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Just bought an iMac but. . .

N

nStyle

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 6, 2009
1,521
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. . . It's probably going back. I hate to be "that guy", but I just can't buy this and feel retarded in a few months when the new ones come out. I didn't realize we were this close to a refresh.

I bought it to see if it was going to handle my needs. If it did, I had no problem keeping it; this, however, is not the case. I can't play WoW smoothly in all areas (at least not smoothly enough). On high settings I get around 20 FPS in some areas.

Anyway, the iMac itself is amazing. 27" of pure sex. I purchased the base one from Best Buy because I knew I could return it easily If I needed to. I was going to buy the i5 at least, but they did not have it.

I have also noticed, on top of slow GPU speeds, the processor is not the best. I experience lock ups every now and then doing basic web browsing and emailing.

I am definitely going to buy when a refresh hits. . . I will just feel safer.

My MBP will never see the light of day once I finally get settled in. . .Which is bad in a way.

Anyone else done the same thing and considering returning as well?
 
You went in to buy a V6 and settled for a 4 cylinder, what did you expect? Exchange it for the V8, you won't regret it.
 
Lock ups shouldn't be happening due to the CPU regardless of whether you got the base model. My 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo from 2008 can handle browsing and the like without those.

But yeah, if you were wanting to play WoW smoothly on that 2560x1440 screen, probably should've gone with the better graphics card on the quad-core.
 
coryndiego said:
i7Q here and it's a monster. spend the extra 200 on a new i7Q or buy refurb and save 300.
Click to expand...

This. You didn't buy the wrong gen. You bought the wrong model for your needs. I just got the i7 from the refurb store and it's insane. You're going to get more bang for your buck with that (at 1899) then you will waiting for a refresh. Nothing they bring out priced at 1899 or lower is going to outperform the i7. Heck, even the quad i5 is in the refurb store for 1699. Just get that for the same money you spent.

Again, not the wrong gen, but the wrong model.
 
I'm considering this, as I don't want to wait.

How long are refurbs guaranteed through Apple? I don't think I would be uncomfortable buying an Apple refurb considering anyone who buys a computer so expensive has to have a sincere respect for their stuff.
 
nStyle said:
I'm considering this, as I don't want to wait.

How long are refurbs guaranteed through Apple? I don't think I would be uncomfortable buying an Apple refurb considering anyone who buys a computer so expensive has to have a sincere respect for their stuff.
Click to expand...

You get the same warranty on the refurbs as on a new one.
You can also get Applecare for it.
 
nStyle said:
I'm considering this, as I don't want to wait.

How long are refurbs guaranteed through Apple? I don't think I would be uncomfortable buying an Apple refurb considering anyone who buys a computer so expensive has to have a sincere respect for their stuff.
Click to expand...

I have a refurbished iMac. You can get the same warranty as a new one. I really can't stress enough that they are perfect, and usually have a better chance of being perfect than a new iMac. They are put through rigorous inspections, and the outer shell of the iMac is replaced. They look new, you couldn't tell the difference between a new one and an old one. People who buy new apple products instead of refurbished products imo are wasting money (unless they have to custom order it). It's your decision, but i would get it refurbished

As for gaming, WAIT. The new iMacs will probably have some sort of updated graphics card. Don't fall for the 1GB graphics card that's in the new imacs right now either, the limited bandwidth on it can't support that 2560x1440 resolution good at all when gaming.

The new ati card should supply that 256 mbit bandwidth that we need, that will improve gaming a lot.
 
flipster said:
I have a refurbished iMac. You can get the same warranty as a new one. I really can't stress enough that they are perfect, and usually have a better chance of being perfect than a new iMac. They are put through rigorous inspections, and the outer shell of the iMac is replaced. They look new, you couldn't tell the difference between a new one and an old one. People who buy new apple products instead of refurbished products imo are wasting money (unless they have to custom order it). It's your decision, but i would get it refurbished

As for gaming, WAIT. The new iMacs will probably have some sort of updated graphics card. Don't fall for the 1GB graphics card that's in the new imacs right now either, the limited bandwidth on it can't support that 2560x1440 resolution good at all when gaming.

The new ati card should supply that 256 mbit bandwidth that we need, that will improve gaming a lot.
Click to expand...

WoW and SC2 both run in 2560x1440 on high-ultra settings at 50+ FPS. Not sure what your talking about? Really other than the top tier graphics card nothing is running games like crysis at 2560x1440. NOTHING.
 
gdeputy said:
WoW and SC2 both run in 2560x1440 on high-ultra settings at 50+ FPS. Not sure what your talking about? Really other than the top tier graphics card nothing is running games like crysis at 2560x1440. NOTHING.
Click to expand...

There are computers running crysis at 2560x1440, but that's not my point. My point is, is that if someone is looking to buy an iMac, im simply saying there is no harm in waiting, because there are rumored graphics card that will turn that 50+ fps in wow to 84 fps.
 
flipster said:
There are computers running crysis at 2560x1440, but that's not my point. My point is, is that if someone is looking to buy an iMac, im simply saying there is no harm in waiting, because there are rumored graphics card that will turn that 50+ fps in wow to 84 fps.
Click to expand...

There isn't a point in waiting I they need it now (or relatively quickly) AND money is an object. Even if the new one came out tomorrow, 2011 refurbs won't start appearing for quite a few months, making the current 2010 i5 and i7 refurb prices very relevant.
 
I bought the top model 27" a month ago and decided to return it. It handled all my need perfectly except for wow. FPS was very unstable, and I tried tweaking the settings in every possible way. A little better in windows though. I couldn't settle playing it on high when paying that much money. The graphics on the current models is simply not sufficient for that big screen. My main reason for returning it was that having a desktop wasn't really for me, and the glossy bothered me.

My advice would be that you wait. :) Good luck!
 
I did the exact same thing. Returned base 27in for an i5 at Best Buy, 1st version. Still have a very small bit of that yellow tinge though but doesn't bother me that much. Very happy with the machine, waiting on revision of MacBook Pro 15in at the moment
 
skiltrip said:
This. You didn't buy the wrong gen. You bought the wrong model for your needs. I just got the i7 from the refurb store and it's insane. You're going to get more bang for your buck with that (at 1899) then you will waiting for a refresh. Nothing they bring out priced at 1899 or lower is going to outperform the i7. Heck, even the quad i5 is in the refurb store for 1699. Just get that for the same money you spent.

Again, not the wrong gen, but the wrong model.
Click to expand...


what???
 
I can't understand why anyone would buy a Mac for gaming. I love my iMac and my MBP, but they absolutely fall down compared to any gaming PC you can build for the same money. You could build a hexacore-based (i7-970, $500) PC with a top-of-the-line graphics card (GTX 580, $500) and even including a hard drive ($100), memory ($100), case ($100), PSU ($150), motherboard ($200), and other odds and ends ($200) it will CRUSH any top-end iMac or MBP coming out anytime soon.

To each his own I guess, but if I were looking first-and-foremost for a gaming machine, I wouldn't be looking at Apple.
 
The only game I care about playing is WoW... So I am wanting to buy an iMac that will at least play it smoothly in all areas on this beautiful screen.

I could buy just the screen and build a PC that would kill it this computer... yes... but I like the convenience of the all in one and the fact that OS X is built in.

In short, I don't expect any Mac to play Crysis on ultra. I just want a decent gaming experience.
 
nStyle said:
The only game I care about playing is WoW... So I am wanting to buy an iMac that will at least play it smoothly in all areas on this beautiful screen.

I could buy just the screen and build a PC that would kill it this computer... yes... but I like the convenience of the all in one and the fact that OS X is built in.

In short, I don't expect any Mac to play Crysis on ultra. I just want a decent gaming experience.
Click to expand...

Gotcha. That explanation makes a whole lot more sense than what I originally understood your priorities to be.
 
I play WoW on an i5 5750 under OSX, and I can set the settings to Ultra and ONLY turn shadows down to the second highest and I get like 45FPS+ in a packed ogrimmar. In many places it jumps, in 5 mans I get over 100FPS on ultra including shadows (if i switch it back, i don't bother).

Just saying, the iMac is plenty capable of playing WoW. Under windows my numbers would be 10% better at least.

Also, the gaming PC comparison isn't fair. Pair a gaming PC with a 1000$ 27" IPS display and your budget is more like 700. You can still build a PC better than the iMac for 700, but throw in a keyboard and mouse and it's more like 600. Still, a decent PC for 600 dollars, easily a better card than a 5750, but not WORLDS better.
 
We are not anywhere close to see imac getting refreshed. Imac was updated in last July. It has been out in the market for 6 months. It is in mid product cycle. I don't iMac getting updated until WWDC 2011.

That's about 4 months from now on. If you want to wait, then wait. But, there is always something new around the corner.

Also, the poster who said there are computers who can run Crysis at 2560X1440 resolution at max settings, please show me one. And they better not cost more than 1999 dollars like iMac is priced at right now. And no no SLI. Just one single graphic card that can run crysis at 2560X1440 with ultra settings.
 
Yeah... this thing is way slow.

Just got done watching a hi-def movie in VLC and it took me a good 1-2 minutes to close out of the movie and the computer be usable again.

I will probably opt for the i5 quad on Amazon and get the computer for 1918 w/ free shipping and no tax.

The refurb deals sound amazing but I just prefer new for some reason; and I also feel that I won't need the i7.

At any rate, this one is definitely going back I believe.
 
nStyle said:
Yeah... this thing is way slow.

Just got done watching a hi-def movie in VLC and it took me a good 1-2 minutes to close out of the movie and the computer be usable again.

I will probably opt for the i5 quad on Amazon and get the computer for 1918 w/ free shipping and no tax.

The refurb deals sound amazing but I just prefer new for some reason; and I also feel that I won't need the i7.

At any rate, this one is definitely going back I believe.
Click to expand...

Refurbs should really be considered. As others have said, refurb machines are usually the ones returned within 14 days that then go through a rigorous QC examination, in addition to having the outer casing replaced. You not only get all the above, the same one year warranty with AppleCare should you want it, but a lower price.

The chances of getting a perfect computer are generally seen as higher with a refurb, and if there is something wrong, just invoke your customer service.
 
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