2nd hand mac advice
 

Hello,

I'm in the habit of buying the oldest 2nd hand iphone that supports the current operating system, which seems to ensure everything works as expected and is very cheap.

I was wondering if the same logic could hold for imac laptop computers? Do you know what the oldest mac laptop that supports the current operating system? Can they support windows office (excel/word/powerpoint)?

Thanks,

MrS

Theoretically yes. Even Apple themselves sell refurbished models.

But ... computers and laptops being what they are (irrespective of manufacturer), a certain amount of caveat emptor will be required on your part in order to ensure you don't end up with a lemon. Remember, they are more complex beasts than a phone or tablet.

The amount of due diligence you'll need to do will depend on where you're buying it ... if you're buying it refurbed from Apple, or ex-X from reputable source, then you'll need to do less donkey work then if you're mulling over buying one from a certain well known online auction website.


OS X 10.10 system requirements are openly stated on the Apple website here : https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201475

But if I were in your shoes, I would be not be looking at getting my hands on the oldest ... I would try to keep within a 3 year time window if you can afford it (ideally 2 years or less).... basically aim to find the best spec newest one you can afford.

I've got an old Apple laptop siting gathering dust in the drawer that would meet the Apple system requirements ... but I wouldn't want to use it, it would be a little sluggish, at least for my needs, that's despite it having been top of the range when I bought it back in 2009/2010.... we're now 2015, so 2009/2010 is a bit vintage in IT terms.

You have to remember, a lot of developments have occurred in the last few years in terms of processor efficiency and speeds.

Absolutley. You can install VMware and run a Windows virtual machine and run office in that .... I've got Office installed on mine. Microsoft of course also publish a Mac native version of Office.... hasn't quite got all the cutting-edge bells and whistles of the Windows version, but its got more than enough to satisfy most people.

As mixture says, there is no reason why you should not install either the Office for Mac suite or use VMware so that you can run the Mac as a Windows machine. However, neither options are free and a free alternative is OpenOffice or its derivative. I use OpenOffice on my Mac and it does pretty well everything that Microsoft Office can do. It can read all the usual Microsoft file formats such as doc, ppt, xls and, although it has its own format, it easily exports to the Microsoft ones.

Going for the cheapest Mac that will run the latest operating system might turn out to be a false economy as Apple introduce a new operating system every 18 months or less, and each one is more demanding in terms of system specifications than the last. A Mac that just about runs today's operating system might well be incapable of doing it for tomorrow's. For the last few interations of Mac operating system, it has been free to upgrade so, if your computer cannot handle the new one, you are denying yourself the opportunity of upgrading at no cost. A major benefit of owning a Mac and an iPhone (and/or an iPad) is the ability to syncronise them so that, for example, calendars, notes, reminders, photos and contacts are automatically updated across each device. However, this may not be possible if the standard of operating systems across the devices diverges too much.

Yes my Mac is 4 years old and upgrades just fine to the latest Yosemite OS. As far as I know older ones upgrade aswell, though bare in mind the older it is the less powerful it's going to be.

Microsoft Office is available for Mac, and compatible with PC version - but you do have to buy it, Mac only comes with its own word processor called Pages, MS Office is extra.

Bratman91,

Your first paragraph promoting OpenOffice as an alternative was passable, although OpenOffice isn't a perfect alternative to Microsoft Office, but still, at least you presented it as an option to consider.

Your second paragraph however, was nothing but an Apple bashing rant full of bull. So much nonsense in there I've no idea where to start. :ugh:

One thought that I would suggest is not buying into an older system that is USB2. My mid 2010 iMac is still capable of most things I want to do, photography related, large photo library, Raw conversions etc but keeping data on external drives is a bit slow. Yes the machine does have FW800 but that is/has gone the way of the Dodo.
When I bought it I got an upgraded processor and put 16 GB of RAM into it to extend its usefulness. I have thought about putting a SSD into it but the bottleneck would be external storage for photo libraries wiyh FW or USB 2.
Just a thought.

Same here but I've upgraded the memory to 8gb of ram and changed the hard drive to a 500gb SSD drive. I suppose the battery will be the next change but for now it's fine. I back up once a month and remove stuff that's not used. Whilst my iPhone and iPad do much of my work my Macbook Pro is king!

Agree with those here who've made suggestions of upgrading RAM and changing to SSD.

Upgrading RAM never did anyone any harm, and RAM is cheap, so always try to get as close to the system maximum as you can afford.

Changing to SSD is a good way to coax a little bit of extra performance out of a system. It won't suddenly turn your machine into some sort of supercomputer, but you should find various things to be snappier.

OSX 10.10 (Yosemite) comes with Pages (Word), Numbers (Excel) and Keynote (Powerpoint). These "free" programs are quite adequate for most common needs. However I'm at a loss as to why I'm being told that there are updates available yet it's asking me to provide my credit card details to the App store just to get these updates. If I ignore the updates will I lose these programs on the next OS X release?

It's been 11 years (10.2) since I've used a Mac again in earnest and my first comment with 10.10 was that the interface hadn't changed much. Indeed it has changed very much under the covers, but what a nice feeling to come back to something I already knew.

One of the best things about the Apple App Store is that you don't have to permanently save your credit card to your profile.

The only time I've heard of a situation similar to yours is when someone didn't have an iTunes account before. I think the first time you set one up it might ask for a credit card number, but you can always revert back to the "none" setting.

Infact, my profile spends most of its time in the configuration shown below and I can still download all App updates without issue, and certainly without needing to input a credit card number.

http://s14.postimg.org/fbxya0fg1/appstore.png

Just one point to keep in mind of considering older Macs.

There have been many references to upgrading both RAM and hard drive, but remember that not all Macs are upgradable.

I have a Mid 12 MacBook Air, 4gb RAM and 128 GB SSD, to the best of my knowledge neither RAM or SSD are upgradable.

Not a problem to me it works just fine, also I'm still using OS (10.7) Lion operating system, although the upgrade to 10.10 is free I have poor experience of OS upgrades with Mac and zero confidence in Apples willingness to support me, not withstanding that I am very happy with my mid 12 'Air.

After my experience with the 'Air I wouldn't consider any computer without an SSD, it makes an enormous difference to the feel of the machine. Also look for USB3 for speedy access to external drives.

My own view of the above exchange is this. I own about a 4 year Mac, and although it does run the latest OS it definitely isn't as fast a brand new machine. Funnily enough you can install Windows 7/8 on a PC even older than 2007 vintage just fine too. Again it's not going to be the fastest machine in the world, but with an SSD and increased memory it will speed it up. Some people like Macs others like PC, there are pro and cons with each.

OWC (and no doubt others) seem to sell SSD and RAM upgrades on their website ?

Once you've got the parts, looks like a simple enough job to me ... flip it over, undo screws, replace parts. 10 minute job max.

If anyone needs it, this thread is still available:

http://www.pprune.org/computer-inter...sterwheel.html

;)

SD

It is easy enough to replace the SSD on MBAirs, RAM is quite a bit harder though as it is soldered onto the logic board. Consequently i havent seen replacement kits being offered, but some workshops can do it of course.

My oldest MBAir (2010 vintage) runs yosemite just fine, but i always buy the top of the line configuration which might make it easier.

I use Parallels to run Windows on my MacBook Pro. Parallels is not free like VMware, but I prefer it. I also have Windows on a Bootcamp partition to cater for some programs which won't run in Parallels.

Concerning Office for Mac, I found it very disappointing. In an effort to make it more "Mac-like", Microsoft have produced a menu structure that is so radically different from the Windows version as to be nearly impossible to use, if you try to use both versions.

I am required to use Windows at work, so at home, the easiest solution for me, is Office for Windows running under Parallels.