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I have $1,900 To Spend Should I Get A 27" iMac or Build My Own PC?

R

rs14smith

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 7, 2009
144
2
Hey,

Currently I have a Macbook (unibody) and use it to edit videos, and sometimes use it for it's garage band and for school related stuff. So far I'm satisfied with it.

My desktop computer is a PC. I really do not like having a desktop that's different from my laptop, as I'd like to keep everything in sync, so when I come home from school, and if I've made any changes to my files, my desktop/laptop will sync the changes..

My question is, is the iMac 27in (bottom line version $1,699) worth it? I know most say it is because of the software (design/music etc.) but what else about it do you enjoy that makes it worth every penny.

I occasionally game, but I bought a xbox 360 for that, but is always nice to be able to game on it, and of course I know you can boot up in boot camp to play some games on the mac.

My current mointer is a 23in (HDTV and Mointor) HUGE plus, so I can hook my xbox 360 up to it, use it as a computer mointer, AND watch TV.

So far I see a huge discussion about if you can hook a xbox 360 up to the iMac, and haven't seen anyone really successfully achieve this yet, so that would be another sacrifice, as I'll have to haul around 2 mointers. One for iMac, then the other for xbox.
 
If you aren't going to game, I'd say get the Mac. But some part of e wonders if the iMac is the best solution or perhaps consolidating to one machine with an external?
 
thegoldenmackid said:
If you aren't going to game, I'd say get the Mac. But some part of e wonders if the iMac is the best solution or perhaps consolidating to one machine with an external?
Click to expand...

Right, and almost 2 grand is a lot to the average person, so I'm just trying to do a little research to see is the computer really worth it. But I believe it just boils down to what exactly you plan on doing with it, and what comes with it.

What I like:

  • 27" Display
  • 1TB Drive
  • 4GB Ram
  • The Whole Design of It
  • Magic Mouse
  • Easy To Carry Around With You (I'm In College So Portablitly Is Key)
  • I Can Run Mult. OS At The Same Time (Fusion Big ++++)
  • Included Softwares/ Available Components
  • Virus Free :O

I'm guessing that's enough to say it'll be a nice investment.

The last thing is, I know Apple will come out with a new iMac next year, and I'm the type that likes to "try" to stay up to date, so I just want to be sure the iMac will still have value by that time if I do want to upgrade to the latest edition. Most say Mac's do hold value for a while.
 
rs14smith said:
Right, and almost 2 grand is a lot to the average person, so I'm just trying to do a little research to see is the computer really worth it. But I believe it just boils down to what exactly you plan on doing with it, and what comes with it.

What I like:

  • 27" Display
  • 1TB Drive
  • 4GB Ram
  • The Whole Design of It
  • Magic Mouse
  • Easy To Carry Around With You (I'm In College So Portablitly Is Key)
  • I Can Run Mult. OS At The Same Time (Fusion Big ++++)
  • Included Softwares/ Available Components
  • Virus Free :O

I'm guessing that's enough to say it'll be a nice investment.

The last thing is, I know Apple will come out with a new iMac next year, and I'm the type that likes to "try" to stay up to date, so I just want to be sure the iMac will still have value by that time if I do want to upgrade to the latest edition. Most say Mac's do hold value for a while.
Click to expand...

Easy to carry around? You're kidding, right?
 
a system with a core 2 duo for $1700 is a waste of money, but that's just my opinion since i bought my 24" last june when c2d was still "ok" to buy. now i wouldn't settle for anything below i7 (or i5 if i was so low on cash that it would require me to eat noodles for two years straight after making such a purchase).
 
hakr said:
Easy to carry around? You're kidding, right?
Click to expand...

Yes easy to carry around. Instead of hauling around a seperate mointor, mouse, keyboard, computer case, speakers, cords, etc etc.. you only have 3 things to carry.

Of course I'm not going to carry it to class back and forth, but when packing and unpacking my things to either come to college or leave college, it's easier to carry around compared to the standard PC. :rolleyes:
 
definitive said:
a system with a core 2 duo for $1700 is a waste of money, but that's just my opinion since i bought my 24" last june when c2d was still "ok" to buy. now i wouldn't settle for anything below i7 (or i5 if i was so low on cash that it would require me to eat noodles for two years straight after making such a purchase).
Click to expand...

I was asking a friend about this the other day and they didn't know the answer to this question:

Say I purchased the bottom line iMac 27" could I later on tell Apple or a licensed Apple Store to just upgrade my CPU to i5 or i7? Like I know upgrading hard drives/Ram is fairly straight forward, but when it comes to CPUs, I'm not sure if it's as simple for techs to just open my iMac and then replaced the current CPU with another iMac compatable i5 CPU...:rolleyes:

Just wondering, I'm a noob when it comes to that kinda stuff
School me :p
 
rs14smith said:
I was asking a friend about this the other day and they didn't know the answer to this question:

Say I purchased the bottom line iMac 27" could I later on tell Apple or a licensed Apple Store to just upgrade my CPU to i5 or i7? Like I know upgrading hard drives/Ram is fairly straight forward, but when it comes to CPUs, I'm not sure if it's as simple for techs to just open my iMac and then replaced the current CPU with another iMac compatable i5 CPU...:rolleyes:

Just wondering, I'm a noob when it comes to that kinda stuff
School me :p
Click to expand...

You cant, different motherboard. Its a one shot deal.
 
I'm debating on purchasing the 27 inch i5... I'm kind of in the same boat as you. Although I'm debating on whether I should get the iMac or a MBP and a monitor (this option would be more expensive). Plus I am still using a Powerbook G4 15", which has been a good computer for the last (almost) 6 years. I suppose it could suffice my portable needs for the next year or so till I can update my laptop needs...idk...what to do :confused:

Sorry, not much of a help just posting...
 
Diseal3 said:
You cant, different motherboard. Its a one shot deal.
Click to expand...

Alright thanks Diseal for clearing that up, short and sweet :p

So if I plan on just using my iMac for editing movies (iMovie or something Express (forgot the name)), composing music through garage band, have a browser going, itunes running, have probably fusion running with Windows 7, would I really need an i5 or i7 chip?

I plan on upgrading my ram to 8GB too, and course I wouldn't probably have my video editing program open at the same time as the Garage Band, but the other apps I probably would.

I guess a good question is, who is the i5 and i7 really useful for? Someone having tons of apps open like 12?..
 
agr5 said:
I'm debating on purchasing the 27 inch i5... I'm kind of in the same boat as you. Although I'm debating on whether I should get the iMac or a MBP and a monitor (this option would be more expensive). Plus I am still using a Powerbook G4 15", which has been a good computer for the last (almost) 6 years. I suppose it could suffice my portable needs for the next year or so till I can update my laptop needs...idk...what to do :confused:

Sorry, not much of a help just posting...
Click to expand...

Yeah man I know what you mean. The guy that mentioned the i5 or i7 chip has me thinking do I need to just save a little bit more and just get the iMac 27" with the i5 chip.

Like I don't want to pay for something I probably wont need so hopefully some kind experts here can point me in the right direction as this is a big purchase for me. Not going to make me go hungry or nothing, but a nice chunk out of my pocket for 1 item! :p
 
rs14smith said:
Yes easy to carry around. Instead of hauling around a seperate mointor, mouse, keyboard, computer case, speakers, cords, etc etc.. you only have 3 things to carry.

Of course I'm not going to carry it to class back and forth, but when packing and unpacking my things to either come to college or leave college, it's easier to carry around compared to the standard PC. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I really think that selling your MacBook and going with a higher-end one and a larger external monitor might be the best of options.
 
rs14smith said:
Yeah man I know what you mean. The guy that mentioned the i5 or i7 chip has me thinking do I need to just save a little bit more and just get the iMac 27" with the i5 chip.

Like I don't want to pay for something I probably wont need so hopefully some kind experts here can point me in the right direction as this is a big purchase for me. Not going to make me go hungry or nothing, but a nice chunk out of my pocket for 1 item! :p
Click to expand...

Yeah, I hear ya...I think I am going to purchase the i5, which is probably overkill for what I'm going to be using it for. But it should be able to last me a good 5-6 years. Also, if you purchase at BestBuy, you can get 18 months same-as-cash... which is a pretty damn good deal. Gives you time to come up with the extra cash if thats what you need.
 
rs14smith said:
Alright thanks Diseal for clearing that up, short and sweet :p

So if I plan on just using my iMac for editing movies (iMovie or something Express (forgot the name)), composing music through garage band, have a browser going, itunes running, have probably fusion running with Windows 7, would I really need an i5 or i7 chip?

I plan on upgrading my ram to 8GB too, and course I wouldn't probably have my video editing program open at the same time as the Garage Band, but the other apps I probably would.

I guess a good question is, who is the i5 and i7 really useful for? Someone having tons of apps open like 12?..
Click to expand...


it should be fine, but what i'm saying is that the c2d processor is outdated, and isn't worth spending that much money on now if you're going for osx the legit way. otherwise there's always a hackintosh if you're into that kind of stuff, where i'm sure you could put together an i7 system for less than what the c2d imac is worth. in general i don't think late 2009 imacs are worth their price if you have some kind of a c2d apple system already, because the cheaper ones come with outdated processors, while the more expensive ones come with outdated graphics. i just can't see myself spending over $2k on a system with a 2###x1### resolution screen and be limited to a radeon 4850 video card.
 
thegoldenmackid said:
I really think that selling your MacBook and going with a higher-end one and a larger external monitor might be the best of options.
Click to expand...

Well if I do sell the macbook I have no laptop at all. Laptops or great for class notes, and if you just don't care what the teacher is talking about, you can surf the web or play a game :p

I was referring to the other guy that, the iMac compared to a regular PC is easier to carry around, I guess I should have said, easier to pack/unpack.

A laptop is key in my life, so that's a must. But so far, most of you all are saying go for the higher end one, so I guess I just need to save a few more hundred dollars and go for the i5 version.
 
rs14smith said:
Well if I do sell the macbook I have no laptop at all. Laptops or great for class notes, and if you just don't care what the teacher is talking about, you can surf the web or play a game :p

I was referring to the other guy that, the iMac compared to a regular PC is easier to carry around, I guess I should have said, easier to pack/unpack.

A laptop is key in my life, so that's a must. But so far, most of you all are saying go for the higher end one, so I guess I just need to save a few more hundred dollars and go for the i5 version.
Click to expand...

My comment was: upgrade to a higher-end MacBook (Pro) and use an external monitor.
 
thegoldenmackid said:
My comment was: upgrade to a higher-end MacBook (Pro) and use an external monitor.
Click to expand...

Well that was a thought too, however, the thought of having to pull out my mbp everytime to hook it up to use it as a regular desktop computer made me fade away from that idea.

I'd like something that's kinda stationary (similar to a desktop) and actually looks good being stationary lol. So that brought me to the thought, why not just get an mac mini, and another 23in screen so I can have dual screens...but the HD,Ram, CPU, etc. just seemed so small/low for the component. I'd like to get something that's going to last and that I can really accomplish many things I"m into: art/music/video editing (noob now but getting better)/ and running mult OS at the same time (windows/ubuntu/etc.).
 
Honestly, go for the High-end 21.5" iMac. Same specs as the Intel 27", but smaller and more portable (like you said).

But, make sure you get a Mac and NOT a PC.
 
are you really planning on running something like parrellels or bootcamp on a computer with 4gig RAM?

I'm just curious because i can tell you from experience that any of the ones that let you use windows and osx simultaniously will require more than 4gigs of ram. I had a macbook pro (a newer model but cant remember which right now) and installed parellels on it to run windows and osx (the computer was actually for my mom who needed quickbooks to run with the pc in the other office)..

It was painfully slow. I had to remove ALL of windows features that made it look somewhat tollerable (like animation, themes, etc)

Just saying - do your homework on the ram when trying to run two operating systems.. With parelles, you cant just give one OS more ram because you are using that one because they run off of each other.

You have 4 gig of ram, you need at least 2 and 2 to make it work.. anything less and it freezes.. but its not working great at that point
 
lindsayanng said:
are you really planning on running something like parrellels or bootcamp on a computer with 4gig RAM?

I'm just curious because i can tell you from experience that any of the ones that let you use windows and osx simultaniously will require more than 4gigs of ram. I had a macbook pro (a newer model but cant remember which right now) and installed parellels on it to run windows and osx (the computer was actually for my mom who needed quickbooks to run with the pc in the other office)..

It was painfully slow. I had to remove ALL of windows features that made it look somewhat tollerable (like animation, themes, etc)

Just saying - do your homework on the ram when trying to run two operating systems.. With parelles, you cant just give one OS more ram because you are using that one because they run off of each other.

You have 4 gig of ram, you need at least 2 and 2 to make it work.. anything less and it freezes.. but its not working great at that point
Click to expand...

I'm guessing you missed post #11? :rolleyes:

As stated, I am going to upgrade it to 8GB of ram, so Ram is going to be no issue. Thanks anyway, I know most skip over reading the threads in between when there's a lot of post. :p
 
EliteF50 said:
Honestly, go for the High-end 21.5" iMac. Same specs as the Intel 27", but smaller and more portable (like you said).

But, make sure you get a Mac and NOT a PC.
Click to expand...

An All In One Computer compared to a "Standard PC" has less components. Am I right or wrong there? No matter the "size" of the All In One Computer, it will still have less components to worry about, resulting to more space, and a cleaner look.

I currently have a 23in screen monitor, so there is no way I'd want to downsize my overall display.:p One of the main interest I have for the iMac is it's 27" display.

I think I may just save $300.00 and get the i5 chip version since that's something I can't upgrade later down the road, and since the i series seem to be the most up to date, and then just sell the free printer Apple gives :p
 
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