Buyers Guide - find the product you really need
Not sure about what kind of Mac to get?
A buyers guide can be needed when you have read review after review thinking about what Mac you are going to buy. Still you feel a bit overwhelmed about all information you have and now you are more confused than ever.
The goal of this Mac buyers guide is to help you on your way selecting the perfect Mac for your use, you will find information about the products and what to really expect when buying. This guide will not be a 100 - page long guide with all technical specifications you can dig up. It will contain information about what I think is important for the regular user. You might not agree with me, and you are welcome to come with comments or suggestions if you would like that.
On a budget
Yes it is true, Macs are generally a bit more expensive compared to the regular PC counterpart. So what makes it worth to shell out more money for a Mac? In my opinion the Mac is all about the software. When you buy the Mac you get high quality software that will make you get productive in no time. Also Mac OS X Leopard comes in just one version. There is no OS X home edition, business edition, ultimate edition, home pro edition and so on... It is only one version for users. Mac OS X, thats it. Well, to be honest there is another version of Mac OS X and that is Mac OS X Server, but that is something you probably wont be using.
If you have little money to spend but still want to have a Mac you might want to look for used Macs although it might be difficult for you to know what to look after. One option would be to buy refurbished computers directly from Apple themselves. This way you can get your Mac cheaper and still directly buy them from Apple with 1 year warranty and the latest OS X operating system. I have written more about it at the page: Refurbished MacBook
Buyers Guide: Stationary Computers
Apple provides stationary computers for you that dont need the mobility of a laptop. We have the Mac mini, the iMac, and the beast Mac Pro.
Buyers Guide: Mac Mini
Mac mini is the cheapest computer Apple offers, it will work great with regular office use like writing documents, reading and sending e-mail, surfing the web, listening to music and watching movies. Because of the graphics card inside the Mac mini I would not recommend this computer if you want to play the latest games, it would probably work but the experience wouldn't be so good due to low frame-rates. You also need to add your own display, keyboard and mouse. If you dont have this already it might be a better choice to select the iMac instead.
Buyers Guide: iMac
With the iMac you get a complete computer ready to go. It has a built in display, you get a keyboard and a mouse in the package. The iMac also have several models for you to choose from, this way you can select the one model that fits your budget. The computing horsepower is also higher and this means you can do more productive work in a fast environment, even with the cheapest model. With the iMac you also get better graphics card and thus the gaming performance is higher. Although you might not have any interest in games it is a good way to measure a computers performance. Because it test the performance of the CPU and the Graphics card at the same time. iMac is good for you that dont have to move your computer, but only have it standing on a desk. It looks good too!
Buyers Guide: Mac Pro
This is the fastest and most powerful Mac ever made. I can talk about all the technical aspects if you want but you can get that information elsewhere, right? Suffice to say this machine can power every application you throw at it with ease. Logic Pro, Maya, Final Cut Pro? No problem. And if you would like to upgrade your computer the Mac Pro can easily be upgraded in many ways, hard drive, memory, graphics card, even CPU, it can also be configured in many ways too when you are buying it. With the Mac Pro you get the keyboard and the Mighty Mouse. You will have to add the display yourself. The price also tells you that this is no ordinary computer of course ...
I am not sure about gaming though, although the Mac come with a powerful graphics card there are more powerful cards out there, and if you buy this computer you are probably aiming for the best of the best. The only negative I have to say about this machine is the lack of more high performing graphics card available. Dont get me wrong though! the card supplied with the Mac IS really powerful and will run the newest games just fine, but you can get better cards in the PC / Windows world.
Buyers Guide: Apple Laptops
The laptops Apple make are really popular, they come in different sizes and shapes and price ranges. The laptops are the following: MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.
White MacBook
The white MacBook is the cheapest laptop Apple offers, it comes with the 13-inch widescreen LED display and one color, white. I know that this laptop is popular with students because of its price, and size. Despite of the cheaper price the power in this little laptop is respectable, you can do a lot of things like the usual. Read e-mails, surf the web, write text, watch movies in HD, edit pictures to name a few. While the graphics card is not the best out there it can still play some games. If you want, Read about my impressions of the older MacBook
Aluminum MacBook
The Aluminum MacBook Pro is Apple latest update to the MacBook Pro line. Compared to the older white MacBook it provides the beautiful aluminum enclosure. And you get a little speed boost with many different CPU/RAM options. If you want to know more you can read my impressions about the first version of this notebook in the Aluminum MacBook Review.
MacBook Pro
The 13-inch MacBook now joins the Pro line with the 15 and 17-inch MacBooks. If you are a bit into gaming, video editing or image work this might be a better choice for you. You also have the possibility to select a bit faster processor if you need more speed.
Buyers Guide: MacBook Air
The MacBook Air is one of the worlds thinnest laptops. To get to this Apple had to make some compromises regarding the speed, lacking some ports, cd-rom, hard drive size and so on. This is the computer for you that feel size is the most important, because this laptop is really thin! You dont believe it before you see it. If you need a really small laptop and do not care so much about the performance this might be the choice for you. It has built in wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1.
In 2009 Apple gave this computer a much needed price-cut. It is now more affordable.