What's the best PC for my mom?
October 1, 2015 9:44 AM Subscribe
My mom is using my 2006 Core Duo iMac and all is well except that, of course, it's a 32-bit CPU that can't run new versions of MacOS and is no longer receiving security updates. Chrome frequently blocks Flash and it's generally annoying her. It's time for a new machine (probably).
Requirements: probably a Mac (not because she's "good with MacOS," but because it's less likely to accumulate cruft / malware); big screen (this is a 17" iMac; bigger would be better, so probably no laptops); probably not a full-size tower (space is somewhat at a premium). Specs, otherwise, are mostly unimportant.
I know the Mac Mini is sort of at the end of its cycle, but it still seems like a good value, given the requirements. At $500 + $100-120 for a 22" HDMI-capable monitor, that's about $600-620 for a complete package. But am I missing a better option at a similar or lower price? Is it possible for a complete technophobe to use Windows these days without destroying the machine with malware? Would that even save any money?
Thanks!
Requirements: probably a Mac (not because she's "good with MacOS," but because it's less likely to accumulate cruft / malware); big screen (this is a 17" iMac; bigger would be better, so probably no laptops); probably not a full-size tower (space is somewhat at a premium). Specs, otherwise, are mostly unimportant.
I know the Mac Mini is sort of at the end of its cycle, but it still seems like a good value, given the requirements. At $500 + $100-120 for a 22" HDMI-capable monitor, that's about $600-620 for a complete package. But am I missing a better option at a similar or lower price? Is it possible for a complete technophobe to use Windows these days without destroying the machine with malware? Would that even save any money?
Thanks!
If you're willing to go off mac for a Chromebox, consider this Dell for only $60.
posted by tremspeed at 10:26 AM on October 1, 2015
posted by tremspeed at 10:26 AM on October 1, 2015
The $500 Mac Mini is an OK machine, but it only comes with 4GB of RAM that cannot be expanded by the end user; you have to order it with as much RAM as you think you'll ever need. Unfortunately, 4GB is barely enough for the current Mac OSes. I think the middle and high end Mac Minis are pretty good machines, but I am not as confident about the entry level model.
That said, if you are open to doing a bit of configuration and migration yourself you can find a used, recent model 21.5"-or-larger iMac on CL for ~$500-$600. Look for one with an i5 processor. Lots of good deals to be found - we did this last year when we upgraded our kids' computers, and this was definitely the way to go for us.
posted by mosk at 10:50 AM on October 1, 2015
That said, if you are open to doing a bit of configuration and migration yourself you can find a used, recent model 21.5"-or-larger iMac on CL for ~$500-$600. Look for one with an i5 processor. Lots of good deals to be found - we did this last year when we upgraded our kids' computers, and this was definitely the way to go for us.
posted by mosk at 10:50 AM on October 1, 2015
My first choice would be a Mini. Second would be a comparable iMac. Minimal learning curve and the fun of new stuff.
Windows 10 is good, but would be a change from OS X. I think the privacy concerns are overhyped, but they need to be considered. If Mom avoids sketchy web sites and doesn't click on random email links, the security tools and anti-malware shipping with Windows should suffice.
Any apps in use that don't have Windows versions?
posted by justcorbly at 10:58 AM on October 1, 2015
Windows 10 is good, but would be a change from OS X. I think the privacy concerns are overhyped, but they need to be considered. If Mom avoids sketchy web sites and doesn't click on random email links, the security tools and anti-malware shipping with Windows should suffice.
Any apps in use that don't have Windows versions?
posted by justcorbly at 10:58 AM on October 1, 2015
Response by poster: If the only thing she really needs is a web browser (as long as she is happy with Chrome being that browser), they're pretty good for the task.
This would really be ideal, but I haven't used ChromeOS for a few years-- what's the situation with connecting to printers? Importing photos from, say, an iPhone? My mother does almost nothing with her computer, which is why I'm hesitant to let her spend a ton on a new Mac, but it's the small things that need to "just work" or I'm going to be on the hook for lots of frustrating support.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:06 AM on October 1, 2015
This would really be ideal, but I haven't used ChromeOS for a few years-- what's the situation with connecting to printers? Importing photos from, say, an iPhone? My mother does almost nothing with her computer, which is why I'm hesitant to let her spend a ton on a new Mac, but it's the small things that need to "just work" or I'm going to be on the hook for lots of frustrating support.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:06 AM on October 1, 2015
Printers take a bit of work to set up at first but are relatively painless after that if you have a Cloud Ready one.
I believe that you can sync an iPhone to ChromeOS device directly, but the more ChromeOS way of doing so is to sync from the phone to the cloud using Google Drive or whatever they're calling their photo cloud at this point and then configuring the ChromeOS device to view from the cloud, pulling them down locally if desired.
posted by Candleman at 11:20 AM on October 1, 2015
I believe that you can sync an iPhone to ChromeOS device directly, but the more ChromeOS way of doing so is to sync from the phone to the cloud using Google Drive or whatever they're calling their photo cloud at this point and then configuring the ChromeOS device to view from the cloud, pulling them down locally if desired.
posted by Candleman at 11:20 AM on October 1, 2015
Best answer: nthing a used Mac. This one from Other World Computing seems right up your alley - decent enough memory and hard drive, and pretty new to boot. You'd have to upgrade the OS, though (El Capitan just came out and is a free upgrade), but that's not exactly difficult. Plus, sticking with a Mac means you can use Migration Assistant to move all her data over in one fell swoop. (I'd recommend getting a Firewire cable along with it if you don't already have one - a FW400 to 800 ought to do the job, or just an FW800 cable, depending on what ports you have on the old machine. Booting the old system in Target Disk Mode - turn it on, hold down T, plug cables - is usually the fastest way to manage Migration Assistant.)
posted by mrg at 2:00 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by mrg at 2:00 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Ah, a mid-2011 iMac would be perfect -- that's what I'm running right now, but I'm not ready to hand it down yet (especially since the new ones have soldered-in RAM ... grr). Thanks for the suggestions, everybody!
posted by uncleozzy at 4:36 AM on October 2, 2015
posted by uncleozzy at 4:36 AM on October 2, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Candleman at 10:03 AM on October 1, 2015