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Convince me why I should get the iMac!

Z

zentenk

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 17, 2010
39
1
I've been contemplating over whether to get an iMac or Hackintosh for quite some time now... and the more I think about it, the more I don't think I should get the iMac. Perhaps it's because I'm missing some crucial factors, if so, please say so!

Hackintosh is A LOT cheaper and can have way better performance at the same price. I do photography as a hobby, so performance is a factor.

iMac 27" has a beautiful display, but it's built into the machine. Should I replace the iMac in the future due to hardware parts obsolescence I cannot use the display anymore. If I get the Dell ultrasharp 27" (many rave reviews out there) after a few years if I replace the machine I can still use the display.

The iMac display is glossy (WHAT THE????!!??)

The only good thing I can think of for the iMac vs Hackintosh is the hassle free updates and the aesthetic beauty of the machine. However at the moment the inconveniences of the Hackintosh outweighs the cons of the iMac. But are there more to it?
 
I have the 27", and I love it but I'm very frustrated about the difficult access to the HDD; I'm not willing to dive in through the screen...
 
I won't be able to convince you. Because I will never buy an all in one. Especially the way Apple does it. No matte option and you can't get the fastest processer unless you take the biggest screen. Trouble is I don't want to go Hackintosh either. So it is either the mini or the Pro. Too bad Apple doesn't have something in between.
 
You are also forgetting the resale value, iMacs have a high residual value compared to a Hachitosh. I like to upgrade every 2 years and I never have a problem selling my 2 year old iMac at a good price, in fact I already have someone waiting in the wing to pickup my current one.
 
Do you or have you ever owned a Mac? By the phrasing of your question, it sounds like you've only used PC's.

Your main concern is the ability to upgrade the iMac down the line. With regards to performance, the two major bottlenecks in an computer system, RAM and HDD, can be easily upgraded on any iMac. Expanding the RAM and adding an SSD in the future would extend any iMac's life for years. I think a better question might be directed to those iMac owners whose iMac's are a couple of years old or older. Are they still able to run the most current and sophisticated photo editing software on their old iMac's? If so, how's the performance? I'm not an iMac owner, so I cannot answer these questions.

I've never really been a fan of the Hackintosh. Sure, you get OSX running on a computer. However, you get none of the Apple support and build quality that goes with it. The reason people pay a premium for Apple products is because each of the components of a Mac are carefully selected, tested, and screened by Apple for inclusion in their products. When you get a Mac, you know that the CPU will work well with the RAM, which works well with the HDD, and so on.

No one's going to convince you to get an iMac. The prevailing thought on this board with regard to topics similar to yours is, "if you don't see the benefit of owning an iMac, then get something else." I'm sure there are plenty of reasons why professional photographers use Macs. Since photography isn't a hobby of mine, I can't speak to that.
 
zentenk said:
Hackintosh is A LOT cheaper and can have way better performance at the same price. I do photography as a hobby, so performance is a factor.
Click to expand...

Just remember that while the actual computer seems cheaper, you have to factor in an IPS display, which since you do photography, I would highly recommend. Whether it's from Apple, Dell, Samsung, NEC, whoever...Apple's 27" IPS display - while glossy - is actually the cheapest at $999, Dell and Samsung are usually around the $1200 mark, and NEC is even more expensive.

Of course, you could go with a 24" or 22" IPS display for a lot cheaper, but then you're missing out on the huge amount of pixels that a 27" offers.
 
thats actually the best points about Mac's get rid of them as soon as the end of apple care is approaching , as thats the time when you still get serious money and only need to pay a couple quid towards the new one , i know people who never had to spend more then £200 towards the newest top model after 2 years , thats a depreciation of £100 per year
while a hackintosh will lose in the same time £500 and more like pc's
and yes it is very sad that you need to buy a inaccessible (for the average user who never opened a all in one before as you can do a lot of damage ) all in one computer if you need just something in between the mini and MacPro , it was not that bad in the old PPC days when the iMac G4 had basically the same internals as the PowerMac G4 MDD and the price difference in 2003 between the lower end 1ghz usb 2.0 15" iMac and the base PowerMac G4 mdd 1.0ghz was just $200
today this gap between the 21.5 iMac which is even in base version more powerful then the mini and the base MacPro is more like $1000 and the gap between the mini ant the MacPro is more like $1500, not to talk about the difference in performance , so there is a huge gap only filled with a glossy all in one

so recommending one depends totally on your needs , if you really need performance then i would not recommend the iMac as its a all in one and therefor you stuck like you bought it , while on a MacPro best choose the westmere processors (technically they are i7 's but they take (most times cheaper not always) ECC ram ,you can upgrade the GPU if you find you need a more powerful one , or you can add HDD's/SSD's easy plug and play without having to take the whole computer apart , you can choose the display that fits your needs best , some swear on the new glossy ips displays , others just hate them with passion like i do for example and would never consider a ips display because of the mirror effect when standing on the desk during daylight
 
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:rolleyes:Nope .. PC with hackintosh is NOT a lot cheaper .. They have A LOT of options but not as good as iMac have

Believe me, iMac has the best value among Apple computers. Yes you can build PC sub $1500 to get similar spec with $2000 iMac

But, just like others said, you can't beat iMac's price when you try to build a PC along with 27" IPS Display with 1440p resolution

The display itself cost you around $1000, so there's another $1000 you can spend on CPU and another accessories. Unless you OK to go with cheap and ugly display? :rolleyes:

Granted you can get similar spec for around $700, but they look ugly, a lot of cable here and there, noisy fan, and also the hassle of installing/restoring/updating hackintosh along with OSX apps on your custom built PC will leave you sorry for not choosing an iMac

So, are you convinced yet? :D
 
zentenk said:
The iMac display is glossy (WHAT THE????!!??)
Click to expand...

Yeah glossy is a bad and terrible display .... nobody wants it ..... nobody buys it.

You have to wonder how Apple stays in business selling glossy displays. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:


zentenk said:
The only good thing I can think of for the iMac vs Hackintosh is the hassle free updates and the aesthetic beauty of the machine. However at the moment the inconveniences of the Hackintosh outweighs the cons of the iMac. But are there more to it?
Click to expand...

Three quick thoughts ....

1) Service

2) Support

3) Resale Value


For some reason a 2 year old Apple is worth more than a 2 year old Hackintosh ( whatever the HEII a Hackintosh is LOL ) on a percentage of original cost basis.

I sold my last iMac to a kid who had a Hackintosh ... he was very happy to not have to mess with that Hackintosh anymore.
 
WHAT is this gloss? It's on my iPhone. It's on my iPad. It's on my iMac. It's EVERYWHERE and I cannot get any work done! It's ruining my life.

Actually, I'd prefer the matte if it were an option. However, but you learn to work around it. I have a dual monitor setup with my iMac. You can choose to attach a cheap one just for palettes and Finder windows or a high quality display as the primary screen.​
 
thanks for all the input.

I'm currently using a 2010 MBP 15" and I'm just in love with OSX, that's why my next computer MUST have OSX.


What I'm looking for is a long lasting machine (the MBP is the sturdiest and problem free laptop I have ever owned) and that is why I am considering the iMac over Hackintosh. It's just my dilema of whether the performance and cost can outweigh the aesthetic appeal and apparent durability of Apple products.

Also the cheap price of the Dell U27 in HK is very tempting... $720USD straight from Dell (0% import tax on electronics ftw!)

I like the idea of resale value since I never really thought about selling my gear for money.

I'll take all the comments into consideration!
 
I actually want the glossy screen. I like the look of them.

I have a hackintosh. I've been messing with them since the days of pearpc. Had a hackintosh for tiger, leopard and snow leopard. You can save a ton of money building your own and get a more powerful system. And get 100% functionality. That's what I did the last time I upgraded. I had the option to get an imac which was certainly nice. But it was just so much to pay for I built my own PC to do it.

Now with the upcoming refresh i'm just going to buy a imac. I still have that desktop gaming machine I built and I can upgrade it as needed but I like the form factor of the imac. And I find myself gaming less and less so at this point I kinda just want something that maybe I don't have to tinker with as much and if something goes wrong someone else can fix it for a change.
I've been building PC's for over a decade so i'm kinda over that.
 
Go to the nearest Best Buy or Apple store and play with a 27". That will be all the "convincing" you need. They're fantastic.
 
archer75 said:
You don't have to pirate anything. I bought my copy of OSX and installed straight from that.
Click to expand...

It is illegal to install OSX on a PC in the US. I don't think that applies to me though (not sure, but this never would be enforced anyway where I live even if it is), I'm not American and I don't live in the US, I'm simply weighing the pros and cons of the available alternatives.
 
zentenk said:
It is illegal to install OSX on a PC in the US. I don't think that applies to me though (not sure, but this never would be enforced anyway where I live even if it is), I'm not American and I don't live in the US, I'm simply weighing the pros and cons of the available alternatives.
Click to expand...

I do not believe it's illegal. It does violate the EULA but those don't mean much anyways. I know it is illegal to install OSX on a PC and then sell it. Apple has never gone after the hackintosh community, only those companies selling systems with OSX pre-installed.
Though companies are selling computers with the means to install OSX on them, but don't actually ship them with it installed, and those companies apple hasn't gone after.
 
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to buy a mac or not!!

I am like you. I have always used PC Since I had the Mac Classic!! I built my own for years on the PC side.

As for building a Hackintosh. I cant say that I am against it at all but if you are using this system for work in any way I would say don't do it! You will spend more time tinkering with it more than using it. I have built one and it worked Great but from time to time Things just didn't work the way they should. So I would not call it a system that I trusted!!

As for buying a iMac at the moment I wouldn't Buy right now. The way apple Prices things I would feel that its the wrong time to buy an iMac.

Buying right now would be like buying a Plasma TV with out HD or even an HDMI port and paying full price for it as the day it came out. Yea it will work for you, You will get to watch TV on it. But when you PAY FULL PRICE for it as if it was just comming out. That is a situation that I would not do.

With the iMac being with out so tech that has been released from Apple Already (Thunderbolt) + some others. and Apple is still charging the same for the system as if it came out yesterday.

As For why to go mac or not your Main Question. It took me a long time to go back to mac from the PC since I switched over to PC. I like the fact that for the most part Mac's Just work. Being that I was always building my own PC and liked to tinker I was always changing things. With mac I find myself not wantting to ever really do so. Yes at times I do feel that apple wants to control what I do on the system. But at same time I have a lot less Crashes as I did with PC. I like that I have the best of both worlds, Boot-Camp lets me install Windows 7 and OSX on the same system with out any problems. So When I want to run Windows I can and it is just as if I had a PC then.

Will you like OSX, Well It took me a little bit to get used to it for I was using windows for so long. I would look for things in the wrong place for some time. But the more and more that I use OSX I am happy that I did switch over!! Truth be said for the most part! Anything that you can do on a PC you can do on a Mac. Anything you can do on a Mac you can do on a PC, Just how do you do it! Except Blu-RAY!!!! That is a PC only thing. But I have my Blu-Ray on USB and Run windows when I need to do anything with BLu-ray!!

I hope that helps a bit. I don't mean to be confusing.
 
Out of curiosity, I had a hackintosh built at one point. Like you, I am into photography and tend to run some crucial programs like photoshop and paintshop along with lightroom among others.

Make no error, the money you save NOW may very well cost you that ONE SHOT which you have desired to capture and edit due to some compatibility issue down the road.

I am not stating it will, but I take my shots VERY seriously, even as a hobby and capturing the moment you've been pining for, do you honestly wish to take a chance at all on a fake Mac?

No one can ultimately decide for you, no these things are not inexpensive but they do give their all each and every time. Only you can decide if the money you save right now will pay off in the way of the final experience you have.

Honestly I tell you, take a hard look at how you will use it. If it's a rinky dink hobby for you, or you do not really care that much about your shots, then go for it build a Hackintosh.

But if you value the time and money spent on lenses/flashes/save media/bags etcetera, is worth it to you to skimp on what will ultimately become a crucial part of your imaging setup?

Best of luck with whatever your decision. Cheers.
 
Behemecoatyl said:
If you're too poor to afford an iMac, go ahead and do the cheap and illegal route like the rest of the lowly pirates.
Click to expand...

Wow, no need to get all angry and attack the man. Clearly Apple doesn't care much about hackintosh as they haven't tried to shut it down.

As for the iMac its a great Mac which can be upgraded for some key parts, others not so much. If you see yourself using this Mac for 5+ years, you might want to look else where, but if its a 2 or 3 year machine as your main Mac, you should be fine.

Also I believe the iMac can function as an external display(the used to be on Apple's site, I will double check Apple's site)

Edit Quick check on Apple's site didn't find anything, but google searching brought this up http://www.cultofmac.com/video-27-inch-imac-in-action-as-external-monitor/20355
 
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