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Home Forums Other Is an old iMac/Mac mini ideal for web design?

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  • #159153
    jesb
    Participant

    I’m looking to learn web but don’t want to invest too much. I do know I want a Mac computer. I don’t want to spend too much so I’m looking at some of the older used Mac minis or imacs on kijiji.

    I found a 20″ iMac for below $400. With these specs.

    CPU Processor : Intel core 2 duo 2.16GHZ

    Memory :3G/DDR2 667

    Hard Drive :250GB sata

    I also seen a Mac mini for $325

    With these specs.

    2.33 duo core
    4gb ram
    60gb HDD

    #159154
    __
    Participant

    Depending on what you mean by “web design,” those machines might be more than suitable. or far less.

    #159155
    chrisburton
    Participant

    I don’t think it matters. Any personal computer whether desktop or laptop will allow you to pursue web design.

    #159160
    jesb
    Participant

    Depending on what I mean about web design? I’m sorry I don’t follow…

    #159164
    chrisburton
    Participant

    More and more, I think websites with less Photoshop contact are awesome.

    In what way? No images? I would agree there but I still like to use PS for simple mockups of the layout.

    #159165
    __
    Participant

    Depending on what I mean about web design? I’m sorry I don’t follow…

    If you’re heavy on the “design” aspect, e.g., content, content creation, maybe video editing… see where I’m going? OTOH, if you taking about coding, testing, even a dev server, then you’ll be fine even on lesser systems.

    #159179
    nixnerd
    Participant

    I only really use photoshop for actual photo processing.

    I do fewer and fewer mock ups in photoshop. More and more, I just start coding.

    Almost all my graphics are SVG.

    #159182
    chrisburton
    Participant

    Right. I just don’t see how it makes websites “more awesome”.

    #159188
    nixnerd
    Participant

    Well… by not creating photo-centric websites, they’re automatically faster… which to me is awesome.

    Look at Brad Frost’s website:

    http://bradfrostweb.com/

    This entire site could be made in CSS only. There are a FEW photos that don’t even really look retouched. To me, it’s awesome because it’s fast, responsive and has great info.

    If the poster wants to learn how to make websites, I’d say just learn to code. No Adobe needed. At least not at this stage in his quest.

    #159190
    Alen
    Participant

    Go with the iMac, with Mini you will most likely need to get monitor/accessories, etc…

    You don’t need powerful computer to do web design/development even if you’re running Photoshop. You will not be working with 2GB files, most of the stuff will be web based graphics, not big in size.

    Start small, when you get enough experience you will have better understanding what you really need.

    If things start slowing down over time, you could replace the hard drive with SSD and max out RAM. That will extend lifetime of your computer.

    If I was starting fresh, I would most likely get cheap second hand iMac to start with. Actually, design agency I’m working with now, does exact same, they score some nice deals on craigslist.org for cheap Apple computers, they beef them up with memory and SSD and the thing burns rubber…

    Anyways… just go with something cheap, try it out, if it doesn’t fit what you want to do, get something else… but don’t contemplate too much… just go with something and start learning… don;t get paralysis by analysis…

    -Alen

    #159191
    chrisburton
    Participant

    Well… by not creating photo-centric websites, they’re automatically faster… which to me is awesome

    So are websites that require no jQuery or webfonts or css in general.

    Look at Brad Frost’s website:

    I don’t find his site visually appealing for a variety of reasons. If you had not asked me to look at it, I would have scrolled down and exited.

    If the poster wants to learn how to make websites, I’d say just learn to code. No Adobe needed.

    There’s much more to creating websites than coding.

    Also, some websites require photos and I prefer a little visual activity otherwise I’m bored when I view a website. At least when I’m reading an article. This may be an area where we both disagree with each other.

    #159193
    Alen
    Participant

    Guys don’t derail the train. I think there’s no right or wrong answer. All we are doing is talking in abstract. Let the strategy dictate how website should be built. We can all agree that Craigslist looks like crap but their bank account doesn’t… so yeah. I had pleasure meeting Brad at a conference in Rode Island, he’s very intelligent person, and while his site might not look visually appealing… the content is just amazing.

    #159312
    nixnerd
    Participant

    Guys don’t derail the train. I think there’s no right or wrong answer.

    I agree with this. It’s a personal preference. I read a GREAT article the other day that talked about the fact that there is no longer a clear line of distinction between design and dev. It’s more of a gradient at this point.

    Just because my workflow doesn’t look like yours and vice versa… really doesn’t mean anything. I like to jump into code as soon as possible. Others like to prototype and mock in Photoshop or Fireworks. To each his own.

    BTW, I’ve seen some of @chrisburton’s work… very visually appealing. So… he probably has a point.

    Just go with what you can afford and SEE what you might need later. The only way to know what you’ll need is to max out what you already have.

    #159313
    nixnerd
    Participant

    BTW, I saw a site the other day that ONLY featured photos from Instagram. No photo software needed. As hipster cheesy as that sounds… it was kinda cool. It made the stock filters look almost high end.

    I’ll see if I can find it again.

    #159351
    chrisburton
    Participant

    Really nice of you to say, Joe. Thank you very much.

    @Alen I prefer forums that offer open discussions such as this one. I did offer feedback on the major point of this topic but sometimes conversations shift to something completely different and I think that’s perfectly okay.

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