Don't forget that 8GB of memory is shared with the graphics.Quote:
Originally Posted by Biscuit
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Don't forget that 8GB of memory is shared with the graphics.Quote:
Originally Posted by Biscuit
I've been finding that you do need that sort of RAM for OS X these days. I just seems to be a complete memory hog. I upgraded my parents' MacBook to 4GB of RAM (the max it supports) and it still slows to a crawl and has to use the pagefile with only web browser (10-15tabs) and a mail client open...
Personally i would plump for the M6 as its a better all rounder.Quote:
Originally Posted by kajjot
Am assuming that you are saying the Mac is the computing equivalent of a Ferrari?
No wonder people build Hackintoshes.
You're kind of missing the point. Let me summarise...Quote:
Originally Posted by kajjot
1. The pricing of this makes little sense when you see what you can get in the Windows space. However, the "Apple Premium" probably explains (or rather "excuses") this;
2. The pricing of this "entry level" iMac doesn't make sense in the current range. If you add on 1/6 of the money you've already spent then you can get a better unit;
3. As pointed out by LSG501, if you "just gotta have a Mac" then for heaven's sake buy an Macbook Air, which gives you a lot more flexibility at the cost of storage (unless you go for an external drive). And I think most folks would argue that the Macbook Air carries more "geek points" than the iMac.
And I'm going to disagree strongly with that last part of your post. Price/performance comparisons versus a PC definitely ARE worth doing. When all is said and done, the purpose of both Windows PC and iMac is to run applications. And from what I've seen there's no mainstream applications that would force you to choose a Mac. I've also heard many comments recently that OS X appears to be "dumbing down". Not being a user I can't comment - but I'm still at a loss to understand the justification for the "Apple Premium" these days other than pure and simple snob value.
That said, if you offered me one for the price of a "normal" computer then I definitely wouldn't turn you down. I'd be curious if the "OS X Experience" lives up to the billing. ;)
I think Macbook Air with its 11" screen is a waste of time, then you might as well just use an iPad.
What most of us here are forgetting is that not every one is a techie and that there are a lot of people who consider £1000 to be a small amount.
Those are the people who like to have the premium factor and don't care much for specs or whatever is inside that box. :D
We are the small group enthusiasts who will squeeze every last Mhz from every penny spent but for the other 90% of users it means nothing as long as it looks nice and they have an assumption of quality from a brand that they perceive as being premium.
Remember the days when people were buying shiny new laptops with vista and 512MB of ram just to start hating vista. Which i had no problems with when running i7 with 6GB of ram. :D
2014 - no ssd, no gpu and a crappy laptop cpu in a huge case. There's a market for that: people who really don't care about the computer as long as it looks good and runs movies and a browser.
If this computer is not fanless, Apple deserves a facepalm.
I like Apple kit. I've got quite a bit of it, but I do think going for soldered/glued on RAM/storage is dumb. I'm still using a macbook pro which is over 5 years old. I've maxed out the RAM and stuck in a replacement hard drive and it's still going strong. This obsession with uber thinness is getting silly, and it smacks of planned obsolescence.
More of a a situation where people using specific tools (video editing or graphics, for example) want a tried and tested stable solution. They aren't interested in the computer as such, its just a tool.Quote:
Originally Posted by kajjot
Ah, I hear people say, you can get high end graphics operating on Windows - which is true, but there is often a slight issue with drivers, and there are so many variations with hardware that getting maximum performance can be a bit of trial and error.
Apple's hadware and spoftware are tightly controlled, so while the choice of (say) graphics cards may be limited, the odds are that the end platform wil be stable.
Apple aren't a software company in the same way Microsoft is - they sell appliances which uses software to deliver a result. And that works for people for whom it is just a tool, and to whom down time may be very expensive, so they pay more for hardware that will do the job they want.
In a corporate situation, an IT provider or department will do the same things with a Windows platform. The hardware spec will be tightly controlled, and the operating system locked down so the configuration performance is optimized. That is taken to extremes where windows is used in embedded applications, such as ticket machines.
As for Apple bashing - its the fashion. 10 or 12 years ago, forums would be full of comments about "Windoze" from "Micro$oft".
Quote:
Originally Posted by lumireleon
£600 for a good spec build and money left over for a nice monitor, mouse and keyboard.
I never get why Apple sell so many low spec boxes for high spec money, I guess it keeps people in jobs though.
Because like PeterB said, you're not simply getting the sum of the parts. There's a whole ecosystem. Whether you think it's worth it or not is a different matter. I personally just want something to work when I get home. I spend enough of my time fixing customer problems on Linux/Solaris/AIX/Windows etc etc etc.
I accept that it's going to cost a bit more (but not much more once you factor in the decent display panel), I'm not going to get exactly the hardware spec I'd like (I'd prefer a slightly higher end GPU), but it fits within the acceptable parameters and gives a good overall experience.
...oh and if it goes bad, you take it into an Apple store. Any Apple store, and they'll fix it or replace it for you. Try doing that with a build it yourself PC and see how far it gets you. Again to some people it's not worth it, but to the general public (who aren't geeks like you or I) that in itself is worth it's weight in gold. As are the 1-1 lessons you can get in store. £79 for all you can eat for a year. If you're a technophobe that's a great deal.
Mac Mini is only £499 much better value IMO