This is The World According to Buchs - Keepin’ it moving since 2003!

For once, this isn’t about me going shopping for some new gizmo or upgrade.

I just got an e-mail from a friend asking for advice on a new Apple computer. Since he’s the 3rd person in as many months to ask for my help, I thought that I would jot some of my thoughts on the matter down here for future reference.

Laptop or Desktop?

Having gone both routes in the past, I can only speak for myself: I prefer the desktop. Don’t get me wrong, the laptop is a wonderful thing - especially when you combine it with a wireless network. But I found that I spent most of my time with the laptop plugged into the wall, sitting at my desk. For the money, the desktop gives you more options (in terms of upgradability). Of course, one of those options does not include swinging over to the Starbucks or such to surf over a latte, but it’s a tradeoff.

What Do You Want To Do?

The first question to ask is, what are you going to do with your new Mac? For 80% of the people I know, the answer is probably “surf the web, check e-mail, play some games”. If that’s the case, you’re looking at something like an iBook or the new Mac Mini. If you’re doing something more heavy-duty - graphic design, video editing, music production - you’ll want a PowerBook or a PowerMac. The price difference between the consumer models and the pro line is right around $1,000 - if you’re going to spend the extra money, you’d better need the power.

Processor Speed

Again, it depends what you’re doing with your system. In very simple layman’s terms, the processor speed is how fast your computer can think. Most Apple models come in 2 or 3 different speeds, and the cost jumps are relatively hefty. Again, if you don’t need the power, don’t spend the money. The average user won’t notice the difference.

Memory

Here’s where you can really get some noticable performance boosts, in my opinion. The typical Mac is going to come with either 256 Megabytes or 512 Megabytes of memory preinstalled. That number is a measurement of (again, layman’s terms) how many things your computer can do at the same time. I would never buy an Apple (or any computer, for that matter) with less than 512 MB of RAM - 768 MB or a full 1 Gigabyte are my personal recommendations.

Storage

A semi-popular misconception is that the more Memory you have, the more things you can save on your computer. That would be how big of a hard drive you have. For laptops, your options are probably a 60GB or 80GB drive. For the price difference, I’d go with the 60GB model. On a desktop, the components are a little cheaper, so I’d recommend the larger available one.

The only other advice I would offer is to not run through the online Apple Store, tweak out a system, and buy it online. Apple (and all the other manufacturers) will gouge you on component upgrades. You can save yourself 20-25% off the price of those upgrades by purchasing them seperately from a catalog retailer, or taking a field trip over to CompUSA. You might want some help installing them. Exception: the only piece of hardware I would even consider replacing in an iBook is the RAM; everything else in there is very difficult to get at.

Personaly, the next time I’ve got some money burning a hole in my pocket, I’ll get myself a new Mac for my home office. My geek-gut says that I want a PowerMac G5, or maybe even an iMac G5. However, when I think about what I’ll use it for - testing my web work across platforms - I’ll most likely go with the Mac Mini. Anything more would be a waste.