Is there a better time to buy, should I go another route?

[joshs2000ss]

This is sort of a two parter here, but I'm relatively new to the Mac world. I've had a 3GS for a couple of years now but I'm about to make my first step in the direction of a Mac desktop.

I've been eyeing the iMac for sometime now because I like the simplicity of it and also, with my office desk, it will just work better to not have wires running everywhere. My focus for this device will be graphic design. Mainly through Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

Here are my questions:
1. Is there a better/worse time to buy an iMac?
By this I mean, do new versions typically get debuted during certain times of the year? Also, with Lion coming out, will I have to pay for an upgrade now vs. waiting a month or two to purchase?

2. Will an iMac meet the needs of what I'm wanting to use it for?
Like I said, I'm planning on doing mainly graphic design with it. I'm not a gamer so that's not a consideration in the performance for me. I'm looking at the iMac 27" 2.93 QuadCore. I'm planning on a RAM upgrade also, through an aftermarket purchase.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks,

JG

 

[rkaufmann87]

1. The time to buy any computer is when you need it. If you wait for the next best thing you'll never buy anything because technology moves quickly. As for Lion all we know at this point is it currently scheduled for a Summer 2011 release. Apple historically will upgrade for no (or very small shipping charge) if you buy a machine within about 2 weeks of the release of new software. This means if you buy now you'd have to pay like the rest of us. Apple has not released pricing on Lion however historically for major releases they charge about $129. The Snow Leopard upgrade sells for $29 because most changes were under the hood and for most day to day activities end users could not tell the difference between it and Leopard.

2. I think you would find a Mac a very capable machine. Because graphics are CPU/GPU intensive I would buy the most powerful iMac you can afford. Currently that would be an i7 based iMac.