iMac Updates/Buying Advice

[Artagnan]

I'm a user who demands performance on (somewhat of a) budget. I'm thinking of getting the 24" 2.8GHz iMac with the 1tb HD and 4GB ram. However, I'm wondering whether I should wait. I'm willing to wait if the updates are worth it, and I checked the BUyers Guide, which said that the historical average is being approached. My question is this: will the update be worth waiting for? And about when would it be (best guesses)?

Apps Used:
Logic Pro; Final Cut; Adobe CS3 Master Collection (usually Bridge, Photoshop, InDesign concurrently)

Thanks!

Cheers,
Artagnan

 

[signatus]

As far as I know, you can save big money not buying the RAM from Apple, but rather buying it from other people and then updating it on your own.

 

[bamaworks]

I'm very impatient, so if you're like me then don't wait. Those stats are good no matter what apple updates...

 

[AlexisV]

There's unlikely to be an iMac update before May.

 

[roland.g]

Agreed no update till April, May, or June.

Do what I did, select the 2.4 24" and up the CPU to 2.8. This gets you 1GB RAM not 2, saving $150. For less than that OWC macsales.com has 2x2GB sets. So for less than the stock 2.8 you get the full 4GB and yes that is after upping the HD to 500 to match the original stock. Me I got the 750 b/c at the release last year the 1TB was 3 wks out, and the 1TB is so much more of a premium I couldn't justify it. I would get the 750 and a nice RAID case with 2 500s or 750s in it for Time Machine and/or video. Me I have a sweet aluminum case that matches the iMac perfectly from cooldrives.com. It is their http://cooldrives.com/dusahadrfi80.html RAID case that you can jumper for separate drives. I have 2 Seagate 750GB 7200.11 drives, the ones with the 32MB instead of 16MB cache per drive. I use one for TM and the other for video. The case was $138, the drives were $195 each from newegg.com.

 

[plinden]

Unless there's something major like the Intel switch, or Alu-iMac redesign, most updates are a small increase (e.g. 5% even with a chip change like Core Duo -> Core 2 Duo) in CPU performance coupled with something extra thrown in (eg. better GPU, more standard RAM, which I think is unlikely) - I think that's all you could expect from an upgrade to the iMac in the near, or even midterm, future.

So, only you can answer the question whether it's worthwhile for you to buy now and get to use it for the next couple of months, or if it's better to wait and get something slightly better for the same cost.

Personally, I would buy now. In eight weeks with no update between now and then, I would wait.