Proposed new system, what do you think?

[John Duncan]

professorhat:I did try the OpenOffice program before and found it was pretty rubbish running on the Mac, hence why I got iWork when it effectively came free with my upgrade to Leopard and iLife 09.

Just downloading v3.0 of NeoOffice. There's no doubt that MS Office (whether for Mac or Win) is slicker (aesthetically at any rate), but Neo does what it says on the tin, and does it for free. I do still use Mac Office generally on both my OSX machines, just because it's there.

 

[the record spot]

Bit late to the party, but we have a Compaq (rebadged HP, as HP own Compaq) Presario CQ60 laptop, which has Vista, 3Gb RAM, 250Gb HD. £379 in John Lewis last Summer. The corresponding HP machine, which is identical in appearance (different badge obviously) but has a slightly better chip than the Celeron Dual Core 1.6Ghz, was an extra £80. We didn't need the higher specc'd chip. Very happy with the machine indeed.

 

[Alec]

Read on a mac forum that Macs are slower given the same hardware...?

Thanks for all the contributions folks.

 

[Alec]

I'm putting the Mac idea to bed for now I'm afraid. The shop say they wont support it, I've heard bad things of Apple's support too. This, combined with my other (on their own, probably small) doubts, really puts me off. Would have liked to experience a machine that doesnt need tweaking to sound right (so they say) but still. Guess i have some time in the "optimizing windows" threads ahead of me.

 

[professorhat]

That's fair enough, I can understand the support issue (though are there are any Apple stores close by?). To be honest though, if one of the main uses is for music and you've already decided you don't like iTunes, this does rather put a fly in the ointment for the Apple argument since, for me, the free iLife package is one of the biggest reasons to own a Mac for a home user - it's one of the main reasons I use one at home.

 

[John Duncan]

It is fair enough, yeah. Some things are great on the Mac, others not so good (like finding mates who know how they work and can help when things go wrong). A Windows 7 machine will serve you just as well in the vast majority of areas, and worse or better in very few.

 

[Alec]

Thanks for the sympathetic words chaps (tho i admit im not far from the bull ring and milton keynes, both have apple stores and i might go one day for a giggle).

Just for the heck of it ill post the revised pc spec here when i get it.

Incidentally, are all macs 64 bit? Or just the pro and imac (which i assume are due to teh large anmounts of ram you can pick in the config bit - i made a pro at nearly 10k!).

 

[Alec]

Here's the revised spec. The monitor only has VGA and I wanted better. The processor and mobo i cant find anywhere to look up.

INTEL Core Processor i3 540 2 X 3.06 4M

Motherboard Asrock H55M Core i5 S/L uATX

Case Evo Labs 600W PSU +12CM

Case Compucase 6K28 Mini Case Silve

Memory Internal 3.5 card reader XD

Memory 4GB DDR3 (2 x 2GB)

Floppy Drive *** No floppy drive ***

Hard Drive 500GB Serial-ATA

Video Card PALIT 1GB GeF 9500GT

Keyboard Black Keyboard USB

Pointer Black Wheel Mouse & Mat PS2

OS Software Windows 7 Home Premium 64

CD Rom Drive 22x DVDñR/RW Black SATA

Sound Card HD 7.1 + SPDIF Audio

Monitor Benq 19" Wide G920WA

Networking Gigabit LAN

 

[Craig M.]

i still think you're going a bit mad on the specs, based on what you want to use it for.

why not try something along these lines http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/938593 and then get yourself a really nice monitor, as that's the bit you will be looking at? it would still slay your old one.

 

[Alec]

Thanks Craig.

Isnt the processor i was quoted better? Also, thing is, I'd have to spend more to get the connections i want, and then a monitor. I'd like DVI or HDMI (no real need for the latter tho) for the monitor, and a decent connection available should it be conected to the TV (but that would only be for media player duties so it doesnt need to look spectacular - no films or games. Then i need the optical connection of course.

 

[Craig M.]

oh yeah, the processor you quoted is better, but even the one i linked to is complete overkill for web browsing. really, the only difference for you would be a slightly quicker boot up, and firefox or whatever might load one second quicker

this http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0386309010.1264106985@@@@&BV_EngineID=cceiadejgjmkffkcflgceggdhhmdgmj.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=208762&category_oid=-37526#productInformationSection is cheap as chips and includes an spdif out as well as hdmi. it's also 64 bit, so will be a lot faster with win7 64 then xp 32. for a good monitor have a look in a photography mag/forum.

these are excellent

http://about.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=77383502/search=NEC%20LCD1990SXBK/st=query&mode=about_compreviews

 

[Alec]

That does look interesting, cheers.

I'm not seeingthe SDIF bit but ill take your word for it.

Incidentally, winds me up a bit when they say spdif without saying optical or coax. Sometimes it means both i think.

 

[Craig M.]

you have to click on the full product spec bit

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0386309010.1264106985@@@@&BV_EngineID=cceiadejgjmkffkcflgceggdhhmdgmj.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=208762&category_oid=-37526#productInformationSection

agree about the spdif bit, no idea which it is.

 

[Alec]

Have been looking at pics and spec of imacs. and have decided i am ficker than i thought. im not sure they have optical...? Also, is the display connection there so you can connect a second display (with the built in one coming one when you power it up)? Incidentally, their pics dont show a power connection.

Am i also right in thinking that if you live within a certain mileage of a technician with Apple, they will in some circumstances come out to you? Had a look at a list of techs today but there were some many different kinds (so many differently qualifies technicians) i couldnt really make hea or tail.

 

[John Duncan]

Just to be clear, are we talking iMac or Mac Mini (since I thought the iMac was too big)?

 

[Alec]

Sorry John, you are quite correct. Please ignore the question about the imac.

I need to start looking at this with a new clarity as my brain is fried. Had another PC quote today.

 

[Alec]

al7478:

Read on a mac forum that Macs are slower given the same hardware...?

Thanks for all the contributions folks.

Anyone fancy commenting on this?

Sorry, i know im being greedy but im still really considering a mac, if i thihnk it will run well on relatively low spec and if i can overcome my doubts about the warranty thing...

 

[PJPro]

I would have thought the lowest spec mini-mac currently available would have more than enough performance to suit your stated needs.

 

[Alec]

Exactly what i thought people would say, and my instincts said the same. Thanks PJ.

Have decided on a spec for the PC if i go that route, and have also configured a suitable machine from Dell, should i decide to use them again. Im going to an Apple store next week i think, but i need to get over the warranty thing in my mind. Then, if a get a pc, i need to stop myself thinking "but its not bit perfect"; I'm not really keen on doing anything that disables my WMP volume control.

I'm really not convinced of the sound improvement there anyway. Never will be i guess unless i hear a standard pc setup side by side with an apple one, or actually just buy one.

 

[PJPro]

What's your concern over the warranty? Why do you need it?

 

[Alec]

Well, for around fifty quid less i can get an at home warranty from dell (which i have found pretty good with my current machine) or the local dealer. But for 50-60 quid more, apple wont come out and will want me to post it or drive it to a store if theres a problem, then theyll keep it as long as it takes. i know its an if, but im not competent with such things myself.

 

[Craig M.]

bit controversial this but, maybe if you steer clear of dell you won't need the warranty?

i've never had a pc or mac go wrong, never had a dell.

someone i know - 2 dell pcs, both gone wrong. i also tried to take that steaming pile of poo that is vista off his dell and put xp on, after wrestling with trying to get drivers for it to go online for bloody ages i was ready to boot it out the window.

i really hate dell pcs! sorry 'bout that, i feel much better now.

if you do go to mac though, you will have a period of teeth gnashing until you get used to the different os.

 

[Alec]

Craig M.:

bit controversial this but, maybe if you steer clear of dell you won't need the warranty?

i've never had a pc or mac go wrong, never had a dell.

someone i know - 2 dell pcs, both gone wrong. i also tried to take that steaming pile of poo that is vista off his dell and put xp on, after wrestling with trying to get drivers for it to go online for bloody ages i was ready to boot it out the window.

i really hate dell pcs! sorry 'bout that, i feel much better now.

Thats quite alright. I'll keep it in mind. Tho most unsure why XP drivers were hard to get. Also unsure this was dell's fault, but I'm often wrong (

shhh...).

Craig M: if you do go to mac though, you will have a period of teeth gnashing until you get used to the different os.

Thought about this, but hope it will be fairly short lived and i gather win7 is quite different to XP anyway...One thing im not sure i like the sound of is using keyboard short cuts more as ive heard many talk about where Apples are concerned. I like mouses. Not the kind to remember the numbers of teh channels on my sky box, just use favourites.

 

[idc]

W7 is faster, more efficient and I as a computer dimbo have found it easier to use than XP. But it is not that different for the basics I want of surfing and lots of bookmarks to access my favourite sites. Like you I prefer a mouse and I got a tiny one with a light that works on any surface, including the cushion next to me.

 

[John Duncan]

Craig M.:someone i know - 2 dell pcs, both gone wrong

Someone I know (me) - two Dell PCs, neither gone wrong.

Actually, that's a lie - the CD drive went in one, replaced myself for £7.