Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Buy iMac now or later in December?

C

Chadgo1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 1, 2008
16
0
I'm looking to pull the trigger on a 24" iMac 2.8. Amazon has it at $1644 (with $100 mail-in rebate). I need to make the purchase before the end of the year for tax purposes.

Do you foresee prices dropping between now and Jan 1? Or, should I just purchase now?
 
There is no chance there will be a price drop +/ revision to the iMac prior to the end of the month. Might as well buy now.
 
It's a shame you can't "buy" it at the end of the month, somehow, with credit from the Apple Store or something. All signs point to a new iMac release on Jan 6th.
 
Thanks!

A couple other questions:

I am going to be using this iMac as my "digital darkroom" (photo post-processing in Photoshop CS3 and later CS4). Right now I am balancing out my budget between this iMac purchase and a new lens for my DSLR.

1. Should I consider upgrading to the 3.06ghz version? Will that make a difference in photo processing?

2. Would upgrading the video card make a difference in photo processing as well?

3. Should I get the 500GB HD as opposed to the 320GB HD, knowing that I am going to be saving my RAW files? - OR - Stick with the 320 and use externals as I need them (I will have one external for backup).

Each upgrade pulls from my lens budget... and I really need to upgrade my lenses.
 
1. Stick with the 2.8, the only time you'd see any difference at all with the upgrade would be when batch processing a lot of images through photoshop, or a plugin like Noise Ninja.... In the end better glass for your dslr will serve you better

2. Unless your going to play games or edit video in addition to your photoshop the stock card should be plenty

3. Get the 320 and use externals, you can get more memory for cheaper that way, and upgrade later.


In the end nice glass v old glass will actually affect the quality of your images, a few minor upgrades will just shave milliseconds off your editing time
 
Excellent. Thanks. I would definitely prefer new glass than the imac upgrades, but would kick myself later if I felt I needed more processing power. Seems like the system I'm looking at will be fine. I am going to upgrade the RAM to 4GB with Crucial.

I am a little worried about the monitor glare for photo PP and calibration, but I'm just going to have to make it work, as this is really the only option in my price range.
 
Bad Paper said:
All signs point to a new iMac release on Jan 6th.
Click to expand...

Please point me to a few of these signs, as I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on an iMac myself. The fact that the iMac hasn't been upgraded since April doesn't really count. Look how long since the mini has been upgraded.
 
I'd be surprised at any company updating a product just days after Xmas.

Would alienate all those customers who purchased leading up to Xmas and a funny time to launch a new product (ie' in the January sales)??
 
coogee said:
I'd be surprised at any company updating a product just days after Xmas.

Would alienate all those customers who purchased leading up to Xmas and a funny time to launch a new product (ie' in the January sales)??
Click to expand...

Every year Apple announces new products at MacWorld in January. Last year they announced the new Mac Pro (or was that a separate announcement a week before...?).

It seems iMac's are likely to appear in January - or shortly afterwards. The current model has been around since April 2008.

After the initial teaser of the 'notebook only 24" LCD' (and all the question marks about why it's only for the MacBooks) I suspect they'll announce a full range of LED backlit displays for Mac Pro's, and new iMac's with LED Backlit displays.
 
bilbo--baggins said:
Every year Apple announces new products at MacWorld in January. Last year they announced the new Mac Pro (or was that a separate announcement a week before...?).

It seems iMac's are likely to appear in January - or shortly afterwards. The current model has been around since April 2008.

After the initial teaser of the 'notebook only 24" LCD' (and all the question marks about why it's only for the MacBooks) I suspect they'll announce a full range of LED backlit displays for Mac Pro's, and new iMac's with LED Backlit displays.
Click to expand...

It was the Tuesday before.

I do expect Montevina iMacs at MacWorld.

I think they'll just drop the 20", update the 30" with the same cables, and use just those two for everything. We'll just have to deal with the dangling MagSafe cables behind our Nehalem Mac Pros.
 
Similar Question...

I am just a basic Mac user (maybe minor web design - mostly for hobby & blogs etc.) and have Photoshop CS4, again just for hobby...this is not my career nor am I trying to make it one. I just happen to be a PC convert and have LOVED every minute I have used a Mac (2 iBooks, MacBook, and MacBook Pro). I donate (and convert) my family/friends w/my older macs when I upgrade and I'm getting ready to purchase my first iMac.

My options: (I'm at an educational institution, hence the discount)
$1262 - 20" model w/upgrades to 2GB memory and 320 GB HD 128MB Graphics
$1399 - 20" model w/standard 2GB memory and 320 GB HD 256MB Graphics

Or

Should I wait. I'm in no real hurry to get the iMac, but as I'm sure any Mac user can attest I'm really eager to get on a new machine. Can someone explain what the benefits of waiting might be. If I could get a 24" for roughly the same price and all I have to do is wait until January, I'd MUCH rather wait. If it's a little faster processor I think I'd just get one now. Thoughts?

Or is it safe to pull the trigger, if so, which of the above would you recommend? Which is the most "bank for the buck"?

Hope I'm not taking away from the original poster - just thought my question was relevant. I can post a new question if need be.

Thanks in advance for your input!!
 
Eh... It seems that I am always waiting for the next version of whatever technology. I'm not going to be torn up about it. I figure my 5 year old G4 iMac 800mhz has been a good computer all these years (which is what I'm typing on now), whatever I get will be a huge upgrade... and should do me well for the next 5 years (I hope).

My feeling is that we've reached a point with this technology that gaining MORE (speed, performance, etc) isn't as critical as it was years ago.
 
There's no real evidence of a MWSF release. On the same note, there's no evidence for any of the other dates people (including myself) have been throwing around. What we do know is that any update must be in 2009 (or later).

I think, though, January and late February are the most likely dates for an iMac update. The bigger the update, the more likely a MWSF update.
 
To the poster also looking to purchase:

I'm a professional graphic designer and have been working on Macs for about 18 years. Our computers at work are 1.5 year-old G5 MacPros. Day-in and day-out I run Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator heavily. Honestly, my MacPros at work are as fast as I would ever really need. I'm never waiting. Work is never interrupted and I work on very large files (I was working on a 250MB Indesign file the other day without a hitch). I'm sure I would notice a performance difference when our company upgrades. But it would be negligible at this point. We're almost at a "good enough" point with computers.

I occasionally bring work home and run it on my old 17" iMac. Sure, its slow, but I can get it done (and I know not to try to open a 250MB Indesign file at home). And I've been using this computer for five years.

This new iMac I am purchasing will be as fast as our older MacPros we have at work.

So, my point is that for what you described your usage to be, I don't think you have a whole lot to gain by waiting until January (or whenever they release the next iMac). If you can wait, you might as well. But, if you are itching to get your hands on one now, I would go ahead.
 
Thanks Chadgo,

What do you think about the different graphics cards? Can you justify paying $137 more for the better card?

I think I'm going to pull the trigger, but I'd really be kicking myself if Apple introduces the 24" as the base model early next year. I don't "need" the larger monitor but damn I'd sure feel like a champ if I could get it for roughly the same price!!
 
i had so many machines i used to use... now i just have external HDs and an iMac 24inch.

i use quark, photoshop, dreamweaver, keynote and about 4 more programs at the same time and ive never had a crash on my work computer which is a 24 inch iMac Alum, 4gb ram and 1tb HD. its very slick. Had it for about 8 months. constant everyday use.

id buy now if you have to - they hold up great, no as good as a mac pro but damn near fine, jan there are supposed to be new ones, but who knows? they could be worse lol.
 
Chadgo1 said:
Eh... It seems that I am always waiting for the next version of whatever technology. I'm not going to be torn up about it. I figure my 5 year old G4 iMac 800mhz has been a good computer all these years (which is what I'm typing on now), whatever I get will be a huge upgrade... and should do me well for the next 5 years (I hope).

My feeling is that we've reached a point with this technology that gaining MORE (speed, performance, etc) isn't as critical as it was years ago.
Click to expand...
I couldnt agree more..
 
The above post is great considering I just purchased a brand new 24" imac that should be arriving at the end of the week....hopefully in time for the weekend!!!
 
I don't know about the graphics card, which is why I asked earlier in this thread. For my purposes, it doesn't appear that I need it. I'll be using my iMac primarily for print design (Indesign/Illustrator) and Photo Processing (Photoshop/LightRoom). I'm not into video editing, watching DVDs or gaming on this iMac. All of which I suppose would be enhanced with the updated graphics card. But I am no expert on this.
 
Tallest Skil said:
I think they'll just drop the 20", update the 30" with the same cables, and use just those two for everything. We'll just have to deal with the dangling MagSafe cables behind our Nehalem Mac Pros.
Click to expand...

Do you mean that in the same misguided manner as they dropped Firewire from the MacBook, they assume that all Mac Pro users will want 30" displays, and all MacBook users want 24" displays?

Current marketing of the LED backlit 24" display is very specific about stating it's for the MacBooks (only).

I'm extremely curious to see where this goes - it's a bit like an end of series cliffhanger. What happens next?
 
The more I read, the more I hear about a newly designed iMac and possibly doing away with the 20"...think there is any truth to this?

And I have that "luck" that if I just get one now, EVERYTHING about the iMac will change in January...If I wait it out, the iMac will stay exactly the same. Not that there is anything wrong w/the machine now...so, erghh!!
 
I wouldn't expect the prices to go down again until January. That's when the new ones are expected to launch, hence the current model will drop in price, especially on the Apple Refurbished store.
 
Patillac said:
I am just a basic Mac user (maybe minor web design - mostly for hobby & blogs etc.) and have Photoshop CS4, again just for hobby...this is not my career nor am I trying to make it one. I just happen to be a PC convert and have LOVED every minute I have used a Mac (2 iBooks, MacBook, and MacBook Pro). I donate (and convert) my family/friends w/my older macs when I upgrade and I'm getting ready to purchase my first iMac.

My options: (I'm at an educational institution, hence the discount)
$1262 - 20" model w/upgrades to 2GB memory and 320 GB HD 128MB Graphics
$1399 - 20" model w/standard 2GB memory and 320 GB HD 256MB Graphics

Or

Should I wait. I'm in no real hurry to get the iMac, but as I'm sure any Mac user can attest I'm really eager to get on a new machine. Can someone explain what the benefits of waiting might be. If I could get a 24" for roughly the same price and all I have to do is wait until January, I'd MUCH rather wait. If it's a little faster processor I think I'd just get one now. Thoughts?

Or is it safe to pull the trigger, if so, which of the above would you recommend? Which is the most "bank for the buck"?

Hope I'm not taking away from the original poster - just thought my question was relevant. I can post a new question if need be.

Thanks in advance for your input!!
Click to expand...


I would go for the 20" 2.66 GHz with the 256MB graphics memory and the 320GB HD. Waiting until January will definitely not lower the price on the 24". However, if you do go with the one I recommended it is on the Apple Refurbished site for $1299 as opposed to the $1399 it is with the education discount. You are still able to get the full three year warranty on the refurbished iMac, and it even comes with a one year free warranty, which is pretty unheard of for most refurbished products. I personally buy all my systems refurbished from Apple. If you want to wait for a price drop in order to get the 24" I would say wait until they announce the new ones in January and then snag one of the current ones off the refurbished site, as you will notice a considerable discount. Currently the 24" 2.8GHz is $1549 refurbished, I would expect it to drop at least $100 if not $150 by mid January. Hope this helps
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back