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Convince me to stay with the iMac

A

Apple2000

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 19, 2011
76
0
I own a i5 3.1GHz iMac with the 1gb 6970m.

It costed me $2k. However, looking at the prices of building a Pc, it seems like I should sell the iMac and build a Pc. Several things frustrate me about the iMac. For example, for a PC to get a SSD to boot off of, I can simply buy one and install it. I can get a good 64Gb drive for my apps and os for $80.00 and easily install it.

For the iMac, I need to either install it myself (voids warranty, easy to get dust under screen) or pay apple the huge premium (like $600 to get the 256gb ssd and the 1tb hdd). And who needs a 256gb ssd for apps and OS? It would be great if apple offered 64gb or 128gb options.

Also, I love the apple aesthetic as much as the next guy, but there is a point where it is too much. Apple went to using a mobile graphics card in a desktop computer? Why in the world would I want a 6970m in my desktop? It performs similarly to a desktop 6850, which is an average to slightly above average card. In a $2k computer, I want top of the line - not average.

I looked at it, and I can build a computer with a i5 2500, a 6850, a 1tb hdd for around $600.00. I own windows 7.

I know that people love the iMac's displays and apples supposedly brilliant customer service, but how is it worth the premium of atleast $1k?

It is looking very tempting for me to sell my iMac for around $1700 and build a PC. I can get a pc with i7 2600k, a radeon 6970, a 64gb ssd + 1tb hdd, blu-ray burner, a dvd drive that spins at atleast 24x (A load faster than apples "Superdrive" which spins at 8x) and other specs that outperform the iMac while having a fair amount of cash to spare which I can use to upgrade in the future.

Why should I stay with iMac?
 
The question you have to answer is do you prefer Mac OS or Windows?

The reason I recently purchased an iMac 27" i5 to replace my 24" Core 2 Duo was I prefer to work in Mac OS, occasionally and for compatibility reasons with MS Office, I boot Windows using VMWare and hence I've got 12Gb of RAM to allow me to do this without compromising my work within the Mac side.

Of course you can buy/build a PC for less money, but will it have the high quality display that the iMac does? Do you burn discs so often that you need a 24x burner?
 
Apple2000 said:
I own a i5 3.1GHz iMac with the 1gb 6970m.

It costed me $2k. However, looking at the prices of building a Pc, it seems like I should sell the iMac and build a Pc. Several things frustrate me about the iMac. For example, for a PC to get a SSD to boot off of, I can simply buy one and install it. I can get a good 64Gb drive for my apps and os for $80.00 and easily install it.

For the iMac, I need to either install it myself (voids warranty, easy to get dust under screen) or pay apple the huge premium (like $600 to get the 256gb ssd and the 1tb hdd). And who needs a 256gb ssd for apps and OS? It would be great if apple offered 64gb or 128gb options.

Also, I love the apple aesthetic as much as the next guy, but there is a point where it is too much. Apple went to using a mobile graphics card in a desktop computer? Why in the world would I want a 6970m in my desktop? It performs similarly to a desktop 6850, which is an average to slightly above average card. In a $2k computer, I want top of the line - not average.

I looked at it, and I can build a computer with a i5 2500, a 6850, a 1tb hdd for around $600.00. I own windows 7.

I know that people love the iMac's displays and apples supposedly brilliant customer service, but how is it worth the premium of atleast $1k?

It is looking very tempting for me to sell my iMac for around $1700 and build a PC. I can get a pc with i7 2600k, a radeon 6970, a 64gb ssd + 1tb hdd, blu-ray burner, a dvd drive that spins at atleast 24x (A load faster than apples "Superdrive" which spins at 8x) and other specs that outperform the iMac while having a fair amount of cash to spare which I can use to upgrade in the future.

Why should I stay with iMac?
Click to expand...



I think you need to look at it as choosing a Maserati over a Mini. Both will get you from A to B, but the Mac is pure class.

Sure you can buy a PC with all the latest kit, but its noisy, the screen won't be half as good unless you spend serious money and you have to put up with Windows 7 (which although is the best MS operating system to date, that aint saying much and it aint a patch on OSX).

I guess if you want a hodge podge of bloatware that is constantly virus infected and in need of updates go pc, otherwise stay with a real computer.

I have used PC's over 20 years and the only thing they are good for is running a decent Linux distro as a server, M$ is the worst thing that ever happened to the computer industry, they stifled and continue to stifle innovation.....

/end of rant
 
Well i hated XP, but I find windows 7 just as good as snow leopard.

I think that the reason that most people associate windows with crashes and poor build quality is because the majority of windows computers out there are <$500 dell or hp computers.

I think that if you build your own computer which really is not that hard to do these days, you can get build quality just as good as the iMac. And the built in screen can be a problem later in the computers lifespan. The screen of my 2007 iMac was just fantastic, however when the logic board died and apple wanted like $800 to fix it, the display that I payed a huge premium for became useless.
 
zarf2007 said:
I think you need to look at it as choosing a Maserati over a Mini. Both will get you from A to B, but the Mac is pure class.

Sure you can buy a PC with all the latest kit, but its noisy, the screen won;t be half as good unless you spend serious money and you have to put up with Windows 7 (which although is the best MS operating system to date, that aint saying much and it aint a patch on OSX).

I guess if you want a hodge podge of bloatware that is constantly virus infected and in need of updates go pc, otherwise stay with a real computer.

I have used PC's over 20 years and the only thing they are good for is running a decent Linux distro as a server, M$ is the worst thing that ever happened to the computer industry, they stifled and continue to stifle innovation.....

/end of rant
Click to expand...
If Mac users need to resort to tactics like this ^ to keep people on Macs there is something wrong.

With a clean install of Windows (versus factory image with bloatware), I find Windows 7 faster and better for my workflow than Snow Leopard.
 
TheSideshow said:
If Mac users need to resort to tactics like this ^ to keep people on Macs there is something wrong.

With a clean install of Windows (versus factory image with bloatware), I find Windows 7 faster and better for my workflow than Snow Leopard.
Click to expand...


thats my opinion, i'm entitled to it. however you cut it windows blows...
 
TheSideshow said:
If Mac users need to resort to tactics like this ^ to keep people on Macs there is something wrong.

With a clean install of Windows (versus factory image with bloatware), I find Windows 7 faster and better for my workflow than Snow Leopard.
Click to expand...

That post you quoted makes me hate owning a Mac.
 
Apple2000 said:
Well i hated XP, but I find windows 7 just as good as snow leopard.

I think that the reason that most people associate windows with crashes and poor build quality is because the majority of windows computers out there are <$500 dell or hp computers.

I think that if you build your own computer which really is not that hard to do these days, you can get build quality just as good as the iMac. And the built in screen can be a problem later in the computers lifespan. The screen of my 2007 iMac was just fantastic, however when the logic board died and apple wanted like $800 to fix it, the display that I payed a huge premium for became useless.
Click to expand...

just buy applecare, and upgrade before it runs out.....why spend days tuning/perfecting just to get something to run as standard when you can buy and iMac and OSX runs fine without any of that.....I can run anything I want on OSX and if I need windows I use vmware/parallels or Bootcamp....best of all worlds.....the only reason I would load windows would be to play some pc games......
 
Last edited by a moderator:
zarf2007 said:
just buy applecare, and upgrade before it runs out.....

How do I "just upgrade it before it runs out" with applecare?

----------
apw100 said:
Just wait a couple of months and get a Thunderbolt enclosure with the SSD of your choice and use it as your boot drive.
Click to expand...

No doubt that it would cost an extreme premium to get a thunderbolt enclosure for a ssd.

But that is in the future anyway, as it stands now it is a simple five minute process to install a new drive into a pc's tower, but for iMac theres no simple solution.
Click to expand...
 
the reasons to stay with the Mac is if you think OS X is that much better than Windows or you want the iMac for other reasons.

If you want a better computer for a cheaper price go with the PC with W7 and make sure it has a non-bloated install of Windows 7 (typically a business PC image or your own clean install).

Macs, IMO, mainly shine with their notebooks and the benefits of close integration between harware and software.
 
TheSideshow said:
the reasons to stay with the Mac is if you think OS X is that much better than Windows or you want the iMac for other reasons.

If you want a better computer for a cheaper price go with the PC with W7 and make sure it has a non-bloated install of Windows 7 (typically a business PC image or your own clean install).

Macs, IMO, mainly shine with their notebooks and the benefits of close integration between harware and software.
Click to expand...

Yeah of course I would clean install windows. The thing that gives windows a bad name is cruddy prebuilds made by dell and HP.

And I can agree with the macbook pro line being deeply superior to Windows laptops. I still haven't seen a windows laptop with a decent trackpad.
 
Apple2000 said:
Yeah of course I would clean install windows. The thing that gives windows a bad name is cruddy prebuilds made by dell and HP.

And I can agree with the macbook pro line being deeply superior to Windows laptops. I still haven't seen a windows laptop with a decent trackpad.
Click to expand...

They are coming now with Synaptics' latest ClickPad release. ASUS (or maybe Acer) just showed off a coming ultrabook with the new clickpad and glass surface which will probably be nice. But yes, at this point Macs still have the best trackpad, but PCs are now close and closing.
 
I got a Dell Vostro 3450 for $800. I considered it for a long time, but what it came down to was "you get a mac for the premium experience and the premium looks". I don't have a problem with Windows (I slightly prefer it actually), and I could get a computer with a backlit keyboard, metal exterior, and even a graphics card for less than the cost of a MacBook.

Now that Lion is out, I'm quite glad I have a PC, as it still has color to it.
 
Thats not so true <500$
most issues i had with a PC even on a 1500$ custom built machine were not acceptable. I didnt find any reason on installing windows every three months just to have a working computer. I do agree at the time running games on full blast was a preference. But having a computer dysfunctional for over 2 hours getting to installing everything again is not fun.

And this was with all enthusiast spec parts which had now flaws individually but just wudnt work together in a windows ecosystem.

and yup 500$ systems loaded with either bloatware or an antivirus suite is like using a stone for computing.

Happy to be using a macbook pro for college my friends have already swapped their laptops once for new ones and have had old ones serviced over and over again. whereas i have been running fine :)
Apple2000 said:
Well i hated XP, but I find windows 7 just as good as snow leopard.

I think that the reason that most people associate windows with crashes and poor build quality is because the majority of windows computers out there are <$500 dell or hp computers.

I think that if you build your own computer which really is not that hard to do these days, you can get build quality just as good as the iMac. And the built in screen can be a problem later in the computers lifespan. The screen of my 2007 iMac was just fantastic, however when the logic board died and apple wanted like $800 to fix it, the display that I payed a huge premium for became useless.
Click to expand...
 
It seems those of my friends that whine to me that Macs are overpriced are always having their PCs fall apart on them. Power supplies, hard drives, GPUs...

One such friend went through 3 laptops while I was using a flawless nine-year-old 500 Mhz G4 TiBook.
 
Apple2000 said:
I own a i5 3.1GHz iMac with the 1gb 6970m.

It costed me $2k. However, looking at the prices of building a Pc, it seems like I should sell the iMac and build a Pc. Several things frustrate me about the iMac. For example, for a PC to get a SSD to boot off of, I can simply buy one and install it. I can get a good 64Gb drive for my apps and os for $80.00 and easily install it.

For the iMac, I need to either install it myself (voids warranty, easy to get dust under screen) or pay apple the huge premium (like $600 to get the 256gb ssd and the 1tb hdd). And who needs a 256gb ssd for apps and OS? It would be great if apple offered 64gb or 128gb options.

Also, I love the apple aesthetic as much as the next guy, but there is a point where it is too much. Apple went to using a mobile graphics card in a desktop computer? Why in the world would I want a 6970m in my desktop? It performs similarly to a desktop 6850, which is an average to slightly above average card. In a $2k computer, I want top of the line - not average.

I looked at it, and I can build a computer with a i5 2500, a 6850, a 1tb hdd for around $600.00. I own windows 7.

I know that people love the iMac's displays and apples supposedly brilliant customer service, but how is it worth the premium of atleast $1k?

It is looking very tempting for me to sell my iMac for around $1700 and build a PC. I can get a pc with i7 2600k, a radeon 6970, a 64gb ssd + 1tb hdd, blu-ray burner, a dvd drive that spins at atleast 24x (A load faster than apples "Superdrive" which spins at 8x) and other specs that outperform the iMac while having a fair amount of cash to spare which I can use to upgrade in the future.

Why should I stay with iMac?
Click to expand...

no one forced you to buy an iMac

you knew it had a mobile graphics card in it when you bought it.

PC is uninspired garbage, that's why I left.

at least apple try's to improve things. like with gestures, etc. not something huge, but more than PC has ever accomplished.

what does Windows do? oh yea, it crashes.

what happens when your PC screws up? are you going to give bill gates a ring ding? hahaha

at least when something goes wrong with your iMac you know you are well covered

yes there is a premium for Apple products. people have seem to accepted that as Apple is doing very well. seems you don't understand that part and just want to complain about non issues
 
Building your own computer has almost always been cheaper than buying a pre-built unit from someone (I say "almost" because lately I've seen some i7 dells for <$500, and you'd be hard pressed to build a comparable system for the same price).

Either way, to say that you can build a cheaper PC is now news to anyone.

And it's hard to compare an iMac to a regular PC tower. They're not the same thing. Of course, Apple doesn't built a comparable tower computer, either.

At the end of the day, yes, you can get the same or better performance in a home-built or store-bought PC tower than you can from an iMac. The question becomes, what is the value of OSX, the iMac's high-end display, the convenience of an all-in-one, etc? If the extra cost of the iMac outweighs those factors, build your own system.
 
Sounds like you've pretty much made your mind up already to me,we shouldn't have to give you reasons to keep your iMac.
 
As with anything we buy, most of us consider what we need / want. You shouldn't buy an iMac if you'd rather use Windows 7.

I love the iMac due to it's aesthetics and also it's quick as hell especially after custom installation of an OCZ SSD.

To each their own, but OP you should really consider what your needs are before you splurged on an iMac. Cause it seems like it was not the right choice for you.
 
Okay, as a PC builder and overclocker who has moved back to Macs, I'll give you my point of view.

Firstly, you are comparing buying a system vs building a system. The iMac had to be designed to create a computer, whereas the PC you build won't.

Secondly, you are buying an all in one system. That's the point. You can't complain about a mobile graphics card in an all-in-one system.

Thirdly, again, it's an all in one system, that is designed to be minimalistic. No matter how it is designed, Apple make it easy to install parts without making the design uglier. If you were able to upgrade SSDs, it would have to be through the bottom, meaning that there would have to be intake holes on the back, or through the back, meaning that the back would no longer be a single piece.

Finally, a 27" IPS display, as stated by another poster, is extremely expensive.

You could easily build a cheaper PC than the iMac. Cheaper including the display? I've tried it, and with UK pricing, it is possible, barely, if I recall correctly. But it wouldn't be an all-in-one.

Your gripe is more with pre-built systems as a whole rather than the iMac. Does the iMac actually work for you?

In fact, reading your post back again, you said that the PC is $1000 cheaper, and that the display isn't worth it. How can you use a computer without a display...? You should factor in the cost of ALL components. That's a bit like saying that there isn't any point in buying a Corvette ZR1 when you can buy a built LS3 for $25,000...
 
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