1st-gen 24" Aluminum iMac - Good? Any issues?

[ch02ce]

I have come across an early 2008 iMac for sale by a neighbour for a decent price ($700ish)... Good deal?

Any issues with these? I know sometimes the first-gen of anything can have some problems.

It won't be used for anything crazy, just typical office / internet, so graphics performance isn't a huge issue and the C2D should be fine.

Just looking for some input, as this will be my first iMac / desktop mac.

 

[flopticalcube]

Graphics cards had big issues when released bu that was resolved before early 2008.

 

[hamean]

I have come across an early 2008 iMac for sale by a neighbour for a decent price ($700ish)... Good deal?

Any issues with these? I know sometimes the first-gen of anything can have some problems.

It won't be used for anything crazy, just typical office / internet, so graphics performance isn't a huge issue and the C2D should be fine.

Just looking for some input, as this will be my first iMac / desktop mac.

the optional upgrade 8800 nvidia GPU is crap. The stock ATi was much more reliable. i woudln't buy it if it has the nvidia GPU. Mine died 2 months ago and i found out it was a common problem.

 

[Badger^2]

Early 2008 is the second gen AL iMac.

First AL iMacs came out in Aug 2007.

I use a 24" 2007 AL iMac for waaaaaay more than the basics and it handles it fine.

 

[ch02ce]

Thanks guys... things just got a bit more interesting.

For the same price, would you rather the early 2008 24" or the early 2009 20" that still has applecare until October?

9400M in the 20" has support for OpenCL - HD2600 does not. Is that a big issue going forward?

I will be paralyzed by indecision now...

 

[brenden]

i had my 24" for about 2yrs. Used it for everything, gaming, email, surfing. It was flawless.

I'd go for the 24" screen. It's excellent!

 

[ewkid]

I have a 2008 24" that I bought as a refurb in 2009. I found that the internal hard drive was slower than I liked and it needed more RAM. I eventually got the nerve to open the machine up and install 4GB RAM + a 3.5" OCZ Vertex II SSD drive. With these upgrades the machine is just as fast as, or faster than, new machines for what I use it for (web/email/office). SSD is really a fantastic upgrade.

If you need more storage than SSD offers add a OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro FW800 external drive. It's faster than I expected.

 

[t0rr3s]

My 2007 24" alu imac (ati card) has been upgraded to sl 10.6.7 with 4gigs of ram and has been working beautifully. Not a peep of a problem since I got it

 

[Badger^2]

9400M is integrated video = slow

20" iMacs have super crappy TN screens with horrible color reproduction and awful viewing angles

can you not wait and save a bit more?

that $700 is not that far from a $1000 refurb 21" i3 iMac -- which is faster and more capable than both of the other iMacs combined -- and I would bet that they drop another $100+ once the new iMacs are announced in the next few weeks.

 

[ch02ce]

Thanks for the advice, I picked up the 24" and am typing on it now. Screen size is wonderful, perfect for my needs. Its the first-gen aluminum 2.4, but they purchased it in early 2008, hence the confusion earlier.

First up is the RAM, only 1gb!

A refurb i3 would have been sufficient, but if I was going to go new, we were gonna splurge on the 27". Maybe come a refresh. Til then, this will be my office box.

Thanks again, I think I made a good choice.

-Chris

 

[B.winkle]

Enjoy!

 

[flopticalcube]

Thanks for the advice, I picked up the 24" and am typing on it now. Screen size is wonderful, perfect for my needs. Its the first-gen aluminum 2.4, but they purchased it in early 2008, hence the confusion earlier.

First up is the RAM, only 1gb!

A refurb i3 would have been sufficient, but if I was going to go new, we were gonna splurge on the 27". Maybe come a refresh. Til then, this will be my office box.

Thanks again, I think I made a good choice.

-Chris

A little more RAM, even a single 2GB stick, will make a big difference in your daily experience.

 

[eRondeau]

I have a 24" aluminum iMac w/ 2.8GHz C2D "Extreme" as my main computer. It is a "first-generation" bought in December 2007. It has the standard ATI Radeon HD2600 graphics. This iMac has been absolutely flawless in every way. I ran it with 2GB RAM until just last month; upgraded to 4GB on a whim and honestly I've noticed no difference. I use it for just about everything including semi-professional video production and DVD burning and its speed & ease-of-use continues to impress. I have never yet thought about replacing it with something newer. I am as happy with this as I've ever been with any other product I've ever bought. Seriously. It's that good.