshop, some video using FCP X, email and web.
Don't need portability it can be the size of a truck
need good performance, I will use plenty extra RAM
I don't understand too much about hardware and trying to decide on what spec I need, specifically the difference between
1- low cost Intel 4000 or the better NVIDEA graphics card
2- i5 (low cost) or i7 (expensive) processor
from reading magazines and Apple discussions the consensus appears to be:
Mac Mini
good reliability, appeals for price and would connect to an existing 24" monitor
unsure about the spec of graphics, the Intel 4000 sounds very poor against the NVIDIA electronics
iMac
has good spec but is expensive for what it is, appears to be unreliable with numerous screen problems discussed in forums. Unsure about using a computer that is built in to a screen.
Macbook
don't need portability but has good reliability and good spec but again uses low end Intel graphics except on the most expensive model. There is a bewildering range in choice of spec.
thanks for reading

Hello, you have it covered pretty well, I'll just add...
Mac Mini
Not that the HD4000 is that slow, but myriad problems, mostly HDMI output, but several using TB port also. I'd never consider a computer with Intel Graphics.
iMac
Besides what you mentioned, the 21.5" is not serviceable even to upgrade RAM. Unacceptable in my eyes.
Macbook
Hmmm, reliability??? Don't they have permanently glued in Batteries that only Apple can Replce, & likely won't even be available 3-5 years from now? Is the Hard drive replaceable?
Both the iMacs & MBs seem like disposable computers to me, but if you can afford to replace them every 3 years I guess that wouldn't matter.
Not that I can afford anything, but If I had to replace my Mac right now, I'd only consider an older used, all be it slower iMac.
http://www.powermax.com/preowned_macs

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Mac Pro buying advice for Graphic Design

I am going to be purchasing a Mac Pro and was hoping I could get some advice on the right set-up for what I do. I use CS4 heavily on the Mac for graphic design spending a good amount of time in Photoshop working with files that can easily go over a few gigs (when working on convention booth displays, etc.). I also use my Mac for casual video editing in iMovie, and use Apple's other great offerings like iWeb, iPhoto, etc.
My main questions are:
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- If I do go with the Quad should I opt for the 2.66 or 2.93?
- At the moment I am running 8 Gig on my current Mac, should I configure this new one with 8 Gig?
- Is the Radeon the correct card choice for a heavy Photoshop user?
I hope these questions aren't ones that have been asked a thousand times. It's a lot of money to spend (especially right now) and I want to make sure I configure it correctly for what I do.
Thank you in advance for your input.

Hi hatter,
Thank you again for your responses. That really helps clear up the RAM situation. I think that is part of what swayed me towards the 8-Core as opposed to the Quad. Please correct me if I am wrong, but looking at prices of RAM on Crucial I see that if I wanted today to put 16 Gigs of RAM in a Quad-Core it would cost me $1200 (for 4 4-Gig chips using all slots). However if I was going to put 16 in the 8-Core I could do it for $400 (8 2-Gig chips using all slots. Actually it would only be $200 more since I configured my Mac with 4 2-Gig chips from Apple for an extra $100). Seems like having more slots open will save me money when I want to upgrade ram since I don't have to go for the 4-Gig chips. That coupled with the theory that Snow Leopard is around the corner and will take advantage of the 8-Core it seems like opting for a low end 8-Core vs a high end Quad is worth the $300 difference.
Side note: Are there any reports that say running more 2GB chips is worse than running fewer 4GB chips? Just curious.
Even though I understand that the processor speed makes a difference I am hoping that the advantages of more RAM slots and future benefits of Snow Leopard, CS5 and other apps that will take advantage of the 8-Core in the near future will make it the right decision. If I could afford a faster 8-Core obviously I would opt for that but with a jump of $1,400 to the next processor speed I am afraid it is out of my reach.
Regardless I'm sure I will feel very spoiled as soon as I unwrap this beast and get it up and running. Then in a year I'll give into the temptation of slipping a SSD in for the boot drive and I'll have to find a way to contain my excitement. I have a SSD on my laptop and WOW what an amazing difference it really is.
Wow, these forums are great. I can't believe how helpful all of your responses have been. I feel much more informed and was able to order my Mac today not feeling like I was shopping in the dark.
Thank you all again!

Buying Advice - For CS4 use

Hello,
I am looking at the new iMac (lower-end) 21 inch with the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics.
What is your opinion on running Photoshop CS4, Dreamweaver CS4 and Flash CS4 on that machine.
Money is a little tight.
Thank you in advance.

Rick is providing good advice however DO NOT purchase any additional memory from Apple. You can get a much better value if you purchase the same memory from Crucial or OWC. OWC currently is highly recommended and only costs $88.00. The link for OWC's memory is:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/8566DDR3S4GP/
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I want to buy a refurbished Macbook Pro solely to use 'protools 8' on-nothing else. I am being told there are only certain year Macbooks Pro that will run this programme. I know I need 8gb, can anyone give me advice on what to buy/look for?

I want to buy a refurbished 'Macbook Pro' solely to use 'protools 8' on-nothing else!.
I am being told there are only certain year Macbook Pro that will run this programme.
I know I need 8gb, can anyone give me advice on what to buy/look for please?

It appears to depend upon the version you will be using:
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/Compatibility/en352429
Based on what I can tell, you may have to go to the second hand market in order to get a MBP that will run a compatible OSX.
Ciao.

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Hi all! I need to buy iPad tomorrow. Need your advice which iPad to buy? For almost the same money I can buy iPad 2 + 3g or iPad 4 wireless only. Both of them are 16gb and price difference is 70€ for iPad 4

16GB vs 32GB vs 64GB: Which new iPad storage capacity should you get?
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How much content will fit on my iPod or iPhone?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1867
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Buying computer for Solaris 8 - any advice?

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What to buy and what NOT to buy for smooth installation (if that can be done) ... :)
<br>
Anyone managed to install it on AMD systems? Duron? And what to look for there?
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Is it possible to have two (or more) different icloud mail accounts (not alias) under the same apple id? If not what is you best advice for all family members to have their own e-mail and still share the purchases under the same apple id. Thanks

mannyace wrote:
Thanks for the response.
So I basically won't run into any trouble? I
There should be no issues. Its designed to work like that. You don't change Apple IDs just because you get a new device.
mannyace wrote:
Thanks for the response.
Is there any chance that the phones can fall out of sync?
Unlikely. But nothing is impossible. Though I don;t see how that would happen. As long as both are signed into the Same Apple ID / iCloud Account they will be N'Sync. (Bad Joke)
mannyace wrote:
Thanks for the response.
If I get a message or buy an app or take a photo on the iPhone 5, how do I get those things onto the iPhone 6?
If you buy an App, you have 2 ways to get it to the iPhone6: If Automatic Downloads is enabled in Settings->iTunes & App Store, it will automatically download to the iPhone 6 when you buy it on the 5 and vice versa if you buy it on the 6, it will download to the 5.
Alternatively, you can simply go to the App Store App->Updates->Purchased and look for the App there and download it. Purchased Apps will not require payment again. i.e They'll be free to download to the iPhone 6 once purchased.
SMS Messages will sync over using Continuity as long as they are on the same Wifi network. Otherwise, restoring the iPhone 5 backup to the iPhone 6 will transfer all messages received up until the backup was made onto the iPhone 6.
Images, can be transferred either through Photo Stream
My Photo Stream FAQ - Apple Support
Or any Cloud service you want such as Dropbox, or One Drive.
mannyace wrote:
Also, something i forgot to ask initially: Should I update the iPhone 5 to iOS 8 first or does that not matter?
If you want the Continuity features as explained above you need to update the iPhone 5 to iOS 8. Otherwise its not all that important.

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Hello everyone!
I want to purchase a new Apple 27" Display. Obviously I would like to buy a Thunderbolt display as it seems the LED display will be on its way out as soon as a TB MacPro is released. When they do release a MacPro with TB I am planning on buying one as I'm way past due on an update.
If I buy the TB display today I have no way of connecting it to my current MacPro. My MacPro has a DVI connection. From what I see there is no way to connect a TB display to my Mac since it doesn't support TB. So means I have no option but to buy the LED version of the monitor and run an adapter (like the Atlona AT-DP400) since my MacPro only has 2 DVI ports.
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I'm frazzled and want to make sure I spend my $999 wisely. Thank you so much in advance for your help.

That would be fantastic, I'll keep my fingers crossed as well. My current MacPro (6 years old) just isn't working very well with CS6 Photoshop (guess the ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512 MB isn't really supported.) Anyhow, thought it would be best to hold out until we see a MacPro with Thunderbolt before I buy a new one.
These new 27" Displays sure are nice though. I'm running it along side my 23" Cinema Display. Like people have mentioned, the glare is a bit distracting since I have windows behind me, but overall I'm very happy with it. I only wish I could set the resolution of the two monitors so when I drag a window from one monitor to the other the size of the window would stay the same.
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Cable advice for iMac PowerPC G4 (3.3)

Hi,
I have this old iMac PowerPC G4 (3.3), the one that has a base station like half a football. I need to get a cable from this to my new projector, which is a DLP Theme, it has a multitude of port options, from S-video, VGA/Scart / Ypb pr, HDMI (V1.3) & finally Y/G, PB/b,Pr/R, Video but only one option from the iMac (I think anyway!). When I look at the Apple store there are many options, can anyone give some advice for the right cable to buy?
TFN
Jamie

You need something like this: http://store.apple.com/us/product/M8639G/A
Might depend on the age of your iMac - don't know if the miniVGA connector
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Im after so advice for itunes!

im after so advice for itunes! so, when i buy my music from dj sites such as beatport, i download it and it loads straight into itunes as i want it to so it syncs with traktor!
however when i download sample packs for logic if i play them or audition any of the sounds they to load in to itunes which i dont want cause i dont want it clogged up with loads of little samples, plus its takin up extra space on my harddrive.
so what i want is to have all samples on an external harddrive and be able to play them with out them copying on to itunes. so when i open logic there all saved away from the mac, i can play them etc and they wont jump onto the mac.
aswell as this i want to have multiple itunes librarys saved to the external harddrive. one for my albums and band music etc. and one where i can save all my dj music to before i drop it onto the mac library for traktor.
i hope this makes sense.
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drusif

drusif wrote:
so is there some way of making Quick time the default player for an external harddrive?
Drusif, not really. As Christopher notes, you can set the default by file type, but not by drive location.
What I suggest you do is to set QuickTime (or some other non-iTunes player) as the default for all music files. Then, when you find something you plan to keep, add it to your iTunes library.

My business is buying ipads for our technicians. They all need the same app. If I buy one app, can more than one user use it at the same time if they have the same apple id?

My business is buying ipads for our technicians. How many users can share one apple id & how many users with the same apple id can use the same app at the same time?

Use VPP. Select an MDM. Read the Google doc below and nsdjoey write up.
IT Resources -- ios & OS X -- This is a fantastic web page. I like the education site over the business site.
View documentation, video tutorials, and web pages to help IT professionals develop and deploy education solutions.
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    scroll down after all the pretty picture. Click on the words "For It".
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IT managers who are new to configurator and managing a cart of ios devices:
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https://discussions.apple.com/message/18942350#18942350
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3804209?tstart=0
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https://discussions.apple.com/message/22286109#22286109
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Multiple libraries, Pbook/Pmac, advice for management & updating please.

Hi Everyone,
I travel frequently, and am looking for suggestions to keep all my iPhoto libraries up to date. I currently have a g5, Powerbook, and Mini.
I just upgraded to iPhoto 6 and I have several thousand photos on my Dual g5. I just came back with 1000 more from my diving trip. The problem is, they are on my Powerbook, and taking up alot of space on the relatively small hard drive. I managed to work through the rough upgrade from 5 to 6, and now I need some more help...
1) What is your advice for managing multiple libraries of photos.
2) What is the best way to transfer the iphoto pics (and movies) to my desktop, which of course has the larger storage capacity, after travelling...
Thanks,

Jason:
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Now there is a way to have a library on your PB that reflects the one on your G5 but is only a fraction of the size. That's to have an alias based library on your PB that uses the Originals folder as its source of source files. (My 25,600 files, 27G, are represented by an iPhoto Library folder of only 1.75G). When the PB is not connected with the G5, say with a LAN, it will have limited capabilities which are in part: you'll only be able to view the thumbnail files, be able to add comments, create, delete or move albums around, add keywords (but with some hassle-but it can be done). You can't do anything that requires moving thumbnails around, work with books, slideshows or calendars. Once the two computers are networked together again the library will act as normal.
Now while on the road you can have a "normal" library to import new full sized files, keyword them, add comments, etc. and then transfer to the G5 library. Once in the G5 library they will be represented in a roll(s) and corresponding folder in the Originals folder. You then fire up the "alias" library, and import those new folders in the G5 Originals folder.
It may be a lot of work but it may be one way of doing it.
I've not done any of the "sharing" with iPhoto so don't know if that's another possible candidate for transferring.
P.S. FWIW I've created this workflow for converting from a conventional library to an alias based one.

Advice for real performance of LV8.5 operate in the XP and Vista

Hi all
My company had purchased new computers for LabVIEW programming purpose.
We may install the LV8.5 in these computers but OS are not decided yet. Also, we have the current PC is only XP licensed
Therefore, can anyone give the advice for the real performance advantage of using :
LV8.5 with Vista over LV8.5 with XP
LV8.5 with Vista over LV7.1 with XP
LV7.1 with Vista over LV7.1 with XP
New computers detail:
Intel(R) Pentium(R)Dual-Core processor E2160
BCH-P111 -1.80GHz, 1MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB
2GB RAM
Thanks
Best Regards
Steve So

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