New Computer

Thanks PaulK. I'll go over your links when I have some time.The good news is I'll have the old XP machine sitting beside the new one and I'll keep it functioning while I migrate myself over.As noted I'm planning on an i7 920 and while I haven't checked I'd expect it to have virtualization support.Btw -- guess when I first used machine virtualization to boot multiple systems on one set of hardware.

I think this'll make me look like a spammer. I do most of my hardware purchasing from NCIX. They are just about a km away and the folks there seem pretty darned knowledgeable. (http://www.ncix.com)But checking prices at tiger is a good idea too.

The one thing about the Mac is that with the unix kernal, you won't have to worry about running a lot of the antivirus software.Unix does not use the 'registry' concept of windows, so it is also more stable and more secure. On the other hand, you would have to learn a new interface.

I build PCs all the time for myself and others, I did it for a living for awhile, and if I had $2500 to spend I would buy a mac in a heartbeat without a second thought.I started off into the "mac culture" with a mini just to act as a media console on a HDTV. My only complaint is that I got a mini and not a full powered mac because it can do everything and can do it better than anything on my PC. Once you get used to some of the idosyncracies, it is just plainly and simply better.

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If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. --Thomas Jefferson

I spent from 1984 to about 1991 on a Mac only. I was appalled when I first used Windows 3.0 and kept being appalled through the 90's waiting for windows to catch up.The difference isn't, in my opinion, such a chasm now but I am going to look into it. The tiny bit of looking suggests that I can not get anything like the machine I am configuring for 2500 if I try to get a Mac but we'll see.I'll let you know what happens when I go to the local Mac store in a week or so. It is right across from NCIX and convenient.

Looks like your budget runs to the new top end iMac (Core i5) with change but doesn't reach the bottom end Mac Pro. I guess we can count you with the many who fall into that gap.

I don't really have a 'budget' as such. I'm just trying to hit the sweet spots on the different hardware. E.g., look at the prices of the i7's and compare the benchmarks of a 920 with the next ones up. You don't get enough bang for the $ increment so a 920 is my target.That is looking like around $2,500 for the bits I need (no mouse, no keyboard,no monitor and not so many hard drives (probably 2 or even only 1 new one(s) for now) since I have 6 in the existing machine (and 3 0.5G sitting around as backup devices) - but I may have to add $100 or so for a switch box between the two machines I'll run for awhile)The total might creep to 3,000 with additions but also could push down a little if, for example, I don't go to Win 7 Ultimate.

Then it may be worth looking at the low-end Mac Pro - if you don't mind getting a much less powerful graphics card. I've got the original Mac Pro, and even though the graphics card is a lowly GeForce 7300, it does all I want.(Graphics cards are a bit of a weakness - because the system uses EFI instead of BIOS, you need different firmware on the card from the standard PC versions. If you want a top-end gaming system, PC is still the way to go.)

EvC is enough of an addiction -- there will be no gaming. I leave that to the kids.

If you're not into gaming, then even if you go the PC route a Radeon 5750 should be more than enough.

What I have is more than enough. What I want is m o r e. Actually there is a chance I may be moving to where a machine would cost 1/3 (or more) more. So I figure I may as well take lots with me.

NosyNed writes: I'm hoping to have my old wetware machine sitting & functioning in the same manner when I need to migrate myself to a new machine.

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- xongsmith

If that's the case, I suggest a PC since you can always just upgrade individual parts instead the necessity to purchase a whole new rig.New proc comes out? Sure, what the hell
New GFX card? sure, what the hell.
Commercial DDR5 comes out? Sure, what the hell.Plus, you can OC the chip and video card if you need an extra boost.Can you do all that with a Mac? A Mac is like Alienware, expensive simply due to the NAME.

I'd also like to point out that even if the mac is as long lived as they say (a decade or so), in this time and age do you really want to hang on to a computer for a decade or more when they come out with a new piece of hardware and software every feaking month? You want something that will last forever and you will actually use it forever? Go and buy a sword.

My wife is probably typical of many in that she uses her computer for email and web browsing, nothing else. Her first PC laptop was an HP, and its motherboard failed twice in two years. After the 2nd failure instead of again replacing the motherboard we bought her a Dell laptop top-of-the-line XPS, and its motherboard also failed twice. And all she wanted was email and web browsing.So we bought her a Mac. Presumably even a decade from now emailing and web browsing will not have advanced to the point where it can't keep up.--Percy