Mick’s Macintosh minimums

For PC minimums, click here.

When shopping for any computer (Macintosh or not), the fine print DOES matter. What follows is my professional opinion (as of THIS month anyway!) regarding the component specifications. If you have additional questions, just ask. As always, I preface this page with a simple IMHO (In My Humble Opinion).

ABSOLUTE MINIMUMS

ü If you are looking for simply the coolest computer on the market today (in my humble opinion), check out either the iMac or the Mac Mini, but know that you cannot add anything internally to either one. If you are looking for a notebook, the MacBook Pro is simply cool. The AirBook is VERY sleek, but don't offer all the connections of the MacBook Pro.

ü Speed is always a matter of "the more the better." However, the 1.5GHz Intel is a good start. Dual processors may sound extravagant, but the benefits are HUGE if you can afford it.

ü 2G RAM (minimum)… consider 4G if you can afford it.

ü Although not usually an issue, make sure that whichever brand of video card the system comes with has at least 32M RAM

ü A 19-20” monitor is pretty much standard, but a larger monitor will be easier on the eyes!! For laptops, get at least the 15" display.

Most systems come with:

	56K modem
	100Mb NIC (Network Interface Card)
	Keyboard, mouse, and speakers.
	100G hard drive (the larger the better)
	CD-ROM or DVD, but those DVD/CD-RW drives are VERY handy. The SuperDrive is a DVD-RW drive.

At this point, you may want to jump to the PC Minimums page and read from the BACKUP section on. Although worded for the PC, much of the information applies to Mac systems as well.