Looking for a good development Mac that wont break my budget.

All,

Im a PC / Windows guy... not because the technology is better but just because thats where 90% of the users are and I need to write to the biggest market possible when developing software.

That said, im looking for a Mac, primarily to do iPhone development. I would get the new pro which is drool worthy but cant justify it as a second machine and already have a tricked out 2.5ghz dell... and while i tried to talk myself into the white macbook its unevenly lit screen and bad construction on the model i saw at the store just really turned me off.

So, what would folks recommend for development using XCode and the iPhone SDK? The main requirments are an intel mac with Leopard and 1gb or more of ram. Im open to laptops, desktops, etc.

Thanks In Advance,

Dan

 

The cheapest Mac would be the base $999 model, which has 1 ram and a 2.1Ghz Intel processor. Unless you're going to buy second hand, or with an educational $100 discount, it doesn't get any cheaper than that.

 

Yep, although you can still get some of the 2.1s with combo drives for $899 here and there. I REALLY tried to talk myself into it, but the screen just doesnt cut it... My mom just got a $399 vista notebook that runs circles around its screen... apple really dropped the ball there IMO.

Right now i keep going back and forth between the new macbook $1299 model, an iMac $1199 model, a used macbook pro ($1000-$1400) or even a previous gen iMac... saw a few of the white 2ghz imacs for around $700 used.

Id prefer portability... but really have no frame of reference on how much screen realestate XCode requires to be productive.

 

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the mini, as it is the cheapest Macintosh, and seeing how he said he is open to desktops as well. Is coding resource intensive enough to justify the purchase of a more upscale, expensive model?

You also mentioned how you already have a current Dell. The Mini would be fairly suitable as you can use your existing model.

 

how about the refurbished macbook pro? i think they restock every tuesday, but dont quote me on that. they had the previous model at 1349 last i checked.

 

There will be a limited Black Friday Mac Sale, but the Mac Mini is the best suggestion by way of price, props to Chyidean.

 

Try using eclipse if possible. I am a CS major and my friend who has a mac says that it does the auto error-checking function much better than that of Xcode. And as for a computer I think the low end aluminum macbook would suit you well...

 

If I had to choose a machine purely for development purposes, I would choose the 13-inch Aluminum MacBook because of the improved integrated graphics it offers which will help if you've got a lot of application opened up. If you're really on a tight budget you could probably get away with a Mac mini and a KVM switch to use your existing peripherals and display.

 

There's the older Macbook Pro on sale at newegg for $1400.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=317413

 

or, you can get a refurb pro model from apple. go to store, and scroll down. i believe they come with a 1-year warranty, and cost very little.

 

Since you're considering a Mac notebook and you're not moving it much, I'd vote for the Mini. It's basically a Mac notebook without the screen, which in this case is a bonus since you dislike the screen anyway. You could hook up any screen you want. The best place to get them is from Apple.com. That's where I got mine. Mine looked new without the fancy packaging, which is great cause I'd rather not pay for it. Plus when you buy from Apple you get the full warranty. There's none on there right now, but keep checking back as they go quickly when they are put on there. eBay is another option if you can't wait.

 

What language though?

Of course developing Java in Xcode blows. Apple even says to use another IDE. For small scale stuff I use TextMate and love it, it is simply awesome. I use it for Perl, Python, and Obj-c. Xcode + IB make a good combo too for being 'free'.

BTW, +1 for mini.

 

As far as i know ill be using Objective C and the iPhone SDK. While ive dabbled in about everything for the PC over the last 20yrs the mac is a new beast to slay so at this point I dont know what other options are even available for iPhone development other than the 'official' sdk et al. Which you need to use anyway if you want apps in the app store from what I understand.