Hi everyone,
A little background info - I wanted (and still want =( a MacPro) but the price is just too out of reach. So I'm looking at getting an iMac.
I'll be using the computer for all the day-to-day tasks, and Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign (all CS3) and Lightroom (CS4) Just want to know what is going to be the most beneficial!?
The options are
A refurbished/eBayed with:
2008 model
24-inch 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB (two 1GB SO-DIMMs) of 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; supports up to 4GB
320GB HDD
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB of GDDR3 memory
One FireWire 400 port and one FireWire 800 port; 7 watts each
Three USB 2.0 ports on computer; two USB 2.0 ports on keyboard
I think the refurbs were $1999, and ebay prices are <$2500
OR
new 2009 model
24-inch: 2.66GHz
4GB memory
640GB hard drive1
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
Four USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
Mini DisplayPort video out
EDU Price - A$ 2,299.00
with mail in rebate (buy iPod nano and eBay it for 150ish) - A$ 2,798.00
OR lastly...
new 2009 model
2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB memory
640GB hard drive1
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 256MB memory
One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
Four USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
Mini DisplayPort video out
EDU Price - A$ 2,798.00
with mail in rebate (buy iPod nano and eBay it for 150ish) -
Differences:
2008 model has TWO firewire ports - 400 and 800
2009 only has ONE firewire port - 800
- though it does have ONE MORE USB... and truth be told I don't own any firewire things..
the 2.66GHz model is SLOWER than the 2.8GHz model.. who would have thought =p though the differences don't seem that huge unless we're talking frame rate where the 2.8 really kicks the 2.66 in the back side.
-The 2.99 seems to preform better in most tasks to the 2.8 however only marginally (not that i should expect a huge difference)
2.8 only has a 320GB hdd - I have a external 500GB western digital, however I REALLY like the inbuilt 640 =D
2008 model - has 2 GB of ram, can upgrade it to 4 from OWC for A$75 +shipping
2009 model- 4GBs of ram and can be upgraded to 8 - even though it would be quite some time before upgrading, even via third party ram sellers having 8GBs of ram is crazy expensive A$ 1065 +shipping actually! :|
so a 2.8 with 4GB of ram and a 500GB external HDD - i think that would kind of put it up to the specs of the 2.99... of course it's an external not internal hdd though.
imac - $2300~ according to shopbot - finding stock though is a different story you can buy it here if they have stock for $2,300
external hdd - $120?
ram - 90~
so say $2500~
new 2.99 - all that in one for A$ 2,798.00 - minus $150~ for mail-in rebate
$2630~
I would like to also ask, would any of the upgrades be worth it? I'm not a gamer so upgrading the graphics card isn't an issue for me, however i'm thinking about the HDD upgrade to 1TB, $170 i think it was, do you think it's a worthwhile upgrade, or just get another external 1TB?
Well I have actually come to fruition that I'll be buying the 2.99 through making this thread, however if anyone can give me any reasons why I should consider anything else, or anything I have missed PLEASE let me know!
I'm hoping that this will keep me happy for a year or two, and then I'll pick up a refurb/eBay MacPro Octo for a cheap price, or maybe when our Aussie dollar gets back on track =D
A little background info - I wanted (and still want =( a MacPro) but the price is just too out of reach. So I'm looking at getting an iMac.
I'll be using the computer for all the day-to-day tasks, and Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign (all CS3) and Lightroom (CS4) Just want to know what is going to be the most beneficial!?
The options are
A refurbished/eBayed with:
2008 model
24-inch 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
2GB (two 1GB SO-DIMMs) of 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; supports up to 4GB
320GB HDD
ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO with 256MB of GDDR3 memory
One FireWire 400 port and one FireWire 800 port; 7 watts each
Three USB 2.0 ports on computer; two USB 2.0 ports on keyboard
I think the refurbs were $1999, and ebay prices are <$2500
OR
new 2009 model
24-inch: 2.66GHz
4GB memory
640GB hard drive1
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
Four USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
Mini DisplayPort video out
EDU Price - A$ 2,299.00
with mail in rebate (buy iPod nano and eBay it for 150ish) - A$ 2,798.00
OR lastly...
new 2009 model
2.93GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB memory
640GB hard drive1
NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 with 256MB memory
One FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
Four USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
Mini DisplayPort video out
EDU Price - A$ 2,798.00
with mail in rebate (buy iPod nano and eBay it for 150ish) -
Differences:
2008 model has TWO firewire ports - 400 and 800
2009 only has ONE firewire port - 800
- though it does have ONE MORE USB... and truth be told I don't own any firewire things..
the 2.66GHz model is SLOWER than the 2.8GHz model.. who would have thought =p though the differences don't seem that huge unless we're talking frame rate where the 2.8 really kicks the 2.66 in the back side.
-The 2.99 seems to preform better in most tasks to the 2.8 however only marginally (not that i should expect a huge difference)
2.8 only has a 320GB hdd - I have a external 500GB western digital, however I REALLY like the inbuilt 640 =D
2008 model - has 2 GB of ram, can upgrade it to 4 from OWC for A$75 +shipping
2009 model- 4GBs of ram and can be upgraded to 8 - even though it would be quite some time before upgrading, even via third party ram sellers having 8GBs of ram is crazy expensive A$ 1065 +shipping actually! :|
so a 2.8 with 4GB of ram and a 500GB external HDD - i think that would kind of put it up to the specs of the 2.99... of course it's an external not internal hdd though.
imac - $2300~ according to shopbot - finding stock though is a different story you can buy it here if they have stock for $2,300
external hdd - $120?
ram - 90~
so say $2500~
new 2.99 - all that in one for A$ 2,798.00 - minus $150~ for mail-in rebate
$2630~
I would like to also ask, would any of the upgrades be worth it? I'm not a gamer so upgrading the graphics card isn't an issue for me, however i'm thinking about the HDD upgrade to 1TB, $170 i think it was, do you think it's a worthwhile upgrade, or just get another external 1TB?
Well I have actually come to fruition that I'll be buying the 2.99 through making this thread, however if anyone can give me any reasons why I should consider anything else, or anything I have missed PLEASE let me know!
I'm hoping that this will keep me happy for a year or two, and then I'll pick up a refurb/eBay MacPro Octo for a cheap price, or maybe when our Aussie dollar gets back on track =D
)