Members veil Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 So I bought a Mac Mini in the fall of 2005. It's 2008 already and I know computers don't have a long life before they are obsolete. Mine hasn't given me a single problem since I got it, but I don't have a lot of disposable income so I really need to plan my purchases far in advance. Is it a good idea to start putting money into savings so that when the time comes, I can get what I want? I'm trying to sell my Mesa, and I was going to use the funds for more gear, but it might be wiser to use it for computer (which I use constantly for recording). What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SonicVI Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 Mac's go obsolete a lot slower than PC's. I've been using the same G4 since 2001. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members smrz Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 Honestly, the best thing to do would be to save the money so you have emergency funds for whatever reason if you don't already have that. Your computer is probably fine for a while, but who knows... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belt Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 Save for teh sake of saving.Spend when you need to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members archofmusic Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 I've had my Dell Laptop since '01. Still running strong. No reason to get rid of it anytime soon. I got a used desktop PC from my office for $60. The motherboard, chip, hard drives, and power supply are great. I'll have to replace the Vid Card, Sound Card, and get a DVD Burner but I can really see no reason to buy a brand new computer ever. And honestly, until all the software manufacturers make their programs 64 bit compatible you aren't going to see a whole lot of performance increase out of a new machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billboneys Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 Honestly, the best thing to do would be to save the money so you have emergency funds for whatever reason if you don't already have that. Your computer is probably fine for a while, but who knows... Good advice unless you live at home and your parents will cover any emergency you might have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Turd Furgison Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 if you want to set a target date for spending your monies, put it at the 3/4 of '09 when intel and amd plan to release their octocore processors. if a computer can't do everything you want when running eight processors then you're doing it wrong. :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rileykill Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 +1 for getting a few more years out of your mac. If it gets the job done then I wouldn't upgrade yet. Those little mac mini's are pretty remarkable for their size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members veil Posted May 7, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 +1 for getting a few more years out of your mac. If it gets the job done then I wouldn't upgrade yet. Those little mac mini's are pretty remarkable for their size. Well, I definitely won't buy anything unless I need it. I probably will only buy a new compy box if mine completely {censored}s the bed. PS I love Mac Mini. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TomCTC Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 I've been on the same laptop since 2005. It has wear marks from my wrists and the keys are shiny. I want a new one, you should too. NCDs are fun and make kittens fall onto their backs and roll around with joy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members opultaM Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 Been using my Powerbook G4 since 2003. Is it the fastest thing on the face of the earth? No. But it's alot faster than the IBM laptop i got at work 2 years ago. They are replacing those soon. And it's only crashed once requiring system restore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members goldie-gold Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 Mac users Anyway, if it works for you, don't replace it. I agree that saving all the time, just in case is a good policy. I would also say that waiting until your current Mac () dies is not the best policy. If it craps out and you are without one for a while, it would be a real drag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members veil Posted May 7, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 Mac users Anyway, if it works for you, don't replace it. I agree that saving all the time, just in case is a good policy. I would also say that waiting until your current Mac ( ) dies is not the best policy. If it craps out and you are without one for a while, it would be a real drag. Well, my theory was that if I start saving now, by the time it does die I'll have a big chunk of change and can buy one immediately. Kind of risky since you can't predict when a computer is going to take the big nap, but hmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members opultaM Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 People who say "Macusers :rolleyes:" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jorhay1 Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 mac minis are a great investmentwhen it goes obsoletejust get the new mac mini Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members veil Posted May 7, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 mac minis are a great investment when it goes obsolete just get the new mac mini They certainly are super-boss! I got one months before they started making them with Intel chips, the new line of them are like twice as powerful as mine. Honestly, if I were to do it over again, I'm not sure if I could get the new iMacs, or a laptop, or just get a Mini again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tengo Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 Also, unless your seriously recording or playing games (which I don't expect you are), that should still last you fine for a long while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mrweems Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 So I bought a Mac Mini in the fall of 2005. It's 2008 already and I know computers don't have a long life before they are obsolete. Mine hasn't given me a single problem since I got it, but I don't have a lot of disposable income so I really need to plan my purchases far in advance. Is it a good idea to start putting money into savings so that when the time comes, I can get what I want? I'm trying to sell my Mesa, and I was going to use the funds for more gear, but it might be wiser to use it for computer (which I use constantly for recording).What do you guys think? External hard drive for recording. You can get a 1 terabyte for $300 Just make sure its 7200 RPM for recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jorhay1 Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 They certainly are super-boss! I got one months before they started making them with Intel chips, the new line of them are like twice as powerful as mine. Honestly, if I were to do it over again, I'm not sure if I could get the new iMacs, or a laptop, or just get a Mini again? I would just go with a new mini as it too will soon be obsolete but if you spend more on an Imac (a mini is just a laptop with no monitor, battery) it will will also be old an a couple years so you lose more money with a new mini you can keep your monitors, drives and your loss/reinvestment is minimal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members johanwastaken Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 If you want something cheap you could buy parts and assemble yourself. Then you get a OSX86 and put it on the PC. Macs are overpriced most of the time so there might be a few bucks to save. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheGareth Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 If your Mac is still running then I see no reason to change it. If you wanted you could stick in some extra RAM as that's a pretty cost effective upgrade. If it aint broke don't fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bigsnake Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 if you want your computer to last i would suggest building a computer. that way you can replace parts and upgrade when you need to. you might save some money on the computer if you find good deals on the parts but more importantly you'll save money by not buying a mac or a dell every few years, dude. dell dude. dude dell. um k +1 I built a computer back when I was in high school in 00'. I have just been replacing parts as I need since last summer when I did another full rebuild. Wanted a new tower, RAID, etc. Still have same keyboard, mouse, speakers, sound card, network card, Cd drive and DVD burner. I would have kept the same monitor but it got dropped in a move and I had to buy a new one It's a lot cheaper to just change out parts when you need. Plus, if you're not buying top of the line new stuff, it's not as expensive. And you're not rebuying all the parts you can just reuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bigsnake Posted May 7, 2008 Members Share Posted May 7, 2008 Mac users Anyway, if it works for you, don't replace it. I agree that saving all the time, just in case is a good policy. I would also say that waiting until your current Mac ( ) dies is not the best policy. If it craps out and you are without one for a while, it would be a real drag. You know, I use to not like Mac just because people thought it was "trendy" to have one. Then my room mate got one and it was constantly, "mac does this, this is cool about mac, mac is awesome, mac mac mac mac mac mac, this is the greatest purchase I've made." my greatest purchases are all listed in my sig, btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diocide Posted May 8, 2008 Members Share Posted May 8, 2008 I bought my mac mini the first weekend they were available... I think it was in 2004 or 2005. Mine is still going strong. The only things I've upgraded was the ram, and I added an external hard drive for storing music... I really want to get a new mac, just to get a new one, but I honestly can't think of a reason to get rid of this one... I guess I just like to use things till they totally die, like my last truck.... I say, keep some money off to the side, or better yet, just save a couple hundo and throw the rest on a credit card, to give yourself a little leeway in the payment schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.