Buying the new iMac G5

[wrldwzrd89]

I never thought I'd be getting a new Mac this soon...but certain events dictate that getting one now makes a lot of sense.

1. I'll be the only one in my family with a Mac powerful enough to host a 4-way iChat video conference
2. I'll have a 20 inch screen instead of the 17 inch I have now.
3. 250 GB hard drive = one less external drive = less desk clutter
4. G5-based CPU instead of G4, 'nuff said
5. 512 MB RAM built in, no need to upgrade RAM
6. For once, I can just pick up the stock model at my local Apple Store and not have to wait or pay for shipping

All that's left to decide is when...since I'm going to Vermont in 5 days, I'm currently in an online college class, and I need to take the midterm for that class next week.

 

[mad jew]

Nice one. You sure 512MB will be enough though? I'd aim for 1GB+ personally.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Nice one. You sure 512MB will be enough though? I'd aim for 1GB+ personally.

I have 512 MB in my current iMac, and I am not bumping heads with my RAM at all. I never run out of memory or experience obvious symptoms of excessive disk paging. I don't know if there are other signs to watch for, but I haven't noticed any.

 

[mad jew]

I have 512 MB in my current iMac, and I am not bumping heads with my RAM at all. I never run out of memory or experience obvious symptoms of excessive disk paging. I don't know if there are other signs to watch for, but I haven't noticed any.

Fair enough then.

I have 1GB in my G5 iMac but only ever really use about 800MB or so for general use. The great thing about not chucking in heaps of RAM at the start is that if you upgrade six months (or whatever) down the track then it'll feel like a completely new computer. Such a cheap way of making a Mac faster.

 

[dmw007]

I never thought I'd be getting a new Mac this soon...but certain events dictate that getting one now makes a lot of sense.

1. I'll be the only one in my family with a Mac powerful enough to host a 4-way iChat video conference
2. I'll have a 20 inch screen instead of the 17 inch I have now.
3. 250 GB hard drive = one less external drive = less desk clutter
4. G5-based CPU instead of G4, 'nuff said
5. 512 MB RAM built in, no need to upgrade RAM
6. For once, I can just pick up the stock model at my local Apple Store and not have to wait or pay for shipping

All that's left to decide is when...since I'm going to Vermont in 5 days, I'm currently in an online college class, and I need to take the midterm for that class next week.

Very nice wrldwzrd89, I am sure that you will love your 20" iMac G5 when you get it.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

OK, the last issue (that of when to buy) has been decided.

Monday, November 21, 2005 will be the day I get a 20" iMac G5.

I'm looking forward to it!

 

[Platform]

Congratulations on the great machince

 

[munkle]

I just got the 20" last week after trading in the Rev A 17". Even though I was using a G5 iMac previously, the new 20" is a whole different beast!

With RAM being so cheap I'd recommend upgrading to 1 GB of RAM though. Either way you'll be loving your new machine. There's nothing like that new Mac smell!

 

[wwooden]

Are you picking it up from smalldog? Just so you know, they don't offer the educational discount. For some reason Apple did not allow them to have that license. It might be cheaper to order it online to save the extra $100 or so.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

No point in using Smalldog - they're further away from me than my local Apple Retail Store. I don't need the educational discount - I'll actually save money compared to the price of the iMac G4 I have now without it.

As for RAM, I don't know how easy upgrading the RAM in the new iMac G5 is. If I can't do it myself for some reason, I'm sure the fine folks at the Apple Store can. The only thing I get sometimes with my iMac G4 is beachballs when opening an open or save dialog. I have no idea what's causing that (I've read somewhere that an iDisk sync bug is a possible cause).

I'm definitely not going to upgrade the RAM now, but I'll leave the option open in case I decide to upgrade it later.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

I'm posting this message from my brand-new 20 inch iMac G5! It's great!