What Setup Are You Kicking?
Personally I’m running my digital life off two machines, an Intel iMac and MacBook. The iMac is the 17″ Core Duo model, with the base 160GB HDD, and RAM upgraded to 1.5GB. The MacBook is the bare bones Core Duo model (in white), with no upgraded RAM.
At the moment I’m pretty happy with my setup, apart from the fact that the screen is far too small to be overly productive, and the HDD is running very low. It’d also be nice to have a little extra RAM to help push Aperture along.
Next year I’m going to be looking at replacing my iMac onto something with a larger display, bigger HDD, and more RAM. I’m currently looking at the 24″ iMac with a 500GB HDD and 2GB of RAM, but I’ll wait and see what Apple releases over the next 10 months before making any decisions.
What setup are you kicking, and what will be your next upgrade?
#1
Josh Kaplan → josh-kaplan.com
I’m running a 2.0 ghz MacBook Pro 15″ screen with 512 mb of ram. My next upgrade will be a 20″ Cinema Display and more ram.
#2
Josh → maconlyreview.wordpress.com
I’m running a 2.0 ghz Macbook with 2gb of ram. I also have a 250gb external HD for my large movie files and photos. I’m looking to upgrade to a 20 inch widescreen soon
#3
kayce → www.jungfreudlich.de
Nice setup Glenn! Everything very tidy and jovial.
I am currently running a Powerbook 12″ with 1.5 Ghz and 1.25 GB Ram but I have just ordererd a new Macbook Pro ;-)
#4
William Wilkinson → www.williamwilkinson.com
Nice.
Mines a 2.1GHz 20 inch iMac with 250HD, 1.5GB ram, a 200GB external HD. PPC by the way.
#5
wphiBook G4, 14″, 1.33GHz, 512 MB RAM, and a 60GB HD.
Until next weekend when my Black MacBook, 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 160GB HD.
#6
Jon → staleplastic.com
I’m rockin’ a 12″ PowerBook G4, 1.25 GB of RAM, SuperDrive, AirPort, as well as a 20 GB 3G iPod.
Next year I want to upgrade to a 15″ MacBook Pro, not certain about the exact specs, I guess whatever is out when I purchase it.
#7
DeathAxe → blog.deathaxe.net
I’m currrently a iMac G4 700 MhZ with an incredible 256 mb of RAM and a 200 gb HD. My next mac will be a MacBook.
#8
JeromeCurrently blastin’ a 15″ 1.67Ghz Powerbook G4, 1 Gb RAM. Saving my money to upgrade to a MacBook Pro.. sometime next year I guess.
#9
Brian Amerige → brianamerige.com
Currently:
15″ MacBook Pro, 2 GB RAM, 100 GB HD (7200 RPM), 23″ Cinema Display
Future: 17″ MBP, 30″ Display
Xcode seems to take more and more space :P
#10
Fidel Mercado → mercado.multiply.com
Clean setup Glenn.
I’ve got a 12″ iBook G4 with 1.5 GB of RAM and a 120GB external harddrive.
My next Mac would definitely be an iMac 20″ or 24″.
#11
CameronCurrent: 15″ PowerBook G4, 2GB RAM, 100GB HDD; 250GB LaCie d2 HDD (for backup)
Wish List: 20″ Cinema Display, Bluetooth keyboard, and an iCurve
Won’t be getting that stuff anytime soon… I recently had my PowerBook repaired and it wasn’t cheap. I’m just glad to have my computer back though!
#12
AlexCurrently iBook 1.07 GHz with 1.25 GB RAM, 100GB HDD and PB Titanium 667 MHZ 512 RAM 30 GB HDD for browsing the web ;) (with broken display so I hooked it to Samsung LCD and is still working perfectly)
It would be nice to get iMac 20″ with 2GB RAM and big HDD (500 MB would be nice) or when my PB will retire I’ll buy MacMini for my LCD.
#13
Herkamer → rebel-squadron.blogspot.com
I am running a Power Mac Dual 450 MHz G4 with 896 MB ram. My monitor is a 19″ Sony Trinitron, OS X 10.4
Yeah, its a couple of generations back.
Upgrade (not soon, I am pretty well broke): white MacBook or a Mac mini
Wishes he had any of these setups,
Herkamer
#14
MarscusNice shot, simple yet tasty
#15
JohanCurrent computer is a 1,33GHZ iBook G4 with 1,5 GiB ram and an external 320 GiB harddrive.
My next computer will definately be a 15″ Macbook Pro. Preferably with a blu-ray drive and an extra monitor.
That won’t happen anytime soon though. :D
#16
Mike Vitoroulis → mikevitoroulis.net
A iMac G5 (iSight) w/ 512MB RAM, 160GB HD, 17in…
iBook G4 w/ 512MB RAM, 75GB HD, 12in…
And a half a MacBook Pro w/ 2GB RAM, 160GB HD, 15in…
I say a half a MBP because Bootcamp/Windows/something just wiped my hard disk clean (http://www.mikevitoroulis.net/permalink/oh-my-god/)
#17
SteffCurrently I’m running a PowerBook G4, I upgraded the hard drive myself to a lovely 120Gb. However, for this Christmas my mother wanted to buy me a new computer.
So I’m actually opting for the one you commented on; I’m getting an iMac 24″, 500Gb hard drive with 2Gb of RAM. I was thinking, like you, to wait for a little one… however I’ll just keep waiting and waiting, so I thought I’ll just buy one now and replace my laptop in later this summer instead.
That’s the problem with computers, I’m never sure when to buy! I’m going to wait for MacWorld before I buy the iMac, and wait until WWDC before upgrading the laptop - but Apple seem to be changing when they actually release things now (seems *slightly* more random).
Well, that’s enough rambling for me. Later people!
#18
Josh → maconlyreview.wordpress.com
@Steff
And its even worse now Apple have moved onto Intel chips, who upgrade their hardware much more frequently than IBM did with their PowerPC chips. My Core Duo Macbook is already an old model now, but I still enjoy it and wouldn’t have waited 3 months just for a Core 2 Duo speed bump
#19
John Pastor → www.deliciouslybinary.com
Right now, I’m running my 15″ PowerBook G4 as my main Mac, but it’ll be replaced by a slick new MacBook or iMac soon.
The PowerBook is holding up nicely, with 2GB of RAM, and little slowdowns.
The hard drive is only a 60 gig, but I have an external Seagate 750GB push button hard drive.
#20
Michael → michaelyurechko.com
@Josh (2nd Post)
That’s the exact same setup as me. Except I will be getting a 32″ Samsung LCD HDTV.
#21
Taylor → www.taylorsblog.com
HAHA, you guys are all lucky! I am still stuck in the freaking PC world! I am still saving to get me a Mac Mini to start. I just wish that I could have a Mac Right NOW!
#22
Taylor → www.taylorsblog.com
I forgot to tell you guys my computer stats.
Its pretty weak.
AMD 1.8 GHz
512 Mb Ram
160 GB HDD
SuperDrive (Windows Version)
;-)
#23
Caitlyn Imburgo → caitlynimburgo.wordpress.com
I have a MacBook 13″ White 2GHz with 2GB of RAM and an 80GB HD + SuperDrive. All I really need to complete the setup is a bigger screen, hence why I will be purchasing an Apple Cinema Display in the coming months. :)
#24
Eric → vaughnet.com
Currently running a brand-new 24″ iMac w/ 2 gig ram along side a 15″ MBP (before the duel core upgrade). My next upgrade will likely be to increase the RAM in the MBP to the full 2 gigs.
#25
MikeI’m using an aging PowerMac G5 1.6GHz with 1Gb Ram feeding a Dell 2005FPW.
Been lusting after a MacBook Pro, but that’ll have to wait until after I’ve found a job and paid off some debt :)
#26
Smaran → smarandayal.com
I have a 15″ MacBook Pro 2.16ghz Core Duo with 1GB of RAM.
I use it with my Samsung 15″ LCD, Creative 2.1 sound system, Apple Keyboard and … get ready to gasp… Microsoft mouse.
I also have a 2Ghz Pentium 4 with 768MB of RAM and a 80GB HD running Ubuntu Edgy Eft. It has no monitor, mouse, keyboard… nothing. I access it via Chicken of the VNC from my Mac.
My next upgrade would probably be an increase of RAM to 2GB on my laptop and an external FireWire HD. If you count software, then I’m gonna buy Leopard as soon as it’s out too.
#27
Codie WestphallWell lets see here i (personally) have a iMac G5 isight 1.9GHz 17″ desktop set up with a logitec Z4 speaker system and attached to a digital audio recording interface for my guitar YAY. also in the house hold we have a powerbook 12″ 1.66GHz and getting a mac mini + im looking at buying a macbook pro low end or high end macbook over Xmass wooohooooo.
Oh yea 512mb of RAm in both computers and saying up for an extra gig stick to boost photoshop preformance and probably look at buying logic express
#28
Codie WestphallHEHE my bad how could i forget my wacom grafire 4 tablet and of course my beloved ipod to add to my setup and of course my lovely new aquainted Nikon coolpix 7600 wich hopefully will be updated to a d80 soon
#29
Smaran → smarandayal.com
@ Johan & anyone else this applies to:
I’m interested in buying an old iBook/PowerBook G4 12″ for taking to class etc.
If anyone wants to sell cheap, drop me a line.
#30
Smaran → smarandayal.com
@ Cameron:
I was looking at the same external HD that you have from LaCie on the Apple Store. The reviews are very mixed. Half the people are giving it 1 star and say they hate it, and the other half have given it a full 5 and say the love it. What’s your opinion?
#31
Michael → michaelyurechko.com
I currently have a macbook 2.0ghz white w/2gb ram.
I’m looking into a nice external for it (250gb+), and possibly an external display.
But like Glenn I’ll be upgrading next year approx. 10 months. I will be getting a 24 inch iMac (or similar w/ same specs as were mentioned in the post).
But my next upgrade that is going to happen is a 32″ Samsung LCD HDTV with a PS3 (60gb). My macbook will be hooked up to that.
#32
leonard_shelbyi upgraded 5 months ago from a rev B iMac G5 17″ to a 20″ iMac CoreDuo with 1,5 GB of RAM + 256MB X1600, so it’s kinda early to switch saddles again…
but i’d love to get a cinema display in the next couple of months, but i’m still hoping for new ones, which will hopefully have some sort of support for HD content coming from PS3 or 480p from Wii.
this way, i could get rid of my old clunky tv.
i could expand my desktop + watch tv, DVDs and BluRay DVDs + play PS3, Wii and Windoze games all from the same, sleek mac rig !!
#33
Sam → www.gosammy.com
Nothing special but it gets the work done.
PC (Gateway):
3.0Ghz Pentium 4
1GB RAM
160GB HDD
20″ Dell Widescreen
Laptop (iBook G4):
1.2 Ghz of PPC goodness :P
1.25GB RAM
30GB HDD
12.1″ display
I’d love to get a new Mac Desktop soon. I’m eyeing the 17″ iMac Core 2 Duo with Superdrive (that’s an important component for me) or even a new MacBook to replace my iBook G4 (the HDD can’t hold as much as I’d like) but it’s hard to find the monies when you’re in college.
#34
Smaran → smarandayal.com
@ Leonard: You used your TV with your Mac?
#35
Ryan → www.appleication.com
MacPro (Standard Spec - 4 x 2.66GHz etc)
MacBook (Core Duo, 2GHz, 2GB RAM)
30″ Apple Cinema Display
Creative Creative I-Trigue L3800 Speakers
It is my dream setup, apart from the MacPro needs more RAM - 1GB isn’t enough when your running Photoshop and Dreamweaver under rosetta.
#36
PeppeHi all, I would ask you guys if the macbook resolution is hard to work with. I’m going to buy my first mac and I didn’t have choose between the macbook and the macbook pro (don’t care the other hardware specifics, I mostly do office work). Thanks!
#37
yannic → yannicwalter.de
Mac Mini Core Duo 1.66 Superdrive and 80GB HDD.
A 17” Phillips TFT ( unfortunately pretty dark, compared to iMacs)
I’ currently saving for a MacBook as a mobile addition for my setup.
I’m still not shure whether I should sell my Mini or keep it.
Any suggestions?
#38
Cameron@Smaran, re: LaCie d2 250GB
Yeah, I was hesitant too, but honestly, I’ve had zero issues using it with my PowerBook & SuperDuper! for backups. The FireWire 800 is key; great transfer speeds. That’s my two cents anyway…
#39
Ryan → www.appleication.com
@yannic:
Personally I would sell your Mini, because a MacBook will be more powerful, and with the money you make you could put a nice amount of RAM in the MacBook, as well as a Wifi Keyboard & Mouse and a cable for your monitor.
#40
leonard_shelby@smaran, re: tv +mac
no i didn’t use my tv as a monitor, if that’s what u asked.
i was referring to the new cinema display + iMac combo as the ultimate hub (gaming, watching, working)
hope that clears it up.
cheers
#41
rolo → rolopalooza.com/blog
I have yet switched to an intel mac due to budget but I have a 17in PowerBook G4 1GHz with 1gig of ram. I believe it was the first generation 17in Powerbooks so it’s old for technology standards. Next one I buy will be a 15in, it’s way to big for a personal computer (I used to use it for a school so it got used a lot more).
#42
Smaran → smarandayal.com
@ Cameron:
Thanks, that’s all I wanted to know. I think I’m going to buy it now. I really need an external FireWire HD and 250GB should be enough for now.
How about SuperDuper!, is it any good? Until Leopard is out, I’ll need a third-party backup app. Right now I’m using Apple’s Backup trial to backup to my iPod’s HD. Works fine, but it’s limited to 100MB.
One problem, I only have a FireWire 400 port on my MacBook Pro :-(
Is there a huge difference in the transfer speeds?
#43
Smaran → smarandayal.com
@ Leonard:
Ah, okay. I understand what you meant now.
#44
Cameron@ Smaran:
Another nice feature of the drive that I didn’t find out until I bought it: while plugged into the wall it stays powered off, but as soon as you plug in your USB/FW cable it turns itself on. Although, maybe this feature isn’t unique to the drive itself.
SuperDuper! is by far my favourite backup app. So easy to use and the “smart update backup” keeps backups quick (i.e., only updates changed files). As a bonus, the drive is bootable! I’ve always hated backup apps (e.g., Apple’s Backup) that create proprietary files that need to be decompressed again with their software…
I find FW800 to be very fast. Since you don’t have it, I’d say stick with FW400, since it has higher sustained data rates than USB2.
#45
Smaran → smarandayal.com
@ Cameron:
The LaCie drive sounds really cool, especially with the auto-power on thing.
Is SuperDuper! a commercial app? I have been looking for something that does incremental backups, ie. only updates what’s changed. Most backups just do a complete backup of your drive.
FireWire has a more consistent throughput im comparison to USB 2.0. But in theory USB 2.0 is faster. In actual application, FireWire has proven to be much faster, with video transfers, iPod updates etc.
It’s sad that Apple dropped FireWire from the iPod for the sake of Windows users. They should have left both USB and FW in, that’s how it was with the 3rd gens.
Thanks for all the help. It’s hard to make anything of the reviews.
#46
CameronIt’s free, but you have to buy a license to unlock the smart update backups, scheduling, and scripting. Totally worth the $$$!
You can still use FW with you iPod (I do)… you just have to buy the cable yourself ;).
#47
Smaran → smarandayal.com
Oh really? Now that’s something I did not know! Mine’s the 4th gen U2 and I only got a USB cable with it. I had no idea FireWire would work as well…
I don’t wanna spend anything on a backup app as the functionality is going to be built into Leopard, which I’m going to pay for anyway. *sighs*
Anyone have any ideas?
PS: Here’s a link to SuperDuper!.
#48
Cameron@ Smaran:
I’m not sure about 5G iPods, but mine is a 4G photo and I just used the FW cable left over from my 3G iPod. It frees up my USB ports…
#49
Smaran → smarandayal.com
Cool. I’ll try using mine with a FW cable.
On another note, is anyone doing the mini heist on MacHeist? I’m stuck :-(
#50
mcul → www.markculshaw.com
my set is a loverly mac pro quad 3ghz, with 30″ cinema display, epson r2400 printer and logitech z5500 speakers ;-) and it runs fantasitcally well!!
my laptop is an aging powerbook g4 17″ with the ram maxed out at 2gb’s.
I have to say that since applying the 10.4.8 update photoshop cs2 running under rosetta appears to run as fast if not faster than native on my powerbook.
my next upgrade will be a usb music keyboard and colour calibration device.
#51
Jordan → www.macweek.ca
I’m running a Core Duo MacBook with a gig of RAM…It’s my only OS X machine, oh well. I do hav quite a collection of vintage Macs though, consisting of a few machines, ranging from a Mac Classic II, to a Blue and White PowerMac G3.
#52
Nate → natetodd.com
2.66Ghz Quad Mac Pro
5Gb Ram
1.25Tb HDD
2 x 24″ Dell 2405Fpw
Name: Delilah (steals the hearts of men)
1.5Ghz 12″ Powerbook
1.25Gb Ram
80Gb HDD
Name: Swatchet
She’s a beauty.
#53
JamieCurrently rocking a:
15″ 2.16 C2D MBP/2GB RAM/120GB HDD
Was gonna upgrade to the new SR MBPs but decided it wasn’t worth it, especially with reports of LCD issues and poor nvidia drivers. So im keeping my current machine till bigger upgrades come along.
In the meantime i’ll probably just max my current machine out…..dump another gig of RAM in making it 3GB and install the upcoming 200GB 7200 RPM monster from Hitachi in it
#54
Glenn Wolsey → www.glennwolsey.com
I agree on the note of upping the RAM to 3GB and purchasing the new 200GB Hitachi drive when it’s out, that should be a super fast portable machine.
#55
Mike TolerIf I had a setup like that, I would kick it, too. Right out the door. Buy a PC.
#56
Ruan EllisMy main PC, which Tri-Boots XP, Vista and 10.4.9
Core 2 Duo E6420 @ 3.2GHz
2GB Crucial Ballistix PC6400
NVidia 8800GTS
x2 320GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
x1 200GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7
x2 19″ Displays - soon to be a 24″ Samsung Display
Server:
Apple xServe Dual 2.3GHz
2GB RAM
OS X Server
x2 160GB HDDs
#57
DavidProduct Family: iMac
Memory (RAM): 4,000 MB
Processor Type: Intel Core Extreme
Hard Drive Capacity: 500 GB
Processor Speed: 2,800 MHz
Operating System: Mac OS 10.4, Tiger
Screen Size: 24 inch
#58
SahandIm running a new aluminum 24″ 2.4GHz intel iMac.
uhh wireless keyboard mouse, final cut studio and aperture :]
#59
JustinJust upgraded:
iMac 24″
2.8 Core 2 Extreme
1 Gb of Ram
I think 300 gb of Hardrive
#60
Blair Beckwith867 MHz Intel P3
512 MB ram
60 GB Hard Drive
17″ CRT Monitor
64 MB Nvidia Graphics (Discreet)
Lol… Sad but true…
#61
Dustin → www.dustincook.ca
15″ MBP
2.16 GHz C2D
1.5 GB Ram
120 GB HDD
128 MB ATI Radeon X1600
#62
Travis Reynolds → TravisReynolds.com
Right now I just got a 13″ black macbook and savin up some money to buy a mac pro with a 23″ display