You are in the same position as me i was looking at the base model 21.5" for quite a long time but then i decided that i would wait for the update and get a base model 27" iMac i hope that by doing this i will get more for my money and also that it will last me longer without having to upgrade in just a few years. If i was you i would just get the base model iMac when the update is released this means you will get more for your money and yes it should last a little longer because i have heard many people say on this forum that the components in the base model iMac 21" are quite old and really need an update such as the nvidea graphics card.
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I can't wait but is the iMac too old to buy
- Thread starter bas-macfan
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I do love everything about the iMac except the GPU and CPU.
Change those and I would buy one in an instance. The main reason I want to stay with Apple is because of OSX but the hardware comes first.
I can't really think of anything simple the 9400M wouldn't be able to do today, but who knows if iLife in the future will demand more of the gpu which the 9400M will likely not fare well in.
I guess its a slight risk that having the lower end gpu will make certain programs run slow in the future.
Right now I'm using an original Macbook, which is only running at 2 GHZ and has fairly low end graphics, and it still works pretty well, even running iMovie, GarageBand, Flash websites, etc....
I probably should spend the extra $300 on the better graphics card, but it still seems like something that I won't take advantage of given how I use the computer.
The stuff im asking for isn't that great. A 1gb vRAM video card and quad core processor shouldn't have to be a pro market. Theres also no real reason to overpay for a Mac Pro anymore, they're outdated for their price. I like OSX, thats why I want to stick with Apple. Sadly I have to go back to windows in order to appreciate current hardware.
Also, HW should be important. People shouldn't buy desktop computers because they look fancy.
If you're going for the 27" you at least have an option for an i7. If indeed you're going for an i7, you may be dissappointed in the small spec bump that will happen for the amount of time you may be waiting if you really needed it now.
need upgrade
I've had my first iMac three years now and want to upgrade. When are we going to see blu ray and touch screen on iMac? Apple has forgotten about everything but iPhone & iPad. Hope there give us something new soon!!!
I've had my first iMac three years now and want to upgrade. When are we going to see blu ray and touch screen on iMac? Apple has forgotten about everything but iPhone & iPad. Hope there give us something new soon!!!
9400M is more then enough for normal everyday tasks, but its horrible for even the occasional game, even with bootcamp you cannot play any of the games that were recently released.. Things that do work on it with native resolution just to name a few are games like Halo, Diablo 2, Age of Empires 3.. But even games like Doom 3 or Quake 4 cannot be run on native resolution =/ so long story short, Apple needs to have a dedicated gfx on the entry level imacs.. the 9400M 256MB(SHARED) is not sufficient..
And plus, as other users have noticed when you open a stack with lots of folders/apps it lags even on that =/ with the 9400M
Looking to buy my first Mac and I can tell you I don't like this waiting game. I want the high-end 21.5" and have the money ready to go but I don't want to get burned like so many people on this forum have before. It would be nice to know something; we haven't heard any info on the iMac's for a long time. My will power is quickly diminishing..
This probably isn't going to help those who are trying to wait, but BestBuy has 20% Bing cashback right now and I got $400 back on the i5 iMac. I wanted the i7 originally and then decided to wait for the revision, but this is a great price (too good for me to pass up). Even though it is currently backordered, I got the Bing cashback notification e-mail. Works on all Macs, so even if you wanted a MBP or Mac Mini to tide you over until the new iMacs come out, you could buy now and sell later, possibly with little or no loss because of the legendary Mac resale value.
It's part of Microsoft's seemingly futile attempts to steal search market share away from Google. Keywords in your search string trigger advertising links when using Bing that give you cashback on purchases made on the advertiser's site. For example, I typed "dyson" into the Bing search box and on the right sidebar a link promoting 20% off valid purchases at BestBuy popped up. It prompts you to specify an e-mail address for your cashback account and then you are taken to the website to make your purchases. You buy the product at advertised price and then get your cashback within 60 days. Once your waiting period has elapsed you can simply transfer it to your bank account. It was between the iMac and a Canon 5d Mk II for me, but I have a more immediate need for the computer than the camera.
The program is ending soon, but any cashback earned between now and the ending date is good for a year I believe.
The thing is, Apple probably doesn't care. Every higher-up at the company is probably getting a new private jet once the new iPhone hits later this month. I'd venture to say, stationary computers (I.E.-Anything not a Pad, Pod, Phone or Book) are at the bottom of Apple's priority list when it comes to marketing and development.
The low spec 27" from Apple was nippy fast for everything apart from games. I didn't run any benchmarks, but for some weird reason it felt faster than my C2D Quadcore PC. Windows would load faster and apps were most responsive, maybe the DDR3 I don't know.
Because most Macs are updated infrequently it pays to wait a little bit. If you need it, get it. If you can wait, wait!
If you are a gamer, you're not going to get much out of the basic 21inch.
I have the basic 21,5 imac and i find it to be very fast. Booting and shutting down is very speedy, hardly any beach balls, movies run great, surfing is perfect, ... it's fast in general but it sucks at gaming.
But it's the ideal all-in-one: its thin, it doesn't use that much power, its very quiet, it runs cool, it never freezes or crashes, is ideal for things like voip and videocalling due to the build in stuff, has relatively good speakers for an all in one, ... It's really a great computer but it's just not suited for gaming. But you won't regret buying one.
I upgraded from a 2007 aluminium 20 inch iMac (with snow leopard btw) and it still did it's job albeit a bit slower but still very well. Ofcourse that one sucked even harder when it came to gaming
edit : just remember that everything becomes obsolete in the end. It all depends on what you want to do with it.
I have the basic 21,5 imac and i find it to be very fast. Booting and shutting down is very speedy, hardly any beach balls, movies run great, surfing is perfect, ... it's fast in general but it sucks at gaming.
But it's the ideal all-in-one: its thin, it doesn't use that much power, its very quiet, it runs cool, it never freezes or crashes, is ideal for things like voip and videocalling due to the build in stuff, has relatively good speakers for an all in one, ... It's really a great computer but it's just not suited for gaming. But you won't regret buying one.
I upgraded from a 2007 aluminium 20 inch iMac (with snow leopard btw) and it still did it's job albeit a bit slower but still very well. Ofcourse that one sucked even harder when it came to gaming
edit : just remember that everything becomes obsolete in the end. It all depends on what you want to do with it.
harveypooka said:
The i5/i7 chip runs more efficiently than the C2D chip. It's kind of when AMD transitioned from the AthlonXP chip to the Athlon64 chip. They can get more work done per cycle.
You can take a peek at Geekbench benchmarks and see some benchmarked performance differences.
We're in a similar situation. My dads iMac (2006) is on its way out, the DVD drive stopped working a year ago and he's fed up using an external one. He's also using 2 external drives when one, big 1tb drive would cover all his needs. The display is starting to get darker too. Bit by bit it's falling apart but the current iMac is... well it's certainly not worth the money.
Just waiting on that 330M (at least) and hopefully a better CPU.
If it totally packs in he'd just get a Dell or a homebuild and wave bye to Apple.
Just waiting on that 330M (at least) and hopefully a better CPU.
If it totally packs in he'd just get a Dell or a homebuild and wave bye to Apple.
If you are a gamer, you're not going to get much out of the basic 21inch.
I have the basic 21,5 imac and i find it to be very fast. Booting and shutting down is very speedy, hardly any beach balls, movies run great, surfing is perfect, ... it's fast in general but it sucks at gaming.
But it's the ideal all-in-one: its thin, it doesn't use that much power, its very quiet, it runs cool, it never freezes or crashes, is ideal for things like voip and videocalling due to the build in stuff, has relatively good speakers for an all in one, ... It's really a great computer but it's just not suited for gaming. But you won't regret buying one.
I upgraded from a 2007 aluminium 20 inch iMac (with snow leopard btw) and it still did it's job albeit a bit slower but still very well. Ofcourse that one sucked even harder when it came to gaming
edit : just remember that everything becomes obsolete in the end. It all depends on what you want to do with it.
How does it work for the iLife apps like iMovie and GarageBand, fast?
Did I make a mistake buying iMac?
OK, first off, let me get this out of the way: I know there have been a hundred threads associated with "should I wait to buy an iMac" or not; please feel free to berate me as much as you desire but what I REALLY need is some help.
I purchased an iMac (21.5", 3.3 GHZ, 9400m, 500 GB) on Tuesday, 08Jun10, as a gift for my father's birthday on 18Jun10. I waited to see if Apple would update the iMac but due to time constraints (his birthday) I pulled the trigger.
I am no computer expert, I switched to Apple a couple of months ago (MBP 2.66 GHZ) and I LOVE it! I use my MBP for work, word, excel, surf the net, pay bills, download photos and video from camera, etc. very lite stuff.
My father will be using his new iMac for web surfing, paying bills, sending emails, downloading photos from camera, etc., again, very lite stuff. He does like to play ONE game, Total Annihilation, which came out in 1923 or something super old. Other than that ONE game he doesn't play ANY other game nor does he want to, no first person shooter, or demanding games at all. It makes him motion sick to play those types of games, so TA only.
I couldn't decide if I should get the second tier iMac with the upgraded graphics card or not. I don't know much about computers but after researching it a bit, I concluded that if you aren't going to be playing games on the iMac the upgrade was a waste of money.
Now I'm second guessing my decision. Apparently, the graphics card does more than just play games (again, please feel to berate, "look a the noob!", and things like that). Anywho, the question is, will this iMac be obsolete in a few years due to the processor, or graphics card, or transmission, change the oil every 3 thousand miles and all that stuff.
So, will the above mentioned machine suffice for a few years for what my father needs it for?
PS: Dumbing down your answers would be greatly appreciated.
OK, first off, let me get this out of the way: I know there have been a hundred threads associated with "should I wait to buy an iMac" or not; please feel free to berate me as much as you desire but what I REALLY need is some help.
I purchased an iMac (21.5", 3.3 GHZ, 9400m, 500 GB) on Tuesday, 08Jun10, as a gift for my father's birthday on 18Jun10. I waited to see if Apple would update the iMac but due to time constraints (his birthday) I pulled the trigger.
I am no computer expert, I switched to Apple a couple of months ago (MBP 2.66 GHZ) and I LOVE it! I use my MBP for work, word, excel, surf the net, pay bills, download photos and video from camera, etc. very lite stuff.
My father will be using his new iMac for web surfing, paying bills, sending emails, downloading photos from camera, etc., again, very lite stuff. He does like to play ONE game, Total Annihilation, which came out in 1923 or something super old. Other than that ONE game he doesn't play ANY other game nor does he want to, no first person shooter, or demanding games at all. It makes him motion sick to play those types of games, so TA only.
I couldn't decide if I should get the second tier iMac with the upgraded graphics card or not. I don't know much about computers but after researching it a bit, I concluded that if you aren't going to be playing games on the iMac the upgrade was a waste of money.
Now I'm second guessing my decision. Apparently, the graphics card does more than just play games (again, please feel to berate, "look a the noob!", and things like that). Anywho, the question is, will this iMac be obsolete in a few years due to the processor, or graphics card, or transmission, change the oil every 3 thousand miles and all that stuff.
So, will the above mentioned machine suffice for a few years for what my father needs it for?
PS: Dumbing down your answers would be greatly appreciated.