Need help to buy Mac

Monkey Archive Forums/Digital Discussion/Need help to buy Mac

rebelas(Posted 2012) [#1]
I have never used Mac. I like to get a cheap one to do 2D programming for iPad games. What is the minimum specifications that I have to go for? I prefer laptop, but a desktop is OK.


Why0Why(Posted 2012) [#2]
Whenever I need to buy a Mac, I buy them from the refurb store at apple.com. A Mac Mini will suit your needs. Anything listed on the refurb store will do the trick. The prices start at $519 and you will pay a few hundred more for a laptop.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac


therevills(Posted 2012) [#3]
If you've got a spare monitor, keyboard and mouse, the Mac Mini is great to use and its the cheapest Mac you will get.


gekkonier(Posted 2012) [#4]
And for coding its absolutly okay.


benmc(Posted 2012) [#5]
I too have a Mac Mini and it's as fast as the old PC I do everything else on so I'm mostly happy. I had to get a keyboard, mouse, and HDMI adapter for it (had a monitor), and my price came to just under $900 after taxes and shipping.

If I could do it again, I'd easily spend the extra $350 (or so) and get a laptop of some kind and just do ALL my development and graphics editing on it so I didn't have to go back and forth from PC to Mac all the time.


pantson(Posted 2012) [#6]
I picked up a Mac Mini from ebay for £250 (including monitor, keyboard etc)
As its only for compiling, my only requirement was for intel chipset.


Xaron(Posted 2012) [#7]
$25 for Mac OS. Just install it on a "normal" PC.


NoOdle(Posted 2012) [#8]
I opted to go for macbook. Couldn't afford the pro or air. Best decision I ever made, I only wish I had gone for a slightly faster processor and more ram as I notice it does struggle in photoshop and vmware fusion from time to time.


muddy_shoes(Posted 2012) [#9]
I've just coughed up for a refurb macbook that seems to be from 2010 or so. I considered the hackintosh route but it seems a little bit foolish to run a dev account from a EULA-breaking OS install. I'm sure plenty of people get away with it but I'd prefer to have an officially supported config for dev stuff.

I guess we'll see if I'm charmed enough by the thing to use it regularly outside of just doing iOS builds.


rebelas(Posted 2012) [#10]
Thank you all.

I have an extra pc, why not going with what Xaron says? That makes sense. On that pc I have AMD athlon X2 and geforce 9500.

Xaron, did you have trouble installing Mac OS?


Xaron(Posted 2012) [#11]
No. But I let it run via VMware on Windows 7. Everything works quite good including the deployment to the app store. I don't know if an AMD fits the needs of Mac OS, I've heard some trouble stories with AMD.

Nevertheless I use a Macbook as well but still prefer the dev tools on Windows like Jungle IDE.


simonh(Posted 2012) [#12]
It's worth pointing out that if you're thinking of buying a new Mac, several new models are likely to be introduced at WWDC in early June.


pantson(Posted 2012) [#13]
I had a MAC running in VMware.. worked a treat but thought I would buy a MAC so that I didnt run the risk of bad licensing.


rebelas(Posted 2012) [#14]
I will go with Mac Mini off the eBay, they are cheap there. New Models? Don't have money for new ones.


therevills(Posted 2012) [#15]
Make sure you get an Intel based on (not a PowerPC).


rebelas(Posted 2012) [#16]
Thanks, will keep in mind.