I am going to buy a relatively cheap desktop computer to fart around with- I have a pentium laptop atm, and am thinking of a smallish desktop. I am also seriously considering apple computers, a mac or something of the like. I know next to nothing about apple computer though, and would really like to familiarize myself with them without spending a whole lot of money.
Right now I am considering a Mac mini. I want something compact, and I don’t need a lot of features, this computer won’t be for gaming or editing videos or anything of the sort. I have a 17 inch monitor that I hook up to my laptop, and don’t want to spend a couple hundred dollars on another one. (LCD)
So would the Mini be able to hook up to my monitor, or are they only compatible with apple monitors? Is there an adapter of some sort that will let me use this? I don’t have a whole lot of money to spend, just 300-400 dollars to spend on a desktop.
If not, I will plan on buying a compact CPU, or build one myself.
So, what are some recommendations? Should I buy a Mac, build my own PC? I sort of want something compact, to fit on a small desk, but I COULD stick it under the desk. My only goal is to keep it under 400 dollars, preferrably under 300.
(I know that getting a Mini for under 400 dollars is going to be a challenge, but I see some on Ebay for under 400, so I am basing it on that)
If you can’t afford more memory than you think you’ll need, make sure you’re getting slots to put it in later. Three years from now, that extra RAM will keep everything from bogging down. My Dell now has 6 times the RAM it had when I bought it, and it sped everything up.
The Mini will work quite well with any monitor that has either a VGA or DVI port on it. It was intentionally designed as a 2nd computer and/or replacement computer for folks who currently have Windows PCs and want to use the same peripherals. Your USB mouse and keyboard will work with it, too, incidentally. (PS/2 and other non-USB peripherals will require a USB adapter though).
Not only will the Mini work with your existing monitor, you can also use a KVM switch (keyboard, video, mouse) to use either the Mini or the laptop with the monitor, keyboard and mouse.
For $26, you can get one that’ll convert your “old” PS/2 keyboard and mouse to USB, and switch the audio.
Better still than a KVM is an app called Synergy - it runs on both computers and allows you to run them alongside each other with a single mouse and keyboard; you roll the mouse off the edge of the Wintel PC screen and it appears on the Mac screen and vice versa.