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Resolved Help me decide on my first Mac Desktop!

S

ShaneS429

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 9, 2009
7
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Let me preface by saying this is NOT my first mac. I have a Macbook, which I sold to my parents, so I can only use it sporadically.

Right now, I am developing iOS apps with a buddy but obviously, I have no dedicated mac I can use. I already have a killer pc which I use to do any gaming, video editing, 3d modelling, etc. This future mac purchase will only be for the development and testing of iOS apps with obvious things such as chat, email, and web browsing.

With the new MBP and iMacs coming out, I've become more and more excited for getting something new.

I've been trying to hold out on a Mac Mini refresh if I could but now I am starting to weigh my options.

I just saw on the Apple Store, a Refurbished iMac 27" 3.2GHz i3 from last year. While obviously, this will come with a heavier price tag then waiting for a Mac Mini update, I realized I'd still have to buy a keyboard, mouse, monitor, and hdmi cable with a Mac Mini, which would negate the cost difference just about.

A few questions:

How are refurbished iMacs (or any apple refurb product), in terms of quality? I'm guessing most of these are simple returns that the customer didn't want or perhaps had a memory or hard drive problem.

Is there any need for me to choose a current 2011 iMac vs the refurb 2010 iMac? Keep in mind I'm only using this for iOS development, no gaming or video editing or other intensive tasks. Also, if I went for the current iMacs, I'd have to go with a 21.5" model vs the 27" refurb due to price constraints.

Thanks guys!
 
Last edited:
ShaneS429 said:
Let me preface by saying this is NOT my first mac. I have a Macbook, which I sold to my parents, so I can only use it sporadically.

Right now, I am developing iOS apps with a buddy but obviously, I have no dedicated mac I can use. I already have a killer pc which I use to do any gaming, video editing, 3d modelling, etc. This future mac purchase will only be for the development and testing of iOS apps with obvious things such as chat, email, and web browsing.

With the new MBP and iMacs coming out, I've become more and more excited for getting something new.

I've been trying to hold out on a Mac Mini refresh if I could but now I am starting to weigh my options.

I just saw on the Apple Store, a Refurbished iMac 27" 3.2GHz i3 from last year. While obviously, this will come with a heavier price tag then waiting for a Mac Mini update, I realized I'd still have to buy a keyboard, mouse, monitor, and hdmi cable with a Mac Mini, which would negate the cost difference just about.

A few questions:

How are refurbished iMacs (or any apple refurb product), in terms of quality? I'm guessing most of these are simple returns that the customer didn't want or perhaps had a memory or hard drive problem.

Is there any need for me to choose a current 2011 iMac vs the refurb 2010 iMac? Keep in mind I'm only using this for iOS development, no gaming or video editing or other intensive tasks. Also, if I went for the current iMacs, I'd have to go with a 21.5" model vs the 27" refurb due to price constraints.

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

with what you are doing you can stick with the 2010 refurb...and the refurbs are wonderful..cant tell the difference between brand new and refurb
 
For your needs, just a basic Macbook will do the trick, even a refurbished one. You might also enjoy the portability, you can develop from any seat in the world.
 
Thanks for the input.

troutspinner said:
For your needs, just a basic Macbook will do the trick, even a refurbished one. You might also enjoy the portability, you can develop from any seat in the world.
Click to expand...

Honestly, portability and laptops just aren't for me. Having a dedicated workstation is what suits me. I also think a bigger screen/resolution is what makes me want a desktop over laptop. Though I am in agreement that a standard macbook would work well in terms of hardware needs. I just need that screen size and resolution for coding and testing.
 
ShaneS429 said:
Thanks for the input.



Honestly, portability and laptops just aren't for me. Having a dedicated workstation is what suits me. I also think a bigger screen/resolution is what makes me want a desktop over laptop. Though I am in agreement that a standard macbook would work well in terms of hardware needs. I just need that screen size and resolution for coding and testing.
Click to expand...

second monitor with macbook or go with the 2010 refurb i suggest
 
Thanks a bunch guys.

I'm going to pul the trigger on the refurb 27"

Sure I'm missing out on educational discounts and the $100 promo but I just can't beat the $1269 price tag of a 27" iMac.

Coming from an nvidia surround setup on my PC to a 27" iMac will be nice.
 
ShaneS429 said:
Thanks a bunch guys.

I'm going to pul the trigger on the refurb 27"

Sure I'm missing out on educational discounts and the $100 promo but I just can't beat the $1269 price tag of a 27" iMac.

Coming from an nvidia surround setup on my PC to a 27" iMac will be nice.
Click to expand...

No problem. Enjoy


Sent from my iPhone 4 using Tapatalk
 
(Resolved) Help me decide on my first Mac Desktop!

That sounds like a good deal. I'm still using a 2006 iMac Dual Core 2.0 GHz, 250 GB HDD, 2GB RAM (DDR2 667) and running Snow Leopard with no problem. You can't go wrong with any of the iMacs. Their refurbs are great! The iMac I'm using and my Black MacBook are both refurbs and have given me no problems over the years. Go for it!
 
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