I got really jealous this weekend at Barcamp, Waterford. Everyone there had a Mac. Everyone! Well…not everyone but I couldn’t take my eyes off them whenever I saw one.
I’m not the biggest fan of laptops so I’m not one bit interested in any of the MacBooks. I find them too expensive for the price and of course the spec isn’t as great as the desktop option.
Applestore.ie offers the iMac 20″ with a 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 250SATA Hard Drive, 1GB RAM and a 128 ATi Radeon graphics card for €1,519.00 after tax. This is a spectacular peice of machinery. It is expensive though.
I then googled about for Mac sellers in Ireland. I came accross Compu B who are based in Limerick. They offer the iMac as part of a financing deal which will result in my paying approx 40 per month for a three year term. This is a very attractive offer for me. The cost comprimise if of course the major factor. The spec isn’t as good as the iMac range as featured on applestore.ie. The spec offered by Compu B is an iMac 17″ with a 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo Processor, 512MB RAM, 160SATA Hard Drive, 128 ATi Radeon graphics card. Which is nearly half of that of the alternative.
When you look at the costs, the Compu B option is working out at approx €1399 which corresponds to approx €40 per month for 36 months. The applestore option is working out at €1,519, but it is a much higher spec. Apple offer a 8% discount for students/teachers (ahem!) which would reduce their price to €1397.48 which would make it the cheaper option. If I purchase via my father’s business I can put the tax to one side for a short while which will reduce the price even further to 1104.
So what do I do? Do i go for broke and get the higher spec, overall cheaper - but more fiancially demanding - applestore option or should I go for the financially sounder but less powerful Compu B option?
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16 responses so far ↓
1 Ian B(the man)arry // Jan 22, 2007 at 11:17 pm
You should definitely get a mac, its the only thing we use in university in DCU for our masters in multimedia, perfect for design, animation, web sites, i wouldnt recommend them if you were into your gaming and i hate the internet browser (its called safari, nightmare to make websites for) they supply, i just use a Firefox browser supplied for macs on it
2 Gary Daly // Jan 22, 2007 at 11:20 pm
Personally if I had the funds I would go with the Apple Store option. There isnt much in the total costs of both systems and a 20″ screen is stunning! But if your funds are limited you may need to go the finance route.
Im in a similar situation, looking to purchase a laptop and as my funds are limited (zero), Im looking at the Dell finance options.
3 cormacmoylan // Jan 22, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Hi Ian.
What spec machines do you have in college Ian? How would compare the Macs you’re using to a PC spec wise?
4 cormacmoylan // Jan 22, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Have you considered getting a loan for a Macbook Gary? It would work out as the same thing really…plus it’s a MAC and the Dell….well…it isn’t a Mac, it’s a Dell. Init’
5 Ian B(the man)arry // Jan 22, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Well spec wise they can be similar, depends on your budget of course! But the handy thing about the G5’s is that regarding getting processes running like rendering a movie or many other multimedia applications its much better than a PC, and what sets it apart, is u can network up other G5’s to handle processes running on one G5 on a network, so multiple G5’s will do the work for you, again like rendering a movie, and get it done alot quicker!
6 triple h // Jan 23, 2007 at 1:56 am
I was a windows user for 8 years. I took the plunge before xmas. I am so happy i took the plunge.
Not long after i got my mac, i booted windows onto my mac. I only use the windows when I have to cause i hate it now. The mac system is so easy to use (ok, it takes about 2 weeks to get your head around the change, but in the end it is better). Everything works in mac. I remember my windows days when everything you did was a hassle, thank god those days are gone.
7 Chris Gallagher // Jan 23, 2007 at 1:56 am
Are you buying the mac because they look pretty or are you actually buying it because you would make use of the superior functionality of the Mac OS?
Quicksilver is a killer app for that platform by the way.
8 triple h // Jan 23, 2007 at 2:46 am
I reckon you dont need a 20″ screen. 17″ is big enough.
this is my imac 17″——intel core 2 duo—2.16 GHz- processor——memory 2Gb—– and 250 GB hard drive. this is big, big enough. I got big cause i dont plan to buy a computer for years.
Even if you do buy a mac “cause it looks pretty” you will end up using it cause it is so easy to use and everything works just like it is meant to. If you bought a windows pc “cause it looks ugly” you will end up not using it cause it is hard to use and nothing works like it is meant to.
make sure you dont go to BIG, unless you have to, it all depends what you plan to use it for, cause you could just end up wasting money.
9 cormacmoylan // Jan 23, 2007 at 11:35 am
Chris, I have used a MAC before. It’s not all about the shiny-esqe appearance.
Thanks for your comments Triple H. I was thinking about the 20″ because I was going to use it as a TV too.
Can you use the monitor as a seperate? Would it be possible to use the monitor on its own so that i could use a dual monitor system with my windows PC?
10 cormacmoylan // Jan 24, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Compu B have been unsucsessful in their attempts to get me financing thru whatever company they get their financing from. So they’re out of the equation. I was leaning towards to 20″ Mac from applestore anyway.
Once I get my new credit card i’ll make my order
I need to contact a rep from Apple first thou as I’m not sure if I can get both the 8% student discount and dodge the VAT. It kind of sounds dodgy if a ’student’ is ordering via a business.
11 Gary S // Jan 25, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Cormac,
I’m thinking of buying a mac also but leaning more towards a macbook or MBP. With Regards the imac, I was trying to convince my parents to get one to replace their really old packard bell. The advice I gave them was buy from apple, get a 20inch imac with Core2Duo processor and have a look at the refurbishment store.
The refurb store has discounts of 15% on imacs. They’ll send it out to you and you have 14 days to return it. So if you don’t like it you can send it back. I havent heard any bad comments about the refub store so far.
Also, the one further point I have is that if you are in no rush I would wait for a month or two to see if Leopard (the new Mac operating system) is relaesed. Will save you spending 129quid on it further in the future.
12 cormacmoylan // Jan 25, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Yeah i took a look at the Refurb Store, it looks good. It is all priced in sterling which is a bit of a balls
thanks for the post btw
13 Gary S // Jan 25, 2007 at 10:36 pm
If you go to http://www.apple.com/ie and then click on the store link it should ask you whether you want the ireland or uk store. choose the ireland one then the refrub link
on the bottom right - should be in euros then. BTW I havent used the refurb store myself so don’t take my word as bible, I just havent heard any bad reports so far!
your welcome for the post
14 I have ordered my iMac | Cormac Moylan // Feb 7, 2007 at 1:12 am
[...] It should be arriving by the end of the week. I can’t wait! I asked for some advise a while back and thanks to some very sound advise from Gary I have purchased a 20″ iMac from the Apple Refurb Store. [...]
15 cormacmoylan // Feb 7, 2007 at 1:14 am
Hi Gary, i should have replied to you earlier but i decided to wait a bit because i have taken your advise and gone for the refurb option.
http://cormacmoylan.com/blog/software/i-have-ordered-my-imac.eire
Thanks to everyone for their assistance.
16 Lal // Apr 1, 2007 at 6:36 pm
Cormac,
I left a review on the video takes for the funding panel at
http://lallylogic.blogspot.com/2007/03/finding-money-for-your-start-up-irish.html
Good luck with the Mac1
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