iMac 24" questions

[citron230]

So I am planning on buying my first Mac. I have asked everyone for Apple gift cards for Christmas. I have a couple of questions I guess. I have decided to get the 24" iMac, because I cant upgrade the screen at a later time. I am not sure whether to get the 2.4Ghz or 2.8Ghz. Is the 2.8Ghz worth the extra $250?
Also I was thinking on getting a 1TB HDD. Is this an overkill? I am using this computer for music, video, email, etc. I am not a gamer, and I dont edit video either.
I was going to keep the standard RAM and upgrade it myself to 4GB since that is cheaper, than ordering it with 4GB.
I'm exicted for to get my first Mac. Any advice before ordering? Thanks!!!

 

[basesloaded190]

So I am planning on buying my first Mac. I have asked everyone for Apple gift cards for Christmas. I have a couple of questions I guess. I have decided to get the 24" iMac, because I cant upgrade the screen at a later time. I am not sure whether to get the 2.4Ghz or 2.8Ghz. Is the 2.8Ghz worth the extra $250?
Also I was thinking on getting a 1TB HDD. Is this an overkill? I am using this computer for music, video, email, etc. I am not a gamer, and I dont edit video either.
I was going to keep the standard RAM and upgrade it myself to 4GB since that is cheaper, than ordering it with 4GB.
I'm exicted for to get my first Mac. Any advice before ordering? Thanks!!!

1. i really don't think the upgrade to 2.8 is worth the money unless you really really need it for some intensive programs.
2. 1tb hdd i think is way overpriced and somewhat overkill form apple. if i were you i would get maybe 750 then a good external drive. its going to be much cheaper
3. ram is cheap so thats a great idea to max that out

 

[Santabean2000]

2.8GHZ - do it for sure, and get 4GB RAM to max out the lifespan of your machine. 750GB HD should be fine for the meantime; you can always get extra external storgae at a later date, and it's just getting cheaper all the time now.

 

[heatmiser]

So I am planning on buying my first Mac. I have asked everyone for Apple gift cards for Christmas. I have a couple of questions I guess. I have decided to get the 24" iMac, because I cant upgrade the screen at a later time. I am not sure whether to get the 2.4Ghz or 2.8Ghz. Is the 2.8Ghz worth the extra $250?
Also I was thinking on getting a 1TB HDD. Is this an overkill? I am using this computer for music, video, email, etc. I am not a gamer, and I dont edit video either.
I was going to keep the standard RAM and upgrade it myself to 4GB since that is cheaper, than ordering it with 4GB.
I'm exicted for to get my first Mac. Any advice before ordering? Thanks!!!

As a casual user, there's no need to pay $250 for 400 more mhz. And yes, the 1TB drive is overkill. Yes, upgrade the ram yourself. Overall, don't max out on a computer; it's impossible to future-proof most machines beyond a year or two. Just get something that'll fill your needs and won't break your budget.

 

[Santabean2000]

As a casual user, there's no need to pay $250 for 400 more mhz. And yes, the 1TB drive is overkill. Yes, upgrade the ram yourself. Overall, don't max out on a computer; it's impossible to future-proof most machines beyond a year or two. Just get something that'll fill your needs and won't break your budget.

It's prob not worth spending $1000s on a computer if you're just a 'casual user' anyway. If you can spare and extra $250 for the 2.8GHz, do it, otherwise you'll always feel like "I should have got the faster one..."

 

[Guiltygugu]

I have a 24" 4gb ram and not once have i felt regret for not upgrading to the 2.8ghz


i think 2.4 is good enough for what i need this computer to do....and when its not fast enough to do what i need it to do, it will be time to upgrade the whole unit


this comp was well worth the 2000$ price tag

my pc friends/family say its overpriced but i really dont think so

 

[mike81]

I have a 24" 4gb ram and not once have i felt regret for not upgrading to the 2.8ghz


i think 2.4 is good enough for what i need this computer to do....and when its not fast enough to do what i need it to do, it will be time to upgrade the whole unit


this comp was well worth the 2000$ price tag

my pc friends/family say its overpriced but i really dont think so

I have heard over priced as well from some (i have a 24" 2.8) my response is they are over priced only to those who have never experienced a mac, and you get what you pay for.

My opinion, if you can scrape up $250 get the 2.8. You would probably never miss the extra speed if you don't, but if you ever need it you'll be glad you got it.

 

[basesloaded190]

yeah i guess its more a question about your budget. if you don't mind spending the extra money for the extra speed then by all means you will be happy. if you don't you will be just as happy with you purchase

 

[dpaanlka]

With the specs you describe you'd probably be happier with a Mac Pro Quad Xeon. The Quad 2.0s or 2.33s with more cache on a faster bus + more memory will really benefit you more than twin 2.8s and 1TB of storage, especially if you're going to work with music and video (as opposed to just listening and watching them).

 

[Guiltygugu]

I have heard over priced as well from some (i have a 24" 2.8) my response is they are over priced only to those who have never experienced a mac, and you get what you pay for.

My opinion, if you can scrape up $250 get the 2.8. You would probably never miss the extra speed if you don't, but if you ever need it you'll be glad you got it.

Absolutely....i am a recent switcher from a crappy dell and i cannot say enough about my iMac. I have become a mac-head and it seems that only other mac-heads understand my mac'ness, lol

 

[basesloaded190]

With the specs you describe you'd probably be happier with a Mac Pro Quad Xeon. The Quad 2.0s or 2.33s with more cache on a faster bus + more memory will really benefit you more than twin 2.8s and 1TB of storage, especially if you're going to work with music and video (as opposed to just listening and watching them).

he didn't say he was working with music and video, so i think the mac pro would just be severe overkill

 

[vansouza]

Buy what you can afford with out hurting yourself. I got the 2.8 and the 1Tb drive and got the 4gigs of ram from OWC. I think that which ever you get you will be happy.

PS... welcome to the family.

 

[eRondeau]

The 1TB drive is overkill. Get maybe 500GB internal and then buy a decent external FW800 drive instead, for backup and general storage. As for the processor, the 2.4GHz is plenty fast, the 2.8 is even faster -- but you'll probably never really notice the difference. iMac's rock!

 

[rotlex]

Personally, I say the 2.8 is WELL worth the extra bucks, but then again, I do a lot of video work, and I'll take all the speed I can get for rendering. As for building it........as you may or may not have read:

Start with the 2.4Ghz machine on Apple's site. "Upgrade" the proc to the 2.8, keep the ram at 1GB, and get say a 500GB internal drive. You can't do this if ordering the 2.8 directly. (Keeping the ram at 1GB that is). Also, you can always add external storage cheaply. Heck, I have 2 1TB FW800 drives hanging off my iMac that cost me less than Apple wants for a single internal 1TB drive.

THEN, order 4GB from OWC or someone, save a TON on the ram, and you'll have a 2.8Ghz 24" with a 500GB internal drive and 4GB ram for a very reasonable price.

 

[citron230]

thanks!

thanks for everyones input. i really found it helpful. i am thinking about this config:
24" iMac, 2.8 Ghz, 1 Gb RAM, 750 HDD. with the money i am saving i'lll upgrade the RAM from OWC or Frys and install that myself. I am super excited to get it, i have heard nothing but grat things and love the look. I am going to the apple store at lunch today just to browse. thanks again.
=)

 

[basesloaded190]

thanks for everyones input. i really found it helpful. i am thinking about this config:
24" iMac, 2.8 Ghz, 1 Gb RAM, 750 HDD. with the money i am saving i'lll upgrade the RAM from OWC or Frys and install that myself. I am super excited to get it, i have heard nothing but grat things and love the look. I am going to the apple store at lunch today just to browse. thanks again.
=)

thats going to be a killer set up but seriously look into getting an external form owc as well. even though you can use time machine with an internal, i think its just a little bit safer to do so with a nice fw800 external drive!
good luck and have fun with your purchase

 

[vansouza]

thats going to be a killer set up but seriously look into getting an external form owc as well. even though you can use time machine with an internal, i think its just a little bit safer to do so with a nice fw800 external drive!
good luck and have fun with your purchase

ditto, totally agree about the unit and the external firewire

 

[rworne]

I have heard over priced as well from some (i have a 24" 2.8) my response is they are over priced only to those who have never experienced a mac, and you get what you pay for.

My opinion, if you can scrape up $250 get the 2.8. You would probably never miss the extra speed if you don't, but if you ever need it you'll be glad you got it.

How true. For those of you who say the 2.8 is not worth the upgrade price over the 2.4, ask any of us who had 800MHz G4's (or in my case, a dual 800 Quicksilver) when Leopard was released and anything under 867MHz was left in the cold.