Father-in-law wants to purchase new i7 27" imac, should I have him wait?

[wvuQuentin]

Based on my great experiences w/ apple products, and my father-in-law's terrible experiences w/ his past few PCs, he is looking to get an i7 27" imac. My Dual Core intel 20" imac from 2006 has been perfect for me, my wife's 07 macbook has been great, and our iphones/ipods/etc have all been quite good.

My best friend got one of the early i7 27" imacs and he has the no waking issue, but avoided the yellow/broken screens, etc. I obviously don't want to recommend a computer that will be a hassle, but I realize that forums tend to highlight the problems and not the users that have no issues. Have most of the nagging issues been taken care of or are we likely to be on the horn w/ Apple shortly after purchasing?

So, what says you? Should I tell my FIL to hold off until the refresh or pull the trigger on a beautiful, new imac?

Thanks!!
-QB

 

[appleguy123]

Just have him get it. Of something is wrong Apple will fix it.

 

[MacOCD]

Do not purchase. Update coming soon. They are around 30 days past average upgrade date. Wait 2-6 weeks.

 

[Hellhammer]

Unless he is a gamer, there isn't a reason to wait as the GPU is the only part that can really be updated in iMac (given that there are no design changes). Just tell him to get it, it will likely be more than he needs

 

[gnasher729]

Do not purchase. Update coming soon. They are around 30 days past average upgrade date. Wait 2-6 weeks.

Buy it right now. Most people outside these rumor sites couldn't care less if Apple releases a new model. They buy a computer, they use it happily until it breaks down five years from now, and then they will ask if Apple has released anything new in the last five years.

On the other hand, father-in-laws tend to be at least in their forties, so have him look very closely at the screen before buying one. MacMini + Dell 27" 1920 x 1200 monitor could be a better choice for him.

 

[MacOCD]

Well... I'm just saying you can buy now... but since it is ready for an update, why not wait, and possibly get a better, cheaper model.

I like to buy soon after the release, because then I have at least 300 days before a better model comes out. I would regret buying an iMac and then 6 days later a better one comes out. But I guess it is just my point of view.

 

[wvuQuentin]

Buy it right now. Most people outside these rumor sites couldn't care less if Apple releases a new model. They buy a computer, they use it happily until it breaks down five years from now, and then they will ask if Apple has released anything new in the last five years.

On the other hand, father-in-laws tend to be at least in their forties, so have him look very closely at the screen before buying one. MacMini + Dell 27" 1920 x 1200 monitor could be a better choice for him.

Thanks for the input guys (and quick!). I guess I was more asking for some of the quality/reliability issues that I've read about here on the forums.

My FIL is well on his way to 60, actually, but he's quite in tune when it comes to technology. He built his own home theater, does quite a bit of multiplayer gaming, etc. He certainly isn't like my dad, who hasn't so much as sent an e-mail in his life.

Are you saying that the native resolution will have the print being too small on the imac versus the Mini+dell combo? I don't think he'd be opposed to a mac mini other than the fact he specifically mentioned that he wanted a good bit of horsepower.* I honestly haven't given macs a good look since I bought my imac and the mini was seriously lagging compared to the imac in 2006. I'll dig a little deeper and see what is the best bang for buck. The good thing is that he doesn't seem opposed, in any way, to dropping the cash on it. I just want to make sure that he feels like he's getting his money worth. My imac was $1800 and it has worked so well that I haven't even considered upgrading. That computer has been worth every penny.

* I do agree with him that buying the faster processors seems to be money well spent. It isn't like ram or HDs that are easily upgraded.

- QB

 

[johnnymg]

Thanks for the input guys (and quick!). I guess I was more asking for some of the quality/reliability issues that I've read about here on the forums.

My FIL is well on his way to 60, actually, but he's quite in tune when it comes to technology. He built his own home theater, does quite a bit of multiplayer gaming, etc. He certainly isn't like my dad, who hasn't so much as sent an e-mail in his life.

Are you saying that the native resolution will have the print being too small on the imac versus the Mini+dell combo? I don't think he'd be opposed to a mac mini other than the fact he specifically mentioned that he wanted a good bit of horsepower.* I honestly haven't given macs a good look since I bought my imac and the mini was seriously lagging compared to the imac in 2006. I'll dig a little deeper and see what is the best bang for buck. The good thing is that he doesn't seem opposed, in any way, to dropping the cash on it. I just want to make sure that he feels like he's getting his money worth. My imac was $1800 and it has worked so well that I haven't even considered upgrading. That computer has been worth every penny.

* I do agree with him that buying the faster processors seems to be money well spent. It isn't like ram or HDs that are easily upgraded.

- QB

The rez issue should be verified! He can do that at the Apple store. I suspect he'll be OK with the small native font as long as he's comfy with reading glasses.

The current rumors re the next rev indicates USB3 and GPU update. Both of these are somewhat specific to how he might use the machine. Given his multi-player gaming ............... I'd say wait.

 

[Gov98]

The first rule of computers is that if you can afford to wait, wait. This seems especially true with Macs though. Since Apple is probably close to releasing the refresh with Imacs it's definately in your FiL's best interest. Even if he won't "use" the refresh specs its silly to get less for the same price because of little patience. If he doesn't care that's his call, but he should wait until the lineup of Imacs is refreshed. (Unless he wants the new mac mini then go for it.)

It should also be noted that when the Imacs are refreshed it's highly likely that this generation of Imacs in the Refurbs will get cheaper (of course nothing is guaranteed as the Mac Minis have not dropped in price), but the old 24 in. Imacs are greatly discounted when they show up as refurbs.