Cheap Apple Computer

Pretend I know nothing about Apple computers. Ok, you're actually not pretending. I haven't dealt with Apple (outside of the iPod/iPhone/iPad realm) since I turned my trustee Apple IIe in for a shiny new Packard Bell.

What's the cheapest Apple computer, preferably laptop (or at least easily mobile) that I can get in to? I don't care if it's current model or older model, in fact older is probably better from cost standpoint. All I need is for it to be able to run the Johann Sebastian Joust alpha that I'll be receiving sometime this week...

Thanks for the assistance.

Here you go. If you are leaning towards an Air I'd at least get a 128 GB model. 64 GB is pretty cramped unless you really will only have a handful of games on it and nothing else.

You are buying a Mac to play an alpha of one game? Now that's dedication!

I don't have the "Kane clapping" gif on my Nexus, so please imagine it.

You can useL this site to find what memory you should buy to upgrade the RAM. I find that the cheaper Macs are lacking in that department.

Well, it's more like I'm buying a Mac to be able to play an alpha of one game at a charity convention.

I mean I love me some Joust, but even I'm not impatient enough to drop this kind of cash just to play it myself!

S0LIDARITY wrote:

You can useL this site to find what memory you should buy to upgrade the RAM. I find that the cheaper Macs are lacking in that department.

Well, a recent Macbook Air or Macbook Pro won't be upgradeable (at least the 2013 pro's aren't, I don't believe).

That's true, but I assume that he'll go for a cheaper refurb or mac mini. The 2012 Pro's definitely aren't, they have the ram soldered on.

The words Apple and cheap don't belong in the same sentence.

Oh, I noticed that the only refurbished Mac Mini listed is a pretty high-end model. The cheapest route may actually be to buy a new entry-level Mac Mini, provided you have a monitor and such to plug into it.

Yeah Mac Mini would be the best option I imagine. I was thinking of upgrading to one but the lack of video card grunt is holding me back.

Mac Mini it is then. Unless I can find someone local with a Mac they'll lend me. Thanks guys.

Dude stop! Dont buy a mac!!! I had to make a new account just to tell you my story lol. So I was in the same boat as you, I LOVE Joust and was about to try and borrow or buy a mac just to play it. But, I literally JUST found out how to get it working on a PC. If you want more details you can skype me and I can sorta walk you through it. I will also make a youtube vid on how to do it because Im sure a lot of PC users are interested. Here's what it involves:

-VituralBox running MAC OSx 10.5+
-DS3 tool for the bluetooth connection of the motion controller (you may be able to do it without this but I couldnt figure out how)
-The Joust alpha files
-At least 2 motion controllers

I'm so psyched I can actually play this game now on my pc laptop!

S0LIDARITY wrote:

That's true, but I assume that he'll go for a cheaper refurb or mac mini. The 2012 Pro's definitely aren't, they have the ram soldered on.

Whoa, stop the presses! So none of Apple's laptops have user-upgradeable RAM now? I was looking at upgrading to a new pro as we are selling our iMac, but if I can't replace the RAM or whatnot, forget it. I saw that the retina displays don't even have disc drives, and only the 15" one has audio ports.

Are people not burning discs anymore?

WTF Apple?!? In order to get basic functionality I have to fork out for the high end models now? I mean, I'm a Mac guy, but this is ridiculous.

nel e nel wrote:
S0LIDARITY wrote:

That's true, but I assume that he'll go for a cheaper refurb or mac mini. The 2012 Pro's definitely aren't, they have the ram soldered on.

Whoa, stop the presses! So none of Apple's laptops have user-upgradeable RAM now? I was looking at upgrading to a new pro as we are selling our iMac, but if I can't replace the RAM or whatnot, forget it. I saw that the retina displays don't even have disc drives, and only the 15" one has audio ports.

Are people not burning discs anymore?

WTF Apple?!? In order to get basic functionality I have to fork out for the high end models now? I mean, I'm a Mac guy, but this is ridiculous.

For people wanting a new system that's blazing fast, I recommend a 2011 model with an after-market SSD (which you'll need a special program installed for to enable TRIM support since it doesn't have an Apple-based firmware), and dropping in 16GB of RAM (listed as maxing at 8GB, but completely supports it). We've got a 2011 13" MacBook pro at work with this setup - it's pretty fast.

Add in an external monitor for when you want a big screen setup, and there you go.

trueheart78 wrote:

For people wanting a new system that's blazing fast, I recommend a 2011 model with an after-market SSD (which you'll need a special program installed for to enable TRIM support since it doesn't have an Apple-based firmware), and dropping in 16GB of RAM (listed as maxing at 8GB, but completely supports it). We've got a 2011 13" MacBook pro at work with this setup - it's pretty fast.

Add in an external monitor for when you want a big screen setup, and there you go.

Thanks for the info. For now, I'm gonna stick with my 2008 black macbook, since we only use it for internet and occasional word processing. We're getting rid of the iMac more because we need to convert the extra bedroom into a nursery than a need for an upgrade.

Yeah, Mac hardware is not heading in a direction that I like. I'm going Hackintosh next, I just need the wallet to recover from holiday spending first.