hey there, i decided to buy a Mac PC in order to work with xcode, i think this is a must for me if i want to work properly on my BT apps and if i want to put it on the apple market. i dont have a big budget, i'm looking for the cheapest deal possible as it's only going to be for this purpose. i would like to get an advice on the minimum requierment to get xcode and simulator to work decently. the options i was thinking of are: G4 Mac PC Mini Mac Thanks in advance :) David

Lots and lots of choices around. Tough to say. Our gang runs on MacBooks but they do get pricey. Mac-Mini is one AWESOME machine. I've ran a few over the last few years and it amazes me how it can power a nice monitor and run and run. Goog stuff. And, for sure it's the lowest barrier to entry (cost) if you want new and not used.

i'm gonna buy a used one, the mini mac looks pretty good and it's also not a big deal if i want to take it from a place to another, but i'v seen some really cheap G4 Macs on the market here in Israel, would it run Xcode and simulator properly in your opinion?

Missed the G4 mention. AVOID GETTING A G4 for iOS DEVELOPMENT. G4 will not run the iOS SDK. Intel Mac is required and the latest SDK requires OSX Snow Leopard. If you get an older machine with Intel, but no Snow Leopard, you'll be able to run Xcode 3 but not the newest, Xcode 4 release. Not sure if Xcode 3 is still available for download?

Thanks a lot, this was really helpful! i will be looking for a mac mini then.

I've sold my PC and bought a Mac Mini. Feels like I'm using a future technology now, and very happy about my mac mini. Shame to all my lost time using a PC. Now stop reading, and go buy a MAC MINI NOW!!!

You could also look for refurbished intel macbook's if you like to work in coffee shops and be be more mobile. You should find one for around $600 if you look around. Actually, you can find a macbook for $399 here. http://www.megamacs.com/DealMac.php

Check out http://dealmac.com/ They have new deals listed all the time, used Macs, Refurbs from Apple and others. Also, they have great prices if you need a test device, like a 3rd Gen iPod to test apps.

You can also get a program called VirtualBox and turn your pc into a Mac for testing. I also bought a Mac Mini, love it. Google VirtualBox, OSX Snow Leopard.

I bought a macMini and a KVM switch. Now I build android stuff on my PC then press the scroll lock key twice and toggle over to my Mac for Xcode. I created a Dropbox account that both computers can see and use that as a shared drive. So easy to work on both platforms now.

android apps are alot smoother to design on a mac i've noticed because i have used pc, linux, and mac and mac is by far the best :-)

Run osx on your windows machine http://techexxpert.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-to-virtualize-os-x-on-windows-7.html