Looking for iMac to replace my daughter's broken one

[onecorgilover]

Hi everyone,

My daughter is a self-taught graphic designer. She purchased an iMac about three years ago which no longer works. I believe she said that the motherboard was shot (please forgive me, I may be wrong) and it would cost a lot of money to replace it.

In the meantime, she has lost her job as an independent contractor designing websites. I want to purchase another one for her since she has decided (with the layoff) to go back to school to get her diploma in Graphic design. Of course, she will now need a mac in order to do her coursework. I feel that in between being responsible for her tuition, books and fees, it would be too much for her to swing the cost of a computer. I want to surprise her with a new, refurbished, or a clone (do they still exist?) iMac for her birthday in October. She mentioned in passing that she wanted to buy the largest desktop that she could afford.

I have NO clue about what I should be looking for....I do know that I need to find the best deal possible which is why I thought of clones. We don't necessarily need an "Apple" per se, as long as it functions as one. lol I appreciate ANY help that you guys can give me. I don't want her to get discouraged because of what's going on with the economy, etc. I am happy that she has decided to resume her education and I want to support her in any way that I can.

Thank you,

Renee

 

[Mac'nCheese]

First of all, will you be my mother, too.
But seriously folks.... how much do you have to spend, that would be a big help in helping you pick one.

 

[flopticalcube]

If she had a 24", then either a refurb 24" or refurb 27". If she had a 20" then a refurb 21.5". For graphics design, the low-end models would be sufficient.

 

[onecorgilover]

First of all, will you be my mother, too.
But seriously folks.... how much do you have to spend, that would be a big help in helping you pick one.

I believe that I can pay around $1000.00...would prefer less, but I just checked out the apple store and WOW! Thank you for your kind words.

 

[onecorgilover]

If she had a 24", then either a refurb 24" or refurb 27". If she had a 20" then a refurb 21.5". For graphics design, the low-end models would be sufficient.

I think she had the 21"! What would qualify as a low end model....please do not hesitate to talk to me as if I were 4....I will not be offended and the plus side is that I am being educated.

 

[flopticalcube]

I think she had the 21"! What would qualify as a low end model....please do not hesitate to talk to me as if I were 4....I will not be offended and the plus side is that I am being educated.

To get the best deal on refurbs, you have to be quick. Use a site like RefurbMe to let you know when they are in stock. Looks like there were some low-end 21.5" iMacs an a hour ago ($999+tax). Like I said, they go fast. RefurbMe will email you the models you are interested in when Apple makes them available.

I would avoid the 20" ($849) iMac as the screen isn't terribly good for graphics design but if $150 is the world to you, then I guess it would manage.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals


This is the link to the refurbished macs. It changes a lot since everyday they have new deals. Maybe you can get lucky and find an imac for under a grand here. They are used macs, checked out by apple and offered for a discount. Kind of like buying a used car from a dealer (preowed and certified by Toyota, for example).


OR HONDA! Toyota... bad example!

 

[onecorgilover]

To get the best deal on refurbs, you have to be quick. Use a site like RefurbMe to let you know when they are in stock. Looks like there were some low-end 21.5" iMacs an a hour ago ($999+tax). Like I said, they go fast. RefurbMe will email you the models you are interested in when Apple makes them available.

I would avoid the 20" ($849) iMac as the screen isn't terribly good for graphics design but if $150 is the world to you, then I guess it would manage.

Fantastic! Thanks for that link and I wouldn't have known what a difference $150.00 would make. In that case, it's worth it to me.

 

[IndustrialSpace]

Graphic designers also work on PCs too!!

CS4 is available for such endeavours.

The current generation of iMacs are plagued with many may problems associated with the screen and some of its hardware. There has never been such problems with Apple computers in the past. The most common complaint is a yellow tinted screen. Customers have returned and replaced up to 6 machines in an attemp to get one which didnt ahve a defective screen. Many have just given up and adked for a refund. In an attempt to placate their customers, Apple refundeed your money PLUS 15% more for your troubles. I would highly advise that you read up on the threads here, on Apple's own forum and other websites to get an idea of what this problem is. Aside from this, there have also been overwhelming complaints about flickering screens, noisy buzzing screens, grey bands along the bottom half of screen, HDs that make loud noises, etc.

It was rumored that Apple fixed this issue, but if you read some of the current threads, people are still receiving machines with the dreaded yellow screen.

Personally, I would wait until the next update or refesh where there might be a possibility of a new model of screen being installed.

Underestand that this is failry new technology and it is not fully developed. Apple's own patent on the new iMac states this in plain view.

Essentially, Apple will offer a ONE TIME screen replacement to placate concerned customers. After that, you're on your own. You either keep it and live with some yellow blotches on your screen or you return it for a refund. A this point, Apple can't fix these defects and so ALL iMacs will have some degree of yellow in the screen. I know its unfortunate, but it is what it is.

Good luck!!!

 

[newuser2310]

Graphic designers also work on PCs too!!

CS4 is available for such endeavours.

The current generation of iMacs are plagued with many may problems associated with the screen and some of its hardware. There has never been such problems with Apple computers in the past. The most common complaint is a yellow tinted screen. Customers have returned and replaced up to 6 machines in an attemp to get one which didnt ahve a defective screen. Many have just given up and adked for a refund. In an attempt to placate their customers, Apple refundeed your money PLUS 15% more for your troubles. I would highly advise that you read up on the threads here, on Apple's own forum and other websites to get an idea of what this problem is. Aside from this, there have also been overwhelming complaints about flickering screens, noisy buzzing screens, grey bands along the bottom half of screen, HDs that make loud noises, etc.

It was rumored that Apple fixed this issue, but if you read some of the current threads, people are still receiving machines with the dreaded yellow screen.

Personally, I would wait until the next update or refesh where there might be a possibility of a new model of screen being installed.

Underestand that this is failry new technology and it is not fully developed. Apple's own patent on the new iMac states this in plain view.

Essentially, Apple will offer a ONE TIME screen replacement to placate concerned customers. After that, you're on your own. You either keep it and live with some yellow blotches on your screen or you return it for a refund. A this point, Apple can't fix these defects and so ALL iMacs will have some degree of yellow in the screen. I know its unfortunate, but it is what it is.

Good luck!!!

Wonderfully unbiased post!

You forgot to mention the many thousands of other Imacs sold which are perfect.

Its good to know all the facts but your making it sound like every Imac has problems.

 

[Hellhammer]

The current generation of iMacs are plagued with many may problems associated with the screen and some of its hardware. There has never been such problems with Apple computers in the past. The most common complaint is a yellow tinted screen. Customers have returned and replaced up to 6 machines in an attemp to get one which didnt ahve a defective screen. Many have just given up and adked for a refund. In an attempt to placate their customers, Apple refundeed your money PLUS 15% more for your troubles. I would highly advise that you read up on the threads here, on Apple's own forum and other websites to get an idea of what this problem is. Aside from this, there have also been overwhelming complaints about flickering screens, noisy buzzing screens, grey bands along the bottom half of screen, HDs that make loud noises, etc.

Flickering, fixed. Buzzing sound, haven't heard of it for weeks and it was a minor problem, not widely spread. Grey bands, same as buzzing sound. Loud HDs, was more "popular" but haven't heard of it for weeks.

It was rumored that Apple fixed this issue, but if you read some of the current threads, people are still receiving machines with the dreaded yellow screen.

True, Apple even stated that the issues have been addressed. More and more good ones though

Essentially, Apple will offer a ONE TIME screen replacement to placate concerned customers. After that, you're on your own. You either keep it and live with some yellow blotches on your screen or you return it for a refund. A this point, Apple can't fix these defects and so ALL iMacs will have some degree of yellow in the screen. I know its unfortunate, but it is what it is.

False. It depends on a rep you talk with, many people have gotten a replacement(s) or several screen replacements.

You have nothing to proof that all screens have yellowing so please, stop spreading that crap, it ain't true.

 

[IndustrialSpace]

The truth only hurts if it has to.

This kind Father is looking to purchase a memorable brithday gift for his Daughter aspiring to graphic design. Wouldn't it be awful if he ended up giving her a defective iMac which she has to battle Apple with to get replacement after replacement. It's important he knows that these machines are a risky purchase at the moment. How can all of you be so dismissive of this blatant and widespread problem.

The OP should do his own research. I'm certainly not making any of this up. All one needs to do is type in a google search "iMac 27 yellow" and you'll come up with many many complaints about this generatioon of iMacs. There are numerous articles written up about it, too. not just blogs and message boards. Even Apple's own message board is brimming with complaints. There's hundreds of pages of people who are highly dissatisifed with this iMac because of the yellow blotches that appear all along the screen.

I do truly hope Apple fixes this problem, but we can't stick our head in the sand and pretend it doesn't exist. Apple has dragged their feet on this issue. People really are still receiving defective iMacs. Unfortunately, it seems that this problem is inherent in this latest design.

To the OP - please have a look at this analysis as to why the iMac screens exhibit this odd yellow tinge.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/872918/

Even Apple admits that color inconsistency will take place with this screen design:

Another challenge with utilizing LEDs in large arrays is maintaining uniformity of color in the large numbers of LEDs. ...

The color and output of each LED also depend fairly sensitively on temperature. The difficulties in providing proper thermal management capability can readily lead to temperature variations across a distributed array of LED light sources. Since the color qualities of LED light sources are sensitively dependent upon their operating temperatures, such non-uniformities lead to unacceptable variations in color from one portion of the display to another.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

This kind Father...

Wait, is the op a dude? I said I wanted her to be my mom, too.

 

[IndustrialSpace]

Wait, is the op a dude? I said I wanted her to be my mom, too.

Father... Mother... Caring Parent!

 

[onecorgilover]

Thank you all. You've given me a lot to think about.

After speaking with my daughter, she told me that she thought a macbook pro would make more sense than an imac since she'll be in school. I just shook my head and smiled because I didn't want her to know.

I am a lady, btw.

Renee

 

[CJS7070]

If you're buying a MacBook Pro instead, I'd recommend the 15" over the 13", it seems more practical for graphic design work--more screen space to work with.

 

[definitive]

apple usually has back to school promotions where they give you a free ipod touch when you buy a new system. if your daughter goes to college, then it will most likely be listed under apple's educational discount store where you could save some extra money. if she doesn't really need the mp3 player, then she could sell it to someone to help further drop the price of the system. also consider getting at least 4gigs of ram, and an apple care warranty to cover the system for three years.

as for which to get: it depends on how much you can spend. macs are very expensive, and i would recommend the largest screen that you could afford.

with imac you have limited portability, while with a 15" macbook pro you have a decent sized screen, and you can also buy a large ips (usually one of the better choices for a graphic designer) monitor which is cheaper than apple's cinema display and can connect it to the mbp through a mini port cable.

 

[IntelliUser]

Thank you all. You've given me a lot to think about.

After speaking with my daughter, she told me that she thought a macbook pro would make more sense than an imac since she'll be in school. I just shook my head and smiled because I didn't want her to know.

I am a lady, btw.

Renee

Keep in mind that you'll get less power for quite a bit of more money with a Macbook Pro, in comparison to the iMac.

 

[IndustrialSpace]

Thank you all. You've given me a lot to think about.

After speaking with my daughter, she told me that she thought a macbook pro would make more sense than an imac since she'll be in school. I just shook my head and smiled because I didn't want her to know.

I am a lady, btw.

Renee

A MBP sounds like a wise choice.

I'd say go for it!

 

[IndustrialSpace]

apple usually has back to school promotions where they give you a free ipod touch when you buy a new system. if your daughter goes to college, then it will most likely be listed under apple's educational discount store where you could save some extra money. if she doesn't really need the mp3 player, then she could sell it to someone to help further drop the price of the system. also consider getting at least 4gigs of ram, and an apple care warranty to cover the system for three years.

as for which to get: it depends on how much you can spend. macs are very expensive, and i would recommend the largest screen that you could afford.

with imac you have limited portability, while with a 15" macbook pro you have a decent sized screen, and you can also buy a large ips (usually one of the better choices for a graphic designer) monitor which is cheaper than apple's cinema display and can connect it to the mbp through a mini port cable.

Good point.


OP - When you visit the Apple Store online, click onthe "Education Store" so you'll get a discount. This brings you into an Education storefront where all of the prices are discounted. There is no verification, just enter the school name and you're on your way.