i7 iMac from Macconnection - new or refurb?

[jmpage2]

I was browsing Mac Connection earlier today and noticed that they have an i7 27" iMac from the previous generation for $1699. I asked them in the online chat if they were new or refurbished and was told they are brand new in the box.

I'm wondering if anyone here has ordered one and know if this is in fact the case. Also, how would service/exchange/return work with these guys if this machine ships with issues?

Final question is about migration of data. I would be moving from a 24" iMac to the new 27" and am curious if I can safely restore my latest TM backup for all of my settings and applications or if it would be preferable to load my applications from scratch. I also have a Windows 7 Boot Camp install that also runs with VMWare Fusion and I'm not sure how migratable that is, from the research I have done migrating it could be a waste of time, I don't know if MS will re-activate the license though if I change out the Mac hardware.

 

[dborja]

I would tend to believe them. It is a previous gen i7 so it would be less expensive than current gen. Also, they do have good prices; I bought an i5 from them last November and paid $150 less than MSRP on a current model. It was new and in a retail box.

WRT to repairs, Apple will honor and service the machine. I took mine in with DVD drive, hard drive and yellow screen problems and they happily ended up replacing the machine with another brand new one. I don't know about returns and exchanges as I haven't had the need.

Except for your Bot Camp partition, the apps and data should transfer fine from TM although some folks prefer a pristine install on a new machine. If you're one of those, then do a fresh install then just migrate your data. WRT Win7, I'd recommend a fresh install; a migrated VM may ask to be re-activated anyway so might as well do a new install to avoid Win7 hiccups with "changed" hardware. Worst case, you'll have to call the Microsoft automated line to re-activate...

As an aside, I've purchased 3 machines from MacConnection already; one of them was a refurb and was clearly advertised as such. 'Been very happy with them.

 

[jmpage2]

I would tend to believe them. It is a previous gen i7 so it would be less expensive than current gen. Also, they do have good prices; I bought an i5 from them last November and paid $150 less than MSRP on a current model. It was new and in a retail box.

WRT to repairs, Apple will honor and service the machine. I took mine in with DVD drive, hard drive and yellow screen problems and they happily ended up replacing the machine with another brand new one. I don't know about returns and exchanges as I haven't had the need.

Except for your Bot Camp partition, the apps and data should transfer fine from TM although some folks prefer a pristine install on a new machine. If you're one of those, then do a fresh install then just migrate your data. WRT Win7, I'd recommend a fresh install; a migrated VM may ask to be re-activated anyway so might as well do a new install to avoid Win7 hiccups with "changed" hardware. Worst case, you'll have to call the Microsoft automated line to re-activate...

As an aside, I've purchased 3 machines from MacConnection already; one of them was a refurb and was clearly advertised as such. 'Been very happy with them.

Thanks very much for the information. Even though I get a 6% discount through work I am having a hard time justifying the new i7 machine, the previous generation one seems to be a pretty good buy right now.

 

[dissemin8or]

Thanks very much for the information. Even though I get a 6% discount through work I am having a hard time justifying the new i7 machine, the previous generation one seems to be a pretty good buy right now.

How's this: The new machines have 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM, last year's models only have 1066 MHz DDR3 RAM. So in addition to the 4.6% processor speed bump you also have a 25% RAM speed bump.

I'm personally waiting for the new i7's to show up in Apple's refurb section

 

[Loramarthalas]

There were 2010 i7s available in the US refurb store yesterday, but they seem to have gone. I'm waiting for them to appear in the AUS store... been waiting patiently for some time now in fact. Grrrr..

 

[jmpage2]

How's this: The new machines have 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM, last year's models only have 1066 MHz DDR3 RAM. So in addition to the 4.6% processor speed bump you also have a 25% RAM speed bump.

I'm personally waiting for the new i7's to show up in Apple's refurb section

I have not seen any benchmarks that show a 25% speed improvement on the new iMac due to faster ram. Really in the majority of benchmarks the speed improvement is less than 10%. I ordered a new in box 2009 i7 from macconnection for $1699 with free shipping and no tax. Too good of a deal to pass on.

 

[jmpage2]

I thought I would take a moment to update my own thread with the final outcome of all of this.

My new iMac showed up from MacConnection yesterday and I have been setting it up today.

The device was definitely brand new in the box and is a QP serial number Mac, assembled in the US.

It appears to be pretty darn close to perfect with only a tiny amount of light bleed. There is no yellowing, no hard drive noise, no whining. I can hear the fans when it is working its ass off but that's about it. There is a tiny spec or something behind the glass which I will try to remove later on after I get everything else taken care of.

Definitely well worth it to spend $1699 with free shipping and no tax on last year's model for only about a 10-15% performance hit vs the current model.

 

[dborja]

'Glad you're up and running. Enjoy your beast! I really appreciate the 27" screen and quad core for working with multiple documents, running virtualized Win7, Handbraking and developing with XCode.

 

[dissemin8or]

I have not seen any benchmarks that show a 25% speed improvement on the new iMac due to faster ram. Really in the majority of benchmarks the speed improvement is less than 10%. I ordered a new in box 2009 i7 from macconnection for $1699 with free shipping and no tax. Too good of a deal to pass on.

I never said the 25% faster RAM made the entire computer 25% faster, I only said it made the RAM 25% faster (1333/1066 = 1.25).

 

[Hisdem]

I never said the 25% faster RAM made the entire computer 25% faster, I only said it made the RAM 25% faster (1333/1066 = 1.25).

Plus new i7's have a 1GB GPU

 

[jmpage2]

I know that the new i7 is better. However 10-15% benchmark improvements in games I don't play is not worth a $600 premium over last year's model.

last year's i7 is still faster than every other iMac other than the new i7.

Thanks for all of the useful info though.